Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2024

Think about this: You’re within the backcountry, almost out of liquids on a scorcher of a day, whenever you hit the primary water supply you’ve seen for hours. You sit down, pull out your bladder and your pump, and drop the consumption tube into the water. However whenever you go to pump, the stress goes slack. Or the nozzle jams, barely a drop popping out regardless of how a lot you squeeze. Likelihood is, in the event you’ve spent sufficient time within the backcountry, you don’t must think about this situation: It’s occurred to you. Possibly greater than as soon as. 

It’s definitely occurred to me. So for Out of doors Life’s check of the perfect backpacking water filters, we determined to see which fashions from the highest manufacturers—together with MSR, Lifestraw, Katadyn, Grayl, Platypus, and RapidPure—might deal with the gnarliest water situations backpackers can anticipate finding: stagnant water with excessive ranges of bacterial contamination, the dark-tea tannin-filled water of a wetland, and silt-filled glacial runoff. 

How I Examined Backpacking Water Filters

Earlier than I even started testing, I interviewed the parents at MSR, LifeStraw, and Katadyn about how they assure that their filters are certainly eradicating micro organism and protozoa (and within the case of some of them, viruses). All of them interact in rigorous testing, utilizing EPA or NSF requirements, each in their very own amenities and thru third events, like BCS Laboratories out of Florida.

I visited the MSR facility the place they confirmed me the lab the place they not solely develop E. coli micro organism, but additionally a virus that assaults E. coli, to check the efficiency of their Guardian filter. The thoroughness of this testing is just not one thing that may be simply replicated within the pure setting, the place the pre-existing ranges of micro organism, protozoa, and viruses are unknown. As such, my testing didn’t take a look at how effectively the filters handled micro organism, protozoa, and viruses, as a result of all of the filters on this evaluation use EPA or NSF requirements.

One thing else that you just’ll typically see on the packaging of backpacking water filters is the variety of liters per minute that they filter. This quantity, nonetheless, solely displays what the filter is able to doing proper out of the field—not after you’ve taken it out on a few backpacking journeys—or 20. The manufacturers after all are testing to make sure that the filters can stand up to a sure degree of grit, however it’s uncommon to study what the circulate charge of the filters are after they’ve been uncovered to some less-than-ideal water sources, not to mention how a lot grit and sediment and muck a filter can take earlier than it craps out fully. So my testing checked out what situations the backpacking filters can stand up to and nonetheless return an affordable (or any) circulate charge.

To start out, I referred to as in or bought the most well-liked backpacking water filters accessible, together with corresponding fashions from their opponents. Earlier than I started testing the filters out within the area, I first timed how lengthy it took every to filter one liter of water out of the field. Typically, these occasions corresponded to the marketed occasions of the producers. Throughout this course of, I additionally famous how sophisticated the filter setup was out of the field. 

Then I took the filters to a public seaside in Bellevue, Washington, which had been closed as a result of excessive ranges of fecal matter (3 times greater than what’s thought-about protected for swimming). Right here I filtered 5 liters of water by means of every of the filters in my check.

Along with the recorded excessive ranges of fecal contamination, the water was additionally pretty scummy.

On the finish of the primary spherical of testing, I took the filters again dwelling and measured how lengthy it took to run a liter of water by means of every, and the way that in comparison with the out-of-the field check. Generally, there was a noticeable, if not vital, impact on the size of time it took to filter one liter of water. Paradoxically, some filters measured a sooner time on the finish of the preliminary spherical of testing than they’d firstly; my impression is that that is the results of my changing into extra environment friendly at utilizing the filter with follow.

The second spherical of testing came about at Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary, simply north of Seattle, Washington. This can be a classically lovely swamp, with loads of water however all of it gunked up by the dust and tannins and life teeming beneath the floor. Right here we might see how effectively the backpacking water filters responded to the mucky water sources that these within the backcountry are generally compelled to resort to. I filtered three liters by means of every of the water filters at this website, after which headed dwelling to file how lengthy it was taking every water filter to push water by means of.

