Hiker Filter

This filter does the job nicely, and it's always in my pack for multi-day, nontechnical trips when my pack isn't loaded with gear. Otherwise, I use iodine. Can't beat the weight.



Advantages:

* It's fast. You can drink water instantly.

* No yucky iodine flavor.



Disadvantages:

* It's heavy. On solo trips, it stays home in favor of iodine.



* Kind of clumsy. All those hoses to lose.



* One time, the one-way valve malfunctioned on me at subfreezing temperatures. REI replaced the valve for free, but it serves as a lesson: always bring back-up iodine!

I thoroughly enjoy having this item. It stayed im gear closet for quite awhile before I actually used it, but it is well worth the wait. For Glacier climbs it is big time worth it. The amount of gas you save since you dont boil, and you dont need to bring as much water in the first place to base camp.

For one day hikes in the summer it is perfect, especially LONG day hikes. Nothing like coming off a glacier and pumping pure glacial water into your water bottle. The hoses are very easy to use, and I proudly endorse this product.



Disadvantages: size, weight

This is a great pump for short trips. Our scout troop has several. Our boys are required to use only the wide mouth bottles. It hooks up nicely to this type of bottle. We carry one of these for every four hikers. We can all get our water bottles filled up in a twenty minute stop. very reliable. Only draw back is the hoses at times a little long.

I have(had) a Pur Guide, which is similar to this one, but more expensive. Luckily, this was a wedding gift. Otherwise I'd be really pissed that it is so bulky, heavy (1 lb), and fragile (ours broke on perhaps the third backcountry trip, after a fairly benign drop).

In my opinion, filters have their purpose. That purpose is: in situations where treatment is needed and the only water source is full of undesirable sediments. Giardia risk is overstated, particularly at high altitudes and/or where no livestock travels. R.J. Secor, in his Popular High Sierra guidebook, notes a forest service study where backcountry water was sampled at a variety of locations. Most locations had a mere 0-2 giardia spores per *50 gallon* sample.

I found operation of this (or nearly any) backcountry pump very finicky. Lots of effort, lots of time, and lots of fiddling with the device. I'll never forget being eaten alive by mosquitoes in Canada as I patiently pumped water. BAH!

I'm glad that we're rid of our filter. We have a FANTASTIC iodine treatment called Polar-Pur. Unfortunately this is not sold on the web. Rather than irritating tablets, polar-pur is simply a bottle filled with iodine crystals. You fill the bottle with water and the solution becomes saturated with iodine. Voila, drop it into your untreated water and wait 20 minutes. After you've treated about 2 gallons of water, refill the bottle with water and wait a little while to treat more water. You can treat something like 1000 gallons of water with one bottle.

I have used the Pur Hiker for a number of years. It pumps a fair amount of water fairly easily when I have taken large groups of neophytes backpacking.



Plus: By taking the bite valve off the hose to my Platypus bladder I can attach the hose directly to the filter without removing the bladder from my pack.



Negative: With heavy use the plunger will need lubrication with silicon which I had a hard time finding.

Ok, maybe 3 stars is harsh. My Pur hiker has never failed and provides clear odor free good tasting water. However, it's heavy at nearly a pound when dry and it's a hassle connectiing the hoses, pumping water then draining the filter and stowing it. I also worry about he quality of the water when I open the filter up and find fuzzy green stuff growing (happens if it sits for more than a week without being stored completely dry).

I've been carrying a filter since the Park and Forest Services started the giardia scare tactics back in the early 1980's. This winter I read this article about Giardia posted on the Yosemite Association web site. I've been converted...the water filter is staying at home. I'll carry iodine for when I absolutely can't find a decent water supply. Otherwise I'm going back to the good old dip and drink system. Remeber those days? Wander up to a pristine mountain stream, dip your cup in and drink. No hoses, no pumping, no heavy filter.

OK, there are places where water quality is a serious issue and you might want a filter (IMO, it's not the Sierra Nevada mountains). The hiker works. I actually liked the Pur Pioneer better, it was lighter, more compact and used disposable filter discs. The discs were expensive, but no green growing stuff. Just throw 'em away and put a new one in. Unfortunately, the Pioneer and the filter discs were pulled from the shelves last year. I wrote Pur about it and they just said "No longer avaiable". They did replace my Pioneer with a Hiker at no charge.

