Can some one tell me what kind of water purilyer I can get that works well. The kind where you fill it ina stream screw the lid on an let the filter do the work. No pumd jobs. I have looked at Katadyn Ultralight series or Aquamira's. What do I need to look for an what size micro filter should I have.Is 99.9% pure good enough to stop the bad stuff or a 1 micron filter or a 5 micron. Which one?
I have one of these and it works well. You could always use some form of chem. treatment as well to be sure you are safe.
Platypus gravity works. I have one and love it. Sawyer makes a gravity filter as well that I've read good things about.
I have both the platy and the sawyer. I don't think the sawyer sucks for hunting. You do need to be careful the filter does not freeze so I put it in my bivy at night.
I also use a Dakine hydration bag (I like it because the top opens all the way so it's easy to fill). I can then connect the sawyer filter and have a gravity setup at camp. You can also reconnect the filter to the outside of the bottle and get it work as well, but not as easily.
I usually carry a small bottle of iodine tabs in case I somehow screw up my filter (freeze it or whatever). Thus far I have never needed them when I have the filter.
The sawyer bottle rattles when it's empty, otherwise it is awesome.
I have the sawyer gravity feed as well, it is awesome, but the factory hoses kink too easily for it to be used as a bladder.
The hoses that Camelback and Platypus use are stiffer and don't kink as easily, thus the reason I suggested he just add an inline filter to one of those.
I agree it does rattle and sometimes it makes a weird sucking noise as well.
The Dakine bladder with it works well.
Please be aware that, unless things have changed, there is at least one critical difference between filtration systems and chemical purifiers. Purifiers can be stored indefinitely - unused. After their first use, the chemicals deteriorate in some way - that is, the device becomes useless after a certain amount of time. This information should be available on the purifier's packaging or on brand's web site.
Hope this helps.