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Water purification system

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Water purification system

Postby Lonnie » 07 20, 2017 •  [Post 1]

I have never bought a water purification system. When I was in the military we ether boiled our water are used iodine tables which made your water taste like crap. So what are you guys having good luck with. And what systems have you used that did not work. I am looking a buying a light weight system. Just don't know which one yet.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 07 20, 2017 •  [Post 2]

I have an older MSR filter which is slooooooow (as with most of the charcoal type filters).. it's in a backup roll now. I have a Katadyn Hiker Pro which works very well (pump type of filter), and, one of the Katadyn Base Camp bags (fill up the bag, hang it, and filtered water comes out of a tube and into your water bladder). They both have the same type of replaceable filter which makes things nice.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Brendan » 07 20, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Just remember - all filters must be kept from freezing. If they freeze - the filter needs to be replaced or you're risking drinking un-filtered water.

For me - I have different types that I use based on the scenario.

I have a Steripen Classic, that purifies water by ultraviolet light. This works great in relatively clear water, pulled from running streams. Fill up your nalgene, dip the pen in, hit the button and stir for 90 seconds.

I also have a Katadyn Hiker Pro pump that I have set up to pump directly into my water bladder. This gets the nod if there's any water that has a lot of crap in it. As it gets clogged up, it can get slow. I make sure to back flush / clean and dry it out after every hunt.

I also have a Sawyer inline filter. I use this rarely, but can use it as a gravity filter setup for water to flow from one bag to another in camp while I'm not monitoring it.

Backup - I carry some form of tablets or chemical purifier - MSR Aquatabs or Aquamira. Although, I don't know if I've ever actually used these.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Lonnie » 07 20, 2017 •  [Post 4]

What about the bacteria in the water. I see some are one or two stage filters.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Indian Summer » 07 20, 2017 •  [Post 5]

This is another one time investment. Don't play games buy the best you can afford. They cost doesn't vary that much anyway. Katadyn is a very popular brand and that's what I use. Guys like Brendan who cover serious miles opt for the Hiker Pro. I prefer the Vario. I like the lever action pump instead of the in and out plunger type. The Vario is FAST too. The 2 stage filter does the job so you can keep running after elk instead of running to the port o potty! :D

Vario:
Vario.png
Vario.png (51.93 KiB) Viewed 12903 times


Hiker Pro:
HikerPro.png
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Lonnie » 07 21, 2017 •  [Post 6]

So what do you guys think about the Katadyn plastic water bottle with the filter in it. It looks more affordable. Lighter in weight. The replacement filters are 30.00. But I wonder how much water you could put threw it. I will be using the system as a back up just in case I run out of water.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby BobcatJerry » 07 23, 2017 •  [Post 7]

Seems those water bottles would be fine for getting a drink, or filling it up and carrying with you as a drinking supply. Might be challenging to make water for cooking and filling a pack bladder. I carry my Steri pen and nalgene bottle for extra water when out hunting and will often refill my bladder mid day. Took me two years to trust it, but it works. Use a retrofitted MSR gravity water bag and a Sawyer filter out of one of those bottle to filter enough water for camp. Usually we have to make about 7-10 gallons of camp/carrying water for 6 days. Have a MSR pump type too, but it's slow and gives you a work out, need a drink when your done. Sounds like the Katadyne is fast.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Brendan » 07 24, 2017 •  [Post 8]

BobcatJerry wrote:Sounds like the Katadyne is fast.


So-so. I think it depends on how new the filter is. I think I prefer the Steripen unless the water has a lot of stuff in it.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby saddlesore » 07 24, 2017 •  [Post 9]

Don' t know if they still sell them or not, but I use First Need. It is about the same as Katdyne.Either hand pump or hang a 5 gallon bag from a tree and let it gravity feed thru the filter. I use pre filter to get rid of the big stuff first. It is suppose to be good for 50 gallons of filtering

Lat elk seasons, I always had to take it to bed with me to keep it from freezing.
As IS says, don't scrimp on one. One bout of Giardiosis and you wish you hadn't
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Re: Water purification system

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 07 24, 2017 •  [Post 10]

saddlesore wrote:As IS says, don't scrimp on one. One bout of Giardiosis and you wish you hadn't


Truer words were never spoken, bad.... bad.... stuff.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Elkhntr08 » 07 25, 2017 •  [Post 11]

Bought the Katadyn Vario about 10 years ago. It was a great investment. I watch out for filter replacements, find them on clearance from time to time. Grab a few and I'm set. Change them out frequently, so it filters faster.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby ishy » 07 25, 2017 •  [Post 12]

Anyone use the Sawyer Mini?
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Re: Water purification system

Postby CurlyTail » 07 25, 2017 •  [Post 13]

Sawyer mini is quite versitile.

