Thanks. I had a version of the hiker filter back when before they were a katydyn product. I liked it well enough but that gravity filter you mentioned looks like a much better option for a group of 4. I have never used a gravity filter so I think I may try the cheaper sawyer version on our trip next week and see how that goes.
Ccard:
One needs to "burp" a gravity filter to achieve max effectiveness. There are graphic instructions on the tag inside the carry bag, that show how to do it. If you don't "burp" the setup it will work slower.
Also be sure to filter only clean water. You are filtering microbes (germs) not sediment. Sediment will clog the filter. The one good thing about a Sawyer Squeeze filter is that they come with a syringe that's used to backflush a clogged filter and the syringe will also work on a Platapus filter. This is important because a replacement PLatapus filter costs $60.
The Katadyn filter also costs about $60 and I'm not sure that you can backflush one. They have a semi-porous membrane surrounding the filter that is cheap and easy tp replace. They catch a lot of sediment and therefore extend the life of the filter.
