What water filtration system are you using? Are you happy with it?

[TradLife406]

Steripen and pre filter
Then for camp water I bought an MSR gravity. That thing is a badass game changer for making bulk water in camp! Love it! Obviously not an option if it's freezing.

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[ZachB]

Katadyn Befree with Hydrapak seeker 3L. Attaches directly to it. Best I’ve used.

 

[247 bowwalker]

Platypus 3 liter bladder and a Sawyer squeeze with two 1 liter Sawyer bags for quick on the go dirty water.

 

[Moobthoj707]

Still use my katadyn vario. I usally hunt in group of 3 or more so we only carry one filtration system. Sometime we carry 2. Its bigger heavier, but faster when you have multiple refills to do. Most of them time it stays at camp. We usually camp near water. So i dont have to haul the vario with me all day. Been happy for the last couple of years. i just dont like it when my water source is dirty or muddy. It will clog the ceramic disc and slow the flow a lot until you clean it.

Maybe ill try a katadyn base camp in the future.

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

Likewise, one of the best purchases i ever made

Where did you guys buy this ???

 

[Flydaho]

I use Aqua Mira drops unless I know the water will be turbid, which is rare. With the drops you don't have to worry about filters freezing, batteries dying, and its very low weight per volume of water treated. I haven't used my filters for anything but car camping since I made the switch.

 

[TheRambler]

Where did you guys buy this ???

I bought mine at rei with one of the 20% off coupons. Mainly so that if I regretted it i could return it within a year.

best gear purchase i ever made

 

[kylem]

I am a big fan of my Steripen. Been using it for 2 years now and don't see myself changing from it.

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

I bought mine at rei with one of the 20% off coupons. Mainly so that if I regretted it i could return it within a year.

best gear purchase i ever made

I love REI return policy.

 

[Benjaminwill80]

MSR Guardian here as well. Very easy to pump, good flow rate. Reliable. Like that it back flushes while you pump so no need for maintenance. Only downside is the weight. Considering trying the platypus gravity system this year but trust the guardian so much having a hard time convincing myself to leave it at home. Bought my Guardian at moosejaw.

 

[Jardo]

I have quite a few. Here’s how I rate them:

High Volume- vario
Most sturdy - katadyn pocket
Lightest and compact - sawyer mini
Large camp - platypus gravity
Most fragile - hiker or MSR mini works

My overall favorite is the vario because it is fast and can be used with or without the ceramic filter and it is the only one that has carbon to filter chemicals in case your close to any old mines. Carbon also has the best taste.


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[brettdunn7]

So I’m new to backpacking but did research in a lot of stuff. Never would I buy the MSR Guardian I don’t think. That’s crazy expensive...for me. I have the life straw 1g gravity bag with its 2 stage filter and also a seater mini filter as backup or I may like it better actually. I will carry tablets as backup in case filter fails or something like that.


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[BradArnett]

Probably not a huge help here, but depending on the trip, I use some combo of steripen, Sawyer mini or squeeze, and aqua Mira tabs. Haven't been let down yet with any of them. I do always have 2 available.

 

[snowcamoman]

I've used a lot of them over the years. For light mountain trips, I run the Sawyer mini or squeeze, depending on number of people. For large camps and river floats, I use the Katydyn Basecamp gravity filter. I've had 3 of these over the years and results vary it seems. The first one I had lasted and filtered quickly for years. The second one was good for a year and then would just trickle out water. The last one was the most disappointing and started off strong for the first 5 gallons or so and then came to a screeching halt of a trickle. I think I'm done paying for the Base Camps and will run a couple of Sawyer Squeezes, or bring my Katydyn Pocket Filter and pump. There have been other MSR's as well over the years, but for a quality pump filter, the Pocket Filter has performed flawlessly when weight isn't a concern.

 

[hikenhunt]

I use Aqua Mira drops unless I know the water will be turbid, which is rare. With the drops you don't have to worry about filters freezing, batteries dying, and its very low weight per volume of water treated. I haven't used my filters for anything but car camping since I made the switch.

I used to use tablets/drops, but I hated the wait time, especially if you're nervous about crypto which is a 4 hour wait time

 

[Vance in AK]

My experience with the Katadyn Basecamp is somewhat limited but I'm curious to hear your take. The two I've seen in use worked awesome for the first few days and then slowed to a very slow trickle as the filter plugged up after a few days of use. In both cases it was a group of about 10 people all using it as their main water source so it had a fair amount of water filtering through it. In both cases the owners were never able to get the flow rate back to it's original state no matter how they tried to clean it. Of course you can always buy a replacement filter for like $50 but that gets expensive.

In similar scenarios my Sawyer Squeeze gravity system has always continued to have a good flow rate and a good back flush restores the flow rate pretty quickly if it does start to slow down.

Have you had better luck with your Basecamp? Again, my sample size is three backpacking trips between the two filters but it left me a little scared of relying on that setup.

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We had the same problem taking our youth group on multi day wilderness canoe trips. Take a coffee filter and drape it dowb over the filter element. Put a rubber band around it near the filter base. Works as a prefilter. Change it daily. Does an amazing job. I learned it on some forum 10ish years ago. Probably here! Also works on my most pump filter over the pickup.

 

[FrankAbagnale]

For backpacking my wife and I have always had really good luck with the Sawyer Squeeze. The biggest thing is making sure you have a bag with a wide opening so you can scoop water.

 

[Steve P]

Looking to pick up my first water system, and have looked over many reviews. Are there any that are better in slightly colder temps or are they all mostly equal on that part ?

 

[Bryanboss429]

I have an old PUR hiker that I've been using for 25+ years. I keep maintaining it and replacing hoses and the filter and it works great. I did try a couple different Sawyer and didn't really care for them. Some buddies keep trying to get me to try a different set up, but it works too well for my needs. I do carry MSR tabs as a back up.

 

[Wiscgunner]

Looking to pick up my first water system, and have looked over many reviews. Are there any that are better in slightly colder temps or are they all mostly equal on that part ?

If you are plannign to be below freezing then you need to keep most filters warm. I keep my HyroBlue Versa in a small plastic bag inside my shirt against my body during the day (not in a pocket) and it wroks very well to keep it from freezing and getting damaged. I have just started using a passport pouch inside my shirt so I don't accidentally loose my filter if I untuck my shirt to cool off on a harder hike. At night I keep in inside my sleeping bag to avoid freezing.

I always bring tablets as chemical treatment of your water may be affected (time) by colder temperature it will not be "broken" like a filter but chemical treatment does not clean your water so a pre-filter is oftern desired. Many use coffee filters or microfiber diesel filters.