Water Filter

I have used this water purifier system four times in the mountains of Nepal. So far, I have not gotten sick from any water borne germs. The speed of filtering is also appreciated. Even though it is heavier and bulkier than other water filter systems, it is a small price to pay for reliable water where the water can give you a nasty bout of explosive diarrhea. It is also a bit pricey when you have to replace the filter after ~150 gallons. Overall, it is a great system if you need extra protection from impure water.

I bought this a while ago, as part of my emergency preparedness kit. It sat, unused for quite some time. But then recently, I was invited to go on a backwoods camping trip along the Kings River at Kings Canyon National Park. In backwoods camping, you carry everything you will need for your trip. Water, while critical, is heavy. So, I brought this as part of my kit, and here's what I learned:The filter is threaded so that you can screw two different types of Nalgene bottles (wide mouth and narrow mouth) directly onto the output side. This has the benefit of not having to hold your water container while pumping water. One hand can hold the whole system steady while the other hand can operate the pump. The additional benefit is that you don't lose any water due to a spill. One note of caution, however: if you get too carried away, you can pump too much water into your bottle, and have a wet mess afterwards. But, that is my own fault for not looking at the water level in the bottle.The purifier is fast. One of my camping companions also had a pump-type water filter. In roughly the same amount of time, I was able to pump 4 liters of water to her 1 liter. The pump is designed so that it pumps water on the upstroke, as well as the downstroke, and moved quite a bit of water on each stroke. Furthermore, the pump handle fit my hand very comfortably, and the pump operated very smoothly.The purifier is light, weighing in at 1 pound 5 ounces, including its carrying pouch. That made it the least odious part of my 27 pound backpack.Other useful features:The filter has a little pre-filter (that blue bob thing at the end of the hose) that prevented silt or sand from getting caught up in the main filter. It also gave the end a little buoyancy so that your line wasn't sitting at the bottom of a creek bed, but rather the upper portion of the creek. Again, very practical.The filter also has a carrying pouch that apparently doubles as a water holder. If you're just too tired of pumping water, you can fill the carrying pouch with water, and connect your hose to it. Hang the pouch, place the filter below it, and it will filter water via a gravity feed. I didn't try this feature out, but I can see how that would be useful. I mainly used it as a carrying pouch, which I appreciated.How well does it purify water? Good question. The box claims it can filter out all sorts of chemical and biological contaminants, but I have no way of verifying that. Given that we were filtering water from the Kings River, which looked absolutely beautiful, this probably wasn't a super-rigorous test. But, it produced absolutely delicious tasting water which no one got sick from.So, I highly recommend this product. When I originally was shopping around, I saw some other fancy models, which cost a heck of a lot more. After having used it, I doubt that any of them can do a much better job that this one.

I've used this filter twice now as my primary water source without incident and positive results.This filter is one of the larger more robust filters. I did my research for backpacking and this is more than I'll probably need (suitable for a group) but nevertheless, a perfect tool for the wilderness adventurer or prepper. This little filter is all about functions. The primary pump is easy to use especially when attached to a standard Nalgene Bottle or Camelbak. There's a clean fresh taste, quick filling and two modes to filter water. If the pump fails on this filter you can gravity feed. That may take a while, but could be done at night or during the day multiple times to supply water.ProsRedundancy of the two methods of filteringQuick, efficient pumpingAttachments to the bottles/reservoirs we all commonly use.Good Clean Taste - Important!It worksEasy maintenanceHigh Filtering CapacityConsBulky for one person$$$

this pump catastrophically failed after ONLY 9 liters of water. the silty sediment load from the river back water clogged it so badly we had to abort the last 2 days of the trip. couldn't pump due to resistance, pump to canister hose shoots off, tried the clean out port a dozen times with no improvement. what's the point of removing uranium and toxins from water if all the pump can handle is clean mountain stream water? This is the 3rd and last First Need I'll ever buy. First Need needs to inform the consumer this pump is worthless in semi-silty stream or river sources (like the lower Colorado or Rio Grande). Now I need to buy a replacement canister after one failed use if I want to use it again (on clean streams).

This was recommended to me by a Peace Corps friend. They swore by it during a stint in Mozambique. have not used it in water as foul as what he ran across, but it has served me well in my backpacking. The best feature of this product is the volume of water it pumps out. I get double or triple the volume of the smaller backpacking pumps I have tried (MSR, Katadyn). It also feels more durable than many other models. You do sacrifice a little in terms of the size and weight, but for such a vital piece of equipment the trade-off seems fair. I also like the Nalagene attachment to the filter. Super easy to use. Super easy to maintain. I would recommend for any backpackers, car campers, survivalists, or otherwise thirsty people!

I read a lot of the reviews on this XL water filter. As of 13 Apr 2012 I have not used it, but will be looking to test it as best as I can. I am betting that this works better than the Zero water, water filter and of course as a prepper or outdoors person you wouldn't want to be carrying a Zero Water canister. The only issue I am having is finding replicable pre-filters. I have looked on the manufacturer's web site but did not see it listed so I may have to call.The tubing and main filter are a non-issue. So I am planning on buying a second unit as a back-up along with extra tubing and main-filters.