paul standley
11-04-2011, 10:27 PM
I bought a Katadyn Hiker filter a few months ago and used it for the first time recently and was impressed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WclBdelwqQ
They aren't cheap, retailing at around £55 - 65 and as a keen budget-crafter I wasn't willing to pay £60 for one so I hunted around ebay until I found a second hand one from a cycle enthusiast who was upgrading a lot of his kit and that included this filter. It had been used just a few times and was in first class condition and cost me £30.
Spec says it pumps 1 litre a minute but this can vary depending on who's doing the pumping but I got 5 litres in 8 minutes which I was happy with and 5 litres of clean drinking water lasts a good while.
It does save carrying water in most circumstances [natural water sources depending of course] and for me, is much better than sterilising with Iodine or chorine tablets and saves a lot of fuel by avoiding having to boil everything when you are in a 'no campfire' area.
Filters will need repalcing after so may litres of filtering (several hundred litres) so a single filter cartridge will last me 4 or 5 years.
It's well made, easy to dis-assemble and clean & maintain and robust and will take a few knocks.
Not saying it ticks all the boxes for everyone, different strokes and all that, but it works for me and will be a permanent part of my kit from now on.
Paul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WclBdelwqQ
They aren't cheap, retailing at around £55 - 65 and as a keen budget-crafter I wasn't willing to pay £60 for one so I hunted around ebay until I found a second hand one from a cycle enthusiast who was upgrading a lot of his kit and that included this filter. It had been used just a few times and was in first class condition and cost me £30.
Spec says it pumps 1 litre a minute but this can vary depending on who's doing the pumping but I got 5 litres in 8 minutes which I was happy with and 5 litres of clean drinking water lasts a good while.
It does save carrying water in most circumstances [natural water sources depending of course] and for me, is much better than sterilising with Iodine or chorine tablets and saves a lot of fuel by avoiding having to boil everything when you are in a 'no campfire' area.
Filters will need repalcing after so may litres of filtering (several hundred litres) so a single filter cartridge will last me 4 or 5 years.
It's well made, easy to dis-assemble and clean & maintain and robust and will take a few knocks.
Not saying it ticks all the boxes for everyone, different strokes and all that, but it works for me and will be a permanent part of my kit from now on.
Paul.