Best water filter?

[Rightfoot]

I've had a First Need XL for more than 15 years and NEVER had a problem with it. No handles breaking, no seals leaking etc. The filters are still available from many sources. The cons... A little heavy and bulky.

[Velvet Gooch]

I've pretty sure coolman and Velvet Gooch are spammers and spambots, respectively. We may never know with Velvet if he never posts again because these spambots post, and then come back in a few days to edit their posts to include their spam, but you can't edit on this site unless you contribute, so Velvet's spambot won't be able to work here.

Negative. I was referring to deep ground water. "The Earth" as a filter.

[leaftye]

Negative. I was referring to deep ground water. "The Earth" as a filter.

My apologies for calling you a spambot.

Relying on the ground for filtration isn't practical for long distance hiking though. I suspect most of us don't have the time to look for water sources where they come out of the ground, and then to confirm that it's not just a spring that dipped underground for a short length...which would be nearly as risky as anything else.

[nehiker]

Sawyer filters last virtually forever when backflushed occasionally. I've read that one person backwashes and thinks that works well enough.

How long do the pouches last (with reasonable care)?

According to http://bladesandbushcraft.com/index.php?topic=959.0, the filter by itself is 3oz, 3.5oz after being used and 5.5oz with 1L (medium) bag, syringe, mouthpiece, and bottle cap. Is this correct? If so, their listing the system weight as 3oz seems a bit deceptive to me.

[leaftye]

@nehiker, good questions. I never weighed these items myself until now.


3.525 oz ― used Sawyer Squeeze filter element with mouthpiece and cap
1.230 oz ― used Sawyer 32 oz bladder
1.475 oz ― new Evernew 2 liter bladder without bungee
1.685 oz ― well used Aqua Mira bottles (I've seen it listed new as 3 oz)
2.960 oz ― slightly damp 1.89 liter Gatorade bottle


I didn't weigh the syringe since that's rarely used. On a long hike I'd probably ask a fellow hiker if I could borrow their hydration bladder so I could backflush my filter. The filter has a hose nipple underneath the mouth piece. Or I'd bounce the syringe or include new ones occasionally in mail drops.


I personally use a bottle with Aqua Mira because it stands up easier when fiddling with drops, and I usually prefer bottles at all times because they're easier to pour and gauge their volume. In fact, before I get the Evernew bladder, I wouldn't keep water in the Sawyer bladder because I filtered everything at the water source--I didn't trust the Sawyer bladder. I prefer bottles anyway. If I needed more than 2 liters of storage capacity while using the Sawyer, I'd carry a bottle or two, not another bladder.


So an Aqua Mira system might be half an ounce lighter when it's new, and gets lighter with use or repackaging. Even so, I don't like the inconvenience of being thirsty at a water source because I'm waiting for Aqua Mira to work. With water, convenience is just as important as weight, maybe more so. That's why the Sawyer inline filter has been recommended for those that use hydration bladders.

[nehiker]

I have similar reservations about the Aqua Mira drops vs a filter, i.e. that one has to wait for about half hour after getting to a water source. It seems this could easily translate into carrying an extra half a pound of water.

I currently use a Coghlan's water filter. It is much cheaper and lighter than the standard filters (MSR, Pur), but is good pretty much only for Giardia, is hard to use solo, and is hard to keep the three pieces from contaminating each other. I do not think the first is a big deal for my likely use, but I am thinking of replacing it because of the other two issues.

I like the looks of Sawyer Squeeze. Based on what I found online, the prefilter from the Aqua Mira Pro Filter can be used as a prefilter on Sawyer Squeeze. Is it possible to buy the Aqua Mira prefilter without buying the entire filter somewhere?

[lckeeper1]

I have limited experience with filters, but I went with the ol trusty MSR Miniworks. I know it can be heavy, but in terms of being able to be serviced in the field (something important to me) and reliability it had me sold on it. It's not great in below freezing temps due to the ceramic freezing/cracking, but it's done me well and I haven't gotten sick.

That being said, the Sawyer is certainly an interesting product which I'll have to check out. Can't get much easier than that.

[RichardD]

I like the sound of this Sawyer, I had not heard of it.
I have used Aqua Mira for several years but on my AT hike I contracted Toxoplasmosis and I think it came from contaminated water. Chlorine Dioxide treatment does not kill the TGandii. It almost cost me my eyesight.
I believe I want to go back to filtering for my next hike (PCT in 13) and I want a filter at least from Campo to the Sierras and will probably be comfortable with Aqua Mira from there North. The Sawyer sounds like the right one for me.
I know the incidence of toxoplasmosis from cantaminated water is exceedingly rare but I fell victim so I am hypercautious - at least for a while!
What I dont know is whether a filter would trap TGandii, does anyone know?

