Finest Backpacking Water Filters of 2024

There is no such thing as a underestimating the significance of an important backpacking water filter. Out within the backcountry, a clogged filter may imply the distinction between a bout of Giardia and getting to complete your hike. That can assist you select the best water remedy choice to your functions, I put 16 totally different filters from the likes of MSR, Katadyn, Sawyer, Platypus, and Lifestraw by way of the wringer with a wide range of water sources. A bacteria-filled seaside. A muddy wetland. Glacial silt runoff. A number of the filters barely registered the change in water high quality, delivering lovely water with minimal effort. A few of them broke. (For the ultralight fanatics I additionally weighed them earlier than and after to see how a lot sediment they’d picked up.) Primarily based on this subject testing, listed here are my high picks for one of the best backpacking water filters.

↓ Bounce to Finest Backpacking Water Filters

↓ Bounce to Finest Backpacking Water Therapies

↓ Bounce to How I Examined

↓ Bounce to Testing Outcomes

Finest Backpacking Water Filters: Opinions & Suggestions

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

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

Cons

• Backflushing was extra difficult 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 stream was nonetheless forward of nearly all 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 possibly can backflush the Platypus QuickDraw with a Smartwater bottle. Whereas I appreciated that I didn’t want a separate device to backflush the Platypus QuickDraw (one thing I’m vulnerable to shedding), I did discover that the cap to the filter prevented me from making a flush seal with the clear aspect of the filter.

That being stated, the Platypus QuickDraw cap was far more sturdy than both the Sawyer Squeeze’s (damaged by the top of testing) or the Katadyn BeFree’s (getting there). When you can proceed to filter water simply high-quality with no cap, having it is going to assist to extend the lifespan of your filter. I additionally discovered that the gentle pliable materials of platypus soiled sack mixed with the positioning of the filter component on the inside (fairly than on the within of the bag), made this probably the most nice filter to squeeze water out of in my check. 

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

• Simple to wash
• Quick stream
• Light-weight

Cons

• Troublesome to squeeze the entire water out of the bag

When it got here time to wash the filters after three rounds of testing, I spent a whole lot of time on YouTube, studying how one can clear ceramic filters and backflush with a SmartWater bottle. However when it was time to wash the BeFree, the directions had been virtually 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 trustworthy, 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 could 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 stream fee had improved by virtually 20 %. Not unhealthy. 

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—for those who paired the Sawyer Mini with a SmartWater bottle as an alternative of the supplied soiled water sack, this might be the lighter of the 2. For UL purists trying to replace their Sawyer Squeeze, this could undoubtedly be in rivalry.

There have been a few issues that I want had been totally different in regards to the Katadyn BeFree. First off, the filter is housed inside the soiled water bag, which makes it troublesome to squeeze the entire water out—more often than not, this received’t be an enormous deal, however for those who’re sitting at a seep within the Southwest, the place the water is popping out at a trickly liter each 10 minutes, it may begin to get previous. The opposite is the design of the lid cap, which principally resembles what you’ll see on a sports activities drink on the comfort retailer. After I frivolously 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’d fairly see a extra sturdy cap in alternate for a number of further grams.

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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) 

Professionals

• Cheaper than its rivals
• Quick stream
• Light-weight
• Could be paired with a SmartWater bottle

Cons

• Requires a separate device 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 in the course of 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 initially, I believe 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 way 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 operating the filters by way of three liters every of the Puyallup River, I wasn’t stunned to see the water shoot out brown initially, nevertheless 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.

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

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

I used the supplied soiled bag throughout testing and was impressed with its sturdiness. Even after squeezing the bag as exhausting as I may to push the water out over ten rounds of filling and filtering to succeed in the specified 5 liters, the bag nonetheless appeared like new. I solely want that it was bigger—the bag that comes with the mini is 16 ounces fairly than the usual liter. One thing else I observed throughout testing was that the filter itself didn’t seem to screw onto the bag appropriately. 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 stream fee for the Sawyer Mini was not particularly spectacular (about 4 occasions so long as the Katadyn BeFree), I did recognize that it got here with a light-weight syringe to backflush the filter when it begins to clog an excessive amount of. 

See It

Key Options

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

Professionals

• Filters water shortly
• Easy mechanism
• Light-weight
• Reasonably priced

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 way of a filter, with out inadvertently contaminating the clear water vessel on the opposite aspect. Probably the most common types of backpacking water filters leans into this simplicity: all a person has to do is replenish a plastic bag with soiled water, connect the filter, after which squeeze the water by way of into their ingesting vessel.

The thought behind a gravity filter is pretty easy, as an alternative of compressing or pumping soiled water into your ingesting vessel, let gravity do the be just right for you. 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 stream by way 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 possibly can 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 stream 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 important, distinction between the Katadyn BeFree and the Platypus GravityWorks and LifeStraw Peak Collection Gravity is that the hold strap shouldn’t be connected to the water flask when the gravity is first unboxed. This strap, nonetheless, shouldn’t be thought of non-obligatory. The bail deal with on the high of the water flask shouldn’t be meant to be slung over a department, and is just too small for the department dimension 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’s not designed for backflushing (which may injury the fibers), however the filter might be cleaned by rigorously 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).

