Water purifiers

imported
#1

need advise. I have a sweetwater purifier and have used it several times. problem… some water sources have a high silt content that clog the filter very quickly… Pain in the #$$ to keep unclogging… I see that sweetwater has a prefilter now… Question. does anyone have experience with the prefilter and/or what other filters work better… not filtering is not an option (I hike with my wife and she is really worried about giardia) and I hate the taste of tablets etc…Thanks for any advise…

Huff & Puff

#2

I’ve only used the sweetwater in clear water, so can’t offer any comparison advice. I have the msr filter, and it has some sort of pre-filter device- though I don’t know that it blocks silt. I used it last summer along the Long Trail, which had me filtering from pretty sketchy locations at times. It seems to work fairly well. When the water was siltier, I cleaned it more often - but the cleaning is easy and goes quickly.

All in all, I like my filter - though it does have an annoying squeak as you work the pump. Keeps the bears away:tongue

Tumblina

#3

I have a Katadyn filter and used coffee filter on the prefilter end. It seemed to really help I made it all the way to Katahdin on the same filter I stated with. I saw another fellow that did not use a coffee filter and he had replaced his cartridge about half way through.

dad’s grin

#4

collect water in a 3 liter collapsible platypus( wt is 4 oz) and the filter water into your nalgene. If water source is poor I dip water into the playpus. Your filter will stay clean for much longer.

axeless

#5

I have a PUR Hiker with a prefilter and when I am filtering from really silty water I will wrap my bandana around the end (after I rinse it out of course) to act as a further particulate filter. I have had very little clogging problems with my filter.

Big B

#6

I switched to a MSR mini-works after clogging several Hiker cartridges and destroying a sweet water. The Mini-works is completely maintainable so you can clean it anywhere. It is a little heavier than other filters but the ablility to clean the cartiridge can save a lot of money.

Darth Pacman

#7

Collect your water in one of these:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?memberId=12500226&productId=13743

Hang the bag from a shelter nail or something comparable. Let the silt settle to the bottom of the bag. Filter from bag. So long as you don’t feed the filter intake to the bottom of the bag, you should avoid clogging the filter.

This little 3 oz. water carrier is a great piece of “gear.”

Skyline

#8

Agree with Darth Pacman. The Mini-Works is completely field repairable and cleanable. The design is better than the Hiker and many other filters in that there aren’t two hoses to tangle and possibly cross-contaminate.

Downside is it’s heavier and bulkier. But not by that much. Certainly a good tradeoff when the alternative may be having NO useable filter 'til you get to the next trail town.

Skyline

#9

Years ago I used a Sweetwater filter on the AT for a 3 day hike. By day 3 it was so clogged and very hard to pump. I only filtered from clear, quick-moving streams. Since then I’ve gone with Aqua Mira. There’s no taste, saves tons of time, only 3 oz., dont have to worry about anything clogging.

guru

#10

We used the Mini-works and were very happy with its performance. On our thur-hike, the original cartridge lasted from GA to VT. It is very easy to clean. It is a bit heavy but we didn’t mind that. It was better then chemicals treatment. Make sure if you replace the filter to get the correct replacement. The one we bought in Rutland at the outfitter was a older model and didn’t work. We ended up getting one sent to use from REI.

Bluelight

#11

I also like the Katadyn (ex-PUR) Hiker, and found with a little care, it works fine. The coffee filter around the pre-filter is an excellent idea, too…works great. I use a small collapsible vinyl bucket I got from LLBean. I like the fact that it stands or can be hung from the handle to let any particles settle. I guess that was my luxury item.
The first one I had started to leak around the seam, but “Insane” fixed it for me with seam sealer. I think perhaps I was folding it too stiffly in cold weather, but LLBean sent me a new one which I still have. A lot of people liked to borrow it, too.

I guess you could use it for rain hat, if necessary :wink:

Lady Di

#12

The MSR has worked well for years. I learned from a thru hiker to cover the intake with a piece of neckerchief. This cuts out all of the silt and gravel and prevents the filter from clogging up quickly. Also, particularly from muddy or debris filled sources, use a water bag to give the junk a chance to settle.

Ankle Express

#13

I collect the water into my 4 liter dromlite (only weighs 3.5 oz) and filter from that. I also occasionally add a coffee filter on the intake (but still pump from the bladder). On my '04 hike, Giggles & I used a single Pur/Katydyn Hiker cartridge from Springer to Hanover. We filtered about 2-3 gallons a day. There was still life in the original filter, but we were tired of bouncing the spare ahead of us for 4 months.

The only issue I ran into was the pump gasket dried out & got a bit dirty. I popped the handle off, cleaned & lubricated the o-ring gasket & was back in action.

30-30

#14

Coffee filters and bleach… (1 tsp. per gallon)

Been doing it this way for years…

happy hikinh all :cheers

KTR

#15

I used a Sweetwater purifier with pre-filter in 03/04. The prefilter would clog every week or so, but easily comes apart. I would scrape off the gunk, backflush it, and it was ready for another cycle. Once every couple of months I’d get a new prefilter element. Never had to do anything with the main filter. Use common sense: if you can’t see the bottom of a foot deep creek, you’re going to clog your filter.


Lady Di, Skyline, and others mentioned carrying a collapsible bucket or other container and filtering from that. I did that myself and it worked well. Saves you from multiple trips to the well, especially at that first shelter just north of Duncannon.

Goggles