Katadyn Pro good enough?

[kimbur96]

I have a Katadyn Pro bought several years ago for a trip to the Grand Canyon. Now looking to start doing some more hiking including a section of the AT. The Kpro is 11oz, and I see the Sawyer mini getting good reviews and only 2oz. I am starting to gather gear and while I know I will be buying some new stuff if what I have will work that is better for the wallet. My question is, for short hikes, like up to a 7-10 days, is the K Pro good enough? Or is it worth buying another filter to loose 9oz?

[Doc]

The K Pro worked for me for 2179 miles.

[Tipi Walter]

My old PUR Hiker filter (now Katadyn) is all I ever use but here on two cons:

** I have to buy a new filter cartridge about twice a year because they clog very fast and great care must be used to avoid sucking up silty or muddy water. And replacement cartridges are very expensive, between $35 and $49.

** The pump handle will snap in half with any amount of pressure. It has happened to me 3 times in the last 15 years. Bummer. Here's a pic of the failure in action---


As you can see, the shaft of the pump is connected to the pump handle with a small spot of plastic weld---which I believe has been engineered this way to fail---notice how small the actual connecting weld surface is. Once the hand part of the shaft snaps off it's not much fun to filter water in the field.


Here's my at-home solution---a long screw thru the handle and down into the shaft. The blasted thing WILL NOT break now.

But one great advantage of the Hiker filter over the Sawyer is its ability to suck up water from tiny pools which the Sawyer cannot do. Getting clean water out of these tiny pools is nearly impossible with anything except a sucking pump filter.

[Tuckahoe]

I've used both the Hiker Pro and the Sawyer Mini.

I have no complaints regarding the Hiker Pro, it's a good filter. I switched to save the weight and pack space as well as cost for replacing the filter. However, becareful overestimating weight savings by only counting the unused Sawyer filter. Everyone forgets the bags and the back flush syringe.

[RavensFan]

I use both... Typically us the Sawyer Mini when I'm by myself and Hiker Pro when traveling with others. Have to admit that I'm starting to use the Hiker Pro more because it's so easy and fast to set up and use.

[Uncle Joe]

Yeah watching someone pump thru a few liters of water in no time makes you wish you had one. That said, I carry a mini.

[Water Rat]

I have the Sawyer mini and the Katadyn Pro. I had the Pro before the mini... While it is nice to shave off the ounces, I notice I keep gravitating back toward my Pro because of ease of use. It might weigh a little more, but it pumps faster. There are two scenarios where I find the ability to filter water faster to be a bonus - When I have to stand in the rain to filter water and when I have hiked all day and just want to rest.

It also depends on what your personal water needs might be and water your water set-up (bottles vs bladder, etc) will be for your hike. Both filters will absolutely get the job done, but your gear should fit your style. Get a mini and play with it now and see how it works for you. Have fun!

[jefals]

Being the nervous type, and out west where water sources can sometimes be scarce, I take them both. The sawyer is for backup, just in case. I also have an extra dirty bag for the sawyer, because the REI rep told me that the one that comes with the sawyer is easy to break.
So, I'm trading a little extra weight for a little peace of mind. ..

[Mudsock]

There is a Smartwater bottle with a sport cap on top which will tightly fit over the exit port or filter nozzle of the Sawyer's mini. If that Smartwater sport cap is used on the clean water bottle, it can be used to back flush the filter. It works much better than the syringe. It will take a LOT of squeezing and produce a lot of pressure without damaging anything. See several photographs here https://uxrnd.wordpress.com/2010/09/...-water-bottle/

A second Smartwater bottle, or lighter/thinner plastic bottle, with or without a standard cap can be used as the dirty water bottle for water collection. The filter is screwed onto that bottle and water can be squeezed into the clean bottle, or you can drink it right from the filter nozzle. The Sawyers filter and two Smartwater bottles gives a two liter carrying capacity. Since it is so easy to flush, you can do it each time you fetch water. No hoses, bladder, bags, syringe, etc. Cut a couple of inches off the bottom of a third bottle if you need to scoop water from a very shallow pool. It is a pretty light setup. To fill the clean bottle, the sport cap is unscrewed, leaving the standard bottle neck. The sport cap could be used on many other disposable bottles and is a saver; it replaces the syringe. The major enabler here is the Smartwater sport cap.

This idea was recommended at Neel Gap during a pack shakedown. An old man took the advice of a twenty something girl. She saved me a pound and a half, total. Whiteblaze put me in pretty good shape going in.

[Traveler]

I use both... Typically us the Sawyer Mini when I'm by myself and Hiker Pro when traveling with others. Have to admit that I'm starting to use the Hiker Pro more because it's so easy and fast to set up and use.