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

• Largest capability flasks of any filter in my check
• Sturdy stream 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 good in case you are touring with a number of individuals, because it reduces the variety of rounds of filling up your soiled flask that you might want to do. The Platypus GravityWorks takes this a step additional, with a grimy flask capability of 4 liters. Even higher, it comes with a second bladder to filter your clear water straight 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 achieved by merely elevating the clear water reservoir above the soiled reservoir and permitting the water to stream backward, the stream improved considerably, however to not the extent of the Katadyn BeFree Gravity.

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

• Efficient in opposition to viruses along with protozoa and micro organism
• One of many quickest stream 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 in opposition to viruses, together with norovirus and rotovirus, sometimes comes with a tradeoff—in order for you a filter with a sufficiently small pore dimension to weed these suckers out, you higher be ready to place in some severe elbow grease. However the MSR Guardian manages the hat trick, filtering out viruses at a quick stream fee with the identical, and even much less, elbow grease required as from different filters.

A part of this as a consequence of a novel characteristic to the MSR Guardian: as an alternative of directing the entire water out by way of the underside of the filter with every pump, a portion of the water is directed again by way 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 in the course of the first: forty-five seconds for a liter of water.

I used to be additionally impressed with how straightforward 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. Apart from the prefilter, which could be a bit troublesome to place within the water supply as a consequence of a 90-degree angle, the most important 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 for those who’re on the lookout for a no brainer filter that may take away the total spectrum of micro organism, protozoa, and viruses out of your water with principally no upkeep required, then that is the filter for you. 

Finest Backpacking Water Therapies: Opinions & Suggestions

See It

Key Options

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

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

Cons

• Prices can mount if used for longer journeys
• Not a sensible choice for water sources recognized to harbor cryptosporidium

Aquamira remedy drops have lengthy been a favourite of backpackers and backpack hunters who’d fairly not cope with the effort of water filters in any respect, together with OL workers author Tyler Freel. (See: What’s Finest 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, Workforce Aquamira has time to take care of different camp chores whereas they await the water remedy drops to take impact.

First a observe 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 possibly can add the combination to a liter of water. Twenty-five minutes after that, your water will likely be secure to drink. Notice: you can’t pre-mix components A and B earlier than you head out in your trek. It should be achieved within the subject proper earlier than you deal with your water.

When you’ve been burned by water filters up to now, then Aquamira is a dependable various that requires little elbow grease. It does, nonetheless, require you to maintain observe 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 accomplice to assist with part of the system was tough, because it was straightforward 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 remedy choice could be higher served by the Katadyn BeFree, Platypus QuickDraw, or the Sawyer Squeeze.

See It

Key Options

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

Professionals

• Extraordinarily light-weight
• Cheap

Cons

• Noticeable style
• Not efficient in opposition to cryptosporidium

For years, I carried a bottle of iodine in my first-aid equipment. I virtually by no means used it (iodine tastes horrible), however within the occasion that my water filter broke, I wished to have one thing surefire available. Whereas as we speak’s backpacking water filters are far more dependable than the previous pump fashions of yore, carrying a number of tabs of backup water remedy 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 critiques). Whereas that is solely a minor concern in a real survival situation, long-term use of Aquatabs may lead to particular person backpackers inadvertently hydrating lower than is perfect for his or her surroundings.

Learn Subsequent: Do You Actually Want a Water Filter for Backpacking and Mountain Looking?

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

See It

Key Options

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

Professionals

• Quick performing
• Efficient in opposition to viruses
• Can not clog

Cons

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

SteriPENs, the preferred type of UV water remedy for backpackers and backpack hunters, are one of many strangest water remedy choices available on the market. Whereas chemical remedy and water filter choices make some form of intuitive sense, the eerie glow of UV remedy appears virtually 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 rigorously when submerging. By rigorously following these guidelines, we may get about as a lot reliability out of our SteriPEN as customers of the squeeze bag filters had 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. After I got here again, quarter-hour later, she nonetheless hadn’t managed to filter a liter of water. I watched her fifth try and see if I may troubleshoot what was going fallacious, however I couldn’t see why she was getting error readings (or recall within the second what the totally different flashes of colour 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 remedy at this weight that’s efficient in opposition to viruses), then make sure you try it out extensively at dwelling and take a backup water remedy methodology alongside for a number of journeys till you might be snug with it.

Learn Subsequent: How Lengthy Can You Survive With out Water?

Finest for Worldwide Journey: Grayl Ultrapress

See It

Key Options 

• Efficient in opposition to 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)

Professionals

• Filters out viruses
• Constructed-in water bottle

Cons

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

You could be questioning, why is there a journey suggestion in a narrative on backpacking water filters? I’ll let you know: It’s as a result of I get requested fairly continuously why I don’t advocate this water filter for backpacking. In any case, 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 loads quick in comparison with the opposite finest backpacking water filters.

Let’s first have 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 way of the filter on the underside. This works finest for those who put the water bottle on the bottom and permit your physique weight to do the work of pushing the water by way of.