Unsurprisingly, a number of the filters have been actually struggling on the finish of this check. For the filters that took over two minutes to course of a liter of water, I adopted producer instructions to backflush (pushing water backwards by means of the filter) or in any other case clear the filter, noting that some filters couldn’t be cleaned or backflushed.

Then I retested these filters (the outcomes are famous in a parenthetical within the under desk) to see how efficient cleansing the filters was at establishing water circulate. The 2 filters that took over 5 minutes to course of a liter of water on the finish of the second spherical of testing, the LifeStraw Peak Collection Gravity and the RapidPure Air purifier+, have been faraway from the check at the moment.

The ultimate testing website was the Puyallup River, accessed on the city of Orting, Washington. At first look, the Puyallup seems like every other muddy river. However the Puyallup will get its coloration from glacial sediment, a particularly high quality silt that stays suspended within the water. This sediment additionally works its means into the internal workings of filtration techniques like no one’s enterprise. Nobody would select to filter this type of water until there was no different choice accessible; generally, there is no such thing as a different choice accessible.

Unsurprisingly, most of the filters struggled with cleansing three liters of water throughout this check, and one (the MSR Miniworks EX) was faraway from testing because it merely clogged up and stopped working. On the finish of this spherical of testing, the filters have been measured to see what their circulate charge was. Subsequent, the filters, the place potential, have been additionally backflushed, or in any other case cleaned, after which had their circulate charge measured once more. (Notice that a number of the occasions for this stage have been once more sooner than the preliminary circulate.

Whereas I made an effort to standardize the quantity of elbow grease I used to be placing into every filter through the timed check, it’s clear that I used to be placing extra elbow grease into the ultimate stage of testing than I did straight out of the field). The ultimate step of this check was to reweigh every of the filters to evaluate how their weight had modified from the beginning of testing. I pumped out as a lot water as I might from every filter after which positioned the filters in an enclosed room with a dehumidifier to take away extra water (with out drying out the filter elements themselves). After an hour, I took them out and reweighed them.

Gravity Filters

Water Filter	Checklist Value	Filter	Efficient towardsViruses?	Preliminary Weight	Out of the Field	Micro organism Seashore	Tea-Coloured Wetland	Glacial Runoff	After Backflushing or Cleansing	Closing Weight
					Time to Filter 1 Liter after Every Stage
Katadyn Gravity BeFree	$75	Hole fiber	No	6.8 oz	0:45	0:50	0:45	1:50	2:45	8.7 oz
LifeStraw Peak Series Gravity	$66	Hole-core membrane	No	8.1 oz	1:00	6:15	13:30(5:35)	–	–	–
Platypus GravityWorks	$150	Hole fiber	No	11.5 oz	1:10	1:40	2:00	59:10	7:30	12.8 oz

Squeeze Filters

Water Filter	Checklist Value	Filter	Efficient towardsViruses?	Preliminary Weight	Out of the Field	Micro organism Seashore	Tea-Coloured Wetland	Glacial Runoff	After Backflushing or Cleansing	Closing Weight
					Time to Filter 1 Liter after Every Stage
Grayl UltraPress	$90	Electro- adsorption, activated carbon	Sure	12.5 oz	0:50*	1:00	1:50	6:30	N/A	13.9 oz
Katadyn BeFree	$45	Hole fiber	No	2.3 oz	0:40	0:25	0:42	1:10	0:50	3.1 oz
LifeStraw Peak Series Collapsible Squeeze Bottle	$38	Hole-core membrane	No	3.9 oz	0:50*	1:50	3:50(1:10)	4:10	1:30	4.1 oz
MSR Trailshot	$61	Superior hole fiber	No	5.2 oz	0:55	1:40	2:55(2:20)	4:10	4:20	6.4 oz
Platypus QuickDraw	$50	Hole fiber	No	3.4 oz	0:35	0:35	1:30	1:30	0:40	4.2 oz
Sawyer Squeeze	$39	Hole-fiber membrane	No	3 oz	0:55	0:50	0:50	1:05	0:45	5 oz
Sawyer Mini Squeeze	$30	Hole-fiber membrane	No	2 oz	1:10*	1:20	1:50	3:10	1:50	2.9 oz
RapidPure Purifier+	$42	Electro- adsorption, activated carbon	Sure	5.7 oz	2:30	2:20	5:30(N/A)	–	–	–

