What is you opinion of the Grayl water filtration system for back country?

[ARhunter]

I have a couple planned trips this year. One to the back country to hunt mule deer the second to Thailand and was considering taking the grill on both trips. Has anyone had any experience and if so what are your thoughts on that particular filtration system?

 

[Drenalin]

I love mine, even though it's a fair bit heavier than a lot of other options. Super simple and less concern about the filter freezing.

 

[T_Widdy]

They plug up very easily with any small amount of sand, bring lots of spare filters.

 

[scottbot]

The titanium one sucks for boiling water and takes 5x as long as a regular jet boil. I will switch away from it before my next out of state elk hunt.

 

[Legend]

Had to Google it so no experience. I can't think of a reason why I would choose that system for the backcountry.

Might work ok for Thailand. If you are filling at a faucet and just need a small amount of water.

Backcountry you need to produce lots of volume when you find a good source. I choose a katadyn hiker or if I know the country a platupus gravity bag. I need gallons of water so I can have a dry camp at the top.

 

[Speaks]

They are fine but I have generally preferred a sawyer with a soft bottle.

 

[WyldGoose]

Be careful relying on the Grayl. They are completely dependent on the O-ring to seal out the dirty water. Any tiny piece of debris can compromise that seal. And on the titanium version, if you dent the bottle at all it’s done, the O-ring won’t create a seal.

Having said that, I have one but typically use it for front country travel, staying in hotels and filtering tap water.

 

[ARhunter]

Wow, glad I asked. Thank you all for all the input. Things I would not have thought of.

 

[justinspicher]

My buddy had one for the short section of the CO trail we did last August. It was heavy and clogged pretty easily. We used my hydrapak filter for the majority of the trip.

 

[TomJoad]

I started using one extensively in later fall hunts because of claims around freezing not compromising the filter and getting tired of sleeping with my filters nightly. I agree with the others on challenges around weight, o-ring liability and how easy it is to clog the filters. I retired this system last year and went back to my platypus gravity system. The main considerations for me were weight, size and capacity. I like being able to easily filter 4L of water in one go for spike camp if I’m not near a stream. I’m back to using the platy year round and cuddling with it on the cold nights.

 

[Primal-Understanding]

Ive used one the past couple years and have never had any issues with it. It does get harder to filter as time goes on but just like any filter - it needs to be replaced.

It is on the heavier side but you also get the ability to mix up drink powders in it.

Ive liked mine overall.

 

[ball151]

I've been using mine for the past couple years as well, and have not had any issues with it. I've used it for western hunting and Alaska hunting without any issues. It also doubles as a water bottle. The concern over the o-ring isn't a concern for cross-contamination, as the water in the outer bottle can't get into the inner filtered bottle, but you may lose the seal to actually force the water through the filter and into the inner bottle...if that makes sense. Other than that, it's been pretty bombproof for me, no issues.