Lightweight water systems in 2025

[BBob]

What drops or tabs are yall using that don’t taste nasty? I’ve tried some drops before, can’t remember the brand. I couldn’t get over the taste and decided to just put up with the weight of my pump. * edited to add the tabs I used. These are the only ones I’ve tried.

Aquamira drops or Katadyn tabs

 

[mtnbound]

What drops or tabs are yall using that don’t taste nasty? I’ve tried some drops before, can’t remember the brand. I couldn’t get over the taste and decided to just put up with the weight of my pump. * edited to add the tabs I used. These are the only ones I’ve tried.

Just be aware that those tabs are not effective with Crypto. You will want to use the chlorine-based ones.

 

[vladkgb]

Vargo bot HD (titanium nalgene) - replaces my 32oz nalgene and cook pot - I run this in the nalgene side pocket of my bag with a mixed drink during the day.

3L bladder with quick connect - main water source

Befree filter on 3L hydrapak with quick connect - I'll switch to the hydrapak filter next season because I heard good things.

I'll squeeze the filtered hydrapak directly into my bladder using the quick connect to refill. And have extra water in the hydrapak for cooking dinner and hot drinks.

The vargo bot is 1L, so I can boil enough water to rehydrate my meal and make coffee or apple cider. During the day I can use it for supplements like electrolyte powders.

In freezing temps I'm carrying the vargo bot with a warm beverage in the side pocket, and a lightweight nalgene in an insulated cozy inside my bag.

 

[longrangelead]

I have 2, 3 and 4L Hydrapaks and a Katadyn filter. The size I take depends on how much water I need to carry and how far from the source I'm going.
I'm buying a 10L for a camp reservoir for a potentially dry hunt if there isn't any alpine springs this year.

I prefer using Smart Water bottles in my pack. they're tough, cheap to replace and less likely to get a hole over several days.

I have the Hardside drink tube for the Smart bottle too.

I also found the little bottle connector used to make a "tornado in a bottle" school project also connects the Smart bottle and filter. I hang them up and do something else till the bottle is full.

I also carry tablets as backup.

 

[Hussar]

Either a BeFree 1 liter bottle, or the 3 liter gravity setup and then I have aquatabs as a backup in my bino harness.

If I'm going to be moving around a lot, the 1 liter stays in my pack. If we're setting up a base camp, I'm bringing the 3L. It works great to filter and fill water bottles at the source and then bring 3L back to camp to cook with or ready to top off water bottles.

 

[realunlucky]

I had Aron Snyder on the podcast and he shares why tablets are his preferred water treatment- https://www.rokslide.com/tt61-gear-and-skills-for-success-with-aron-snyder/

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[eamyrick]

Seems like the soft bottles/bladders are largely preferred, with many still carrying a hard bottle of some sort for drinks or convenience etc.

Filters definitely seem to be more commonplace than tablets or drops of any kind.

I think @eamyrick has definitely given me the confidence to just go ahead and try tabs only on my next trip. It will be October so not having to worry about freezing a filter is a plus and the water where I’ll go is mostly nice clear streams, so not much sediment to worry about filtering out anyway.

I do think the drops are easier than the tabs because cutting the tab packs open is a pain. If I remember correctly the drops also had a shorter time. I still keep tabs in my emergency kit.

 

[TCUHunter34]

I have always carried a nalgene, a 2liter platypus and an MSR pump filter.

This year I’ll be doing tabs for the platypus and replacing the nalgene with a lifestraw go for only a few ounces more. Solid weight savings and packed size as well with fully filtered water on both options.

 

[Macintosh]

For you guys not using drops/tabs, how are you dealing with freezing temps? Probably 50% of my use is well below freezing. I was careful to keep it dry, but apparently I killed my Befree last hunting season.

 

[BBob]

I was careful to keep it dry, but apparently I killed my Befree last hunting season.

For clarity what happened to it? How did it fail?

FWIW you need to keep that type filter wet. If it dries out completely it may not flow well until you re-wet it and let it soak which might take hours to get it back to to flowing properly. If it's freezing out I put it (filter & 1L flask) in a small stuffsack with my phone and other small items that I put inside my bag at night.

 

[Macintosh]

At the risk of taking this thread off topic…hope not.

I dont know. I had understood that the filaments inside would freeze, and if there was water inside it would break them and render it unusable. I carried it for much of the fall hunting season last year, mostly for day trips rather than overnights, but it was below freezing for most of the latter part of the season. When I went to use the filter this spring, it would not pump water hardly at all. I had to squeeze it so hard that water was squirting out the lid, more so than it was through the filament and the nozzle. I had only pumped less than a dozen liters thru it. I was told that it wasn’t just freezing water inside that was a problem, that the filament itself became very brittle in cold weather, and would break. So, while I love this filter for warm weather, and I really don’t like the idea of having to wait a couple hours to drink water that I’ve just chemically treated, nor to lug around a heavy and bulky pump, I don’t know what a good solution is if the water filter is going to be exposed to freezing temperatures for most of its life. Considering one of those UV doohickeys, but I’m curious what other folks are doing to deal with this.

 

[BBob]

If you let it dry out between seasons that’s likely the reason it wouldn’t flow rather than it froze at some point. If there’s a downside to these filters it’s you can’t let them dry out nor can you let them freeze. The one time I forgot and let one dry out and wouldn’t flow I revived it by filling the flask with water and let it soak overnight.

I don’t think this added discussion is a derail, just info people should be aware of.

Also: I carry Katadyn tabs as my backup in the field and Aquamira drops in the truck kit.

 

[Woodman22]

I use nalgenes with the small lids and a sawyer purifier in my pack

 

[mtnbound]

My filter dries out after every use, and I have had no issues with the Hydrapack filter not flowing after it dries out. I have never had to soak it to get it to flow. In freezing temps, I keep the filter in a ziploc bag in a stash pocket inside my jacket. I also used a Steri-pen for years, and they are effective, but I prefer the Hydrapack filter.