MSR Hyperflow Microfilter with Modified Cartridge Review

Roger,

How much (clean, filtered) water would you estimate would be required to backflush as recommended by MSR?

Thanks

And I'm sticking with my Sweetwater. Thanks for the great review.

Are other review-collecting sites getting similar responses to the Hyperflow?

I had some problems with it being hard to pump after the first couple of days, but learned that if I pumped it slowly it still worked fine. This is also after quite a bit of abuse as I didn't back flush the filter for the first few days.

After 2 or 3 days, we (meaning me) started pumping only water that we needed right away for drinking or a meal and using purification tablets over night for drinking/cooking water for the next day's start. I like this method as the tablets are very light.

So, it's not perfect, has quirks and is a bit expensive, but it's light/small and if you don't try to force the pumping it works great.

Oh, and we were up in the Sierra and all the water was clear and nice, but not perfect as some streams were very shallow.

Note: just to be clear, I was getting really frustrated with this filter when I finally figured out that applying more force created more resistance…I then reduced the force/speed of the pumping and it worked well, but not as fast as the specs say.

Hi Ken

Old one: '041808' meaning 18-April-2008
New one: '121008' meaning 10-December-2008

Cheers

It's an interesting theory, but having fairly carefully reviewed my notes I don't think so.

I did find that starting the backflushing the first time was slow for the first few strokes, and I am quite willing to accept that air bubbles may have been the problem. Interesting, and thanks for pointing this out. But I tghink they were flushed away after several strokes.

What is revealing is the first filtering cycle, where there was a very noticeable deterioration in ease of pumping as I progressed from bottle 1 to bottle 6. (Bottles are 1.25 L each.) I cannot see that air bubbles could possibly account for this change in resistance while filtering. I was getting an increase in resistance before any backflushing was done.

The second filtering cycle (after the first backflushing) showed the same steady deterioration in ease of pumping as I went from bottle 1 to bottle 6. Again, this is consistent with a steady blocking of the fine pores, not with air bubbles.

I noted:
"Because I knew what to look for, I was able to see a very faint green/brown tinge on the surface of the filter tubes, but it was so faint that a casual user might not see it. It did seem that the same tinge was there before and after the backflushing cycles, meaning that the backflushing process was not able to remove it. This by itself calls into question the effectiveness of the backflushing process for handling typical organic 'stuff' in a water supply."

I do not question the effectiveness of the filter at handling particles at the typical bacteria size. I imagine that if you only ever filtered really clear water the Hyperflow would do a good job. The problem is that the whole design allows typical gloopy organic particles to block up the surface of the tubes, and backflushing does not get them out of the pores.

If MSR put a 15 – 20 micron paper pre-filter before the tubes to handle the gloopy stuff it might make a world of difference – but you would have to change the paper every day.

Beautiful technology, but only for clear water imho.

Cheers

Roger,

Thank you for your response. I agree "error is air" is only a theory that attempts to account for different people's testing experiences. I also perceive increased pumping resistance proportional to both the water clarity and volume processed. I, like you, agree that "this is consistent with a steady blocking of the fine pores". We differ in the conclusion that as a result of the above the Hyperflow is most appropriate for water without "gloopy organic particles" which plug it up. I concluded that clear water is most easily treated by chemical means; it is only opaque water that requires the weight and the effort of a field-cleanable filter such as the Hyperflow, WaterWorks, Katadyn, etc.

I own two other brands of field cleanable filters: a WaterWorks EX Microfilter and a Katadyn Pocket Filter. I only accept the weight and effort of these mechanical filters when I know I will have to frequently treat opaque water for long periods (for example glacial silt rivers or muddy rivers). All three field cleanable filters exhibit a similar degradation pattern from blocking of the fine pores.

Both the WaterWorks and the Katadyn require that I periodically open up the filter and use a stiff brush to scrape away the outer sheath of the ceramic labyrinth element. With the Waterworks and Katadyn, the cleaning procedure always restores the original pumping efficiency. By contrast, the Hyperflow's original pumping efficiency is not restored unless I follow the modified protocol shown under the column entitled Nisley.

In the field, I use the Hyperflow in both gravity feed mode and manual pump mode. The BA Pumphouse gravity water source is 6L and takes approximately 17 minutes with pristine water and only a few more minutes for farm pond quality water. After a farm pond gravity feed operation, the filter definitely requires backflushing. My experience has been that the backflush operation procedure used is the primary determinate of subsequent manual pump pressure required.

I can report similar issues to the updated review by Roger. Although MSR replaced my original filter with a new one at no cost (kudo to MSR for their effort), on a recent backpack I found that the pump output was severely restricted, would work OK if I went very sloooowly, but in no way gives the result that MSR advertises re: flow/output.

I've posted some of my experiences with the Hyperflow on BPL and another site or two. Following is the history of my Hyperflow. I bought it in 2008 when it first came out on the market, and it worked well for a few days then became almost impossible to pump. MSR acknowledged that there was an issue with the first batch of cartridges (as was documented in the review), and replaced mine at no charge. The new one they sent me went about the same way as the first one where it worked for several days then became really hard to pump. So I sent that one back, and they sent me yet another cartridge. The newest cartridge was first used on the most recent trip I took (part of the AT in Vermont), and it clogged up in about 3 days. My buddy, who also has a Hyperflow and has not previously had issues with his, had his clog up after about 3 days on the same trip. It is notable that we both filtered dirty water from multiple sources, in particular we had to filter out of one of the lakes (Griffith).

The filters are usable if one pumps very slowly, but then its only claim to fame is being a few ounces less than its competitors. I appreciate MSR's customer service, but I've pretty much given up on the filter itself. I think I'm going back to my Katadyn Hiker, my Sweetwater or I may even try the one treatment technology I haven't yet tried…UV.