What is your best camp filter for a group? I have the Katadyn base camp, but it keeps clogging and back flushing doesn't work. Katadyn tells me it's from "red algae" which I think is a way of telling me their filters don't work and blame it on a fake thing.

Anyone have luck with Sawyer inline filters?

Had good luck with the Sawyer Mini. I backflush every few liters or when it slows down. I use it as a gravity filter.

MSR gravity system has performed great for me.

I have had great luck with a sawyer filter. Able to back wash out in the field.

The family all uses Sawyer products - the drink bottle-squeeze bag and filter-gravity feed.
If you are a little creative you can use the same filter in multiple applications.
Sawyer, Platypus and MSR all make "hollow" filter systems - they are all good.

Just got home from the Fall Wing Night weekend event. I heard good thing about the newer MSR Trail Shot. Use as a pump or DIY rig for gravity system. Oh, check with Butthead - he seems to have figured it all out.

We use the MSR gravity filter. Works well and you can backflush it. Also the outlet on the dirty water bag is up on the side some not the bottom to help eliminate sediment from going down into the filter.

+1 for the Sawyer mini with the gravity system. One gallon bag works great and I get like 3 nalgene fills out of it. Backflushing works like a charm and it was only $40. The convenience makes me wonder why I ever used my MSR miniworks and pumped like a caveman for hours every trip.

Sawyer mini gravity system for me as well. I used to be a tablet guy. Switched over this year and will not go back.

MSR is tough to beat. I have used it for several years now.

I have also used the Sawyer squeeze system on backpacking trips with excellent results but have not used their gravity system.

The Katadyn base camp is crap for the reasons you stated.

We switched 3 years ago to a Platypus GravityWorks Water Filter System - 4 Liter.

It works great and you just switch the bags to back wash the filter. Works amazing for 2 to 8 people. This is just our "at camp" water filter.

After 3 years, still on same filter with no issues. I highly suggest.

Caw

The Katadyn filter sucks, but the bag is great. Cut the old clogged filter in half and leave just the small screen in the bottom. It will serve as a nice pre treat screen. Buy a Sawyer filter and just use the existing hose to attach it. Make sure to get a back flushable Sawyer inline filter that comes with a syringe for flushing. I have the exact same setup and love it. I think I am 5 years on the same filter with tons of use. Still works as good as it did out of the box.

Just got back from my first trip to BWCA and used the Katadyn BeFree. It is a great personal filter but I think I will use my Sawyer Squeeze in a gravity setup next trip.

A word of caution on the Sawyer Mini. You will need to backflush often. The group I hike with is always trying to save an ounce and the Sawyer mini did that over the Squeeze.

No one is using the mini anymore. They all went back to the Sawyer Squeeze which rarely needs backflushing in the field. The Platy setup looks good for a group and is ready to go out of the box.

quote walllee: "MSR gravity system has performed great for me."

Me too.

Lots of threads here on this topic. The Sawyer and the Platypus typically come out on top. Personally I went with the Platypus because I like the clear bags.

Msr gravity filter, works great.

quote Jezbo: "What is your best camp filter for a group...? "

I have used several water filters but, none, including the MSR and Sawyer, have been as quick and reliable as my Platypus 4 liter Gravity works. Works so efficiently, I carry it even when solo backpacking.

https://www.platy.com/filtration-1/gravityworks-4-0l-filter


$120 but, REI frequently discounts 20%

I am with Birdknowsbest +1 on Platypus 4 Litre for groups. Came highly recommended on this site and I am very happy with it's performance.

We take two gravity Sawyer filters. Both work great and I backflush when returning home. I set them up before we leave to get them in the use mode and then add a little bleach as I test them for functionality before we leave.

One is a backup for the other. We filter all water we use including showers we take mostly daily in the summer. We just fill a portable shower or 2 depending how many are on the trip.

We never expect them to perform repeated miracles, so we use the cleanest water we can get which expands the uses between back flushes. To date, we have never had to do that on our trips.

MSR gravity filter here, largely because I didn't know about the Sawyer, and I'd been impressed with a friend's MSR on a previous trip. The MSR works great. It did need frequent backflushing on my last trip, which was a little annoying but probably due to the water quality where we were, but the backflushing always worked well. On previous trips I've usually gotten 16-20 liters before a backflush, this time it was more like 6.

Go with the Sawyer, love it.

I cannot state my true thoughts on the Katadyn Basecamp as I don't like to swear and it would violate the terms of service.

I've had a Sawyer for ten years rigged on a 2 gallon tree bag. No problems yet.

Sold me. Thanks.

MSR gravity with Sawyer filter. I use the bigger filter and it backflushes well. The MSR dirty water bag has a good prefilter.
After my surgery I'm on a second cathider. The leg bag is a joke so never used it. After looking at it, it might make a good clean water bag for my gravity system.

