I have purchased and returned one of these "highly recommended Katadyn Hikers" for a cracked side. My second one is so unbelieveably saturated in slick oil (not the factory silicon gel) that I emailed the manufacturer who is also stumped why. Each compression of the handle brings up excessive oil.
Any ideas? I am a filter user; any other purifier/filter suggestions/recs for hiking and kayaking in the GA/AL area?