Water Filtration

[Mountain Wildman]

I have been using the "First Need XL" purifier for the last couple of years. I cant find a weight on it but I really don't care. It is absolutely the best in my opinion. It is a true purifier not just a filter. You can either pump with it or use it in gravity fed mode. Cartridges are good for around 150Gal.

Just my $1.50 ....

I concur, I know for sure, 100 percent that my water will be clean, clear and free of anything harmful including a virus if one found it's way into the water source. The weight is 16 ounces and I don't care either, If I want to cut weight in my pack, It wont be my First Need Purifier!!!!

[Luddite]

I always see those First need water filters advertised in the back pages of Backpacker mag along with the Igloo making tool and the WeightVest.

Katadyn needs to shed at least 2 or 3oz from the hiker pro and it would be, IMO, the perfect water treatment method. It seems possible.

[Teeah3612]

I use a Clear2GO Water Bottle with Filter when I hike and have never been sick. It's not different than carrying an ordinary water bottle. I also carried a 2 liter bottle that I could refill if water sources are few and far between.

[sevensixtwo187]

I concur, I know for sure, 100 percent that my water will be clean, clear and free of anything harmful including a virus if one found it's way into the water source. The weight is 16 ounces and I don't care either, If I want to cut weight in my pack, It wont be my First Need Purifier!!!!

You said much better than I. One of the few that will handle viruses AND pesticides. I cant see how anyone could care about the weight!!

[mdbuckman]

Sweetwater Filter as my primary and Agua Mira Drops in the First Aid kit (carried by the 13 y.o.) - this is our only redundancy - I've been blessed to have dysentary once - that was enough - so I'm a little OCD when it comes to clean water...

[tlap]

I use the Frontier Pro filter from McNett/Aquamira, in conjunction with AquaMira drops. It's only a 15 min wait for the chemicals to kill smaller bacteria, and the filter takes out the larger Giardia and Crypto nasties.

[Oogie Boogie]

What are folks' take on the Sawyer filter? A friend suggested putting a camel-back mouth piece and hose clamp on the clean side then just use it like a camel-back. Thoughts?

[Nearly Normal]

Use common sense.
Up on the mountain you probley won't need anything.
Down in the bottoms you might.
Cow pastures.....well.....

[Wags]

i use the steripen classic with success.

5.7 ounces with batteries... there are smaller versions

[BrianLe]

At in the time period that I went through this year I found the AT to have on the whole really nice water sources, essentially nothing that I was inclined to pre-filter prior to using chemicals. So IMO a chemical (or UV) treatment is fine, no need to bring a filter on the AT, unless for whatever reason a filter is just your preferred approach.

On other long trails at times one wants something else; for the CDT this coming year I'll stick to Aqua Mira drops but will at least start out carrying a 2 oz Aqua Mira Frontier Pro filter as well. For those times when, say, cattle are standing in the water or dead rats are floating in it. Nice, and sort of mentally comforting as well to be able to filter AND chemically treat in such (fortunately infrequent) cases.

[Tennessee Viking]

Bleach
Aqua Mira
MSR Miox
Steripen

[CinciJP]

I was thinking about carrying the MSR AutoFlow filter in addition to AquaMira drops on my thru. Any ideas or experience?

http://www.rei.com/product/768117#prodSpecs

[tuswm]

I have used a few different ways. I have had filters and a steripen fail. Both I think could have been avoided.

When I was in the desert I was using MSR sweetwater ceramic filter. We has about ten people and it was hot. We only had puddles full of silt. I did not bother to prefilter because of this.
we still had to clean the filter every few gallons but the silt eventually killed the pumping mechanism.

I was only out for a few days with the steripen so I didn't take spare batteries. I thought I packed them but I didn't.

I do not think I have ever gotten sick as a result of water but I have also consumed untreated water.

[One Half]

I have been using the aqua mira tablets and when temps are cool and sources are frequent this wasn't a problem. this weekend i went out for a day, and missed 1 good source. I got to a shelter with a good water source but was quite parched. I had just finished off my water and so i went to the spring and started the process of treating. so about an hour later I finally got to drink some water and then had to go back for more and start the process again before hiking out.

thinking maybe I need to do the filter route or have more water capacity on board.

