Gravity fed water filter

[trlhiker]

Thinking of getting one of these cause I am tired of having to pump fill 4 nagelenes and one platapus when arriving at camp. Anyone here use one of these. http://www.backcountry.com/store/EXT0050/Katadyn-Base-Camp-Water-Filter.html

[aroth87]

ULA has a gravity filtering system (http://ula-equipment.com/amigo.htm) that weighs about half what that one does. It filters a little faster than the Katadyn too if that matters to you. Brian has been very helpful when I've emailed him, so if you have any questions shoot him an email (or call even). He responds very quickly (I had a response the day after I emailed him).

Adam

[gardenville]

Both brands use the same filter so they filter water at the same rate. The filter is designed to only allow a certain amount of water through it in a given time so the rate both brands filters water is the same.

The ULA set-up is lighter but the bag looks smaller.

I developed this filter for use with the Amigo as it was a much better filter than the one that was first used with it. I then made a new bag out of Cuben Fiber, changed a couple of other items and reduced the total weight of my now "Home-Made Gravity Filter" to 5.61 ounces.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1294/index.html?skip_to_post=8210#8210

ULA decided to change to this filter.

[neo]

ULA has a gravity filtering system (http://ula-equipment.com/amigo.htm) that weighs about half what that one does. It filters a little faster than the Katadyn too if that matters to you. Brian has been very helpful when I've emailed him, so if you have any questions shoot him an email (or call even). He responds very quickly (I had a response the day after I emailed him).

Adam


i have an earlier ula h20 amigo,it has problems,looks like he changed it
i would go with katadyn system:cool: neo

http://www.katadyn.us/brands-products/katadyn/katadyn-filters-and-purifiers/backcountry-series/katadyn-base-camp.html

[jrwiesz]

Thinking of getting one of these cause I am tired of having to pump fill 4 nagelenes and one platapus when arriving at camp. Anyone here use one of these. http://www.backcountry.com/store/EXT0050/Katadyn-Base-Camp-Water-Filter.html
Beyond backpacking by Ray Jardine at your local library might help. The section on "Sewing your own gear" has instructions on making one yourself, save the $65.:)

[GlazeDog]

My earlier version had problems too. Gave up on it. Didn't realize it's been modified.

GlazeDog

[soulrebel]

No comment on the Katadyn but the ULA amigo---

Started with one and it clogged the 4th day. Gave it away to a weekender, went without any filtration/purification after that.

I believe my Amigo was version 1 with the black in-line seychelle filter.

To make them go for a few weeks you have to prefilter your water to remove sediment.

[rswanson]

The problem with the old ULA gravity filter was the filter element. The Seychelles filter was unreliable and clogged easily. The new model uses the Katadyn filter element which fixes this problem. Any filter can clog if you don't prefilter the water. I've used a piece of cheesecloth rubber-banded around the top of a bottle mouth to prefilter silt and gunk when filling the bag. Some people make a whole different cap incorporating a screen of some sort in the cap to accomplish this.

As for capacity and rate, the ULA filter holds well over 4 liters and will filter the whole bag in about 5 minutes or so.

[paulbrown137]

for what its worth, the First Need Deluxe has a gravity filtering option that works pretty good. though I've only used it once because pumping doesn't really bother me all that much.

[vaporjourney]

I've got the ULA H2o amigo and have been happy with it, but i've only used it on 2 short hikes. Will be taking on my thruhike in march, but think it should work well. Brian has indeed changed the filter this year, and now it uses Katadyn cartridges. These are nice because 1) there is a prefilter already around the filter and 2) they are easy to find to replace. The filter actually is suspended inside of the water bag instead of below it, so if you had filthy water, you could let the silt settle to the bottom of the bag, and then the filter would work on the clean water a 1/2" above the bottom. I really like this setup, not too expensive, and really lightweight. I mainly purhcased this not only because I wanted to save about 5 onces from the Katadyn Hiker, but also because I really got sick of the pump freezing in sub freezing temps. NOw I can just make sure I blow all water out of the exit tube, and just sleep with the cartridge (in ziploc of course) only in my sleeping bag. Also, there is no pump to lube, or malfunction.

ULA is a great great company.