gravity water filters

So who's got a gravity water filter, which one do you have, and how do you like it?

I've been using the MSR AutoFlow for awhile now and have been quite impressed. The fact that it weighs in around 10 oz, filters at about 2L per minute, can be effectively cleaned by reversing the flow, and is the easiest filtering solution I've ever used making it my go-to backcountry filtering solution. I've used it numerous times on the Colorado River and have not had any problems with clogging.

Having said that, it isn't the best solution for humic acid (ie., Boundary Waters) or blue-green algae prone areas (ie., High Uintahs). If these exist in the areas you frequent then a hollow fiber based filter might not be the best choice. I would go with a filter that uses a ceramic cartridge (I don't think there is a ceramic gravity filter available but I could be wrong).

The best part about the filter is that I have instant water without work. It's awesome! Check it out here.

I like the specs on this filter and have considered getting it. The bag, however, seems to add more weight than is necessary. The filter itself is very light.

Do you think I could substitute a lighter bag of some sort?

This is the exact same system i use and it rocks (designed by our own Jason Klass!) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSYWoplv_Uo

Cheap, light and effective...what more could you want?
BF <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I think this would be simple to do. The key is allowing the bag to hang while still allowing the water to gravity feed through the filter, and catching the clean water in a container. This is different from other gravity feed filters in that most have the filter element in the bag.

Another solution would be the Platypus CleanStream which uses the same filter element as the AutoFlow, but uses Playtpus bags to carry the water (dirty water bag and clean water bag). You could save weight by not carrying the clean water bag and catching the clean water in another bag/bottle. This would probably save about 5 ounces or so.

One added benefit to this filter is the filter element can be used as an inline filter in a hydration system. Because the flow rate is so good, there is almost no reduction in flow rate as the users sucks water from his reservoir. This is great to have for mountain biking in an emergency...

In another post months ago, there was a discussion about gravity filters. Jason Klass posted his DIY filter using a Katadine filter and a bag of his design. I was inspired by the fact of not having to pump water. I went looking around for that filter and couldn't find it for my impulse purchase. I ended up buying the Katadine Base camp. But found the bag bullit proof and on the heavy side. My plan now is to retro fit the filter into a Jason Klass type bag.

I'm confused. Jason's video has him using chemicals with the filter but the Aqua Mira web site does not say anything about needing to use anything in addition to the filter. Do you need to use Aqua Mira with the filter or not? How many gallons can you run through this filter before you need to replace it?

I have used ULA's gravity filter the Amigo Pro and very much liked it - I misplaced mine but will get another when I'm backpacking again in spring. The cost is about five dollars more than what one would pay for a replacement Katadyn HIker Pro cartridge. That filter impressed many in my hiking group. One of them picked up the Katadyn gravity filter, but that weighs a lot more than the eight ounces of the Amigo.

I also have a Hiker Pro that comes in handy late in the year when water sources can be very shallow and not suited to scooping water.

Using chemicals in addition to filtering is what the MSR Sweetwater system does, as this addresses viruses too. I am usually in the Sierras where the issue is mainly bacteria and cysts, which the filters all handle. I do carry Micropur tablets in my emergency kit so if a water source I am forced to use is suspect, I would likely use the tablets in addition to the filter.

I have the Platy and love the silly thing. Talk about the quick and lazy way to get clean water; Fill it, hang it and relax. With a bit of trimming of the hoses, and by not using the clean bag I got the weight down to 8.2 oz.( I will probably even modify it some more). The hose from the filter also has a male fitting that screws on to Platy drinking bladders and most convenience store water bottles, leaving you free to do other things while filtering.

I made my own much like the ULA's gravity setup, but lighter. Works great so far. I mostly take it when I'm backpacking with a few people.

JFF

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/3085825052_ce2eb37ab4_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3084986023_febaef6c95_o.jpg

I also have the ULA Amigo Pro and love it! No pumping (which was putting my back into spasms bent over the water source) and definitely lighter than most pump filters.

