Katadyn statement on BeFree weld leakage

[Rex Sanders]

Found this on REI’s web page:

https://www.rei.com/product/116364/katadyn-befree-collapsible-water-filter-bottle-338-fl-oz

mkgil · 2 days ago
Some customers have reported that the collapsible silicone seam that connects to the hard plastic has failed. This has been mentioned elsewhere on the Web. Has Hydrapak/Katadyn fixed this yet?

KatadynCS · a day ago
Hydrapak has fixed this limited problem and now conducts a 100% quality test of all products to ensure the Katadyn BeFree Hydrapak flask is properly welded. Overall, less than 0.5% of products ever had a problem, however both Hydrapak and Katadyn take all problems seriously and worked very diligently to address this issue. All Katadyn BeFree filters come with a 2 year NO LEAK GUARANTEE. If any leakage occurs customers can receive a FREE replacement flask by contacting either Hydrapak or Katadyn directly.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

There are two thing that pop out:

1. A 0.5% failure rate is actually pretty high for a product like this.  Given that once it leaks you are kind of SOL in the field.  These kinds of welds can be tricky and even more difficult as people used the bottle in different manners/modes.
2. Katadyn appears to be making the appropriate response admitting a problem AND providing a 2 year guarantee.  This puts them way ahead of Sawyer when they were dealing with squeeze issues.  +1 on Katadyn’s customer service.

[Paul S.]

Good to hear. I got a 2L Seeker bottle and filter separately due to durablility concerns. It would be nice to have the smaller and lighter flask but as you say, failure means you’re SOL.

[Matthew / BPL]

Don’t most people carry a backup means of filtration? I do. (AM tablets)

[Yuri R]

Same – got Hydrapack 2L Seeker instead, didn’t even bother to buy BeFree with included bottle as I see it too big of a risk.

[Dean F.]

If you’re carrying the tablets anyway, why carry the filter?

My “backup” water purification strategy has always been boiling, since I’m carrying a pot anyway.

[Jim C]

Tablets get relegated to backup duty because, unlike a filter, they take a long time to work and alter the taste of water. Boiling also takes time, and of course fuel. I haven’t done the math, but I suspect the extra fuel you’d have to carry as backup weighs a lot more than tablets.

[Dean F.]

Well, yes, boiling takes time and fuel.  But in the unlikely event of an “emergency” where you break your filter I suspect that one could be forgiven for using wood.  So you’re really only using things that you already have- a pot and a firestarter.

I mean, I have never actually broken a filter, so this is all theoretical anyway.  A hiking partner once snapped the pump handle off of an MSR filter, but that’s not the type of filter I use.

[jimmy b]

 But in the unlikely event of an “emergency” where you break your filter I suspect that one could be forgiven for using wood.

No definitely NOT. Risking a forest fire and the massive destruction and possible loss of life that goes with that in a no fire area is irresponsible and ones unpreparedness does not excuse that. A few tablets are so ridiculously light its a no brainer.

 

[Ben H.]

In an actual emergency, don’t start a forest fire… just drink the water (untreated) and hike out.

[Rex Sanders]

Just FYI on treating water with tablets versus fuel if your BeFree filter fails:

0.5 gram (including foil pouch) Aquamira tablet treats 1 liter of water in 4 hours.

7-10 grams of gas canister fuel should pasteurize (not boil) 1 liter of water in ~10 minutes, not including the extra weight of empty canisters.

14 gram Esbit tablet should pasteurize 1 liter of water in ~15 minutes.

IF wood fires are allowed, you don’t need to carry extra fuel to pasteurize water. Time to treat is quite variable.

Or (as Ben mentioned) you can choose higher-quality water sources and not treat at all. 0 grams, 0 minutes for treatment, but other trade-offs.

It’s nice to have options.

