Water Filter Questions

sawyer squeeze – never made the move to a mini. looking at the befree but waiting a little longer for more reports on flow rate degradation. I love the weight of it though. May try it on an upcoming trip.

The Katadyn BeFree looks promising. So far, ive only used it on a couple weekend trips, but other BPLers have tested it more thoroughly.

For me, the appeal is that it (so far) works well as a drink-on-the go filter while hiking and a gravity filter at camp. I’m using it with a Hydrapak 750ml soft flask while hiking, and with a 3L Seeker bottle for in-camp use. Total weight of two bottles, filter, and a strap to hang the bottle is around 7 oz.

We’ll see how it turns out long term and on longer trips, but so far, so good.

Your Katadyn Hiker Pro is a simple, reliable product, but carrying two filters seems like overkill.  If you needed a backup, you could always toss in a few foil-sealed tablets (MSR and Katadyn both make them), or bring water to a boil to purify it.  The Hiker Pro is also tad heavier than many things on the market now.

I really like the Platypus 2-liter Gravity system:  it filters water quickly, is relatively lightweight (critical components weigh 7.2 oz), is easy to backflush, and makes a nice handwashing station when hung from a tree branch.  It is my go-to filter now for both solo trips and group trips. I am also using the new Katadyn BeFree for drinking on the go, and have half a dozen Katadyn MicroPur tablets in my emergency kit.  So many good options!

By the way, you can also use a gravity filter to fill a hydration bladder without removing it from the pack, by splicing in a quick fill adapter to the hydration tube. The female part should be on the tube that goes to the bladder, and one male part on the other half of the drinking tube, and another male adapter on a tube coming from the filter. (Presumably, this is the same setup you’ve got for your Hiker Pro).

You can filler the bladder without removing it from the bag, but if your pack is stuffed, ther might be too much pressure on the bladder for water to flow into it. I sometimes had to remove a few items to get this to work.

To use this with a BeFree, you can use the Sawyer Fast Fill Adapter. It includes a female adapter, two males, and another adapter that screws onto a 28mm threaded opening like the BeFree (the same opening on most plastic soda and water bottles).

I no longer use a hydration bladder while hiking, so I haven’t tested this with the BeFree, but I do use that Sawyer adapter set to attach a short section of tubing, along with a shut off clamp, so I suspend the Seeker and BeFree and use it for hand washing as Jenny described.

I second her suggestion of tablets as backup. Don’t do like I did, which was was not being enough; a had to cut a week trip short by two days because my primary method (Steripen) failed and I only brought a few tablets. I don’t know if I was stupid light or just stupid, but I won’t make that mistake again.

I’m happy with the Sawyer Mini.

I’ve had it out for at least 30 nights of backpacking in addition to many canyoneering trips.  Could it be faster?  Sure.  But I haven’t had any trouble with it in the field. And I can backflush with a mini syringe I carry in my first aid kit for wound irrigation, so no need for the big Sawyer syringe.

@Mark

You do not say how big your group is or how long you are going out for. When it is just me, for one or more nights, I use AquaMira drops or Chlorine Dioxide pills.  When I go out for longer trips or with a buddy, I take a 2 liter Platypus Gravity Filter.

How is the water clarity, tannins, etc. where you hike?

Water can vary, if I stay closer to home, its clear springs, but last week, I was backpacking around a lake that had several beaver dams and good water filtration was a must.

Usually, its just my son and I that are hiking.  I had a sawyer with me this past summer out in Zion, and was very disappointed with the performance.  When we were hiking the subway, it took quite awhile to get a couple of liters of water in my hydration bladder.

+1 on Wisner’s and Bruce’s comments. For shorter trips, it’s hard to beat the weight, simplicity and speed of using daily pre-mixed Aquamira. For longer trips, I prefer filters to preserve the water’s natural taste and minimize chlorine intake.

To make the Sawyer Mini faster and easier to use, you can rig a gravity system to the side of your backpack so you can filter while you’re hiking. If there’s a deep pool or strong running water, you can fill up the bladder in seconds, rig the gravity system on your pack and be hiking again in just a minute or two at most. And the extra parts and pieces only add up to an extra two ounces.

Below are photos of the system on a table and also strapped to the side of my GG Gorilla packed tall (with gear and BV500 canister inside). After filling up the bladder, I attach the filter assembly and tighten the hose clamp. Next I slide the bladder and filter down through the side straps of the backpack and tighten them up. The bladder is then clipped to the pack top via the chord, the male and female quick connect fittings and pushed together, and then the hose clamp is opened. After 15 minutes or so of hiking, I’ll stop for a moment, close the hose clamp, and disconnect the quick connect fittings. I simply keep the Male quick connect adapter on the bottle as a cap while drinking on the trail (It won’t spill unless you turn your pack upside down).

If you have a smaller, shorter or less full backpack, the system may need to hang at an angle across the back of your backpack to keep it from kinking. A pack with side compression straps really helps keep the system aligned and kink-free. You can also reduce the length of the system by using a 700mL Aquafina bottle and the Sawyer 700mL bladder (Aquafina bottles are shorter and fatter than Smartwater bottles).

For me, it’s a gravity setup all the time.  The Mini works, but is too hard to squeeze. The Squeeze is much easier to squeeze, but why when a gravity setup is barely more weight and infinitely less effort.

A nice discussion and some innovative MYOG gravity setups (including my own) have been posted here.

Nice setup…Thanks, I am going to look into that

Another vote for the Sawyer Mini’s. However, as some allude to, the Sawyer filters are prone to be hit or miss… It’s a good idea to back flush them before storage, and then checking it again before heading out with them.

After my Sawyer had been in storage a while, running a vinegar/water solution through it helps it run more quickly. I think I came across this tip here on BPL, and I’ve found if back flushing doesn’t help, this increases the flow rate. It must dissolve built up minerals. I make it part of my pre-trip routine.

This should also work on other hollow fiber membrane filters, like the BeFree.

My post trip routine includes running a bleach/water solution through the filter.