The one improvement I'd like to see on it is a shaped water "bucket" of silnylon instead of the round piece of silnylon with drawstrings. The former would be much easier for dipping the water out of the stream. It would also be easier for those locations (such as most lakeshores) where you have to fill the "bucket" by dipping water out with a pot and pouring it in. Of course, making the shaped "bucket" would cost more.

nm

This past summer I made a gravity filter from some silnylon, a katadyn Pur hiker filter, and some tubing (using some instructions I found online that I can't seem to find now). After a few years of using aquamira I'm not sure if I will go back. That darn thing was awsome...I think my one complaint was having to hold the filter when there wasn't anything else willing (eg above treeline or with my wife)

Can you post some pictures?

I posted this a few lines below but it sounds like the same one. I think Bill from Backpackinglight.com had posted some how to. I made mine with some cubin fiber I had gotten for a sample.

JFF


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/3085825052_ce2eb37ab4_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3184/3084986023_febaef6c95_o.jpg

A few more mod's and I got my platy down to 6.3 oz.

JoeF -

I assume that was not a free sample, since it's a fairly big piece of Cuben. Where did you get it, and how much was it?

Also, can you describe how you made the bag (what's it edged with at the top, did you reinforce the "drain" at the bottom, etc.)?

We just got an Amigo and haven't used it yet, but I'm looking at trying to lighten it up some. Your setup looks great!

For those who were wishing for a more structured bag for shallower water, I did read somewhere that some people use a water "scoop" to fill the bag, I think made out of a soda bottle with one end cut off. It could be used to store the filter setup, making it somewhat multi-purpose.

(edit) I just looked it up and actually the scoop recommended was an old 1L platypus bag with the end cut off at a slant.

I got the Cuben sample from the manufacture a wile back and it was free. They had sent me a single yard of a few types. However I read the company has sold to another textile manufacture so I'm not sure. You can however find it online from a few of fabric venders like OWF.

The red edging is made by bending a piece of 1" red gross grain then sewing. The holes are 1/4" and made with a tool that is hit with a hammer. You can find the tool and kit in most sewing shops. I happen to have a friend who has a press that will do a few size but for this 1/4" is fine and the kits don't cost much.

JFF

Does anyone have a good suggestion for a filter that can help take some of the tannic coloring out of the water? Down here in Florida a lot of the streams and rivers are pretty dark looking. Sometimes you can taste and sometimes you can't but I would really like to find a way to filter out the color.

I've used my PUR Hiker before, but it really doesn't filter out the color of the water.

Thanks

I don't think there is any filter for hiking that will filter out the tannin color in the water. Just think of it as natural coloring added by nature. It won't hurt you once it's cleaned up a bit.

We have the same problem in parts of Olympic National Park. The rangers recommend wrapping a paper coffee filter around the pre filter on the intake hose.

I use this technique to reduce the clogging of the filter. I keep it in place with a rubber band. I can't recall if it affects the color, however.

I tried using a coffee filter last trip I made, but it didn't change the color of the water at all.

I went ahead and ordered a Katadyn Vario yesterday for an upcoming trip. I'm hoping the dual filter may help with this.

Thanks

Bleach? I haven't used it in drinking water because I haven't run into anything my filter couldn't handle, but it takes discoloration off things I clean with it...

“Does anyone have a good suggestion for a filter that can help take some of the tannic coloring out of the water?”

I only know of one filter and if someone knows of another filter, I would like to know. I’ve tried ceramics and other supposed carbon filters. The First Need is the only one I’ve seen that filters out the gross color that I have been privileged to drink from around here.

-Barry

Been testing the Platypus Cleanstream check out the Video
Platypus Clean Stream

I visited the ULA website yesterday and did not see the Amigo Pro gravity water filter listed among their products anywhere. It would appear that the new owner has discontinued it. It may be because it was so cheap that ULA didn't make much profit on it.

Now I am especially glad I bought one last August!

The deal with the ULA Amigo Pro is that the person who designed it had a "handshake" agreement with Brian to make it. The designer did not want to continue the agreement with the new owners of ULA. This per an email I received from Casey of ULA in November.

I hope that means that the designer will start making these filters on his own, but I'm not holding my breath.

This story about a mystery person is just so much BS.

Back in Sep 2005 I started a "How To" thread at backpackinglight.com, titled "Cuben/Amigo H2O Water Filter-Bag Replacement".

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1294/index.html

The thread evolved into a complete made over for the ULA H2O Amigo Water Filter.

I didn't like the filter that came with it and changed it to a much lightened Katadyn Hiker-Pro filter.

