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Post by johntpenca on Jan 17, 2020 11:31:05 GMT -8
They are somewhat finicky in that you have to use them in a specific way (press the button, wait for the light to flash, insert it in the water and don't lift it out until the light flashes again). Some of my hiking partners had problems with it because they didn't do the steps in the correct order (insert too soon, or remove from water too early). In my case it was definitely not operator error. hikerjer- here is a link to Outdoor Gear Lab's review: www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-backpacking-water-filter
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jan 17, 2020 13:38:51 GMT -8
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toejam
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Post by toejam on Jan 17, 2020 22:50:48 GMT -8
I had a Hyperflow and thought it beat the Katadyn Hiker in every way you could measure. But once it started plugging up backflushing wouldn't help and I just had to get a new filter element. After a couple of elements I broke it during a backflush. Then I bought a new Katadyn Hiker because they take a serious beating and plug up slowly.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 17, 2020 23:42:09 GMT -8
gabby. For multiple seasons in the Sierra (so pretty clear water) I’ve had no issues with either use or maintenance. One other aspect might be that as I really hate bugs my process is I carry a Sea2Summit folding bucket which I use to grab water from the source and then carry it to my (far from the buggy riparian zone) site for processing. So plus using the prefilter there’d be that settling out aspect of the bucket. Worth the 2.8 ozs just to not have to kneel for the eternity of filtering surrounded by flying hordes! Imho 😎😎😎one really bad time up near Red Peak Pass and I knew I had to find a solution. www.rei.com/product/782973/sea-to-summit-folding-bucket-10-litersHollow fiber with it’s monster surface area offers great flow rates versus filter disks etc.
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Hungry Jack
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Post by Hungry Jack on Jan 18, 2020 6:24:02 GMT -8
I’m a huge fan of the MSR Mini Works. But I don’t mind pumping.
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Post by cweston on Jan 18, 2020 6:28:41 GMT -8
Worth the 2.8 ozs just to not have to kneel for the eternity of filtering surrounded by flying hordes! Imho 😎😎😎one really bad time up near Red Peak Pass and I knew I had to find a solution. This summer in the Winds, after a river crossing, on the far bank, my son was taking his sweet time getting his boots back on, and he also had our only can of bug spray (we were on a day trip from our camp). It was the only time on an 8-day trip that I got impatient with him: I was literally getting sucked dry by mosquitos.
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Post by bradmacmt on Jan 18, 2020 8:20:30 GMT -8
I've never filtered water here in MT going back to the early 90's. When (if) I carry a filter in other states it would be the Sawyer Mini.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jan 18, 2020 13:54:19 GMT -8
For multiple seasons in the Sierra (so pretty clear water) I’ve had no issues with either use or maintenance. I only asked because, being severely OCD, I tend to work through the manuals (probably) a lot more than most. So I actually read the backflush procedure I pointed to in my first post right after I got the pump, noted the relative complications of "switch this, move that"** - and the probability that I would definitely not be able to do it strictly from memory w/o "motor reinforcement" - so spent a bit of time physically going through the process multiple times in the sink at home - just so I'd have some "muscle memory". (Keep in mind as you read that I'm OCD and somewhat paranoid.) IME, "muscle memory" is much better than the mental process of recalling "steps" accurately. So, FYI to HSF, I wasn't complaining so much as wondering what someone else thought of it. I truly appreciate your response, because it leads right into the way I like to think about these things. That is, a piece of gear has to fit into your regimen, not someone else's. It's also why I try to avoid recommending gear based solely on my own positive experiences, and nothing else. I still do it now and again out of misplaced enthusiasm. "I like it, so you'll like it" works out so very rarely in practice - it's a lucky thing that it does as often as it does. It's nice when it does, but I go by the "check and test before you take it" credo. It really helps to have the whole story about practice and use along with the recommendation, based in the context of how you use it. Thanks again for your response, HSF. I had a Hyperflow and thought it beat the Katadyn Hiker in every way you could measure. But once it started plugging up backflushing wouldn't help ... There is nothing - literally nothing - manufactured by mankind that fails to get through the necessary handling in the manufacturing process without producing a "failed product" here and there. This applies to filters just as surely as it does refrigerators, cars or feminine hygiene products. It may not be the case in your cited instance, but, not only do you need to know the specific gear, its use and procedures and where it fits into your way of doing things, but you need to know, for the one you actually bought, if it's reliable and untainted by that "manufacturing process", which is sometimes flawed. So "check and test" (usually at home or on shakedown) is absolutely necessary. A note from a very lightly-traveled (and, thus, not at all "expert") hiker: It pays to know your equipment thoroughly with lots of practice and thought but with developed "muscle memory" - and every piece of equipment must fit into the practice and regimen of the individual who uses it. That's why what's often good for you seems like crap for me - and vice versa. In all the equipment discussions here - which, by the way, I enjoy and treasure to a more-or-less large extent just on the face of it, because it's important, at least to me, to see the recommendations - but it's not enough - how you use a piece of gear, as well as where, sometimes why - and how it fits into your system of use is as important as how much you "really love" a particular tent, filter, sleeping bag - or whatever. **Backflush procedure (my rule is: if it's longer than 5 steps, I probably won't remember.) 