Besides the Katadyn Pocket, I have not seen a filter out there that looks robust to me. Have owned or used the Sweetwater Gaurdian, First Need, Hiker Pro, MSR Miniworks (in clear water), MSR Hyperflow and another older Katadyn I forget the name of. The latter did good but it's been a long time. I don't think it was the Pocket unless Katadyn used iodine at one time in that model. At any rate, the others just don't work well where I go (though I hear the Miniworks does well in silty water). The Sweetwater has worked ok for me but I have had issues with their filter cartridges and pump shafts breaking.

From what I have seen (only the filter cartridge in person) and read on the Katadyn site, the Pocket filter has the robustness and simplicity I'm looking for. However, before I plop down almost $300, I want to make sure its performance can be restored to a large degree in the field.