Whereas Grayl boasts a really quick stream fee for this bottle, the precise fee could be very a lot affected by how a lot effort you set into it. Most individuals can count on a half liter to take about 30 seconds, whereas expending average effort. The filter itself can be distinctive, because it makes use of carbon to draw viruses utilizing electroabsorption (which is a basically totally 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 best selection. First off, it’s fairly heavy, even when considering the advantage of 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 way 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 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 wrestle, it turns into an actual nightmare to try to use. A minimum of with the squeeze baggage you possibly can sit down whilst you wrestle away (and possibly even backflush!), with the Grayl you’re caught standing up, throwing all your physique weight down on high of a tiny lid that’s just a few inches in diameter. 

However what in regards to the virus filtering? Nicely, 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 sort of firepower. Right here’s who does: anybody dwelling in or visiting components of the world the place the water popping out of the faucet isn’t reliable. That water might be operating clear, too, so the lifespan of the filter will likely be that for much longer. When you’re on the lookout for a journey water bottle that may defend you from nearly all the pieces, from e.Coli to giardia to cryptosporidum, that is the filter for you. 

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 have interaction 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 shouldn’t be one thing that may be simply replicated within the pure surroundings, the place the pre-existing ranges of micro organism, protozoa, and viruses are unknown. As such, my testing didn’t have a look at how nicely the filters handled micro organism, protozoa, and viruses, as a result of all of the filters on this assessment use EPA or NSF requirements.

One thing else that you just’ll usually 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, nevertheless it’s uncommon to be taught what the stream fee 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 utterly. So my testing checked out what circumstances the backpacking filters can stand up to and nonetheless return an inexpensive (or any) stream fee.

To begin, I referred to as in or bought the preferred backpacking water filters accessible, together with corresponding fashions from their rivals. Earlier than I started testing the filters out within the subject, I first timed how lengthy it took every to filter one liter of water out of the field. Usually, these occasions corresponded to the marketed occasions of the producers. Throughout this course of, I additionally famous how difficult 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 consequence of excessive ranges of fecal matter (thrice greater than what’s thought of secure for swimming). Right here I filtered 5 liters of water by way 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 way of every, and the way that in comparison with the out-of-the field check. Normally, there was a noticeable, if not important, impact on the size of time it took to filter one liter of water. Mockingly, some filters measured a sooner time on the finish of the preliminary spherical of testing than they’d initially; my impression is that that is the results of my turning into extra environment friendly at utilizing the filter with apply.

The second spherical of testing passed off 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 grime and tannins and life teeming beneath the floor. Right here we’d see how nicely the backpacking water filters responded to the mucky water sources that these within the backcountry are typically pressured to resort to. I filtered three liters by way of every of the water filters at this website, after which headed dwelling to report how lengthy it was taking every water filter to push water by way of.

Unsurprisingly, a number of the filters had 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 way 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 beneath desk) to see how efficient cleansing the filters was at establishing water stream. 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+, had 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 appears like every other muddy river. However the Puyallup will get its colour from glacial sediment, a particularly high-quality silt that stays suspended within the water. This sediment additionally works its method into the internal workings of filtration programs like no one’s enterprise. Nobody would select to filter this sort of water until there was no different choice accessible; typically, there isn’t any different choice accessible.

Unsurprisingly, lots 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 had been measured to see what their stream fee was. Subsequent, the filters, the place attainable, had been additionally backflushed, or in any other case cleaned, after which had their stream fee measured once more. (Notice that a number of the occasions for this stage had been once more sooner than the preliminary stream.

Whereas I made an effort to standardize the quantity of elbow grease I used to be placing into every filter in the course of 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 may 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.

Testing Outcomes

Gravity Filters

Squeeze Filters

Pump Filters

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

Issues to Think about 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 dimension. Conventional water filters have pore sizes, sometimes .2 microns or 200 nanometers, which are sufficiently small to weed out micro organism and protozoa, however not the a lot smaller viruses, similar to rotovirus (70 nanometers) or norovirus (38 nanometers). People touring to backcountry environments recognized to be contaminated with viruses ought to take further warning that their filter will defend them, however it’s not widespread for water sources to be contaminated with viruses.

Camp vs Path

When you plan to place a ton of miles in your mountaineering sneakers, then the lighter weight of a squeeze-bag type filter could also be a better precedence for you. Nonetheless, 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 finest 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 method into the extra delicate fibers of your filter, which might in the end clog it and render it inoperable.

FAQs

Ultimate Ideas on the Finest Backpacking Water Filters

The very best backpacking water filters produced by respected manufacturers like MSR, LifeStraw, Katadyn, Platypus, RapidPure, and Grayl present glorious safety in opposition to 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 can assist you make a ultimate determination on an environment friendly particular person backpacking filter, we put the Sawyer Squeeze, Katadyn BeFree, and Platypus QuickDraw face to face in a brand new testing surroundings: the desert. Whereas there are growing numbers of low-profile filters available on the market which are able to eradicating viruses from water sources, throughout testing these had been so arduous to make use of after even the primary spherical of testing that I’d advocate backpackers pair a chlorine-based disinfectant or perhaps a UV-based air purifier like a SteriPen with a water filter as an alternative.