Water filters

I am currently using a PUR(katadine) hiker pro water filter.
It has performed well for my needs as i sometimes seem to end up filtering what come would call mud.

My question is what type of filter do you use and are there any lightweight options out there.

I don't use the tablets because I have the wonderful luck of finding less than desirabl water to filter.

In line filters for when arriving at camp. Set it up then set camp up. Frontier, Amigo, can't recall which one no longer isn't available. I bought one and will try to rig up later, if ever. There was a thread a year ago or so on how to rig up a do-it-yourself bag. I hardly use a filter anymore here in the Sierra. When I do, I have a First Need and an original Pur Hiker when they first came out, but I haven't used it in years because the First Need water takes so much better.

When I am in a group of two or more people then I will take my platypus water filter, it weighs about 13oz. I opted for a gravity filter just because pumping water for more than just myself became tiresome and nothing short of a chore after hiking all day.

So gravity filters are rather lightweight and take up less space than pump filters.

I use a sweetwater that I recently modified to lighten it up. I drilled out some of the handle etc., cut off some of the excess plastic on the bottom of the cartridge, and shortened the hoses. Comparing my modified filter to another unmodified one I can feel the difference in weight. You can also just get rid of accessories such as the bottle filler thing as you can just stick the hose into whatever container you use. I just use a platy anyway so it is pointless to carry the universal adapter.

It has also been a very reliable filter as I've had it since 97 or so with no issues. I will also use Aqua Mira depending on whether I wish to carry the filter or not.

How much dose your sweetwater weight to begin with?

I like my MSR Hyper Flow. Very light, very fast pumping. However, I have only used it for one season and for short times at that.

I used to just strain the water through a bandanna and use Pristine purification drops. I went to a filter because some of the water was so cloudy the bandanna didn't help.

Back in my Boy Scout days in England we used to simply boil the water and let it cool. I guess it all depends on the amount of water required (i.e. a large group or small), the amount of time, money and effort you are willing to spend, and the amount of extra weight you are willing to pack I guess mostly it depends on the quality of the water you are willing to drink.

In the city where I live we did not used to have a good filtration plant. We knew we had bad water because it was brown before we added the tea bags When I ran the bath I was unsure as to the benefit of getting in Still, it was safe for human consumption. You just would not want to consume any. Hence the bottle water craze.

Howie

According to MSR 11 oz. I am guessing a bit more. I don't have an accurate scale otherwise I would give you better weights of before and after my mods.

-Skippy

I use a Steripen journey with tablets as backup. This system weighs about six ounces and works extremely well. It however needs clear water but sounds like you dont have that luxury.

I'm in the same boat concerning the Steripen and my available water sources. I had considered the Steripen and then found out the water had to be clear to use it. OOOPS.... Frequently, the water I have available is not much short of stagnet, swamp water. This sucks and has me still searching for some way of getting around carrying 6 liters of water from the trailhead and refilling at antique hand pumps at a campsite 14 miles away. I just accept reality for now but would love to lighten the load without giving up half decent water.

Not to threadjack here, but I am curious about this as well. The UV pens seem ideal to me because of weight and durability reasons. When it is said the water needs to be clear to be effective, is that the sense that it will take longer to purify sediment laden water, or it simply will not do it?

I have mainly done day hikes, and all of my extended excursions involved a vehicle, so packing water is the only thing I am familiar with at this point.

I used the Steripen Adventurer on one trip and returned it to REI. The switch was so stiff I had to get help turning it on and off--not a good idea when most of my backpacking is solo! I used it at the Washington coast where the water is slightly brownish yellow from tanins due to decaying swamp vegetation upstream. It is clear--no floaties--but does have the weird coloration. The Steripen consistently stopped working in mid-cycle and I'd have to run it 2 or 3 times to purify each quart. I took the directions with me and followed them very carefully. My son, an electrical engineer, couldn't make the thing work for him, either. As you sit by a mosquito-infested creek, stirring and stirring for what seems like forever for each quart, consider how much time you'd save with either a gravity filter or (even lighter) chlorine dioxide tablets, either of which can be used in camp. Fortunately I had a sufficient supply of the latter that I put the Steripen back in my pack after a day of this and used the tablets instead.

If you insist on using this gizmo, I'd take one Steripen for each person and let each person treat his/her own water. I'd also take an ample backup supply of Katadyn MicroPur or AquaMira chlorine dioxide tablets.

With the variety of pump filters, gravity filters and chlorine dioxide treatments available, there's no need to carry all your water from home for a backpacking trip unless you are going into the desert with no water sources. Water is HEAVY!

You'll find more info on filters by searching the Backcountry Health and Safety section. Search the archives, too. Be sure to read the instructions in the sticky post at the top of General Discussion on how to search--you have to change the date parameters from 1 week to something longer.

AKL
I don't think you can improve on the PUR for your use, certainly not a nonfilter (steripen) or tablets for swamp water or mud. You can unscrew the filter in the PUR and rinse it out with some filtered water and it has a huge surface area.
Jim