Recommend a Buy Once Cry Once Water Filter

[Marcus]

I want to upgrade my water filter and am willing to do a BOCO purchase if necessary. I currently have a bag filter that clogs quickly and is tough to adequately back flush in the field. I’m often in the Los Padres back country and have clean-ish water available to me but it also has a lot of dissolved minerals if that changes anything.

-I dont want a Squeeze filter or garvity filter,  Must be a pump

-I am willing to accept a heavy filter (~14-18oz is ok if needed)

-It needs to be a surface loading filter that can be easily cleaned when clogged (like a Mini Works EX ceramic filter), be auto-backflushing (like the Guardian) or be field back-flushable with no extra tools needed.

-Carbon filter (mostly for taste) is preferred

Im considering something like a MSR Mini Works EX or Guardian, or something along those lines. I know the guardian is overkill for most places, but I just want a filter that works every time, almost forever. I had good luck with a friend’s Mini Works EX – it clogged after a couple liters of water but was easy enough to clean.

Can someone comment how well the Guardian auto-back flush feature works? With .1 micron pore size does the filter actually last a thousand gallons?

So, for a pump style filter, what do you like?

[Dean F.]

The design has probably changed, but I will say that the only time I used a MiniWorks (or essentially identical MSR product) ages ago I managed to snap off the pump handle.  So that sort of speaks against durability.  As do ceramic filters in general- you can crack them.

It’s been a few years since I really looked at the state of the market, but at least a few years ago there really was no perfect solution.  You have to pick your poison.  But maybe someone else has a good idea for one that will meet your criteria- I’m just not hip to the non-UL options any more.

For that matter, I’m pretty sure that I was making unreasonable demands of the filter whose handle I broke, so the MiniWorks would probably be fine, if you are willing to coddle the ceramic filter.

[Steve Thompson]

I’ll put a plug in for the Mini-works which I’ve used to filter a variety of sediment laden (Grand Canyon), Algae laden spring tank (Superstitions), and Muddy Seeps (Mazatzal). Same body for 15 years, 3 ceramic elements.  No fails. Easy enough to dissemble and scrub the element in the field.

[Rex Sanders]

I hauled one of these Katadyn ceramic “pocket filters” around for many years on whitewater rafting trips, as backup to schlepping large jugs of fresh water plus Clorox.

https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/470-8013618-katadyn-pocket_usa

You can clean the ceramic filter relatively easily many times. A very big advantage when forced to filter silty water, like after storms. Before disposable filters came along, these were almost the only decent filter game in town.

But they can break if you drop them (mine never broke, and I wasn’t gentle). They don’t have a carbon filter, easy to add one. Heavy and expensive. Sold mine to a Grand Canyon river guide a few years ago.

Here’s Outdoor Gear Lab’s review:
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/backpacking-water-filter/katadyn-pocket

Yes, they are still available, just not from REI. REI seems to be dropping lots of long-time product listings.

— Rex

[Dave Heiss]

I use a Sweetwater pump filter which has never failed me in use for over 10 years. I’m still on the original filter cartridge, which you only need to clean (with a bottlebrush-style brush that comes with the filter) when the pump flow gets slow/restricted. I think they’re still available.

Weight is about 11-12 oz.

[Todd T]

MiniWorks all the way.  Its big flaw is weight, but you don’t care about that.  I’ve had mine so clogged I could barely pump the handle at all, but 30 seconds with the little brillo pad and it was completely back to normal.

I’ve had two Sweetwaters, both of which blew a seal and started leaking around the top plunger within the first three or four trips.

[Kyler B]

Yea I broke a sweet water pretty quickly. I think I over pressured it, be careful.

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