Pump Filters

Water Filter	Checklist Value	Filter	Efficient towardsViruses?	Preliminary Weight	Out of the Field	Micro organism Seashore	Tea-Coloured Wetland	Glacial Runoff	After Backflushing or Cleansing	Closing Weight
					Time to Filter 1 Liter after Every Stage
Katadyn Hiker Pro	$90	Glass fiber with carbon core	No	11 oz	0:45	0:45	1:10	4:50	N/A	13.4 oz
Katadyn Pocket	$395	Ceramic	No	19.4 oz	1:05	1:25	4:00(1:10)	11:15	1:05	23.7 oz
Katadyn Vario	$92	Ceramic, activated carbon	No	15 oz	0:30	0:35	0:40	4:25	Stopped working at .2 liters	–
MSR Guardian	$390	Superior hole fiber	Sure	17.3 oz	0:45	0:45	0:45	0:45	N/A	21.5 oz
MSR MiniWorks EX	$120	Ceramic	Sure	16 oz	1:15	1:35	12:45(1:25)	Stopped working at 1.2 liters	–	–

Further testing was carried out on a number of chemical and UV therapy choices as a part of the inaugural Out of doors Life backpacking gear check. Whereas chemical and UV therapy choices don’t take away any dust or grit or microplastics from water sources, they will render micro organism, protozoa, and even viruses inert, making water protected to drink.

Greatest Backpacking Water Filters: Evaluations & Suggestions

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa and micro organism
• Weight: 3.4 ounces (preliminary); 4.2 ounces (finish of testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 0:35 (preliminary); 0:40 (finish of testing)

Execs

• The quickest filter I examined total
• Light-weight
• Sturdy
• Will be paired with a SmartWater bottle

Cons

• Backflushing was extra sophisticated than the Sawyer Squeeze or Katadyn BeFree

Whereas the Platypus QuickDraw was a hair behind the Katadyn BeFree after the preliminary spherical of testing, it was out in entrance of the pack on the finish of testing. The one spherical the place the QuickDraw struggled was within the mucky water of the wetland, though I didn’t backflush it till after the glacial runoff spherical as its circulate was nonetheless forward of the vast majority of filters. As soon as backflushed, its efficiency was restored to shut to the extent that it had out of the field.

Not like the Sawyer Squeeze, you’ll be able to backflush the Platypus QuickDraw with a SmartWater bottle. Whereas I appreciated that I didn’t want a separate software to backflush the Platypus QuickDraw (one thing I’m liable to dropping), I did discover that the cap to the filter prevented me from making a flush seal with the clear facet of the filter.

That being mentioned, the Platypus QuickDraw cap was rather more sturdy than both the Sawyer Squeeze’s (damaged by the top of testing) or the Katadyn BeFree’s (getting there). Whilst you can proceed to filter water simply high quality and not using a cap, having it is going to assist to extend the lifespan of your filter. I additionally discovered that the mushy pliable materials of platypus soiled sack mixed with the positioning of the filter factor on the inside (relatively than on the within of the bag), made this probably the most nice filter to squeeze water out of in my check. 

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa and micro organism
• Weight: 2.3 ounces (preliminary); 3.1 ounces (after testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 0:40 (preliminary); 0:50 (after testing)

Execs

• Simple to wash
• Quick circulate
• Light-weight

Cons

• Troublesome to squeeze all the water out of the bag

When it got here time to wash the filters after three rounds of testing, I spent numerous time on YouTube, studying the best way to clear ceramic filters and backflush with a SmartWater bottle. However when it was time to wash the BeFree, the directions have been nearly comically easy. Simply take it out of the bag, place it in a clear bowl of water, and swish it round a bit. To be sincere, I used to be uncertain this was going to do a lot, however I knew from conversations with the parents at Katadyn that backflushing this filter was not an choice, as it might injury the hole fibers and impair their capability to weed out protozoa and micro organism. 

