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Well, after 10 years of not filtering water, I finally got a parasite! Decided to start filtering my water again.

Just curious what are the new fancy, easy-to-use water filters everybody is using these days?

Thanks for any tips!

Water Treatment Tablets: Water tastes like fish and chemicals
Regular Water Filter: Water tastes like fish
Ceramic Filters: Water tastes good

i'll add:

uv filters: water tastes exactly like it does coming out of whatever source you used. i use one regularly and love it.

brichardsson wrote:i'll add:

uv filters: water tastes exactly like it does coming out of whatever source you used. i use one regularly and love it.

Hi,
Do you have a link to the brand you like to use?
Thanks.

granite4brains wrote:

brichardsson wrote:i'll add:

uv filters: water tastes exactly like it does coming out of whatever source you used. i use one regularly and love it.

Hi,
Do you have a link to the brand you like to use?
Thanks.

i use the steripen. there are multiple models, and they are available at most outdoor suppliers, like rei (where i purchased mine) and sport chalet. it purifies one liter of water in 90 seconds, and the part that i really love (as mentioned) is that it doesn't change the taste of the water like chemicals do. the only caveat is that i always carry extra batteries, and iodine as a backup (say i drop it off a cliff or something). i can't help it, water is the one thing i'm just ocd about.

granateforbrains:
I am one of the oldest posters on the net. Taught Outdoor Living Classes for thirty two year and have used just about every water filter on the market.
There are two considerations you need to take in to account when picking filters:
l. Are your water sources likely to clog a filter?
(Glacial Water, Colorado Type River Water, etc)
2. How speedy is the pumping and purifying?

If you are concerned about your filter clogging the MSR Filter or Sweetwater Filter, or Steripen will do the trick.
If you want speedy pumping or large group use go with Katadyn Vario, Katydyn Hiker, Katadyn Hiker Pro or Katadyn Pocket Filter (If you have a large group) (It costs big bucks)
My personal preference is a filter which was produced by Pur called the "Explorer". It is no longer made but is the fastest pumping water filter produced It pumps on both the downstroke and upstroke. Katadyn bought out Pur's backpacking filters and made two cheaper models based on the Explorer
Any of the second group you should be sure and carry a spare cartridge in case it clogs. Aways put a pre filter on any of the pump type filters.
The MSR and Sweetwater can be field striped and the filter cleaned with a toothbrush.
Hope this helps!
Murph 1

Thanks for the feedback guys. Much appreciated. Not sure what I am going to go with.

I have been intrigued by the gravity filters and the new squeeze filters - mainly for ease of use - with an Iodine backup.

granite4brains wrote:Thanks for the feedback guys. Much appreciated. Not sure what I am going to go with.

I have been intrigued by the gravity filters and the new squeeze filters - mainly for ease of use - with an Iodine backup.

if you are looking for ease of use, you can't beat the steripen. how hard is to stir water for 90 seconds?

The newer chemicals don't taste bad.

They use chlorine dioxide.

These are the ones I use. Hardly any taste at all.

http://www.filtersfast.com/Katadyn-Micr ... QgoddUYA5A

I use the SteriPen UV filter too. If your water has a lot of particulates, you'll have to filter out the floaters. I'll run the Steripen and then dump that water into my Aquamira squeeze filter......Yeah, I don't get sick with that chain going!

WyomingSummits wrote:I use the SteriPen UV filter too. If your water has a lot of particulates, you'll have to filter out the floaters. I'll run the Steripen and then dump that water into my Aquamira squeeze filter......Yeah, I don't get sick with that chain going!

yah, i bought the kit that came with the pre-filter. pretty sweet deal, no hassle, and sweeeet water.

I have used all the filters on the market pretty extensively and I have to say the Sawyer Squeeze filter is the best http://www.sawyer.com/water.html . It is so lightweight, easy to clean and easy to use. You can't beat it, period.

SteriPens are great assuming you done have to filter the grim out first

brichardsson wrote:

granite4brains wrote:Thanks for the feedback guys. Much appreciated. Not sure what I am going to go with.

I have been intrigued by the gravity filters and the new squeeze filters - mainly for ease of use - with an Iodine backup.

if you are looking for ease of use, you can't beat the steripen. how hard is to stir water for 90 seconds?

I meant to mention that one too, which I am actually leaning towards right now

I also like that it sounds like the Steripen kills viruses too. i don't believe the other two filters I mentioned do.

I like the Steripen because it is really light and easy to carry in your pack. The Steripen is different than most water filters because you use ultraviolet rays to disinfect the water. You just take the "pen" and stir for a a minute or so and It's supposed to kill all the bacteria. I like the Steripen because it gives you that "mineral taste" that a lot of hikers love. I assume you might too since you haven't used a water filter in a long time.

Just a follow up on the Steripen, which was the filter I ended up getting.

Turns out, I'm not super crazy about it for our purposes. Doing some of the mountain hike/climbs in the Sierra means I'm drinking quite a bit of water throughout the day, ideally.

To fill up our large camel Baks takes three 1-liter bottles, which is the Steripen's 90 sec stir. For me and my wife, that means we have to do 6 of those everytime we want to fill up. It starts to sound easier to just get one of the new high-efficiency light-weight pumps.

Also, we have a hard time seeing the lights in the bright sunshine, which sometiems makes one wonder if they even really filtered the water.

That said, I do really like that it kills viruses too. It's lightweight, compact. And, if you just want 1-2 liters, really easy.

I'll probably get a light-weight pump too, and take one, or the other, depending on the type of trip.