Originally Posted by
madgoat
I bought the BeFree replacement filter and a 2L Hydraflask Seeker. Used it a few times and like it quite a bit.
The flow rate is very fast, so I just fill up the seeker at a water source and filter into my 1L water bottle from it. I can carry 2L dirty in the seeker, and 1L clean in my water bottle.
Word of warning #1. When the filter media dries out, it will not flow water through it. On the day before your trip, fill up your seeker and screw in your BeFree and let it soak overnight or you may be left without water when you need it.
Word of warning #2. The Hydrapak seeker imparts an unpleasant plastic taste in your water. This fades with a few uses. Or you can use Hydrapak's method from their website which is to fill the bladder with water and juice from a lemon and freeze it. When thawed, the taste is gone.
Pros
-fast flow rate
-easy to clean filter
-seeker has wide mouth and is very flexible so it makes it very easy to fill at creeks and springs
-outlet side of BeFree filter is threaded like standard water bottles so all your female sawyer adapters work with it (so you can make it a gravity filter or an inline filter if you want to)
-the included flip cap can be replaced with a smartwater flip cap if necessary since they are threaded the same
Cons
-much lower life expectancy than the sawyer (1000gal befree vs 100,000gal sawyer)
-only works with 0.6L bottle included with the filter or 1L, 2L, 3L Hydrapak Seeker. Some of the Hydrapak softflasks are the same size opening, but I got a 750ml and it leaked all over the place
), how do you keep the BeFree from freezing? The Squeeze you can throw in your pocket to keep it warm, and since it's not a primary cap for your bottle it's no big deal. If you use a BeFree for your softflask lid, I'm guessing you would need to carry an extra lid for those situations?
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