What is the best all around water filter?

hi, what is the best all around water filter? What will last a long time and not really flimsy, it can also take a good amount of abuse, and reasonably light weight. And also is not too crazy expensive.

I've owned three different filters. The Sweetwater was given away (to somebody I don't like <g>.) The MSR Miniworks is good, and can be field-stripped and cleaned, but it required cleaning after every few liters. The Pur Hiker (now the Katadyn Hiker) is the easiest to use of the three, pumps quickly, and doesn't clog. It's also reasonably light. It's what we use when we go on family hikes.

thanks a lot. i will look into those

I also recommend the Katadyn Hiker. I've used it for a couple of years now with no problems. I've been tempted to get something a bit more lightweight, but this one works so well that I can't justify the purchase of another. And it's not like it's all that heavy anyway.

The Katadyn Hiker pumps more easily and rapidly than most other filters, mainly because it uses a fiberglass and charcoal filter element that needs to be replaced after about 80-100 gallons, depending on how much sediment was in the water you pumped. The replacement filters are not cheap.

Still, it is the one I use. I like it. People with ceramic-element filters sometimes watch me pumping two liters in about four minutes and turn green with envy. I feel their pain.

I also use the Hiker but when I need to replace the filter am going to look at the ULA gravity filter. It uses a hiker filter in a bag for gravity feed, weighs only 8 oz and costs only a little more than the filter by itself.

Big fan of the ULA-Equipment "Amigo Pro" gravity filter here. It weighs less than pump filters, and, guess what, no pumping!

thank you to everyone who has helped me. But I made a decision. I went with the Katadyn Hiker Pro. I also bought A LOT of other things. I am now ready to go backpacking. THANKS AGAIN

For what it's worth, that's the same filter used in the ULA Amigo Pro gravity filter. I suspect that with a little ingenuity you could rig up your own gravity filter using the your pump filter!

Enjoy

It's only $10 more than the filter element. I already have the Hiker Pro but I'm going to pick this up to try a gravity filter, even if I don't like it I'll have a backup filter element and just be out $10.

My main problem with all filters is “how do you know it’s working?”
If it cracked, how would you know?

Thus, that’s why I have stuck to First Need. You run blue-dyed water through it. If it comes out clear, it’s still working.

This test fails with all ceramic filters and, so far, every other charcoal filter I’ve tried (like katadyn hiker and hiker pro).

Charcoal filters are supposed to block organic masses/organisms, so the dye test should work.

Also, there are soooo many parts to look after and tubes to be kept separated (for contamination purposes) with the Hiker Pro that it made the First Need soooo much more enjoyable to use. I.e., First Need is extremely simple to use. As an added bonus, First Need will take out the viruses also.

Just more things to think about…

-Barry

Well, that's kinda misleading on First Need's part. Charcoal adsorbs organic chemical constituents in water (such as dye) but it has no effect on cysts or bacteria or viruses (unless it's been formed into a mechanical filter element, e.g., by sintering it into a porous block--IIRC Safewater Anywhere used to do this). The charcoal added to typical filter elements that have it is composed of loose granules that you can hear when shaking the filter element. Examples are Katadyn Hiker and MSR Sweetwater. This carbon will reduce organic chemials in water but is unlikely to eliminate them because you need a lot of charcoal and appropriately low flow rates for complete removal of organics. In typical filters, the job of removing biological constituents goes to the filter fabric, ceramic element, or other physical filter media such as the hollow fiber filters. And this is where the dye test cannot demonstrate filter failure. It simply isn't a valid test of filters not designed for 100% organics removal, which includes the majority of backpacking filters because dye isn't a substitute for sub-micron particles (as an analogue for bacteria).

I confess I have no idea what's inside a First Need cartridge or how it supposedly works. Has anybody cut one open to see what's inside? It would probably be a good choice for anyone suspecting pesticide contamination in water.

Cheers,

Rick

p.s. MSR has a simple vacuum test for the HyperFlow that can demonstrate the cartridge's condition in the field. It's a nice verification from a peace-of-mind standpoint. They've also corrected the flow issues that plagued it the first year.

My Hiker Pro has fewer parts to bother with than the other pump filters I looked at; clean tube and connectors go in a ziploc, the filter and the dirty tube/prefilter are all that's left over. The only filter I've seen that's simpler is my ULA gravity filter. The First Need looks pretty much exactly the same - a plastic filter body, hoses, and connectors. And the Pro is lighter, too. Since I'm not in danger of viruses and the Pro is cheaper....

Rick,
You have some excellent science in your reply.
I can’t find it but someone has cut open a First Need Cartridge. It looked like something like volcanic ash; completely homogeneous. Thus if it did crack, it will let dye through and probably everything else. It appears to be an elegant concept. 25+ years of experience sounds like it is one of the few models that have withstood the test of time.


It was nice for First Need to publish unbiased studies of their product. I can’t find studies on MSR’s sight.

I’ve been using First Need for about 6 years. Last Feb was the first time I caught a cartridge that let the blue through. It so happened, it went below freezing that night. We were snowed on. If I was paying attention, I would have brought the filter into my sleeping bag.

The hyperflow has a good idea to see if it’s cracked. What I read last year (and maybe it has changed) is to see if bubbles come up. However, in practice, it seems all filters let out a few bubbles under water. Thus how would you differentiate the OK bubbles from the oh-no-the-filter-cracked bubbles? Also, it seems like several hollow fiber tubes have to crack before the naked eye can start discerning bubbles.

-Barry