To my shock, the swishing appeared to work. The bowl of water shortly turned a murky brown. I repeated the method a few occasions and retested: the circulate charge had improved by nearly 20 %. Not dangerous. 

The Katadyn BeFree was the second lightest filter I examined, weighing a mere .2 ounces greater than the Sawyer Mini regardless of coming with a bigger soiled water sack—in the event you paired the Sawyer Mini with a SmartWater bottle as an alternative of the offered soiled water sack, this could be the lighter of the 2. For UL purists trying to replace their Sawyer Squeeze, this could positively be in competition.

There have been a few issues that I want have been completely different concerning the Katadyn BeFree. First off, the filter is housed within the soiled water bag, which makes it troublesome to squeeze all the water out—more often than not, this received’t be a giant deal, however in the event you’re sitting at a seep within the Southwest, the place the water is popping out at a trickly liter each 10 minutes, it might begin to get outdated. The opposite is the design of the lid cap, which principally resembles what you’d see on a sports activities drink on the comfort retailer. Once I flippantly twisted it to check the sturdiness it began to snap off. In fact, I can nonetheless use the filter so long as I maintain onto the cap, however I might relatively see a extra sturdy cap in change for just a few further grams.

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa and micro organism
• Weight: 3 ounces (preliminary); 5 ounces (finish of testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 0:55 (preliminary); 0:45 (finish of testing) 

Execs

• Inexpensive than its rivals
• Quick circulate
• Light-weight
• Will be paired with a SmartWater bottle

Cons

• Requires a separate software to backflush
• Picked up 2 ounces between the beginning and finish of testing

The Sawyer Squeeze has been a backpacking mainstay for many years and testing confirmed that hikers’ loyalty is well-founded. Whereas this filter was slower than each the Platypus Quickdraw and the Katadyn BeFree through the first spherical of testing (by about 15 seconds and 25 seconds respectively), it was out forward of the BeFree by the top of testing, and solely 5 second behind the QuickDraw. Whereas my testing confirmed that the Sawyer Squeeze was sooner on the finish of testing than it was firstly, I think that I had merely gotten used to placing in an extreme quantity of elbow grease into the filters after pushing over 40 liters of glacial runoff by means of 14 filters.  

A part of what makes this filter so efficient is its backflushing system, which includes filling a easy syringe with water after which pushing its contents into the outflow nozzle on the filter. After working the filters by means of three liters every of the Puyallup River, I wasn’t shocked to see the water shoot out brown initially, however it cleared up after solely a few rounds of backflushing. 

Sadly, the Sawyer Squeeze picked up two ounces of weight between the beginning and finish of testing, suggesting that it’s holding onto extra moisture (and probably unbackflushed grit) contained in the filter than different comparative fashions.

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa and micro organism
• Weight: 2 ounces (preliminary); 2.9 ounces (after testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 1:10 (preliminary); 1:50 (after testing)

Execs

• Lightest filter in my check
• Least costly filter in my check
• Smallest filter in my check

Cons

• Took twice as lengthy to filter a liter of water as a number of the different high picks

The mini-me model of the Sawyer Squeeze is the proper filter for UL lovers—sufficiently small that it received’t take up a lot actual property in your backpacking backpack and light-weight sufficient (even after the ultimate weigh-in) which you can scrub an oz or extra off your spreadsheet. Even higher, it’s so reasonably priced that it wouldn’t harm your price range a lot to simply change it every season. The place it wobbles, unsurprisingly, is in water circulate taking about twice so long as the usual Sawyer Squeeze to filter a liter of water. In fact, in the event you plan to connect the filter on to a SmartWater bottle and suck the water out from there, that may not matter a lot to you.

