Water Filters - Portable Hand Pump

[thermocouple]

Having backpacked for most of my life I have owned several hand pump water filters. Hand pump filters are generally small enough to reasonably pack into the backcountry, and work by placing an intake hose into an untreated water source (creek, lake) and the output hose connected to your water container. The hand pumping action draws the water through the body of the pump and through the filter itself, producing safe drinking water.

In this thread I will describe the filters that I have owned, including their pro's and con's from my personal experiences.

1) Katadyn Hiker ---- Filter medium: Carbon ---- Cost: $65
This was the first backpacking filter that I ever purchased. I had used one before, but it belonged to a backpacking buddy and I have no idea what the brand or model was. What drew me to this Katadyn Hiker was the fact that it was compact and lightweight, and made by a reputable manufacturer. I used it in the backcountry of Northern Arizona in a running stream. The first water I made tasted incredibly good, and I was initially impressed. Very early in the trip the intake hose bumped against a moss covered rock, and a thick cloud of moss and gunk immediately filled the small calm pool I was filtering from. This gunk was immediately sucked into the filter, and the performance took a nose dive. Carbon filters are not designed to be field serviceable: once they're clogged, they're clogged. I spent the rest of my trip very laboriously forcing water through a nearly brand new and nearly useless filter. If you are positive that your water source is going to be fairly clean, this fillter produces great tasting water. I personally wouldnt buy this particular filter again.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/KatadynHiker.jpg

[thermocouple]

2) MSR MiniWorks ---- Filter medium: ceramic -----Cost - $85
After the clogging problems I had with the carbon element of the Hiker I started looking at ceramic filters. I went with the MSR MiniWorks because it was also a reputable manufacturer, and the housing and mechanism seemed more robust than the Hiker. With the ceramic filtering element of the MiniWorks (and most ceramic element hand filters) the filter can be removed and cleaned of debris when the pumping action becomes stiff. Cleaning the surface debris from the intake surface of the element restores the filters performance to it's normal flow rate. The MiniWorks served me well on many trips into the backcountry. A concern with ceramic elements is that if they are dropped sharply they can potentially crack, rendering the filter useless. This never happened to me, I never had problems pumping clean water with this filter, and I never became ill from drinking water made with the MiniWorks. I still use a MiniWorks as my primary backpacking filter, and my backup emergency filter.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/miniworks.jpg

[thermocouple]

3) MSR Sweetwater --- Filter medium: ceramic ---- Cost: $70

A few years back I was on a kick to make my backpack lighter, and trying to replace certain pieces of gear with lighter versions. I replaced my MiniWorks with an MSR Sweetwater. I wasnt too concerned, as the Sweetwater is based on the same technology as the MiniWorks, including a field cleanable filtering element. I took this filter with me on a handful of trips, and it always did well enough. It made clean, drinkable water in a suitable amount of time, and the housing was just as robust as the MiniWorks. The problem that I had with this filter is the pumping mechanism felt flimsy, and each time I was miles from my truck and making water, the creakiness of the mechanism began to concern me. It never did break on me, but I didnt feel that it was robust enough of an overall design to trust. I have since gone back to the MiniWorks for a backpacking filter.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/Sweetwater.jpg

[thermocouple]

4) Katadyn Pocket --- Filter medium: silver impregnated ceramic---- Cost: $220

Last year I came accross the Katadyn Pocket filter on display inside my local Cabela's. I was blown away at how well it was made, from the housing to the pumping mechanism. Certainly not the lightest filter I have held, but by far the best made in terms of durability. The silver impregnated ceremic filter is field cleanable and has a rated capacity of 13,000 gallons. That is a bold claim, and surely only even remotely accurate if you are filtering clear water. But even if you achieve half of the rated lifespan of this filter, its worth putting in your emergency supply. Bullet proof construction and a lifetime warranty, by far the best made hand filter I have held to date. I plan to add an extra filter element and a complete rebuild kit (o-rings, etc) to my stash, just to be sure.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/katadynpocket.jpg

[JayE]

This is great info, Thermo.

We have the Katadyn Combi, which is similar to the Katadyn Pocket. It also has a ceramic filter, as well as activated charcoal. It claims to do up to 14,000 gallons. I have no idea how much they are now, but we got ours 11 years ago for $185.

One tip to remember with hand pump filters is: use a pre filter when pumping out of a lake or river. For example, we have a bag full of coffee filters. If we need to pump out of some dirty water, we put a coffee filter over the intake hose with a rubber band. That makes the pump filter last much longer.

[TheSwally]

Great information here, fellas. Thanks a lot!!

[thermocouple]

One tip to remember with hand pump filters is: use a pre filter when pumping out of a lake or river. For example, we have a bag full of coffee filters. If we need to pump out of some dirty water, we put a coffee filter over the intake hose with a rubber band. That makes the pump filter last much longer.
Filtering settled or pre-filtered water will dramatically increase the lifespan of your filter. This is very worthy of pointing out. Thanks Jay.

[thermocouple]

We have the Katadyn Combi, which is similar to the Katadyn Pocket. It also has a ceramic filter, as well as activated charcoal. It claims to do up to 14,000 gallons. I have no idea how much they are now, but we got ours 11 years ago for $185.


The Combi looks like a quality filter, and affords you the flexibility of choosing to use just the ceramic filtering element or the ceramic plus the carbon element. The ceramic will give you the longer life, and will filter out just about any contaminants that you are going to encounter in North America. But the carbon element is what really gets the water clean, and also tasting great. Looks like a fiter worthy of serious consideration.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/cbatson73/katadyncombi.jpg

[Laura]

Therm.....I just emailed you a presentation on water. It's too big to download here. Check it out and tell us what you think. I think we MIGHT be spending way too much on water filters.

[Baconator]

Thanks. I've been looking at the katadyn pocket micro as I don't have much storage space, but I do have a river and a reservoir within little red wagon distance. These would come in handy.

[Baconator]

I picked up the Katadyn pocket microfilter. Yep, it's sturdy alright.