If you only bought one, would you buy one of the actual portable water filters or one of the water bottles that filters? They both claim to get 100 gallons? I’m thinking the water bottle would be more convenient, but does anyone have experience with either?
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I’ve used several types of both styles. They each have advantages and disadvantages.
The in-the-bottle styles do save room in your pack but you also don’t get a full quart of water either. For day trips, they are not a bad way to go as you can fill them with water before you leave and if you run out, you can find water from a stream and resupply.
For trips longer than a day, a seperate water pump is the way to go. This is what I use. I find it much easier to pump all of my water at camp, fill up 2-3 quart bottles for the trail and just go on my merry way. You could use the bottle filiter to do this as well, but the seperate pump is much quicker.
Additionally, the seperate pumps often have a hose that allows you to suck water out of a very shallow stream. Sometimes your only source of water may be too shallow to fill your entire bottle. Likewise, then your bottle comes in contact with the stream. While the water inside may be clean, microbes from the outside could contaminate the water once it comes out. So if you do use a bottle-filter make sure the outside is clean too.
I also like the seperate pump because it’s easier to use with multi-person trips and once at camp, I can fill up a collapsable water bag (1 gallon) and then I have enough water to cook and some left over too.
Both do the job well enough. I’ve never got sick from either style. It just really boils down to what is going to suit your needs the best.
Also…take some sort of chemical purification means. (Iodine, Chlorine, etc.) as pumps can fail or get clogged. (I’ve had this happen as well.)
I’d go with a portable water filter. The bottles that filter, the filter takes up so much space inside. It takes away a lot of space from you much needed water supply.
The bottle that filter water can do double service as drinking bottles; a separate filter takes up more space in one’s pack. You may also want to consider water purification tablets as a vial of 50 tablets takes up far less space and weighs less than either unit.
I use a water bottle with a charcoal filter. I carry it MT so to keep it as light as possible.I don’t get a 100 gal’s or anyway near that through mine. I also carry bottle water for cooking. The filtered water needs to be sucked through the filter so that makes it hard to get a couple of cups for cooking. There are pump type filters that i have not used but i think they would be a good way to go. You could get your cooking water and drinking water through the same filter and not carry bottled water like i do. you could use a drinking bladder and fill it as needed.
i am a vendor for these items, i can tell you that the best filter on the market today is from a company called zero water, available at home depot. i have tested water at over 700 ppm (parts per million) ran it through the filter and had it at test the second time at 37
Would only use a filter in an emergency always bring my own bottled water.
I used an MSR miniworks EX filter for my bicycle trip across the USA. I consider it an outstanding piece of gear. It’s rugged, easy to clean, it’s compact, it screws directly onto any Nalgene size bottle, or you can just hold it over your container of choice, and the replaceable filter lasts a long time, depending on water quality, of course. It’s a bit pricey, but I figure ANYTHING that will keep you from getting sick far from help is worth it.