Ditto this, though I prefer the ease and speed of the Pro.

[squeezebox]

Sawyer set up for gravity feed for me.

[Cobra317]

Back flushing hollow fiber's in a pressurized cylinder is probably the most reckless way to clean these fibers as possible. Hollow fibers are very fragile and brittle. The fact that you are flushing water, in reverse, down the internal core of the fiber leaves it vulnerable to rupture the hollow fibers entirely. Thus ruining the whole filtration system. You would never even know of the rupture of the fibers, due to the cylinder cased design. You could be running water through the system not knowing, you're not filtering anything due to a rupture in the fibers.

There is a Smartwater bottle with a sport cap on top which will tightly fit over the exit port or filter nozzle of the Sawyer's mini. If that Smartwater sport cap is used on the clean water bottle, it can be used to back flush the filter. It works much better than the syringe. It will take a LOT of squeezing and produce a lot of pressure without damaging anything. See several photographs here https://uxrnd.wordpress.com/2010/09/...-water-bottle/

A second Smartwater bottle, or lighter/thinner plastic bottle, with or without a standard cap can be used as the dirty water bottle for water collection. The filter is screwed onto that bottle and water can be squeezed into the clean bottle, or you can drink it right from the filter nozzle. The Sawyers filter and two Smartwater bottles gives a two liter carrying capacity. Since it is so easy to flush, you can do it each time you fetch water. No hoses, bladder, bags, syringe, etc. Cut a couple of inches off the bottom of a third bottle if you need to scoop water from a very shallow pool. It is a pretty light setup. To fill the clean bottle, the sport cap is unscrewed, leaving the standard bottle neck. The sport cap could be used on many other disposable bottles and is a saver; it replaces the syringe. The major enabler here is the Smartwater sport cap.

This idea was recommended at Neel Gap during a pack shakedown. An old man took the advice of a twenty something girl. She saved me a pound and a half, total. Whiteblaze put me in pretty good shape going in.

[CalebJ]

Back flushing hollow fiber's in a pressurized cylinder is probably the most reckless way to clean these fibers as possible. Hollow fibers are very fragile and brittle. The fact that you are flushing water, in reverse, down the internal core of the fiber leaves it vulnerable to rupture the hollow fibers entirely. Thus ruining the whole filtration system. You would never even know of the rupture of the fibers, due to the cylinder cased design. You could be running water through the system not knowing, you're not filtering anything due to a rupture in the fibers.

??

The system is designed to be backflushed in this manner, and comes packaged with the tools needed to do so. Using the Smartwater bottle cap does the same thing but at a -lower- pressure, so I fail to see the risk.

[lonehiker]

Back flushing hollow fiber's in a pressurized cylinder is probably the most reckless way to clean these fibers as possible. Hollow fibers are very fragile and brittle. The fact that you are flushing water, in reverse, down the internal core of the fiber leaves it vulnerable to rupture the hollow fibers entirely. Thus ruining the whole filtration system. You would never even know of the rupture of the fibers, due to the cylinder cased design. You could be running water through the system not knowing, you're not filtering anything due to a rupture in the fibers.

The engineers at Sawyer think otherwise.

[DownEaster]

Cut a couple of inches off the bottom of a third bottle if you need to scoop water from a very shallow pool.

I keep seeing this advice, but I would guess it's unnecessary weight (except for stoveless hikers). Nearly everyone has a cookpot or mug which they can use for scooping water. Because they're going to be boiling water in that container anyway, it'll be sanitary.

[Hikingjim]

I don't like sawyer mini. Too slow
Sawyer squeeze is good. I use that and some aquatabs as backup

My Katadyn still comes along canoeing, etc, and I enjoy the ease and the flow rate. I just don't see the need on other hikes

If you want to drop weight, you could go squeeze. But if you have other easy ways to do so with your $, you could start elsewhere and carry on with the katadyn

[BuckeyeBill]

I am very happy with my Sawyer Squeeze I little bigger than Mini, but works every time for me.

[MikekiM]

Just made the switch to the Katadyn BeFree + Seeker two litre storage bag. I am coming out of the Sawyer Mini, which was brutally slow.

Flow rate of the BeFree filter is incredible.. fast enough to drink right out of the BeFree 0.6 litre bag. Small, I know, but I am using the small bag only for day hikes and switching the filter to the larger Seeker bag for dirty storage, and filtering to smart water bottle and a platypus 2 litre clean water bag.

[George]

it was the best option out there for probably 10 yrs - still works, but I have used aqua mira for the last 10 yrs or so

[Tipi Walter]

My oldest piece of gear is my PUR Hiker filter---16 years and still going strong.