I used the offered soiled bag throughout testing and was impressed with its sturdiness. Even after squeezing the bag as onerous as I might to push the water out over ten rounds of filling and filtering to succeed in the specified 5 liters, the bag nonetheless seemed like new. I solely want that it was bigger—the bag that comes with the mini is 16 ounces relatively than the usual liter. One thing else I observed throughout testing was that the filter itself didn’t seem to screw onto the bag accurately. Every time I attempted to repair it, the angle would nonetheless be lopsided. Luckily, there have been no leaks throughout testing so this seems to be primarily an aesthetic concern. 

Whereas the circulate charge for the Sawyer Mini was not particularly spectacular (about 4 occasions so long as the Katadyn BeFree), I did admire that it got here with a light-weight syringe to backflush the filter when it begins to clog an excessive amount of. 

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa and micro organism 
• Weight: 2.3 ounces (6.8 ounces for the gravity model)
• Filter Pore Dimension: .1 micron

Execs

• Filters water shortly
• Easy mechanism
• Light-weight
• Inexpensive

Cons

• Troublesome to get the final of the water out of flask
• No capability to backflush

At its core, all a water filtration system must do is transfer soiled water by means of a filter, with out inadvertently contaminating the clear water vessel on the opposite facet. One of the widespread kinds of backpacking water filters leans into this simplicity: all a consumer has to do is replenish a plastic bag with soiled water, connect the filter, after which squeeze the water by means of into their ingesting vessel.

The thought behind a gravity filter is pretty easy, as an alternative of compacting or pumping soiled water into your ingesting vessel, let gravity do the give you the results you want. After filling up the soiled bag—which holds as much as three liters within the case of Katadyn—you then elevate it by putting it on a big rock, hanging it in a tree, and even holding it your self, no matter works. The upper the water is, the sooner it is going to circulate by means of the filter, however it is going to work so long as the bag itself is increased up than the top of the outlet hose. Then you’ll be able to simply stroll away whereas gravity forces the water from the soiled water sources into your clear container.

Of the three gravity filters in my check, the Katadyn Gravity BeFree had the quickest circulate each when initially unboxed and after the ultimate stage of testing. It was additionally lighter than the opposite two fashions in my check by a number of ounces. 

One small, however probably vital, distinction between the Katadyn BeFree and the Platypus GravityWorks and LifeStraw Peak Collection Gravity is that the grasp strap is just not hooked up to the water flask when the gravity is first unboxed. This strap, nonetheless, shouldn’t be thought-about non-compulsory. The bail deal with on the high of the water flask is just not meant to be slung over a department, and is just too small for the department measurement that you’d want for the filter to be safely suspended. 

One other distinction between the Katadyn Gravity BeFree and the opposite two filters in my check is that it isn’t designed for backflushing (which might injury the fibers), however the filter might be cleaned by fastidiously swishing it in water. Whereas the filter did seem cleaner after I swished it, oddly, the time it took to filter a liter of water elevated by a minute (I reran this check to substantiate the outcomes).

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa and micro organism 
• Weight: 11.5 ounces (preliminary); 12.8 ounces (after testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 1:10 (preliminary); 7:30 (after testing)

Execs

• Largest capability flasks of any filter in my check
• Robust circulate after the primary two rounds of testing

Cons

• Costly in comparison with different gravity filters I examined
• Struggled to filter glacial runoff

All of the gravity filters in my check got here with a flask of not less than three liters, which is sweet in case you are touring with a number of individuals, because it reduces the variety of rounds of filling up your soiled flask that it’s worthwhile to do. The Platypus GravityWorks takes this a step additional, with a unclean flask capability of 4 liters. Even higher, it comes with a second bladder to filter your clear water instantly into it.  

In testing, the GravityWorks took about twice as lengthy to filter a liter of water after the primary stage of testing because the Katadyn BeFree; nonetheless, it was almost unable to course of the glacial runoff, taking an hour to filter a liter of water after the third stage of testing. After utilizing about six liters of water to backflush the GravityWorks, which is completed by merely elevating the clear water reservoir above the soiled reservoir and permitting the water to circulate backward, the circulate improved considerably, however to not the extent of the Katadyn BeFree Gravity.

