Gravity water filters - school me

[Desk Jockey]

So I was hiking with a guy that had one. I was using a steri pen and I have to say I was more than a bit jealous of his katadyn be free. Seemed to put out a good volume of water with no effort. Very handy around camp.

I have done the pump thing and iodine before. I like the steripen but the swirling thing sucks when treating big volumes for camp water.

So what are thoughts and experiences with gravity filters?

 

[JMF]

Love my platypus gravity. Don't let them freeze though, keep the steri as backup.

 

[Bl704]

I love mine. Having said that...

Try to start with the clearest water possible to prolong filter life.

After they start filtering "burp" the air out of the lines by raising the clean bag above the dirty.

They do have some bulk. You can reduce the bulkiness a bit if you filter directly into your water bladder.

Remember to back wash the filter to try to minimize sediment/debris buildup.

Don't let filter freeze.

I also try to shake my filter out after use...

 

[GotDraw?]

There have been a lot of threads on this site with seriously good information in them. If you haven't already done so, try using the search tool a bit. Perhaps start with terms like:

Sawyer Gravity Filter
or
Platypus Gravity Filter

JL

 

[Napperm4]

Camping Water Filter
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...com/forums/showpost.php?p=940468&share_type=t


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[oldgoat]

Steri-pen has a bulk water bladder system now, think it's like 4L at a shot if the freezing thing bothers you like it does me

 

[JollyRoger]

I built my own with a Sawyer filter, MSR dromedary bag and a hose kit for an MSR bladder.

I connected the hose to the bag which I fill with dirty water. I cut the hose a few inches down and connected the filter. Then used the rest of the hose on the clean side of the filter. It’s got an on/off valve for easy use.

I like it over a pump as I can collect unfiltered water anywhere, but do the filtering away from the mosquitos (summer time problem). Plus I can do other things while it’s working. Also I could run it like a regular pack bladder if needed.

So far it’s worked great. Definitely take care of any filter to keep it clean and flowing easily


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[AKDoc]

I prefer having a gravity fed filter with the Steripen as a back-up.

Pump filters are not my first choice.

For extended base-camp hunts I use a Katadyn Base Camp, and it has done me well over the years. I agree that it is nice to fill the gravity bag, and then go do something else...as opposed to "wanding" quart after quart with the Steripen!

Keep in mind that the gravity filters do not work with below freezing ambient temperatures.

 

[Mac7]

Interested in this. Probably time to move on from the katadyn hiker when more water is needed.

 

[lkwoolsey]

I've used just about everything over the years, and I've gotta say, I love the Platypus Gravity that I use now. Sure, you can't let it freeze, but I just toss it in my sleeping bag at night (in a little dry bag) and it doesn't freeze.
It weighs less than my old MSR filter, and it filters way more water than the steripens (well, it is easier, just set it up and let it go.)
I'm a fan of them. I haven't had any issues with the one I've got, and Ive had it about a year and a half now.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I pulled the trigger on the platypus gravity works.

Platypus GravityWorks Water Filter System - 4 Liter at REI

After a couple of trips to the gear stores I seemed to like it better. 4 liters is a good capacity for two people. The inline filter was appealing although I don’t know that it really matters vs the other designs to be honest.

I may try to rig it so I can use an MSR drom bag as my clean resivoir.

Speaking of MsR. They have a versio; that combines their trail shot filter. So you have a gravity option and a small hand pump in one. Neat set up. If they had offered a 4L version I might have gone that way.

I plan to use the steripen with iodine as a backup for solo. Gravity filter will be for when I have company.