— Rex

[DGoggins]

So, I just picked up a 1L befree combo on sale at REI…and a 3L seeker from amazon that was on sale too. I’m usually an aquamira user with micropur as a backup, though still occasionally have issues with leaking aquamira like I discuss here ->

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/106475/

I also used a sawyer mini before…but…unimpressed. But holy cow….the befree was incredible with the flow rate! I could easily do a gravity mode with the 3L seeker…or …just squeeze a bit. Its so fast that doing several liters for a group would be no problem. Aquamira takes time too to handle the drops/bottles and then I have to wait. As long as I turn a blind eye to possible viruses, then I might have my new go to water treatment. Now I just have to worry about stuffing it in my quilt if I think there is a possibility of freezing.

I was also worried about how hard it would be to remove/put back the 1.0L bottle into the side pocket of my zpacks arc haul vs my hardsided soda bottle…but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I think its actually easier.

For a small group, I still imagine that I’ll use several hard sided soda bottles (my favorite ones I talk about here ->

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/i-finally-found-my-go-to-water-bottle-has-everyone-already-seen-these/

Basically…b/c I’m not just going to go out and buy 6 or so seeker bottles…But also b/c a hardsided bottle is just much easier to fill up from a lake. I have to admit though, one of my decisions to switch from the soda bottles is b/c I’ve drunk the “kool-aid” about the dangers of using the soda bottles more than once….but…I do clean them for bacteria after every trip…its just that I don’t think I’ll use them for more than 1 season due to possible plastic degradation.

Anyway….I am a bit puzzled. When I was at rei checking out the 1.0L bottle and the REI exclusive 3.0L gravity bottle ->

https://www.rei.com/product/100657/katadyn-befree-gravity-water-filter-3-liter

I noticed that neither provided a separate cap? That stinks…..they really should have provided one. I mean, if I carry both the 1.0l and 3.0L, I don’t really need 2 separate filters. Or….if there is a possibility of freezing, I would need to take the filter off and put it in my bag…but I would have to dump the water to do that which stinks. Seems odd not to include a cap.

And….I don’t like the shape of the Katadyn 3.0L…would be hard to put in a side pocket….I don’t see any real benefit to that shape. The main benefit…is that its clear. I have the Hydrapak 3.0L seeker….but the big disadvantage is that its dark brown! Now I can’t see water turbidity and….if its on the side of my pack, the water is getting hotter than from a clear bottle.

Anyway…I don’t see that Hydrapak even sells separate replacement caps? What if I lose the cap to my seeker 3L?

 

[Tony Wong]

I just called Hydrapak’s customer service line and was told that they no longer sell the replacement caps for the Seeker water bottles.

However, the woman said that I could file a warranty claim for a replacement cap.

I asked her if the warranty would cover me being a dumby and losing the cap and she said yes.

Just thought that I would share.

I recently bought the 2L and 3L Seeker Water bottles to pair up with my new BeFree filter.

Warranty Page:

https://hydrapak.com/warranty/hydrapak

[DGoggins]

Wow….I literally had just done this about an hour ago. I first asked Katadyn to make sure that my 1.0L befree and the REI 3.0L gravity bag weren’t supposed to come with caps. They said they weren’t…..its supposed to be used as a “system” with the befree filter. She had no comment about needing to put your befree in your sleeping bag when its close to freezing and so would need another cap.

Anyway, I then called hydrapak and they told me that they used to sell the replacement caps right on the site, but that their webmaster for whatever reason removed it (CSR person didn’t know why). He said he didn’t mind sending me one for free, so good job on Customer support Hydrapak!

[Tony Wong]

Glad that they were able to help you out…..they are located in the Bay Area, which is where I live, so I gave them a call.

Now we all know.

I even told the lady on the phone that I was reporting back to BPL about this info.

Good on them for great service.

She even offered me a free cap, but I told her that I was good as I just bought my Seeker bags.

Simply good to know that replacements are available….free or to pay for in the future, if they get the cap back on sale on their site.

Tony

[DGoggins]

Well this stinks. Can someone else confirm that I’m not crazy?

