New water filter - 2 oz.

[Sunbun]

I just found this water filter: Katadyn BeFree. Those of us with sensitive digestive systems might want to look into it. Very simple to use; seems pretty perfect for any Camino. I hope it holds up.

 

[Robo]

Are you planning on drinking water from rivers rather than taps?

 

[Sunbun]

Are you planning on drinking water from rivers rather than taps?

No! I'm just one of those people who are sensitive to changes in water. I'll probably only use this filter for fountains and will brave it at the albergues. I know, Spanish tap water is reputed to be safe. And it seems like every time I risk it in another country, I pay a trip-disrupting price.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Useful for the fuentes if you are concerned about drinking water straight from them.
We used bottled water, no fuentes or tap water, but this could be a good alternative although more expensive.
We have used a Katadyn pump filter with ceramic filter and it was good. Too heavy for the Camino when the filter is wet.

 

[cher99840]

I drink filtered water at home but not on Camino. I buy bottled water every few days and refill from fountains. That said, we each decide our own risks and set our own priorities; an additional 2 oz is a small price for peace of mind.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I use the Sawyer Mini water filter when backpacking. It is lighter, cheaper, smaller and versatile. The review of the Sawyer at the link above has, at the bottom of the page, links to reviews of other filters (including the Katadyn.)

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

I use the Sawyer Mini water filter when backpacking. It is lighter, cheaper, smaller and versatile. The review of the Sawyer at the link above has, at the bottom of the page, links to reviews of other filters (including the Katadyn.)

I think the Sawyer is an excellant choice for the Camino. It's small, light, effective and easy to use. It's not something I'd take on a major expedition but perfect in this application. I might suggest adding a larger platypus. The threds match up and the larger platypus is a little more sturdy and more efficient.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I think the Sawyer is an excellant choice for the Camino. It's small, light, effective and easy to use.

Although we brought the Sawyer Mini filter with us on camino we didn't use it. Peg once carelessly drank from a fountain that had a sign up saying that the water quality was not guaranteed. When I pointed this out she almost paniced as a camino food poisoning incident earlier had her laid up for days. However, later a local who collected some water there assured us that the water was fine. The small town probably didn't want to pay for periodic testing.

I have used the Sawyer Mini with a Platypus but I rather not. For water containment I trust only a Lexan bottle so in the backcountry I take a liter one on Peg a smaller one. Then the rest of the filtered water we may need goes into reused light-weight soda bottles (the filter screws onto these too, like I said, it's versatile.) Those bottles go into the open side pockets on our packs that would otherwise go unused. This means that the collapsible Platypus bags don't really save us any space. If we need to haul more water I keep unfiltered water in a light-weight mylar bag that comes with the filter. This bag could be easily punctured this way so I rarely use it in this manner. Besides, where we hike the problem is usually too much water around instead of too little. I did buy a couple of larger quart (almost 1 liter) mylar bags for the filter. These don't weight much more that the pint version that comes with the filter.

On the camino you are not dealing with dirty water but instead with possibly contaminated water. You probably will not need the filter's cleaning syringe. With a little tinkering you could work out some other way of cleaning the filter with a backwash.

 

[AZgirl]

I use the Sawyer Mini water filter when backpacking. It is lighter, cheaper, smaller and versatile. The review of the Sawyer at the link above has, at the bottom of the page, links to reviews of other filters (including the Katadyn.)

Where I live the waters in the desert and surrounding areas are really turbid, and most of the small lightweight filters we have tried seemed to get clogged constantly. Requiring cleaning etc. Have you had any experience recommendations? I am new to Backcountry back packing...

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Where I live the waters in the desert and surrounding areas are really turbid, and most of the small lightweight filters we have tried seemed to get clogged constantly. Requiring cleaning etc. Have you had any experience recommendations? I am new to Backcountry back packing...

What you can try is the following. Have a scoop and tumbler with you that you only use for the dirty, impure water and some pre-filters like coffee filters, sections of old nylons, etc. Scoop the water onto the filters so that it drains into the tumbler. Then use the water in the tumbler as the source for your fancy filter. You want to make sure that you never use the scoop or tumbler to drink from. I suggest the the scoop be made out of a half liter cardboard box that some wine comes in. Cut off the bottom of the box. Leave the top and cap on as that will add to versatility of the tool. The flat sides of the box will allow you to collect more water out of shallow pools and the box stands out as something you don't want to drink from. For the tumbler I would try a 20 ounce soda bottle with the top cut off. Here you want stability of the tumbler more than the versatility of the top. A coffee filter could be rubber-banded onto the top of the tumbler with maybe something stronger underneath to keep the coffee filter from tearing. I haven't needed to do this (well I have for clean water from shallow pools but I didn't need to use a pre-filter.) Bring enough coffee filters. You can use them to start fires too. Experiment with various tools and filters. Maybe you can find things that nest or do double or triple duty. Good luck.

Edit: I'm not a coffee drinker so this didn't come to mind as fast as the wine box scoop but you could use a foil bag that coffee comes in as a scoop. That will be lighter and smaller.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Where I live the waters in the desert and surrounding areas are really turbid, and most of the small lightweight filters we have tried seemed to get clogged constantly. Requiring cleaning etc. Have you had any experience recommendations? I am new to Backcountry back packing...

