Glacier National Park Chat

Take a look at this thread.
http://www.glacier.nationalparkschat.co ... 59#p107059
I didn't know at the time that Teapot's suggestion existed.

pete

I'd take mine with me today out to Polebridge but it's -11F this morning
Probably no "open" water to filter! LOL

Fairbanks142 wrote:Anyone try a new filtering system recently? Any recommendations?

I just got a new Katadyn BeFree. Teapot had one on a backpack trip last summer and it worked really well. Its just a soft plastic bag and the filter cartridge screws on to the neck of the bag and then you can either drink directly from the nozzle on the cap, or pour it into another bottle.. At first I was a little nervous about the bag, because if you tear the bag your in trouble, but it seemed pretty durable.. It was plenty quick enough to fill 3-4 16oz water bottles.

For the past two summers, I've been using the Katadyn BeFree water filter in combination with Hydrapak Seeker soft water bottles. It is a super easy and fast system-- you just scoop the water into the bottle, attach the filter, and pour. The bottle opening is not huge, but bigger than what you have using a Sawyer. I haven't found it difficult to gather water into the bottle, although sometimes you have to scoop a few times to fill it. The flow rate is better than what you get with a Sawyer. Some complain that the BeFree filter doesn't have a long life and the flow rate slows after long term use, but so far I haven't had any issues.

As mentioned, MattB and I shared this filter on our Northern Traverse and our water gathering was so much faster and easier than it was for the others using a pump system. Matt, I didn’t have the extra hydrapak seeker bottle with me because Jen convinced me I didn’t need it when we were looking for things to ditch to drop pack weight, but it would have been really nice for us to have because it holds more water and serves as a backup if that smaller bag it comes with should break.

Befree Filter: https://www.katadyn.com/us/ca/14947-801 ... ee-0.6L_eu

Seeker bottles (they come in a few different sizes and you can often find them on Massdrop): https://hydrapak.com/seeker-25

That being said, I picked up a regular (not mini) Sawyer filter on sale for $16. I like to use recycled Smartwater plastic water bottles because they fit in a shoulder strap holder on my pack. I am thinking about going back to the Sawyer in combination with the CNOC Vector and my Smartwater bottles, because I like the option of just screwing the filter onto the Smartwater bottle and not having to pour from another container.

Excellent, thanks for this info. I just watched the BeFree videos on the Katadyn website with the link that you shared. Very cool.

If you're saying that I can fill several liter bottles faster with this BeFree than I can pumping with my Hiker Pro, I'm sold on it. You can't beat the size, weight and convenience.

I also see there's a 3L hanging bag / gravity system for the BeFree that has a wider mouth for faster filling, and an outlet hose. Not sure if the filter is interchangeable between the smaller collapsible BeFree bottles and the 3L hanging bag, but that could be an option too.

https://www.rei.com/product/139666/kata ... m-3-liters

A few more thoughts on the BeFree:

1. The cap is flimsy. A flip top cap from any disposable water bottle will fit the threads, so I carry one with me just in case.

2. The 3L bag you mentioned is a newer item, and I would probably buy that one if given a choice. It’s a good size for gathering water in camp for sharing with others, cooking, etc.

3. The filter is interchangeable between BeFree soft bag sizes, and also fits the Hydrapak Seeker soft bottles. You can even buy just the filter without a soft bag, which is an option if you want to use it with the Seeker bottles. It is sold by itself as a replacement filter.

4. I would recommend having a Seeker soft bottle as a backup to whichever soft BeFree bag you choose, just in case you develop a leak.

5. The life of the BeFree is shorter than that of a Sawyer. I think it lasts 1000L or so, which is still a long time but thought I would mention it. The flow rate is better than the Sawyer, so there are some trade offs.

I'll stick with my home made rig for now.
I've already spent a fortune this winter on gear
That bottle lid I made will fit all the Nalgene bags which are very durable imo.
An extra bag and filter weigh just a few ounces and take up very little space.

pete

Guess i missed the resurrection of this thread.

I bought the Sawyer right after I made the original post, used for 3 , or 4 back country trips.
For filtering large quantities of water its a little of a pain but the wife and I have a system that
has worked well for us. We stopped using the supplied bags and switched to something similar to this,
Cnoc Outdoors Vecto 2L Water Container, which is available at Amazon.

Used to use the MSR MiniWorks, great filter but to heavy.

We each carry a Sawyer and only use one keeping the other as a backup, never needed to back flush.