I hiked the Wonderland with a guy that has a Pocket Filter. We ran short of water once and filtered water that has so much glacial flour that it looked like chocolate milk. We got about a quart before it clogged. He scrubbed the element then filtered more. Pretty tedious to filter, scrub, filter.

Filters do not take the color out of the dark tannin water, but it is safe to drink.

Most of the time I carry AquaMira. In Colorado there are some areas with grazing, then I use chemicals and a gravity filter. In the Grand Canyon I use chemicals on the side stream water. I use UV to treat Colorado River water. I use a Katadyn Hiker filter for "salad" water from pot holes that contain a lot of suspended organic matter.

There is a best way for different situations, but not all water is created equal.