You can attach the rubber straw and drink straight out of the stream

You can fill the small bag, and squeeze it through the filter into your water bottle

you can fill a small mouthed plastic pop bottle, screw on the mini, and drink through the filter

you can put the filter in line on your water bladder and just suck it through the filter

I find it great for small quantites of water, but prefer a Platypus 4 liter Gravity Works bag system for larger quantities of water for cooking
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Elkhunttoo » 07 25, 2017 •  [Post 14]

I have the sawyer mini and the larger one... both work good... I love the light weight and versatility of them. For long trips you might want something bigger but for a pack they are really nice. Most of my trips the longest I'm out is usually 3 days
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Re: Water purification system

Postby jmez » 07 25, 2017 •  [Post 15]

I have a Sawyer mini and love it. I have it directly inline in my camelback. I just dunk the camelback and it filters as I drink it. You need to have water sources deep enough that you can dunk a bladder for this to work. You also need pretty clean water so the filter doesn't get full of debris so that you'd have problems getting it through the filter. I've used the same one the last three years and no issues. The water flows pretty easily throught it for drinking. They are cheap and light so I have an exra in my pack all the time in case the one I'm using would plug or fail.

This doesn't work for a camp water source. We use a Katadyn hanging bag in camp and that works really well also. Again, you need a source deep enough to dunk the bag and a fairly clean source.

I'll never go back to a pump.

I'll also add I use a Stone Glacier pack so my bladder hangs on the frame, between the back and frame. I have a quick release tube on it. Snap the tube out and just pull the bladder out, fill and drop it back in. The mini may not be so handy if you bladder is inside a bag and doesn't come right out.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Indian Summer » 07 25, 2017 •  [Post 16]

Brendan mentioned and I've heard from others that the Katadyn Pro Hiker is slow. I'm here to tell you the Vario is FAST! It's nothing to fill a 5 gallon jug.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby husky390 » 08 08, 2017 •  [Post 17]

My system consists of the following:

Sawyer Mini
Platypus 3L
Diesel Filter

I fill the filter up and drain it into the Platypus until full. Then clip in the mini and let gravity do its work and fill my bladder. Then refill the Platypus and leave it at camp.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby N2mywake » 08 13, 2017 •  [Post 18]

I have the hiker pro and it is slow. We pump about 5 gallons every other day and it takes about an hour or so.
I'm currently rigging up a gravity setup using the Sawyer mini so we can set it up in the am when we leave camp to filter 5 gallons while we're out hunting.
I'll still carry the hiker pro to pump while we're out during the day if we run out.

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Re: Water purification system

Postby BrentLaBere » 08 14, 2017 •  [Post 19]

I was a really big fan of the hiker pro. With two trips to the mountains this summer Ive seen two of them fail. Also one mini sawyer fail. quick reminder to have a back up or some tablets. I only had enough for 4 liters of water so the trip was cut short.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby N2mywake » 08 14, 2017 •  [Post 20]

BrentLaBere wrote:I was a really big fan of the hiker pro. With two trips to the mountains this summer Ive seen two of them fail. Also one mini sawyer fail. quick reminder to have a back up or some tablets. I only had enough for 4 liters of water so the trip was cut short.
Another reason I'm making the gravity filter. I saw a YouTube hunt where their pump failed, reminded me we only had one going to camp this year...

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Re: Water purification system

Postby wawhitey » 08 15, 2017 •  [Post 21]

I got an msr guardian last year and the thing is great. Set up camp near a weak muddy spring during deer season, the deepest water was where it was pooled up in moose tracks. Dropped the prefilter in and pumped. Works awesome. Doesnt even have to be fully submerged. Backflushes itself. Cool piece of equipment.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Lefty » 08 19, 2017 •  [Post 22]

I haul our well water. good tasting. I do carry a lifestraw for backup, but after hunting the desert Im good at hauling fresh good water in my pack.

During a backpack fishing trip in the winds I boiled water,.. and used my life straw.
I perfered scraping off the top inches of snow on a drift and letting it melt( the snow was super saturated my 16 oz cup held 14 oz of snow water.) Still not very tasty so I added flavoring most times
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Re: Water purification system

Postby SilverDollars » 08 27, 2017 •  [Post 23]

Howdy. Well many here have mentioned it(WapitiTalk1, Indian Summer, & WapitiTalk1). I also have a Katadyn, Potable Aqua with PA+Plus tablets, and a gravity-fed inline water filter. Generally, I take a collapsible 4 liter jug to keep in camp. To fill it, I hike to the nearest stream, fill it up, and hike it back to camp. This is usually a short distance because I am not usually going to be too far from a water source. Then I can purify it usually a liter (or so) at a time. My purifying system works well. I have 2 Platypus type bags with their tubes and a flow filter between them. I put water in the top bag, hang it to a tree or similar to let the water run down through the filter and into the bottom bag. Purified water!

If it shows, I attached a picture of it and the case I put it in to pack in.
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Re: Water purification system

Postby Lark Bunting » 09 26, 2017 •  [Post 24]

I recommend the Platypus 3L system for backpacking, and I added the charcoal filter inline with the main filter to get rid of the fish flavor.
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