All depends, canoe or boat trip, temp, number of people ect. I really like the Platypus and MSR systems but its hard to beat the Sawyer filters. I run kind of a hybrid of the Platypus 4L kit and Sawyer filters. Never had an issue with the cascade filters, still bring mine as the back up, but the Sawyer has a guarantee and can be found cheaper at stores like Walmart so I put all the wear and tear on that one. For boat camping trips I always bring my custom 5gal bucket kit, its pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread when its hot and you got 4-8 guys chugging water like buffalo.

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Well I might have to look into a gravity system.
I use a Katadyn Pocket, which I consider too pricey, kinda heavy, but gear that you can really count on. I keep telling myself it is my best choice because I can get water on demand, when I need it. But you all have me rethinking that. I didn't realize how fast the Platypus is, for example.

thanks,
Joe

Sawyer as a gravity filter. Occasionally it is too dry/ air locked so drip is very slow to start, or it might need to be back flushed more often in certain lake conditions, but we have been happy with it and would replace it with the same system again.

Years ago we used sweetwater pump. It was adequate but slow and once it started to clog we were never quite sure if it was actually filtering or not. Of coarse I still have a new filter for it in the freezer although I haven't used the pump in several years.

for those who have no idea of what you are talking about, including me, why would you have a spare filter in the freezer?

Joe-

I love my Sawyer Water Filter Bottle for drinking on the go. Just unscrew the cap - there's a Sawyer mini-filter attached to it with tubing - dip the bottle to fill, screw the cap back on, and drink by sucking water through the filter with the tube that comes out the top of the cap. There are several similar bottles by other makers. The mini-filter can be incorporated into a gravity setup with a couple of bags and some tubing.

The Sawyer Squeeze is another option. The Sawyer bags are hard to fill, but you can use another bag with wide opening top for the dirty water bag. There are lots of posts on here about gravity systems made in various configurations and tons of videos on YouTube.

joewildlife: "for those who have no idea of what you are talking about, including me, why would you have a spare filter in the freezer?
"

I used to use a Sweetwater filter and I have no idea why he'd be storing it in the freezer. I don't know if that filter type was safe to freeze or not but I wanted to reply to this because modern nanotube filters CANNOT freeze. It's very important that you not allow a Sawyer-type filter to freeze because freezing water will rupture the nanotubes. This means bigger particles (potentially including bacteria, etc.) will be able to pass through the filter, negating the benefits of filtration. The bigger issue there is that you won't be able to tell that it's not adequately filtering. So if you have *ANY DOUBT* you have to discard the filter. At least they're cheap.

Don't allow your nanotube-type filter to get close to freezing. If you think it might get into the 30s or colder at night, bring it into the tent with you. If it might actually get down below freezing, put it inside your sleeping bag with you.

Just thought I'd throw this out there. We've run a First Need (General Ecology) filter w/ the prefilter for 20+years for all our outings. It has a pretty high flow pump rate and the can filter can be replaced. Downside is that it might be considered bulky.

I'd been using a DIY system with a Sawyer filter for years. Worked great but it was hard to fill my jugs and they didn't pack flat.

V.2 was supposed to involve dry bags but I f'd up two of them trying to melt the correct hole size. The bags were promptly gorilla-taped to hold dirty clothes.

I relented and pulled the trigger on a 4L Platypus. No regrets for our 10 day trip. Easy to fill, easy to backflush and we drink a ton of water. Couldn't be happier with how it performed. Bags are durable and pack down small, great system.

Am I the only one who needs a prefilter? I have used a Hiker model pump for a long time. If I don’t use a pre-filter in the BWCA the sediment plugs up the filter after only about 15 L of water. I have used the sweet water pre-filter but can no longer find the filters. I’ve tried coffee filters but that did no good at all. I also tried the Vario pump and had the same results, maybe worse. What’s the secret?

Jimholt210: " Am I the only one who needs a prefilter? I have used a Hiker model pump for a long time. If I don’t use a pre-filter in the BWCA the sediment plugs up the filter after only about 15 L of water. I have used the sweet water pre-filter but can no longer find the filters. I’ve tried coffee filters but that did no good at all. I also tried the Vario pump and had the same results, maybe worse. What’s the secret?"

The "secret" seems to be using one of the hollow fiber filters such as Sawyer, Platypus, and others that are field-maintainable by back flushing.

Sawyer all the way. Lite, easy to use, and it works. We never pack for a trip without it.

Sawyer Mini. I back flush when it slows down. I use it as a gravity filter in BWCA, also used as squeeze when hiking

Hub: "The Katadyn filter sucks, but the bag is great. Cut the old clogged filter in half and leave just the small screen in the bottom. It will serve as a nice pre treat screen. Buy a Sawyer filter and just use the existing hose to attach it. Make sure to get a back flushable Sawyer inline filter that comes with a syringe for flushing. I have the exact same setup and love it. I think I am 5 years on the same filter with tons of use. Still works as good as it did out of the box."

Hub's solution is easy retrofit to your current setup. Worked great for me. I also had a MSR 6L Hydration bag that I later bought a MSR Hydration bag converter kit and Sawyer mini and created a second set up, for a simple DIY retrofit.