View Full Version : Cleaning First Need filters
For anyone who has used one while thru-hiking, has cleaning a First Need water filter been an issue?
Hikes in Rain
02-01-2011, 13:02
I sucked up a little pebble out of Chattahoochee Spring, that really plugged it up good. Only way I could get it working again without tools was to remove the pre-filter. Usually, though, just reversing the pump and back-flushing with clean water from time to time keeps it in tune.
Great, thanks. This is very helpful.
Hikes in Rain
02-01-2011, 13:52
Mine is years and years old (still has the discharge tube instead of the bottle screw-on thing), and it's going strong! Those things are pretty much bomb-proof.
Stupid me, forgot to mention the simple solution of sucking up rocks and silt. Dip out a cooking pot full (or as close as you can get) and filter that. Next time you cook, the heat will sterilize the pot. Obvious, but no, I had to plug my filter miles from anywhere to figure it out!
envirodiver
02-01-2011, 17:14
Mine is years and years old (still has the discharge tube instead of the bottle screw-on thing), and it's going strong! Those things are pretty much bomb-proof.
Stupid me, forgot to mention the simple solution of sucking up rocks and silt. Dip out a cooking pot full (or as close as you can get) and filter that. Next time you cook, the heat will sterilize the pot. Obvious, but no, I had to plug my filter miles from anywhere to figure it out!
As far as bomb proof, the filter is a carbon matrix, so the main thing you have to be careful of is dropping it on a hard surface (which may crack the carbon matrix) or leaving water in it that freezes.
I used one of these for years till I just got tired of carrying the weight. Before a trip put a few drops of a dark food coloring into water and filter it through the unit. If it comes out the "clean side" colorless then the matrix is intact and safe to filter. If there is still color in the water you should replace the filter cartridge. I never had one crack.
I also dry filtered when my bottles were full until no more water comes out the clean side. This will keep it from freezing. Run a very dilute solution of clorox and water through it when you get home to disinfect it and keep funk from growing in it.
Hikes in Rain
02-01-2011, 21:01
All very valid points, envirodiver. Thanks for adding that; I'd forgotten.
Should mention, GC, that as much as I like my First Need, I don't often use it anymore. For most of the water sources on the AT, it's overkill. And heavy and bulky. But where else are you going to find a purifier that'll turn the nastiest stuff around into clean, pure drinking water? So I definitely will not be getting rid of it.
These days, I use a MIOX that I received as a gift. Only way I would have gotten one, they're darned expensive, and there are cheaper methods that are every bit as effective. I do like the "gadgety" appeal of it, though, and it does sterilize a lot of water relatively fast.
envirodiver
02-07-2011, 13:38
I agree with hikes in rain that the first need is heavy and bulky, main reason I don't carry mine. It is the only non-chemical filter only purifier as named by EPA.
I've owned and used: iodine, first need, sweetwater, MiOx, Aqua Mira, and now have a steri pen. If you want to go light I recommend Aqua Mira, if you like being able to treat quick and drink cold water out of the stream/spring then I like the steri pen. MiOx seems to be a cool system, but can be tricky and is difficult with cold fingers.