[tammons]

Lightest to heaviest....

Nothing.

Chems only
Aquamira tablets or such or Chlorine drops or iodine tabs etc.

UV only
Steripen (somewhere in here, but you need batteries)
Probably the easiest.

Chems and filter
Aquamira Frontier pro on a bottle or a platy with drops.

MYOG Aquamira Frontier pro gravity setup with drops.
(Dirty platy bag, clean platy bag/bottle, tubing etc.
Jason klass has a vid on youtube. Typically use a 2-3L dirty bag.)
(Frontier pro life - 50 gallons)
The frontier pro filter weighs about 2 oz dry, heavier wet.

MYOG Gravity bag setup with a Sawyer filter and a katadyn charcoal filter. (life of the Sawyer filter is one million gallons) The Sawyer .1 filter like the 3 way will not catch viruses. The .02 filter supposedly will but is expensive at like $150.

Lots of factory gravity setups like the platy clean stream or MSR autoflow etc.

With above you probably should initially strain your water with something before it goes in the dirty container. Bandana etc. Publix sells a microfiber dishcloth that is super light. If you want tighter straining/almost filter like, a diesel filter polyester material works. You can get different micron ratings like 0.5, 1, 2 micron etc. They soak up water and hold it though.

After that you get into pumps and pumps are handy for on the go.

There is the MSR microfilter at 8oz, but I have read they clog a lot and have not tried one. This is about as light as it gets, but I think there is one lighter but cant remember the name.

Pumps are handy for on the go but can be heavy. The Katadyn pocket is bombproof and expensive and weighs 20oz. 20 year warrenty

The Vario is about 17 oz.

Must pump filters will be 12 oz and up to about 20 oz or so.

With a .1 micron filter a lot of people say treating for viruses is not necessary in the US but with all the hogs taking over the USA I am not so sure. I know on our land we have pigs everywhere and they spread a lot of disease, so I always take a tiny bottle of household bleach in my kit. Bleach is good for back flushing too if your filter gets clogged.

If you dont like the chlorine taste you can run it through a charcoal filter and a frontier pro has charcoal in it. For a Sawyer you would add a Katadyn charcoal filter after the sawyer.

My new setup is linked below. This will be for all around emergency, (hurricane country) as well as hiking etc. Sort of like a gravity bag setup but pressurized. Some poeple just use a sealed platy and press on it toget better flow

The entire rig weighs about 11 oz without the clean bag IE the Giegerrig bag, filters and hoses. You can also use the Sawyer 3 way on a faucet.

Not ultra light but versatile and I think I have figured out a way to use the giegerrig as a shower.

Its probably still a good idea to carry a spare Aquamira Frontier or pro or drops or tablets as a backup.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-...hread_id=44300

[Winged]

post moved - posted here in error

[trailangelbronco]

Just drink some whiskey during town days and you will self filter on the trail.

That's real UL.

[Aquaman12]

Has anybody tried the sawyer squeeze filter? They say trail weight is 3 oz. Lightest filter Ive seen.

[tammons]

Its a little heavier than that.
About 5.5 oz for the kit.
The filter may be 2-2.5 oz dry, but more like 3+ oz wet.

http://www.mydiygear.com/pages/other...wyer-sp132.php

I just ordered one to check it out.

I am going to try this setup - Screw it on to a Platy 2L gravity bag (already have) connect a platy drinking tube to the other end of the filter.

At least I think that will work. It will only be 2-3 oz lighter than a 3 way inline sayer setup but you have the option of putting right on the end of a bottle like a frontier pro.

Think I can do a complete setup with this filter, gravity bag, tubing, 2 1L platys at 7 oz.

[JaxHiker]

What are folks' take on the Sawyer filter? A friend suggested putting a camel-back mouth piece and hose clamp on the clean side then just use it like a camel-back. Thoughts?

I assume you mean the 3-way. Mine weighs about 3-something ounces (more than the mfgr says). I planned on using it was a gravity filter and not drinking directly from it. It worked well like that but in all honesty I only used it once during the week and used AM instead or didn't bother treating.