At the same time I moved the filter from hanging under the water bag to inside the water bag.

I then made a new water bag out of Cuben Fiber and the total weight was now under 2 ounces.

Jerry Goller from Backpacking Gear Test.com read about what I was doing and sent me an email saying he wanted to show my version to Brian.

I never really knew that Brian brought out a new filter that he now called the ULA Amigo Pro till much later. I never received any notice from Brian about his use of my ideas for his new water filter. Take a look at my filter and then look at the Amigo Pro.

When I read about the new owners and this story about where the idea came from I sent them an email with about the same message you are reading here and the link to my filter. Check the dates. I don't know who the mystery person is, but I still have all the emails between me and Jerry Goller.

I told them to put it back into production that after all it was just a water filter, a bag, some fittings and a piece of hose. The ULA Amigo Pro is a "clone / copy" of my water filter, not some mystery persons.

Gardenville, nice to hear from you again.
Jim

Hi Jim,

Still alive but not really able to do any hiking yet.

I check this site a couple times a months to see what is going on.

I bought my Amigo Pro filter in 2007. While Brian Frankle switched to the Katadyn Hiker Pro filter that year, he kept the silnylon water bag with the configuration he'd had the year before (2006) (which did have the water filter inside the bag). IMHO, the one weakness was that it's extremely difficult to hold the water bag open while dipping water into it from shallow places where you can't dip the bag. I'd rather have a tailored water bag that could be held open under those circumstances.

My Amigo Pro water bag started leaking severely last summer. I haven't been able to find a hole, but it loses its contents in about an hour and it is difficult to keep the drips from contaminating the output. I was going to get a new one, but the ULA new management stopped carrying it. I'm therefore going to make my own bucket and use the existing Amigo Pro hardware (with a new Hiker Pro filter). I hadn't thought of cuben, but it sounds like a much better idea than silnylon!

Hi Mouse
this isn't a reply directed at you just a reply in general. I got rid of my gravity filter in - oh 1988 I think, because it was too slow. If I need water I don't have time to wait on a system that cannot be pressurized. To me the hanging filter concept is more for around a cabin. I have no idea how the new ones work, but since you only get 1/2 PSI per foot of water, you'd need a filter element about 20 feet below the reservoir to filter efficiently enough to make up for clogging by particulate matter and back flushing would be hard. Ceramic filters can break if they freeze, like being left out over night in the Sierras to give you morning water. I really prefer a pump type and I like my PUR hiker, as I can get a quart of water in a minute and continue hiking.
Jim YMMV

The ULA Amigo Pro filters about 1 liter per minute, which is pretty fast. Before I got it, I kept putting my lower back out bending over the water source using a pump filter. Very painful! Pump filters are also several ounces heavier. The back problems were why I switched. It's really nice to be able to do something else (putting up the tent or admiring the scenery or even taking a cat nap) while your water filters!

I tried the Aquamira Frontier Pro (why are they all called "Pro"?) as a gravity filter last summer. This was per the video from Jason Klass, which recommends using Aquamira or Katadyn tablets to kill "the little stuff" (bacteria and viruses) and using the filter to get "the big stuff," by which I assume he means protozoa. The filter itself takes about 12-15 minutes to filter a liter. Add 15-20 minutes for the tablets to work in addition to 15 minutes for a liter of water--that was far to long to wait for a decent drink! The Aquamira website cagily doesn't mention the size of the filter, but another source gives it as 3.0 microns. Per the CDC, a 1.0 micron filter is needed for giardia and crypto cysts, so it's questionable that the Aquamira Frontier Pro will even filter out those.

Hi everybody i purchased an aquagard in line filter last year and am very plaesed with it.It filters out allbacteria,viruses, protozoa and retro fits to any bladder based system.Also comes with a tap adaptor to use if your not sure of a countrys' water purity or just want to get rid of the taste of chlorineit only weighs 100 grammes plus alittle more for the attachments.It filters 1600 litres and has an automatic cut off when this is reached.I got mine from backpacking light.co.uk I used mine in puddles in india and got clear tasty water.

I like my Hiker Pro since I can get to water in small streams etc It would be more difficult or time consuming to have to dip a small container to fill the gravity fed container. I am going lightweight not ultra or minimalist so a few ounces for convenience is no problem for me.