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa, micro organism, and viruses
• Weight: 17.3 ounces (preliminary); 21.5 ounces (after testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 0:45 (preliminary); 0:45 (after testing)

Execs

• Efficient towards viruses along with protozoa and micro organism
• One of many quickest circulate charges I examined
• Backflushes the filter with every pump
• Can stand up to freezing temperatures (assuming you let it thaw out afterward)

Cons

For backpacking water filters, safety towards viruses, together with norovirus and rotovirus, sometimes comes with a tradeoff—if you’d like a filter with a sufficiently small pore measurement to weed these suckers out, you higher be ready to place in some critical elbow grease. However the MSR Guardian manages the hat trick, filtering out viruses at a quick circulate charge with the identical, and even much less, elbow grease required as from different filters.

A part of this as a result of a singular function to the MSR Guardian: as an alternative of directing all the water out by means of the underside of the filter with every pump, a portion of the water is directed again by means of the filter—primarily backflushing the filter with every pump. Throughout testing, this meant that the filter had the identical efficiency over the past spherical of testing because it did through the first: forty-five seconds for a liter of water.

I used to be additionally impressed with how simple the MSR Guardian was to make use of straight out of the field: after it had been unmoored from its packaging, I merely unscrewed the cap on the underside of the filter, plopped the consumption filter into my pool of water and began filtering water. Moreover the prefilter, which could be a bit troublesome to place within the water supply as a result of a 90-degree angle, the largest draw back to the Guardian is its value, and its weight: it was about ten occasions as costly as different comparatively quick filters (the Katadyn BeFree, Platypus QuickDraw, and Sawyer Squeeze) and 5 occasions as heavy. However in the event you’re on the lookout for a no brainer filter that may take away the complete spectrum of micro organism, protozoa, and viruses out of your water with principally no upkeep required, then that is the filter for you. 

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa, micro organism, and viruses
• Weight: 3 ounces
• Time to deal with a liter of water: half-hour (customary), 4 hours (if cryptosporidium is current)

Execs

• No pumping or squeezing required
• No backflushing wanted
• Light-weight

Cons

• Prices can mount if used for longer journeys
• Not a good selection for water sources identified to harbor cryptosporidium

Aquamira therapy drops have lengthy been a favourite of backpackers and backpack hunters who’d relatively not cope with the effort of water filters in any respect, together with OL workers author Tyler Freel. (See: What’s Best for Backcountry Water: Filters or Drops?) And I can see why: Whereas these of us that use filters are hunched over and red-faced, squeezing out a liter of water from a sketchy pond, Staff Aquamira has time to take care of different camp chores whereas they watch for the water therapy drops to take impact.

First a notice on how Aquamira works. There are two bottles, Half A and Half B. When combined collectively, they produce chlorine dioxide, which is reactive in water, breaking the bonds that maintain micro organism, protozoa, and viruses collectively. To make use of Aquamira you combine collectively seven drops of Half A with seven drops of Half B within the bigger of the 2 caps. After 5 minutes, you’ll be able to add the combination to a liter of water. Twenty-five minutes after that, your water will probably be protected to drink. Notice: you can not pre-mix components A and B earlier than you head out in your trek. It have to be carried out within the area proper earlier than you deal with your water.

When you’ve been burned by water filters prior to now, then Aquamira is a dependable various that requires little elbow grease. It does, nonetheless, require you to maintain monitor of the time, which might be tough. On our backpacking testing journey, it took me a while to develop a system to handle treating a number of liters of water. And even then, asking a mountaineering companion to assist with part of the system was tough, because it was simple to inadvertently knock over the combination within the cap because it was activating. Backpackers and backpack hunters on the lookout for a light-weight water therapy choice can be higher served by the Katadyn BeFree, Platypus QuickDraw, or the Sawyer Squeeze.

