Best way to filter river water?

[Elite]

Hey everyone. So I am planning a float bear hunt here in Alberta Canada and I am wondering what’s the best way to use the river water instead of boiling all of it? I would imagine the water would be dirty looking with spring time now. I have always just used tablets while sheep hunting but can bring some extra weight now so wondering what the options are for good tasting water?


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[phillyfan365]

Sawyer squeeze has been my go to, super light and easy to use. You can either gravity filter or "squeeze" for large amounts or put it directly on your water bottle or hydration pack. Can get pretty slow if water is super silty but a simple back flush of the filter normally solves this issue.

 

[Deplorable77]

I've been using the Katadyn pocket and Katadyn base camp pro for many years without complaints. I use the pump as needed to top of bottles along the route and hang the bag at camp, let gravity do the work of cleaning/purifying 10 liters while I set up camp.
I believe the pump is rated for 12,000 gallons or something crazy like that.

 

[ODB]

Dromedary bag, hang overnight to let sediment settle, filter from the top slowly, drink. Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[AKDoc]

I’m assuming you’ll be camping along the way while floating. If so, it’s great to have a Katadyn Base Camp gravity filter, and set it up to directly fill a clean MSR Dromedary bag (sized for your daily needs) as you make camp each day. I’ve been doing that for the past ten years. Not sure how many days you'll be out, but it's good to have a replacement filter with you.

If the river is muddy or silty that’s a bit of a different story...you'll need an extra bag for dirty water to let it sit overnite as referenced above.

 

[Jbogg]

Another vote for Sawyer Squeeze. I have used both the standard size and the mini. Both work well but I prefer the standard size. It’s a little larger, but much easier/faster to push water through. If temps are to be below freezing at night make sure to toss it in the bottom of your sleeping bag to keep it from freezing.

 

[Meshnasty]

Pretty sure I read about it on rokslide but I bought one of the diesel fuel filter bags for my Katadyn gravity filter. I haven’t had to use it on anything but mountain streams so I’m not sure how it would handle silt. It did keep the midges, nymphs, and random debris out of my filter though.

 

[SWOHTR]

Pretty sure I read about it on rokslide but I bought one of the diesel fuel filter bags for my Katadyn gravity filter. I haven’t had to use it on anything but mountain streams so I’m not sure how it would handle silt. It did keep the midges, nymphs, and random debris out of my filter though.

Did your water taste like diesel?

 

[*zap*]

coffee filters work wonders for filtering larger debris/sediment and can be used a variety of ways....

 

[JoshOR]

Gravity fed filtration is sweet, we use the platypus system. Hands free!

 

[Vandy321]

Dromedary bag, hang overnight to let sediment settle, filter from the top slowly, drink. Lather, rinse, repeat.

OP, the above is a great suggestion regardless of what filter you go with. It will extend filter life by a long ways to let that sediment settle. I use a Katadyn hiker pro, but any of the suggestions in here will work great. If short on time, you can also pre-filter with just a t-shirt into a dirty nalgene and filter from there.

 

[Legend]

Settle for awhile then gravity bag filter.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

Hey everyone. So I am planning a float bear hunt here in Alberta Canada and I am wondering what’s the best way to use the river water instead of boiling all of it? I would imagine the water would be dirty looking with spring time now. I have always just used tablets while sheep hunting but can bring some extra weight now so wondering what the options are for good tasting water?


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Sawyer and a Platypus gravity. Would dip out of river with a gallon jug. My only advice would be to prefilter threw a cloth for sand. Kept having to back flush after every 2-3 gallons due to sand starting to slow flow


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[Wapiti1]

The gravity filter bags are the easiest by far IMO. If you are low on space, there are 3 gallon collapsible buckets out there. Very handy for hauling water and collapse to a couple of inches high.

Jeremy

 

[Meshnasty]

Did your water taste like diesel?

It might have if it was a used filter.

 

[flyingshocker]

By far the best unused while living in Montana were Sawyer products. I like the gravity a little better for some reason, both work well though.

 

[Carrot Farmer]

The simplicity of being able to fill bags and then be free to other thing while back at camp/wherever, all while filtering your water is a god send. Pumping flat out sucks!


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[Mule3006Elk]

Gravity fed filtration is sweet, we use the platypus system. Hands free!

Same. Filter 4L at a time. Once the clean bag is full I fill the dirty bag again so it starts filtering as soon as you start using the water from the clean bag.

 

[JR Greenhorn]

I've been using a First Need XLE pump for several years of Boundary Waters canoe trips. Double-acting pump and Nalgene-compatible is the way to go, and the taste is always great, even from sketchy sources. The advantage of a pump is water on demand, anytime. Also, it's always better to use water from away from shore. Also, in really dirty water you can always backflush with a pump.

A prefilter is definitely worth it--years of side-by-side testing has proven that. The prefilter from the Sweetwater system is great. MSR bought Sweetwater years ago, but now they've discontinued the whole line. I'll need to find something else when I run out of filters. The Sweetwater intake screen was great too. Coffee filters work OK, but are fussy. A dedicated screen/prefilter works better and is way easier.



I also have a Platypus Gravity Works. It's fast without the carbon filter, but does nothing for taste. The carbon filter is really slow and prone to clogging, but removes bad tastes (all taste, of course). The system is good and fairly lightweight for what it is, but my friend bought a heavier Lifestraw gravity filter, and it just works better, anytime we can justify the weight.

Platypus' dirty bags suck, the closure is terrible. The dry bag style (like Lifestraw and Katadyn's gravity systems use) is way better.

 

[actionshooter]

I do a lot of floating and the best way hands down is the gravity filter... I love my sawyer but in the raft space/weight isn't as big an issue.