The befree filter fits the hydrapaks…but the hydrapak flat caps don’t fit the befree bottles from Katadyn. I’ve tried two separate ones…both leak ->

The threads look the same….it just appears that the distance between the “stop” and beginning of the threads is larger on a hydrapak than the katadyn 1.0L befree bottle ->

So…the hydrapak cap doesn’t thread all the way down on a katadyn. That completely eliminates the 3.0L rei katadyn bag….you can’t find a different cap than the actual filter!

It would also be another reason to just go straight to seeker bottles only….however….I really like the 1.0L katadyn bottle form factor…it slides in and out of my side pocket (arc haul) easier than the 1.0L seeker bottle (which are only $8.50 right now on rei BTW after coupon code).

Edit: Katadyn needs to get it together and make some bottles that are actually compatible with anything else!

[Greg Mihalik]

Since you have the cap, despite the PITA, but you could file/grind/dremel the lip of the cap.

And definitely – Katadyn – don’t build one-off crap.  A “standard” will win more consumer dollars than head-up-your-A** marketing gimmicks.

[jimmy b]

+1 on shaving the cap down. A flat surface and a piece of med. sand paper will give you an nice smooth and even surface on the cap. Just sand down till the cap has clearance and hopefully it will seal.

[Dean F.]

No definitely NOT. Risking a forest fire and the massive destruction and possible loss of life that goes with that in a no fire area is irresponsible and ones unpreparedness does not excuse that. A few tablets are so ridiculously light its a no brainer.

You’re missing that in fact I said to bring the tablets.

Also, you and Ben do realize that not everyone lives in a state of constant burn ban, right?

[Ben H.]

Why are you starting a fire if you brought tablets? Why would you need to ask forgiveness for starting a fire if you weren’t in an area with a fire ban?  … This is a bizarre response 5 months later….

[Dean F.]

The point was as a backup/emergency water purification plan.  So, presumably, you lost the tablets, or got lost and ran out or something.

I wasn’t asking forgiveness.  I got jumped all over for daring to propose a wood fire in an emergency because OMG THAT WILL START A  FOREST FIRE!!!  I’m not the one who bizarrely equated starting a tiny fire to boil some water with Instant Wildfire That Will Kill Everything, without any consideration for conditions other than desiccated Californian kindling forests, after all.  :)

My proposition was that one use some other water purification strategy and only consider boiling in the very unlikely event of an emergency rather than carry a completely redundant second water purification system.  Of course a responsible person would include fire risk in their calculations on what to do in any situation involving an open flame, including a canister stove for that matter.  I do however find it tiresome that I have to write 30-page treatises on every subject that I post about on this forum to cover every tiny eventuality and exception and equivocation so that I don’t get jumped on by zealots. I try to be pithy now and again.  Sue me.  But since it’s obviously necessary:

I asked that if one is willing to carry tablets as a back up system then why not just use the tablets and forgo the filter?  If you like the great convenience of the filter and only carry a few (very light) tablets as a backup in case the filter spontaneously combusts or something, ok, I get it. Good on ya.  HYOH.  I’m just saying that any sort of water purification failure is rather unlikely, so I don’t bother with a redundant backup system and just plan to boil if I need to in an emergency instead… because it turns out that I have never had to do so, and replacing the expired unused tablets gets tiresome.  And for that matter if the fire hazard was high enough I’d drink some pretty sloppy water untreated rather than die and/or immolate the countryside.

[/EQUIVOCATIONS FOR THE ZEALOTS]

Otherwise, yeah, I haven’t been to the forum for a few months so I’m catching up.  (Army stuff.)  The campfire alarmism seemed worth addressing even at this late date, though.  Not that forest fires aren’t a serious concern, of course, but this was just strange and smelled too strongly of “No, no fires are Very Bad, never ever start a fire!”, which is another example of extremism, and which I prefer to call out wherever I see it.  I mean, I’m LNT too, to an almost fanatical degree, but come on?  Done safely, in an emergency?

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