Water treatment filter msa (Hyperflow or sweetwater)

[pyroducksx3]

So I am picking up my filter and I am looking at the MSA hyperflow or sweetwater. I looked into the katadyn pro hiker but heard that some people had been having issues with them breaking, something pushing through a gasket or something. Plus I can get a good price on msr. I will using the filter for mostly short trips 2 people to around 4 days. I will be using the msr dromlite for my pack and a reg drom for my base camp water supply. Any input would be appreciated. Was also curious if it is possible to filter the water and pump it into my dromlite though the drinking tube? I thought I had heard of people doing this. Thank you

 

[Lawnboi]

Dont have any experience with the sweetwater or hyperflow, but i do use a MSR miniworks. I like it cause its fully field maintainable but it is a bit heavier.

You can get a quick disconnect from brands like platypus and camelbak to do like your saying with filling through the drinking tube. Simply replace the end of your hose with the quick disconnect and your good to go. I have a few camelbak QDs and i like them alot. But i like not having to deal with hoses anymore and the miniworks screws directly onto the drom bags. I also believe the hyperflow will screw directly onto the drom bladders.

 

[gil_wy]

I have the sweetwater and it's been a good filter... Tends to clog fairly quickly and I ended the season using my katadyn hiker pro... Seems less likely to clog and pump slow... Gonna also be looking at the hyperflow this season...

 

[ohhiitznik]

Ive got a miniwirks filter.... Nice piece.

 

[philw]

The Hyperflow is compatible with the MSR Dromedary bags and has a fitting that's basically the same as the Dromedary (or Drom-lite) cap; the filter snaps into the fitting, which screws onto the bag. It's easier to do than to explain, works great, as does the Hyperflow, as long as you don't mind regular backflushing of the filter. IMO it's worth the trouble to get the light weight and high flow rates.

 

[Hike&Hunt]

I have used the msr hyper, that thing is a piece of crap. Sure, the specs look good in the store what they dont say is that you will need to backflush it every 2 liters to depend on it for an extended trip. I had 2 of them plus an additional filter. I exchanged the first at REI after a year thinking I had a defective model, then tried another filter after the second one plugged up. As it turns out, the design is defective not just the 2 I had. If you are looking for a good upper body workout and lots of time spent sitting by the water, this is the filter for you!

My primary source of supply when bowhunting is not more than 18" wide and 6" deep, perhaps they would work better in a big creek. I exchanged the second one for a sawyer gravity system, now it takes a few minutes to fill some bags, hang it up and forget it.

 

[philw]

That has not been my experience, I've used mine on 10-12 multi-day trips. Some of my buddies have gone out and bought one after seeing mine in the field. I do stay away from turbid water though.

The filter elements were not right when they first came out, but MSR fixed that problem and sent me a replacement free of charge.

 

[gil_wy]

phil, over those 10-12 days what would you say the flow rate decreased to? I know all of them do.... My Sweetwater would be roughly half the flow a clean filter would have after about 10 days... My Hiker Pro would lose 25-30% flow over that same time period... Any guesses on Hyperflow?

 

[6x6]

I don't know if this is within the realm of possibility, but, for what it's worth, I switched from a ceramic filter (MSR) four years ago to a Steripen. It's lighter (4oz), no filter to worry about, kills everything, and has been great to use. Just throwing another option out there if you are interested.

 

[Lawnboi]

They all lose flow rate, BUT thats why i like the miniworks. When it gets tough to pump simply take out the ceramic element and scrub it with the pad msr provides. Then its pumping like new again.

I also like the fact that you can backflush the hyperflow. IMO better than the katadyn where once its clogged your pretty much screwed.

 

[Matt Cashell]

Man, I really like the steripen, but I am looking more and more at the Sawyer squeeze filter. That looks even more convenient. No batteries. A million gallons on the filter, backflushable. Inexpensive. Hard to find a downside. Might have to give it a whirl.

 

[philw]

Gil, when it gets down to about half (or thereabouts) of the original flow rate I backflush, and then it's right back to the original flow rate. If I'm filtering for 1-2 people, I'd backflush about every third or fourth day, depending on the turbidity of the water.

 

[Broken Compass]

I went to the store with the full intention of buying a hyperflow based on specs, left with the miniworks.
The person helping me explained that while the hyperflow might be the fastest filtering system they had (when thry first came out). Once it got dirty, no matter how well you cleaned it, it would never be that fast again.
Plus the military uses the miniworks, good enough for me.
I should add I have not looked into water purification for a couple years so this info may not be true now.
How does a steripen work? Do you have to wait a while before you can use the water?

 

[6x6]

The Steripen uses UVC light so it is not harmful to eyes. You put the bulb in the water, water sensors turn the light on, and you stir for up to 1.5 minutes for 1L of water. Light goes off, you get a verification LED light, and it's good to go. It kills everything, and you don't have to worry about clogged filters. I have the adventurer model, and it has been great for the past three years. Mine weighs 4 oz. The new model this year weighs 2.6 oz.

 

[Aron Snyder]

The Hyperflow is probably the worst filter on the market today.

I did a review/article on several filters for Outdoorlife and the Hyperflow was at the bottom of the barrel.

It's a hollow core fiber filter and when a filter like that freezes it becomes useless. You will also find the need to backflow the system constantly when filtering dirty water.

I would look at a more tried and true filter for sure!

On another note; any of the MSR filters will have the same attachment options as the Hyperflow. That means they all wll hook up to a DD bladder without issue. You may need to purchase the attachment asperity

 

[Brandon Pattison]

For those wondering...

http://survival.outdoorlife.com/pho.../02/water-filter-test?photo=0#node-1001341055

 

[bearguide]

i agree with aron , i have a hyperflo and it clogs constantly even with good clear water/ i really like my katadyne hiker it lasts for a long time without clogging / multiple seasons/ and keeps a high flow rate.

 

[pyroducksx3]

I switched from the pump filter idea and Im going the sawyer route now.

 

[outdoor hunter]

I use Seychelle. Best water filter I've ever used. I can only find em at the annual sportsmen show or online though.

 

[philw]

I always enjoy logging onto a website like this one and learning that a piece of gear I've been using is a total POS. LOL.

I guess like everything else, it all boils down to how you're going to use a particular piece of gear, what's important to you, and what trade-offs you're willing to live with. I will admit to never having done a review on the hyperflow, but I have used one for several seasons without seeing any of the problems mentioned on this thread.

I don't doubt that it clogs with dirty water, but I can't remember the last time I've had to filter dirty water in the Colorado high country where I hike, hunt and fish so that hasn't been a problem for me. If it ever becomes a problem, I've always got some PA Plus tabs on hand, so I won't need to run dirty water through the filter.

Likewise, I don't doubt that it's useless when frozen, but I will admit to never having frozen a filter. In the spring, summer, and early seasons it hasn't been a problem to keep it from freezing, and later on in late October/November I'm normally melting snow on a K-stove so freezing just hasn't been a problem.

It does need to be backflushed, but I can filter 6-8 liters and then backflush (not needed every day) in the same time it takes to filter 4 liter with other filters I've used so I'm OK with that too.

Maybe I'm just lucky.