Water Filters

[bartcanoe]

Kadbow,

Do you use a pump filter or gravity?  Does one provide better filtration than the other?

[Pat B]

I bought a Katadyne before my first trip to Colorado in '06 and used it on that and my second rip 4 years later. I did buy a new filter for each trip because I worried about the 4 year delay in use. I pumped water for all of our uses for both trips. It only took a few minutes each day.

[Pat B]

[lt-m-grow]

Originally posted by kadbow:
I did water treatment for a living and it made me a little more paranoid.  I use a filter and then add unscented Clorox (8 drops/gal or 2 drops/qt) and let sit for 30 minutes.  This is basically what 90% of the municipalities do in Colorado.  I personally would not trust a steripen.  Filter then a steripen would be good, the UV light works on very clear water.

I appreciate this option and respect your background, but disagree on the steripen.   Lot's of folks have used it all over the world and have had success.  That is really all that matters as there is no such thing as perfect.  I want ease of use, a good taste, and not get sick.  Pretty simple for me.

Regarding filtering for the sake of "dirty" water.  I am selective in where I pick out my water supply  to start with and only use water that is visibly clear and flowing.  

I used to hunt in ID over a pond that we call the zoo because so many different animals visit it.  I have seen animals do stuff in water that would would make you quit drinking.  So no ponds or small lakes are viable water for me.  I just move on.

[kadbow]

I use a pump filter.  The steripen needs clear water to work.  The UV light can't penetrate solids.  They will work but not for all conditions.  Like I said, working in the field made me paranoid.  I am not trying to tell you what to do, I am telling you what I do.  I grew up drinking straight out of streams and never got sick.

[KSdan]

kadbow- I am no expert, and not promoting one over another (I really know very little)- however, the steripen does have amazing reviews from literally all around the world being used in awful circumstances that include muddy/filthy/waste water.  

Do you know of some information warning of steripen research/failure?

I would be curious the response if this were asked on an international backpacking site.

Thanks. .

[mikieg]

I chose the MSR mini worx. I have used it to supply many a boyscout in the field. The thing I really like about it is the fact that the threads are nalgene type. This means that you can screw the filter directly to your water bottles. No transfer needed.
I also use the USMC issue Source hydration carrier. It too has a nalgene fill port. Direct fill!
This will make perfect clean and clear non smelling water. If you fear the bacteria bug types I use the MSR Miox for this.
Check it out. Its really quite a system.

[EHK]

I have an MSR minworks and a Katdyn hiker.  I  love the hiker.  It's not the fastest pump out there but it does work and I don't need to worry about bateries dying on me if I get stuck like with some of the newer pens.  Spent 7 days in the woods this past fall with my Hiker and it worked like a champ.  I do carry iodine tabs as backup.

[bowhunter@54]

I also use both the msr mini works and the katdyn hiker .One thing I do if the water is not very clear and even muddy water I wrap a rubber band around a rag at the end in the water and when it really slows down take it a swish the rag around ant start pumping again  less clean up and filters last longer

[TURKEYFOOTGIRL]

My Katadyn various pro was awesome for a while. Took it on a back country hunt and it didn't work. Changed gaskets and have had several people look at it and still nothing.
I bought a MSR to replace it and last year it took 30 minutes of straight pumping to fill up a quart. Heading to Alaska this fall and need to fix one of these?

[Passage]

Interested to know if anyone has tried the Platypus Gravity Water filter and can provide feedback/opinion versus pump filters?  Thanks.

[KSdan]

Not the Platypus- but we did use the Katadyn gravity in AK last fall.  Sure was nice compared to pump system.  Fill up the bag, hang it up, let it drain out. Too easy.  And good reviews! Also check out Sawyer.

Dan in KS

[gedman59]

If u try the Sawyer gravity system, u will never pump again.

[meathead]

The msr gravity filter works great too.

[LV2HUNT]

I used the Steripen while hiking/hunting the Nepali Coast. I estimate that I treated around 30 gallons of stream water without any ill effects. I know very little about water treatment but my research indicated that there was bad stuff that could get through even the smallest of filters. When I was on my way out I treated some water for a couple that was using iodine tablets and they were very impressed with the Steripen as was I. I brought coffee filters to deal with particulate matter before treatment but never used them. I never had an instance on the trip where the first treatment did not successfully complete (according to their process of a quick stir and pressing the button for the required time). As I said though, I am a novice and consider not getting sick to be success!