Water filters for backpack hunting

GSM

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Does anyone have any experience/reviews for backcountry water filters? We are heading out to Colorado this fall for an elk hunting trip and are planning on backpacking in and camping. I don't want to be bringing in any more water weight than I have to, to start with. I want the weight to be no more than a pound if possible and as small as possible, but still able to work efficiently to fill a couple water bladders when needed. I have my options narrowed down to four filters.
MSR Hyperflow, MSR Sweetwater, Katadyn vario, or Katadyn Hiker Pro.
Any thoughts about water filters?
 


SupressYourself

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I've used the Katadyn Hiker Pro in the past -- or maybe it was just the 'hiker' -- same difference. It seemed to work well enough to keep 3 guys hydrated for 10 days. It can be a little awkward running the straight 'up and down' pumping action. I think the lever-type action is probably more efficient. There's a ton of reviews on Amazon for all of these, so that may be a better resource for you.
FWIW: I have the sweetwater in my Amazon cart right now as I'm also heading to Colorado for another archery elk hunt.
 

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MSR makes awesome stuff. I have a Miniworks that I really like. Don't have any experience with the other two.

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I would look really hard at the Autoflow though for convenience.
 

Bowhunter_24

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I have the katadyn hiker pro. It works well. I haven't died yet and I do a lot of backpacking. Ive drank out of nasty stained mud puddles in the hoof prints of cows.

In Colorado it will be awesome. There is water everywhere and it takes like a minute to fill a Nalgene bottle. Speaking of which make sure you have a Nalgene bottle. The end of the filter hooks right to a Nalgene.
 

ndbwhunter

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Do you know what the water sources are like in the areas you'll be hunting? I usually carry 2-3 different options for water purification. Last year I carried a katadyn hiker pro, sawyer mini, and MSR tablets. The Katadyn pumps are nice and will work just about anywhere, but can be a pain in the ass if you're just making a quick stop to fill one bladder. If you need to get water from a wallow, these pumps are the only way to go. If you have access to creeks/streams, you could look into an inline, or gravity, filter like the sawyer mini ($20 at Walmart). I carry a Nalgene bottle and a steripen for the quick fills, and use the pump or gravity feed when filling bladders or camp water. Use topo maps to identify possible water sources, and plan your purification methods accordingly.
 


2400

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I like and use the MSR Miniworks EX water filter when I'm out hunting, fishing or camping. I can screw the filter to a Nalgene bottle or canteen and pump away until it's full with clean water. It's such an easy system you can do it in the dark.


 

aron

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I use the sawyer squeeze and really like it. I carry a spare 3L bladder for the dirty water to fill from a creek/stream. You have two options with the sawyer squeeze or mini. You can hook the filter up in line with the dirty water and filter as you drink through the bladder or as I prefer to squeeze the dirty water through the filter directly into the clean bladder or nalgene. I put quick connect hose fittings on hose line of my clean water bladder so I can leave it right in the pack. I disconnect the bite valve, and connect a hose from the dirty with filter to the clean water hose. With this, you can also fill up the dirty water and filter later or as needed (gravity feed back at camp).

Just be careful with some filters (Sawyer) as they can't freeze as the filter core will crack and basically won't filter the water. I don't have any experience with the above filters you were asking about.

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Also make sure to carry purification tabs with as a backup.
 

ndbwhunter

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I use the sawyer squeeze and really like it. I carry a spare 3L bladder for the dirty water to fill from a creek/stream. You have two options with the sawyer squeeze or mini. You can hook the filter up in line with the dirty water and filter as you drink through the bladder or as I prefer to squeeze the dirty water through the filter directly into the clean bladder or nalgene. I put quick connect hose fittings on hose line of my clean water bladder so I can leave it right in the pack. I disconnect the bite valve, and connect a hose from the dirty with filter to the clean water hose. With this, you can also fill up the dirty water and filter later or as needed (gravity feed back at camp).

Just be careful with some filters (Sawyer) as they can't freeze as the filter core will crack and basically won't filter the water. I don't have any experience with the above filters you were asking about.

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Also make sure to carry purification tabs with as a backup.

I'm assuming that you meant they CAN freeze. Anything with a filter (pump or inline) can freeze, so make sure you blow them out good, and keep them some place warm at night. A small crack could go unnoticed, but you'll know as soon as your hunt turns into an all out shit your pants fest.
 

SDMF

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I took the MSR Hyperflow to AK for a week of Caribou hunting. We filtered ~5gal water/day for 3 guys to drink, cook, and wash with. I was pleased with it's size/performance/price. That said, I've/never used anything else.
 

GSM

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I was pretty much set on getting the Hyperflow due to it being the smallest, but that one seemed to have the most amount of bad reviews I could find. All of them seemed to be the same that it works great, but not for very long??
 


SDMF

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We filtered 35-40 gallons of river water through it in 8 days. No sickness and it seemed like it worked fine to me. Haven't looked at it since 2011.
 

aron

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correct, they can and will freeze but you can't let them freeze. It would be pretty miserable shitting your brains out when a long ways from the vehicle.
 

remm

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Best water I've ever had was elk camp in wyoming. Filled my water bottle out of a stream that was running out of a crack in the mountain. Had the same type of water in camp as well, unfiltered mountain water. If it would have been downstream from the herd I suppose it would have been coors light.
 

labhunter66

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I have a Katadyn Vario. Works great and you can move a lot of water through it.
 

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