ok, so finally i come up with a good compromise between taking off to go on the road and staying here to tye up loose ends. We're twenty miles from NF, so I'm moving out and moving home and spending the summer out of this damn house... Any suggestions for an inexpensive water filter that removes giardia and cryptosprodia? I dont want to have to boil stream water.
i was looking into inline gravity filters myself...hang a bladder .... gravity pulls the water thru the filter to a bladder on the ground ....the filter are a lower cost too...and no pumping http://www.seychellewater.com/products.htm http://www.seychelle.com/portable.htm
Good idea. You should never drink untreated water. I've seen water filters at discount sporting goods stores for as low as $20.00, new. Way back when, before they had backpacking water filters, we would fill our pots and pans with stream water while in camp, and set them on/next to the evening's campfire. After a half hour or so we'd take them off the fire so we'd have cool safe water the next day. On a long day's hike it wouldn't last, and then we'd have to treat the water with iodine UGH.
I wouldn't buy anything cheaper than $50. You don't want to be taking a gamble with something as important as your health.
This is the one I have - http://www.msrcorp.com/filters/miniworks_ex.asp MSR minworks..runs about $80. Rated the 2nd best backpacking filter on the market. (the next one up is like $300..and it's a water purifier, not filter) Removes 99.9% of bacteria including giardia and cryptosprodia Has a carbon filter that you clean (big plus).. the filter lasts about 300 gallons before you should replace it. (although I've probably pumped over 500 gallons through mine by now and it still works fine.. it gets clogged.. you clean it..) It breaks down easily and is easily put back together. It's durable as can be, and pumps fast. I've had it for 4 months so far, and it hasn't even showed one sign of letting me down. It's solid. Personally, I wouldn't get a cheap water filter. Better safe than sorry. Also, there are more expensive ones that dont filter nearly as efficiently as this one..so price doesn't necessarily mean quality.
Rated second best by who? I've seen a lot of bad reviews on the msr's mostly mechanical problems. The General Ecologies filter is used by the armed forces, all branches. I do a lot of camping and backpacking and my friend who is like a grandfather to me and an ex Frogman got me the General Ecologies mini and I use it all the time. I think they are $50-$60.00
