But either way, it’s fast enough for what I want! Does the water taste funny or is it just off colour because of the peat? Does it make peaty water clean? To justify taking anything on an extended thru-hike it needs to be dependable, lightweight, and durable enough to last for months of torture. Today, you usually see one of two popular filters being used by long-distance hikers going the length of trails like the PCT and AT: the Sawyer Squeeze or the Katadyn BeFree. Another consideration here is location: if you are going to be traveling through a desert landscape, there may be few to no trees (a necessity to hang some gravity filters properly). For that type of setting, a different style of filter would be best. These filters use gravity to pull water from a dirty bag, through a filter, and into a clean bag or directly into your mouth. These are often the easiest filters to use as you simply hook it up to a tree branch or tent and wait. These are usually heavier and take some time to set up, so aren’t the best options for fast and light missions. They tend to work best for large groups or to keep around a base camp. We like Katadyn’s Micropur M1 tablets for chemical treatment, as they tend to leave a more subtle aftertaste compared to other brands. The SteriPEN Adventurer has been our go-to UV filter for its long lifespan and light weight.

Group-ready: 8 or 12 liter (4.0L/6.0L filtered + 4.0L/6.0L unfiltered) total capacity easily supplies water for groups. Yes, there’s not really much you need to do other than fill the reservoir, screw the filter on and turn upside-down, gravity does the rest for you! Hollow Fiber Advantage: Hundreds of tiny, hollow fibers, enable the microfilter to filter water faster than traditional filter media.

By using the Platypus reservoirs and soft flask by total weight for the water containers was about 200 grams, then with 3.5 litres of water (3.5 kg) the total weight was 3.7 kg.

Effective: Every microfilter is individually tested to ensure it meets all EPA & NSF guidelines for the removal of 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of protozoa*. Then depending on where the next water source was I’d fill the 1-litre reservoir and maybe my 500 ml one too, if it was a distance to hike. The filter system is so easy to use and I loved how it was versatile so you could switch to how you wanted/needed to use it at a particular time. Effective: Each microfilter is individually tested to ensure it meets all EPA & NSF guidelines for the removal of 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of protozoa*. *This includes Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Salmonella and Cholera. Over the last few years I’ve increased my amount of hiking and wild camping trips. In 2019, I tried out my first filter water bottle for my E2W Challenge, hiking 950-miles across Britain and it was a total game-changer!Its 0.1-micron microfilter allows you to confidently gulp down any water you encounter on a long trail (though the murky cow troughs in New Mexico on the CDT did have our tester filtering twice), and the high flow rate means you’re not wasting a bunch of energy just to get a sip in. The wide mouth of the flexible flask allows it to fill up in just a couple of scoops, and you can clean the filter by simply swishing water around in the flask. As someone that hikes in the Peak District this is something I’ve got used to! But I appreciate it’s not for everyone. In the instance of being dehydrated or drinking peaty water I know which option I’d choose! The Katadyn BeFree system can filter smaller particles down to 0.1 microns. The majority of reviewers love that it’s both easy to use and clean.