Best Water Filter options for Backpacking and Hiking
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- čas přidán 1. 12. 2022
- Best Water Filter options for Backpacking and Hiking
These are the top 3 options you'll see along the long distance trails, and for good reason!
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Sawyer Squeeze, 2L CNOC bag, 1L Smartwater bottle, 500ml Smartwater bottle, and an extra gasket in my LiteAF first aid kit bag. It's a combo I've used for years throughout the USA and Europe with no failures or clogs. Everyone I hike with has a similar setup so we can switch filters/bags/bottles if anyone has a failure on the trail. That hasn't happened yet!
Right on, great setup!
I'm liking the Platypus Quickdraw filter. It's kinda the best of both the Squeeze and Bee Free. High flow rate and it fits a standard thread on CNOC or Smart water bottles. It has a nice cap that seals so I can carry it in a pocket without needing a baggie in cold weather. I can drink directly from it as it has a built in "sport cap" mouth piece. It can be back flushed easily and has a way to check the integrity in the field, which is really nice.
It does sound like a winner. I guess if my BeFree starts giving me issues I may need to look into this option! Thanks!
Same!
I thought the same until this weekend. Really slowed down a lot. I backflushed today when I got home. No matter what I did I only half of the flow rate came back. Reminds me of the Be Free. I'm probably going back to the Squeeze.
@@garrycollins3415 I had the same thing with the BeFree until I started out the hike with a wet filter. If the filter gets dry, it takes forever to get wet and a good flow rate again.
This might be why I don't normally have an issue with mine. Keeping it in the plastic bag tends to let it remain wet more than others. I know Rainman keeps his loose and his is the one that dries up and gets slow more often than mine! Might be something to it...
Thanks for the video Mark. I was a big fan of the BeFree until this past trip in the jungle. I'm actually on my third unit now. I bought this one back in August and took it on a trip to Greece in September. After the trip I noticed it was clogged so I cleaned it and even back-flushed it with a Sawyer syringe, and the flow rate is still very poor. The water in Mediterranean countries is rich in calcium oxide, and other minerals, and recently I've read that minerals tend to clog these filters easily. I should've thought of that before trying to filter the Greek water on the BeFree. In any event, the filter is very slow, but I still took it on an expedition last week. I had ordered a Platypus Quickdraw, but it didn't arrive on time before this trip, so I took the BeFree and it turned out to be a mistake. At one point I noticed that the water coming out of the filter was just as murky as the one in the bag, so I decided that it was probably compromised and started using the Micropur tablets I had as backup. I have to say that I'm considering using these tablets as my main means of purification now.
All in all, my verdict is that the BeFree is a huge disappointment. I really wanted to believe in it, but it hasn't lived up to the hype. It's really very impressive out of the box, and through the first few dozen liters of water, but it's that too-good-to-be-true kind of situation. Once you come back from that trip and put it away, it never returns to the original level of performance. So I would only recommend it as a one-trip filter.
The tablets on the other hand, are amazing when used with two bottles. They're lighter than any filter on the market, and don't leave a noticeable taste. You have to wait at least 30 minutes for the water to be safe to drink, but if you do that the previous night or early in the morning, the water is ready to drink when you leave camp and start hiking. When you've finished one bottle, the second one is ready, and so on.
The Platypus Quickdraw has arrived now and I'll give it a try, but I'm liking these tablets more and more.
There are some other things to consider when traveling outside of the US. None of these filters will handle viruses, which can be found outside the US in water sources. For those you really need a purifier. Depending on the tablets, they may be a better choice in those situations anyway. Sucks that you've had issues with yours. I have seen that the BeFree can be hit or miss. I've had extremely good luck with mine and have had them last longer than many others. Good luck with your new method! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
FWIW, the Sawyer Mini can be used as a gravity filter. You need to give it a squeeze to get started, and it'll take its sweet time, but it does work. I use a Cnoc Vecto bag, attach the straw that came with it to the filter's output and rigged up a tether with some cordage to hold a water bottle below it. I hang it from a tree branch and let it filter while I'm setting up my hammock or cooking dinner, so don't really care how long it takes. Also, regardless of the filter you have, a backup method (I carry some aqua tabs) are a must.
You're right, I should have mentioned that. People often overlook it, but if you're carrying fuel and a pot, you can always boil as a last resort backup!
