Originally Posted by johnw
Currently use a katadyn hiker. It works well but is a bit slow, and only fits certain water bottles.

What is the easiest, simplest, safest, and fastest filter to use?

johnW:

Best? Everyone has their own opinion about which filter is best for them. So I'll give you my opinion.

For over thirty years I drank directly from clean fast-flowing streams. I boiled water when it looked less than pure and used iodine tablets when I had no other choice. I never had a problem. Not even common diarrhea. Then a friend got Guardia. Big strong guy and it knocked him down for three months. I've used a filter ever since.

You asked about speed. I think you've already got the fastest system. The Katadyn Hiker Pro is the fastest. It's been the standard by which all other filters are measured for over a decade. It's reliable and you can clean the pre-filter (that fabric wrapped around the primary filter) which gets clogged and keeps the primary filter clean. It will fit any container because you can remove the Katadyn/Nalgene adapter and drain the hose directly into any container. But a lot of people, including me, have gotten tired of pumping.

I own a Sawyer Squeeze Filter. I squeeze the first couple quarts to get dinner started then gravity filter more water while I'm eating. It's slower than the Platapus as a gravity filter but faster when you can squeeze the first quarts then have lots of time to wait for gravity to work on the rest. The syringe makes back-flushing quick and easy. The 2 liter bag is kind of small.

I also own a Platapus Water Works gravity filter. It's prone to clogging, even with super clean water, and I have to back-flush it a lot. But I like the bigger bags. You have to gravity-flow clean water backwards to back-flush the filter. After a recent trip, I discovered that there were some bubbles inside the inlet side of the in-line filter that were reducing the flow rate. After shaking out the bubbles the filter ran much quicker.

I have finally setup the Sawyer squeeze filter with the Platapus bags and like that system a lot. This combines the best features of each system.

I had a Katadyn Base Camp gravity filter and I sold it. The filter is inside the upper bag and I think that is a design flaw.

I hate the taste of iodine tablets and don't like waiting 20 minutes before the water is safe to drink.

Boiling always works if you have lots of fuel.

I read an article which stated that the Steri-Pen didn't always work effectively.

KC


Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.