1. Collect ½ liter of filtered water into a clean MSR recommended container. (see Tips.)] 2. Remove Inlet Hose and unscrew Pump Inlet from Pump Cylinder. Do not pump because trapped air will hamper operation.(see Troubleshooting.) 3. Reverse the Large Check valve and reinstall it inside Pump Inlet. 4. Pull Pump Cylinder to end of stroke and turn until Piston locks. use cylinder to unscrew Piston from Filter Cartridge to reach small Check Valve. 5. Reverse the Small Check valve and reinstall it inside Piston. 6. Thread Pump Cylinder (with Piston and reversed valve) carefully onto the Filter Cartridge. NOTE: Both tips of Large and small Check Valves should point toward the Pump Inlet. And that's just the backflush - there's more, as you can see by reading my link above. When (if) I carry a filter in other states it would be the Sawyer Mini. The relatively simple backflush procedure was what attracted me to the Sawyer (but the larger Point One, not the Mini). In the system I constructed from the recommendations I saw here and also referenced here, it's actually part of "the system". Though some here actually use the syringe, I got the message early on that it was unreliable and prone to failure, so I threw it out. I have yet to actually use it in the field, however. Time will tell.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jan 18, 2020 14:20:02 GMT -8
I only use the syringe and it has yet to fail. Same syringe over the last 3 years. What do you use to back flush, if not the syringe?
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jan 18, 2020 15:03:41 GMT -8
I think someone else posted a link to this a few (months?) ago, but I kept it in my "backpacking" links on Youtube because I like this guy's "system":
Cheaper (assuming Sawyer didn't already supply some of the "throwaways"), and simpler and, one assumes, more reliable with less parts.
Again, I have yet to actually use the system "in the wild", so "time will tell". I wish sometimes that all this "gear drift" would just stop - I still have other filters too. (And I literally keep everything - which will cease some day very soon, I think! :^D)
ETA: I think (if I checked, I'd know - the thing is over there, inside a plastic bin I packed some time ago and still haven't unpacked - Yowsa!) I ADDED a CNOC for "scooping" (& dirty water) instead of using the above video's use of a modified Smartwater bottle.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jan 18, 2020 15:14:16 GMT -8
I scoop with my cook pot, if deep enough. If not, I use a cut up cheap disposable water bottle.
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Jan 18, 2020 16:36:46 GMT -8
The CNOC is fairly durable. I like this guy's demo.
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Post by johntpenca on Jan 18, 2020 18:20:13 GMT -8
I've never filtered water here in MT going back to the early 90's. When (if) I carry a filter in other states it would be the Sawyer Mini. I dunno Brad. While water treatment in the backcountry is a relatively new thing considering how long people have been going there, to me it just seems like good insurance. Way back when, the backcountry saw far few users than it does today. Treating the water is a personal decision; back when I used to read a lot of trail journals for the PCT, many wrote they never treated. A few later regretted it. Here is one paper on the subject with some references worth reading (or at least skimming): www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(04)70498-6/fulltext#back-bib2
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 18, 2020 19:13:38 GMT -8
We’ve had the discussions (repeatedly) about to filter or not to filter. The thing is, giardia (or other nasties) aren’t going to be in every drink of water you take. So on any given day, you might be treating water unnecessarily. But it is out there, and sooner or later you may run into it. So the decision to treat water or not ends up coming down to a person’s comfort level with gambling, the degree to which it’s a gamble in a given area, and how much they detest even the idea of having a case of giardiosis. I hike in a lot of places that are pretty well-used, and I really really really hate gastro-intestinal illnesses. So I treat the water :D
ETA: but in the NZ huts, where they now have signs saying that “we all drink the water, but it isn’t tested, so make your own choice,” I drank the water.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 18, 2020 19:18:19 GMT -8
Another aspect is that a surprisingly high percentage of those infected with Giardiasis are non symptomatic carriers: so when one of your companions is an unsuspecting carrier and takes a short cut with their personal hygiene regimen you get the result the CDC mentions is a common transmission path: person to person via an intermediary such as food prep. No filter, chemical or other gadget stops that.
Norovirus has been hitting travelers to Yosemite, though it’s reportedly waning. Hard surfaces touched by an infected individual is the usual path. When it hits cruise ships they wind up sanitizing every surface on the boat. All gut problems don’t arrive via ingestion of bad food or water
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