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa, micro organism, and viruses (however not cryptosporidium)
• Weight: .1 ounce per tab
• Time to deal with a liter of water: half-hour

Execs

• Extraordinarily light-weight
• Cheap

Cons

• Noticeable style
• Not efficient towards cryptosporidium

For years, I carried a bottle of iodine in my first-aid equipment. I nearly by no means used it (iodine tastes horrible), however within the occasion that my water filter broke, I wished to have one thing surefire readily available. Whereas as we speak’s backpacking water filters are rather more dependable than the outdated pump fashions of yore, carrying just a few tabs of backup water therapy nonetheless brings me peace of thoughts on longer, extra distant backcountry treks.

Like Aquamira, Aquatabs take about half-hour to take impact, though no premixing is required right here. However whereas Aquamira has no discernible taste, there’s a slight chemical taste that goes together with the Aquatabs (though our testing group didn’t discover that they’d the identical unpalatable taste as different opinions). Whereas that is solely a minor concern in a real survival situation, long-term use of Aquatabs might lead to particular person backpackers inadvertently hydrating lower than is perfect for his or her setting.

Whereas Aquatabs received’t be changing a water filter in my equipment anytime quickly, they are going to be moving into my first-aid equipment as a backup water therapy choice for longer treks.

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Key Options

• Efficient towards protozoa, micro organism, and viruses
• Weight: 2.6 ounces
• Time to deal with a liter of water: 1.5 minutes

Execs

• Quick performing
• Efficient towards viruses
• Can’t clog

Cons

• Delicate to humidity
• Obscure why it’s malfunctioning generally

SteriPENs, the most well-liked type of UV water therapy for backpackers and backpack hunters, are one of many strangest water therapy choices available on the market. Whereas chemical therapy and water filter choices make some form of intuitive sense, the eerie glow of UV therapy appears nearly magical. For some individuals, that is interesting; for others, it’s a nonstarter.

Which will get a bit on the coronary heart of the expertise of utilizing a SteriPEN. I used the unique model of the SteriPEN for years and have become pretty acquainted in that point with its pitfalls: don’t pack it away moist, heat it up earlier than utilizing it in particularly chilly water, watch the sensors fastidiously when submerging. By fastidiously following these guidelines, we might get about as a lot reliability out of our SteriPEN as customers of the squeeze bag filters have been getting.

On our testing journey, I handed off this newest model of the SteriPEN to certainly one of our testers whereas going to place away my tent. Once I got here again, quarter-hour later, she nonetheless hadn’t managed to filter a liter of water. I watched her fifth try to see if I might troubleshoot what was going flawed, however I couldn’t see why she was getting error readings (or recall within the second what the completely different flashes of coloration meant).

Then I attempted it and it labored completely. This about sums up most individuals’s expertise with SteriPENs. After they work, it’s like magic. After they don’t work, you’ll wish to pull your hair out. When you do go this route (it’s the solely non-chemical therapy at this weight that’s efficient towards viruses), then make sure you check it out extensively at dwelling and take a backup water therapy methodology alongside for just a few journeys till you might be comfy with it.

Learn Subsequent: How Long Can You Survive Without Water?

Greatest for Worldwide Journey: Grayl Ultrapress

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Key Options 

• Efficient towards protozoa, micro organism, and viruses
• Weight: 12.5 ounces (preliminary); 13.9 ounces (after testing)
• Time to filter a liter of water: 0:50 (preliminary); 6:30 (after testing)

Execs

• Filters out viruses
• Constructed-in water bottle

Cons

• Heavy
• Brief cartridge life
• Can’t deal with sediment

You could be questioning, why is there a journey advice in a narrative on backpacking water filters? I’ll let you know: It’s as a result of I get requested fairly often why I don’t advocate this water filter for backpacking. In spite of everything, it’s bought some spectacular options. It’s a combo water filter and water bottle. It filters out viruses. And, out of the field, it’s a lot quick in comparison with the opposite greatest backpacking water filters.

Let’s first take a look at how the Grayl works. It’s a bit like a French press. You pull out the internal tube, fill the bottle up with water to the specified line, after which push the internal tube again down on high of the water till it’s all pushed by means of the filter on the underside. This works greatest in the event you put the water bottle on the bottom and permit your physique weight to do the work of pushing the water by means of.