I heard an interview with the president of Sawyer, where he recommended not backflushing with a sport cap. Because you can’t apply as much force as with the syringe, you can unblock it, say 50% with the first squeeze from a sport cap. Once it’s flowing at 50% the additional backflush squeezes will mostly flow through the already open fibers.
By using the syringe really forcefully, you can force the water through with enough pressure to unclog more of the fibers with one push.
He claims you can maintain 80%+ of the original flow rate if you use the syringe really forcefully to backflush the original Squeeze.
He also said they started making the mini as a cheaper alternative with less functionality when Squeeze was first released at $50. Scout troops that wanted to buy multiple were asking for a budget option. Now that the manufacturing cost of the squeeze has come down to where the original isn’t much more, they were going to discontinue the mini, until they got complaints from people looking for the lighter weight option.
Interesting! I still think the sport cap is good for keeping it from being clogged on the trail, but having the syringe to be able to backflush after a trip makes the most sense.
I have both the Sawyer Squeeze and Mini. I like the Mini when I am by myself on a daytime or overnight when I might only be filtering a couple of times. The Squeeze is better when doing more water, like when camping with a friend. I have never had a Sawyer bag break. Not in 9 years. I take my time and try not to use excessive force and do bring spare bags sometimes.
Wow, I am shocked that you've never had a Sawyer bag break, that's great! I can see using the mini for dayhikes and solos.
My experience with the befree is like Mr Morales' experience. The first time, on an AT day hike, it flowed fast and easy. Two liter bottles within a couple of minutes. I stored it away and used it a year later on a trail in Illinois (clear water running over rocks) and it took a good 15 minutes of squeezing to filter 1 liter. I took it home and cleaned it with vinegar and hot water which helped it some but not like it flowed when it was new. I think it has to stay wet to work.
I know that Rainman had some issues with his on one of our trips. We had to let it sit in the water bag with water on it for a while before it started to loosen up. Not sure what the deal is with that, but I have seen it and heard about it many times. I've been pretty fortunate not to have that happen. I've gotten full seasons out of my BeFree with really no degradation to the flow rate. But I know that's not always the case.
@@SpiguyverBackpacking1 it's probably like a truck...it works fine if you use it regularly. But if you let it sit out to pasture too long, it starts acting up.
Yes,30 minutes before using befree better to put a bit of water inside bottle
Regarding flow rates, the comparative rates for the Mini and Squeeze are down to the surface area. I don't know why there's a difference between the Squeeze and BeFree; although both are 0.1 micron, the anatomy of the filters is different and this may explain. Whatever the reason, does the difference in rate accord with the effectiveness? I can find the bacterial removal for the Squeeze (8 logs) but not for the BeFree (just that its better than EPA minimum of 6 logs). Can't find anything on removal of protozoal cysts (eg Giardia). remember that these filters do not remove viruses (hepatitis, norovirus...).
Might want to mention, you can shake all the water out of the B-Free but you have to make sure the Sawyers don't ever freeze. This time of year, that can be pretty important. I do wish tho that they'd make a B-Free that would fit on water bottles.
Even after shaking out the BeFree I am still careful to keep it from freezing. Like you mentioned, if these freeze, they're ruined! Agree, it would be great if the BeFree had a version that fit normal bottles.
I've had the same squeeze for a few years, but a buddy has used a platypus quickdraw this summer, and swears he'll never go back. I'm trying one when my old Sawyer dies.
The quickdraw does look promising, I haven't heard of too many people actually using it. I'd love to hear more if you do go that route, but that trusty Squeeze may last you several more years!
I've had the same progression as you. But I'm back using the regular squeeze now. I've gone through 2 Be-Free's and it just clogs too fast for me. I do live in Ohio and here and my surrounding states do not have the clearest water. Places like Doly Sodds made it unusable after one trip. I think its the iron in the water. I had to use someone else's while we were there and I can't have that. I'm guessing if I had a be free on the Colorado trail this year it would have been great, but I'm not risking it anymore. I also don't want to spend the money on a new one time and time again.
I get it, and that's the reason I had considered switching back to the Squeeze. Who knows, after a few more trips in the Northeast I may decide that the Squeeze is where I need to be again.
Does the befree screw onto a gatorade bottle?
Sawyer filters are VERY poor unless you continually use them, if they set for a time period they quit working. Just say no to sawyer. VERY POOR ITEMS.
The Sawyer Sqeeze has always been a trusted, reliable filter for me. I've seen the BeFree completely stop working on a trip, and there's no option to really backflush it. That being said, I am using the BeFree at this point.