Topic: Water filters

[Nomad]

 What are some of the better water filters out on the market.......Would like to get one that you could get a extra filter with..........

[charlz]

I did some research a while back on water filters to carry while riding dirtbikes in the mountains. Katadyn had the best reviews. I looked at their Hiker and Hiker Pro but haven't got around to buying one yet. The idea was a small-ish filter to be able to refill hydration packs from, I have ran out before and that really sucks. I have also tried one of those 'drinking straw' filters but they are hard to suck water through which is not what you want when you are extremely thirsty.

They also make a 'hanging bag' type system (as do others) for camps etc. but I have't really looked at those. In an 'extended situation' I have two artesian wells near me that I could get water from.

[DarkHelmet]

REI has a couple great write-ups on this. The "Backcountry" discussion is good for every-day domestic use. The "International" recommendations also apply to any post-TEOTWAWKI applications:

Backcountry: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/water+treatment+backcountry.html
International: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/water+treatment+international.html

Water Risks in General: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/water+risks.html

The Cliff's Notes:

Purpose/Use:

1) Is this for mobile/portable use? Is this for high volume home/retreat use after TEOTWAWKI?

For mobile/portable - go with a hand pump unit. They are faster than a gravity system and compact/lightweight. For home/retreat use, a gravity system will handle a larger volume of water without having to hand pump it.

2) Filter vs. Purifier? A filter will get out most of the nasty biological protozoa, etc. that will make you sick in a domestic backcountry setting. A purifier would be better for use post-TEOTWAWKI or for international travel when viruses, etc. are a concern.

Filters: Katadyn models are a great choice, as charlz mentioned. For purifiers - some small filters like Katadyn have an additional chemical solution that can be added to the filtered water to "purify" it. I have an older Sweetwater Guardian (now made by MSR) that has worked great over the years. They have an additional inline purifier cartridge that can be used for international use.

Katadyn: http://www.katadyn.com/usen/katadyn-products/products/katadynshopconnect/katadyn-water-filters/
MSR SweetWater Filter: http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/basecamp-water-treatment-and-hydration/sweetwater-microfilter/product
MSR Gravity Filter System: http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/basecamp-water-treatment-and-hydration/autoflow-gravity-filter/product

Purifiers: SurvivalBlog highly recommends the Big Berkey filters. I don't have any experience with them, but am considering getting one. Both MSR and Sawyer make a self-contained gravity systems. I haven't looked at the MSR system but the Sawyer 4L system gets mixed reviews online (mostly issues with slow flow and/or leaking). Sawyer also makes a "do-it-yourself" kit that requires two large buckets. It will handle more volume.

Big Berkey: http://www.readymaderesources.com/cart/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=145
Sawyer 4L Purifier System: http://www.sawyer.com/SP194.htm
Sawyer Point Zero Two System: http://www.sawyer.com/SP190.htm
MSR Sweetwater Purifier: http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/basecamp-water-treatment-and-hydration/sweetwater-purifier-system/product

I hope that helps.

- DH

[Grumblecakes]

what kind of filter are you looking for? a portable unit? or something different?

I picked up a ro filter unit on ebay for pretty cheap think it was around 60 shipped. came with 3 carbon blocks, the ro housing and membrane and all the fittings to hook it to the kitchen faucet added a di filter on to it for another 20 dollars. whole unit is only rated at around 40gpd with the water pressure at my place. with a higher pressure or a booster pump you can get membranes that will do around 100. I store about 20 gallons in homedepot buckets for weeks at a time with no problems. I did have to replace the di resin sooner than it should have been as the resin it came with was low quality and it causes the water coming out of it to smell like dead fish when it goes bad. when the carbon needs replaced i will probably just buy a refillable canister and buy the carbon in bulk as well as add on a sediment filter.

I would also avoid any unit sold in a big box store. they pretty much all use propriety filters that are spendy to replace.

these two websites have stellar records
http://thefilterguys.biz
http://bulkreefsupply.com

and theses are the two ebay sellers i got my unit from.
http://myworld.ebay.com/h2osplash/&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2754
http://myworld.ebay.com/purewaterclub*com/&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2754

both websites cater to the reef aquarium crowd, but the quality of water that comes out of these kind of units is top notch and the prices are reasonable.
the water out of the unit will taste funny at first because it has no taste, just getting rid of that shitty chlorine taste is worth it.

[RGinIdaho]

For portables, we took a PUR/Katadyn, First Need and Sweetwater to AK for 3 weeks.

All three definitely got the job done. We filtered every bit of cooking and drinking water for the duration of our 3wk float/hunt.

All filtered primarily clear water such as one would find in an Idaho stream without issue. When it came down to filtering water from swollen crks and rivers laden with silt from weeks of rain; The First Need crapped out first(1 wk), then the Sweetwater(2wks), the PUR kept running. The first two needed constant cleaning of the pre and main filters to keep up. The Pur only required cleaning the pre-filter.

Most water was gathered in a 5gal bucket and allowed to sit overnight to allow silt to settle out before filtering. Maybe the First Need and Sweetwater were doing a better job at the main filter? I don't know. We made it back and no-one became ill.

[No-One]

I have a PUR Hiker that has served me well for over 10 years . The only thing about the filter that I don't like is that the filter is expensive and if you don't drain the unit and dry it out it looks like a great place for mold to grow . I replace the filter every year for hunting season and make sure I dry it out after hunting season is over . It may be overkill for how little I use it these days but 30 bucks seems like a good deal for the peace of mind it brings me .

The primary usage of my filter has been backpacking and hunting with trips running about a week or so being the norm .

[Shortmag]

I carry a Katadyn Hiker pro in the backpack with an Aquamira frontier as a backup.

also keep an MSR miniworks ceramic in the truck...

SM

[chubbyhubby]

I haven't bought yet, but my research says the Sawyer point zero two is the *safest* besides for chlorine drops and boiling.

[JollyRoger]

I've used the hell out of the Katadyn Hiker Pro over the last ~10 years.  I think everything considered they are one of the best filters out there.  It's easy to care for, light weight and has a durable mechanism with the straight in and out style pump (less moving parts than the MSR crank lever styles).