For really dirty or muddy water you need a pre-filter to remove the big chunks. I've used a bandana or the like.
For real expeditionary back country travel, I use an MSR Sweetwater. It's got a pre-filter. Very easy to clean the ceramic cartridge. On my bike rides, I'm using the MSR Micro flow. Not as efficient as the Sweetwater but smaller and lighter. If I'm traveling in areas with possible cholera and other charming microbes, I add a drop of bleach. As ever, boiling is the most fool proof way to render ANY water potable.

 

[Glenn Rowe]

What you can try is the following. Have a scoop and tumbler with you that you only use for the dirty, impure water and some pre-filters like coffee filters, sections of old nylons, etc. Scoop the water onto the filters so that it drains into the tumbler. Then use the water in the tumbler as the source for your fancy filter. You want to make sure that you never use the scoop or tumbler to drink from. I suggest the the scoop be made out of a half liter cardboard box that some wine comes in. Cut off the bottom of the box. Leave the top and cap on as that will add to versatility of the tool. The flat sides of the box will allow you to collect more water out of shallow pools and the box stands out as something you don't want to drink from. For the tumbler I would try a 20 ounce soda bottle with the top cut off. Here you want stability of the tumbler more than the versatility of the top. A coffee filter could be rubber-banded onto the top of the tumbler with maybe something stronger underneath to keep the coffee filter from tearing. I haven't needed to do this (well I have for clean water from shallow pools but I didn't need to use a pre-filter.) Bring enough coffee filters. You can use them to start fires too. Experiment with various tools and filters. Maybe you can find things that nest or do double or triple duty. Good luck.

Edit: I'm not a coffee drinker so this didn't come to mind as fast as the wine box scoop but you could use a foil bag that coffee comes in as a scoop. That will be lighter and smaller.

I agree with the pre-filtration idea. Back in the day, I used a First Need filter on my backcountry wanderings through the Deep South. It was so efficient, and the waters sufficiently muddy/silty, that the filter clogged very quickly. To counter this I used coffee filters rubber-banded to the top of a canteen cup, leaving just enough "droop" in the filter that the water would pour through instead of running off the edges. It took awhile to fill my canteens, but it worked quite well.

I never had any problem with the coffee filters tearing, but using a bandana to support the filter would work quite well. For water with visible particulates, the multi-folded bandana can serve as a "pre-pre-filter."

An additional thought: the waters in the Southwest often carry large amounts of dissolved minerals. They would pass right through the bandana and coffee filter, but may clog the actual water filter.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

My first water filter was a First Need. It worked but I had to work harder. The way you had to pump it was a pain (literally.) The new version looks different but it looks as hard to pump. After just two years I had enough and bought a Sweetwater. I like the Sweetwater pump but I can't trust it. I've had two catastrophic failures with it where it just became dead weight. It wasn't even fixable at home. My advice is to have a backup method of purification with you if you take a Sweetwater. The thing about the Sawyer Mini is that there really isn't anything mechanical with it except you squeeze a light-weight bag of water. If the bag leaks you could probably still squeeze enough water through the filter somehow or replace the bag with another or use a soda bottle or use the Sawyer as a straw.

 

[Deleted member 29041]

Amazing! Spain has better water quality than most of the the US, and people are talking about bringing filters

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Amazing! Spain has better water quality than most of the the US, and people are talking about bringing filters

Here's the OP:

I know, Spanish tap water is reputed to be safe. And it seems like every time I risk it in another country, I pay a trip-disrupting price.

And:

That said, we each decide our own risks and set our own priorities; an additional 2 oz is a small price for peace of mind.

And:

We all walk our own way. What's good for me, may be bad for you - and vice versa.

 

[Deleted member 29041]

Well, I'd just like to repeat that people with normal immune systems need not fear the water - unless marked "No potable"

For those with "delicate" systems, get a Sawyer mini filter. It is cheap, light weight, easy to use, and happens to be one of the best filters - if used correctly.

 

[Glenn Rowe]

Well, I'd just like to repeat that people with normal immune systems need not fear the water - unless marked "No potable"

@AZgirl asked a related question about water filtration while backpacking in the Desert Southwest, and several responded. Guess you missed that.

 

[Deleted member 29041]

Guess you missed that.

Nope, but what I didn't miss either, is that threads like these can easily lead others to believe that you cannot do a camino without a water filter. Seen it come and go before. Pareos, bandanas, shemaghs, immersion heaters, tomato knives (totally indispensable ), etc.etc.

So let me reiterate: unless you have a defective immune system, or want to drink from streams, you don't need a water filter on the camino. Just stay away from fountains marked "No potable"

 

[Deleted member 29041]

This is NOT Camino related, but merely an answer to a specific question in this thread.

Where I live the waters in the desert and surrounding areas are really turbid, and most of the small lightweight filters we have tried seemed to get clogged constantly. Requiring cleaning etc. Have you had any experience recommendations?

The low-tech solution is to let the water settle in the bag/bottle before filtering it I know that is not always practical - nor quite adequate - so I'd suggest that you try a Millbank bag. The Millbank bag was designed for that speciffic purpose. I don't know if there is a source outside the UK (the Brown filter), but try googling "millbank bag filter".

In a pinch, you can also use a folded bandana, shemagh, or any other cloth that is not too loosely woven, over the intake of your collection container. Also point the opening downstream while filling the container.

If you like DIY, then you could make your own in-line pre-filter using the same polyester wool that is used in aquarium filters.

 

[BlackDog]

Millbank filter, that takes me back to my Army days! I was also posted once to Millbank where the bag was designed. A little slow but effective and comes in two sizes for group and individual use.