[perrymk]

On my list of projects is to make a water bag/gravity filter/shower using the following components. It should weigh less than a pound.

Sawyer PointOne Emergency Water Filtration Kit with 1-Liter Light-Weight Durable Pouch

Sea to Summit Folding Bucket Orange 10 LITER

[Tom Murphy]

I've had a First Need XL for more than 15 years and NEVER had a problem with it. No handles breaking, no seals leaking etc. The filters are still available from many sources. The cons... A little heavy and bulky.

+1, I still use the first need when backpacking with the family.

To save weight on solo trips, I use a gravity filter and tablets for purifiying

[Theosus]

I have a camelback... I got the Sawyer inline filter, and a "dirty water" bag from walmart for 10 bucks. The hose's inside diameter doesn't match up well, so I used aircraft safety wire to make the hose barb fit on the walmart bag hose. I can pop the bite valve off my camelback and gravity filter into it, without pulling it out of my pack.

I saw someone with a Steripen on our group trip. They were having problems with it, so the group leader showed them how to use AM. Have a backup....

[theoilman]

I like my Sawyer Squeeze. .1micron filtration removes viruses and guardia. Their advertised weight is like most other products, not the actual carry weight.
I carry the filter, 1L and 2L bags, and a cut off 1/2L water bottle that I roll up the bags into and also use it when I need to scoop water up to put in the bags to be be filtered, total carry weight wet 5.5 oz. I don't carry the surrenge for flushing because I just do up to week long hikes and clean when I get back.

[Odd Man Out]

I like my Sawyer Squeeze. .1micron filtration removes viruses and guardia. Their advertised weight is like most other products, not the actual carry weight.
I carry the filter, 1L and 2L bags, and a cut off 1/2L water bottle that I roll up the bags into and also use it when I need to scoop water up to put in the bags to be be filtered, total carry weight wet 5.5 oz. I don't carry the surrenge for flushing because I just do up to week long hikes and clean when I get back.

Good idea on using the 1/2 L bottle cut off to use as a scoop. And thanks for the weight measurements. These are always hard to come by (never sure what the published specs include). Also, although you may not need it on short hikes, but the Tornado Tube gadget apparently lets you attach a bottle to the clean end, allowing you to squeeze water back through the filter, so you can back-flush without the need of a syringe.

However, I think you are mistaken on the filter removing viruses. The Sawyer zero point zero two filter does that, but not he zero point one filter that comes with the squeeze system.

[Tinker]

Velvet...so is this the TV reality show The Colony with a garbage can of layered charcoal and sand who then boiled? I like a water purifier rather than a filter which does not address viruses (which fortunately is not a huge problem in the USA) and use the General Ecology First Need Purifier. It has been around for a long time...check REI for it.

It's heavy and bulky, but it pumps pretty quickly. I've been using one since I got sick on a trip in NH back in the mid 80's. I've gone through many filters but am only on my third pump.

I've hiked with chemical users () who made fun of my old fashioned heavy filter until, with all of us out of water, we finally reached a stream where I quickly pumped a liter of water and immediately downed it while they waited for their chemicals to work before refilling and moving on.
Consuming chemicals that can kill things harmful to humans doesn't seem like a very good idea. Eventually, the chemicals are neutralized in the water, but may or may not be neutral when you drink your treated water.
I'll take my chances that maybe I'll be crippled by the extra pound in my pack over the possibility of consuming chemicals that may be worse than the bugs in the water.
Another thing: Chemical treatments do not remove organic pesticides and fertilizer compounds. Some filters do, and the First Need is supposed to be one of the best in this regard.

[Odd Man Out]

Another thing: Chemical treatments do not remove organic pesticides and fertilizer compounds. Some filters do, and the First Need is supposed to be one of the best in this regard.

I thought of this and considered a carbon prefilter such as this:

http://cascadedesigns.com/platypus/f...lement/product

Could be used with Sawyer in-line system. Would remove chemical contaminants that particle filters can't. But unlike the filter, it can't be flushed clean and used indefinitely. I don't know the effective life span of this. Not sure if it's worth the weight, although only 33 g (not including tubing and residual water).

[turtle fast]

Tinker, I too have had others beg, and plead to borrow the filter while waiting for chemical purifiers to do their thing. The nice thing about the First Need purifier is that if the water is cold then after pumping it and won't warm up while waiting for a chemical purification. Now after hearing about the Toxoplasmosis virus and thinking about the pesticides and other mineral contaminants in possible water sources it is more than worth the extra pound in my pack.

[SunnyWalker]

Sawyer.com
Before I leave for cdt I will replace ole faithful Sweetwater with the Sawyer system. They guarantee 1 filter is good for 1,000,000 gallons.