Water purification/filters

[Thing2]

We are currently in the market for a water filter. We are hoping to spend some time camping away from civilisation where water will be of interesting quality. I'm after something robust and easily field cleanable. It also needs to be reliable - while we'll also take iodine tablets, they aren't the sort of thing I want to have to use for any length of time.

The Katadyn Pocket Filter seems to have good reviews for this sort of thing - does anyone have any experience of it (or any other filters) in the wild?

Emma

[mark]

I've owned a Katadyn Pocket Filter for several years. It's very sturdy, very easy to pull apart and clean in the field, and pumps water at a decent rate. It's much sturdier than the Katadyn Hiker filter that I had, and it pumps water faster than just about any filter that I've seen in use. The only drawbacks I can see are that it's a bit heavy and quite expensive. The extra weight is a fair trade for the sturdiness, and the price reflects the overall high quality of the unit.

There are a couple of adaptors available (I know of one from Katadyn, one from CamelBak) that will allow you to pump water into the outlet hose of a hydration bladder, instead of puling the bladder out of your pack and removing the cap. I've found these to be really useful.
CamelBak Filter Adapter at REI.com


Instead (or in addition to) of iodine tablets, these might be worth a look for extreme situations: Katadyn Micropur Purification Tablets - Package of 30 at REI.com.

[julk]

Not tried one of these Lifesaver bottles, but they look interesting.

[mark]

Not tried one of these Lifesaver bottles, but they look interesting.

I've seen similar in stores around here. I'd rather have a good  filter that I could use to fill a bunch of different containers.

[andrewc]

I used a Katadyn pocket filter during a trip in Ladakh,  easy to use but it's not small or light, built to last though.  It was used at the camp at the start of the day to fill bottles and during the evening to purify water for cooking.  During the day I carried a filter bottle and also used iodine droplets.

The MSR filters are also supposed to be very good http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MSR-Miniworks-Water-Filter-Purifier-Camping-/320577914297?pt=UK_Sporting_Goods_Climbing_Mountaineering