Whereas Grayl boasts a really quick circulate charge for this bottle, the precise charge could be very a lot affected by how a lot effort you place into it. Most individuals can count on a half liter to take about 30 seconds, whereas expending reasonable effort. The filter itself can also be distinctive, because it makes use of carbon to draw viruses utilizing electroabsorption (which is a basically completely different course of than filtering them out, such because the MSR Guardian does). 

For backpackers, there are a handful of points that add as much as this being not fairly the correct selection. First off, it’s fairly heavy, even when bearing in mind the good thing about having a built-in water bottle. Within the backcountry, this added weight goes up much more, because the final half inch or so of water within the Grayl doesn’t filter by means of the internal tube, and is just left sitting on the backside of the bottle after filtering. The filter itself additionally has a a lot shorter lifespan than different backpacking filters, with Grayl promoting which you can count on about 350 liters out of it.

Throughout testing, the filter was very affected by our gnarliest testing website, the glacial runoff, suggesting that in much less pristine components of the backcountry this filter might final considerably much less time than 350 liters. And when this filter begins to battle, it turns into an actual nightmare to try to use. At the very least with the squeeze baggage you’ll be able to sit down when you battle away (and perhaps even backflush!), with the Grayl you’re caught standing up, throwing all your physique weight down on high of a tiny lid that’s only some inches in diameter. 

However what concerning the virus filtering? Properly, only a few backcountry water sources are contaminated by issues like rotavirus, as a result of these are sometimes human-borne pathogens. Backpackers don’t want this type of firepower. Right here’s who does: anybody residing in or visiting components of the world the place the water popping out of the faucet isn’t reliable. That water might be working clear, too, so the lifespan of the filter will probably be that for much longer. When you’re on the lookout for a journey water bottle that may defend you from nearly every thing, from e.Coli to giardia to cryptosporidum, that is the filter for you. 

FAQs

Issues to Contemplate Earlier than Shopping for Backpacking Water Filters

Filter vs Air purifier

The distinction between a water air purifier and a water filter comes right down to its filter pore measurement. Conventional water filters have pore sizes, sometimes .2 microns or 200 nanometers, which can be sufficiently small to weed out micro organism and protozoa, however not the a lot smaller viruses, equivalent to rotovirus (70 nanometers) or norovirus (38 nanometers). People touring to backcountry environments identified to be contaminated with viruses ought to take further warning that their filter will defend them, however it isn’t frequent for water sources to be contaminated with viruses.

Camp vs Path

When you plan to place a ton of miles in your hiking shoes, then the lighter weight of a squeeze-bag model filter could also be a better precedence for you. Nevertheless, in case you are solely mountaineering a brief distance to camp, then the comfort of a gravity filter or the lower-effort pump filters could also be a better selection.

Sediment and Particles

When you count on the water sources in your subsequent backpacking journey to be unusually soiled—stuffed with swirling sediment or plant matter—then it’s greatest to decide on a backpacking water filter with a prefilter. The prefilter helps to make sure that a number of the muck within the water supply doesn’t make its means into the extra delicate fibers of your filter, which might finally clog it and render it inoperable.

Closing Ideas

The most effective backpacking water filters produced by respected manufacturers like MSR, LifeStraw, Katadyn, Platypus, RapidPure, and Grayl present glorious safety towards waterborne illnesses within the backcountry. Which filter is best for you will rely largely on whether or not you prioritize value, weight, or long-term sturdiness. That will help you make a ultimate choice on an environment friendly particular person backpacking filter, we put the Sawyer Squeeze, Katadyn BeFree, and Platypus QuickDraw head to head in a brand new testing setting: the desert. Whereas there are rising numbers of low-profile filters available on the market which can be able to eradicating viruses from water sources, throughout testing these have been so arduous to make use of after even the primary spherical of testing that I might advocate backpackers pair a chlorine-based disinfectant or perhaps a UV-based air purifier like a SteriPen with a water filter as an alternative.