Gear Review - Water Filters

Water Filters    

 Quite possibly the most important piece of equipment you'll need is your water filter. Water is key to survival and contaminated water can actually cause you to dehydrate. You can always pack your water but you are going to significantly increase your carry weight. Ill be reviewing just the water purifiers I have used personally.
      It would benefit you to learn some basics about water purification.
Quick info

Filtration Type:

UV light, chemical, activated carbon, membrane, and evaporation/boiling is about all you should encounter hiking.

Pre-filter: 

used to filter large particles before reaching filter, prolongs filter life and increases flow rate.
Micron:
Standard unit of measurement on mechanical filters. Its 0.000001 in meters. Important to note virtually no viruses are smaller than 0.02 microns.
Rate of Flow:
rate at wich your water will be filtered
Filter Type (How H20 pushes through):
The common methods are pump, gravity, and squeeze. 

My Recommendation - A good membrane filter  that is pump or squeeze operated and carry P-Tabs as a backup. Why? I just plain dont trust UV filters, and dont like to rely on anything battery operated. Boiling, evaporation, chemical, and all gravity operated filters take too long. Activated carbon is not ideal for viruses but is good for chemicals and taste.

Reviews

LifeSaver Bottle 

pros: 

- filters down to 0.015 microns

- also has activated carbon filter

- built in prefilter

- can also carry water within it

cons:

- expensive $170

- bulky

- slow rate of flow for any amount greater than what the bottle holds

- limited filter life

The life saver will work anywhere, I have drank from swamps, sewer outlets, and road runoffs to test it with no ill effects. Water actually taste quite good. However, since its bulky, heavy, and difficult to refill other containers with I don't take it out anymore.

MSR SweetWater

pros:

- easy to use

- great flow rate

- designed to work with standardized size water bottles. 

- built in prefilter

cons:

- limited filter life

- bulky

- filters to 0.2 microns

The MSR SweetWater is a good filter at a mid-range price ($80).  Fill your water bottles or packs quickly and easy. The absolute filter rating of 0.2 microns is actually standard and should cover virtually all bacteria and %99.9 of viruses. 

Sawyer Squeeze Filter System

pros:

- cheap

- light and small

- filters to 0.1 microns

- good rate of flow

- filter virtually last forever (1 million gallons)

- can be squeeze or gravity

cons:

- not easy to use

- no prefilter

The Sawyer Squeeze System is great. Ideal for ultra-lightweight  backpacking. The filter itself is great. But its system of pouches you fill and squeeze through is not as easy as it sounds, water pressure tends to keep the pouch crushed when you try to fill it. Don't misunderstand, it will work, but its just not as easy as some of the others out there. Currently this is what i use, with my own modded hand pump attachment (still fine tuning that). The smaller version has a shorter filter life but same quality filter.