I have never owned one of these filters but have been on many trips with clients who have them. The longest I have seen one last is 3 days before a major breakdown and cleaning is needed. Then most often it never works the same. To its credit when working the water tastes good. But any amount of sediment (of course) in the water don’t even try it. I carry a Iodine resin filter which you just pour through into you nalgene bottle. It has worked in the Ganges and in South America. The problem with most types of filters is freezing up at altitude so you must keep them warm. The Pur filter probably works well in clear running streams, which is no doubt what it was designed for.

The Pur has always performed when I've needed it. The pumping action is easy and efficient compard to others I've used, provided the filter is relatively clean. The water always is clear and odorless, even when the supply is less than desirable.



I've used mine for 3-4 years and the only complaint I have are the hoses and how they connect to the filter. I find them very cumbersome and stiff in cold weather when I have gloves on. I actually lost my hose in a stream once because it was not securely connected. Sure it might have been my fault but the hose system did not help matters.

this is the only filter I have owned but I have used the MSR (hated). The filter pumps fast and easy compared to the other filters. It also cleans easy and is fairly light too, oh and the water DOESNT have a funny taste, very important... All in all best filter for other than expedition use..

I like this filter, in the summer only. I dont see much use for a filter in winter but, it is nice to have one. The main and only problem I have ever had with this filter is that it freezes up and is rendered useless untill it has a chance to thaw. Otherwise this filter is easy to use and the water tastes great!

Pros: Pumps water fast when you first buy it, reasonably priced, lightweight, filter cleans easily.

Cons: Looses filtration speed rapidly (even after cleaning), won't last very long, easy to break.

Pumps water fast!

Water tastes good.

Has not been cleaned since I bought it a year+ ago.

Have not had any unexpected bodily discharges after using it.



So far, excellent.

Have used this pump on many miles of back packing and even with a little glacial tile I still haven’t had any problems. Even pumped out of green swamps with no odor or bad taste. The pump out pumps the MSR MiniWorks Filter at about twice the rate. The filter cartridge is a little expensive to replace.

I have used this thing for a couple years now, and never once has it failed or given problems. These were mostly dayhikes with two people, so it hasn't pumped for an outfitter or anything, but they don't call it the "Hiker" because it's for groups!



I can deal with the weight, ease of use, and simplicity. I always use coffee filters over the end, just to keep out extra garbage and silt. So far, so good!

I have had mine for 9 years now and still works very well for three season use in the white’s the filter is guaranteed for a year and that’s why the hiker –originally from PUR, now made by Katadyn, is so popular. I can fill up a liter with only 45 stokes. For 2003, the hiker has a cool zippered case that includes a slide-lock pouch to isolate the output hose from the intake hose. Though I replace my filter component every 100 gallons of water rather than the suggested 200 gallons because of the water output after 100 slows down considerably. So drink up till your pee is clear to prevent dehydration.

For winter use, I either boil and/ or treat with four drops of house hold bleach per liter to clarify my water. Then strain the water with either a paper or screen coffee filter.

I just bought this (made by Katadyn now) and am pleased. After pumping some water throught it to clean it out, the water tasted like iodine for some reason, but after a couple of quarts it tasted fine. This provided water for 4 people for 5 days without slowing down much. It is pretty light and easy to use, and is one of the cheapest (priced) filters out there.

This is my first filter although I have used others. While it is a bit heavy it works excellent! I have taken it on a 3 man 3 day bp trip and a 6 day 5 man bp filtering the water for the entire party on both occasions. Volume has yet to slow down and the water tastes great. Sure hooking up the hoses is a bit of a pain but the speed of filtering is well worth it. i always take the filter out to dry after a trip and have had no problems. Highly reccomended.

I have used this several times over the last 3 years. I have pumped and drank at least 50 or more gallons from it and never had any issues. On a couple of occasions I had to pump water that was dirty and certainly very unappealing, but I trusted the filter and everything was fine. I have pumped a lot of meltwater from snow, rusty water coming out of mines, algae pools, streams and lakes and small springs. A great backpacking and hiking necessity.

I concur with most other reviews. This PUR filter has served me for a long time. However, this is a good spot to discuss filter vs tablets I suppose. In the Canadian Rockies, I drink water straight from about 7000' up. I pay attention for underground sources and have never had a problem. If one wanted to be super safe, I advise tablets in remote sections of Canadian Rockies and save weight on the filter. Now when in the Cascades, i.e., Rainier, we lower our selves into a crevasse for water and still use this Pur Filter. Just to many homo-sapiens around. My 2c worth.