When you are out hiking or on a camping adventure, it is expected that you do things a little differently to ensure your well-being, since you are not in the safety of your home.
One of the things you have to pay attention to is how you get your water. There are no treated water sources out in the woods or a hiking trail, so you would have to get your water from other natural sources, like streams, rivers, and lakes.
No matter how clean water from these sources may appear, you are not advised to drink directly. Such water has not been treated and still contains a lot of tiny impurities and contaminants like bacteria that go undetected to the bare eyes.
Drinking untreated has a lot of consequences and this is more reason why you should have a water filter.
A water filter is a device that removes impurities from your water so that you can have something safe to drink. Drinking filtered water reduces your chances of suffering waterborne illnesses.
To make things easier for you, we would be looking at some of the best portable water filter systems available in the market so you know what to buy
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MSR TrailShot Micro-Filtration System
This is a pump filter, which means it has a hand pump that you press to draw water from the source. The good thing about this filter is that it is lightweight and would fit right into your pocket. It can filter 1 liter in just 60 seconds and has a capacity of 2000 liters. It is ideal for hikes and short camping trips.
Platypus GravityWorks
This is a gravity filter that works with two containers to filter your water. Water flows from one container to the other through a tube of filters. The Platypus GravityWorks’s tube contains hundreds of smaller filters and that is how your water gets filtered. This filter removes a lot of contaminants from water including salmonella, cholera, and E. coli. It can filter more than 1ltr per minute. It weighs 11 ounces and has to be placed at unequal points for it to work.
LifeStraw
This is strictly for those just taking a casual hike and not meant to be used for intensive camping. Still, the LifeStraw does what it is expected to do, removing impurities from water. You place one end of the straw into the lake or stream or receptacle of dirty water and suck in through the other end. It weighs just 2 ounces
Katadyn Hiker
This is another pump filter that filters 4 liters of water in just 5 minutes. It makes use of carbon filter technology to remove contaminants from water. It is easy to use and very reliable. It weighs 11 ounces, which is something you have to consider before you buy it for a trip.
MSR Guardian
This is another filter by the MSR brand. The Guardian was designed for the worst waters and meets up with the task as it has a purifier that allows it to remove more germs and viruses from the water. It has a pump system and filters water faster than most other filters out there. It weighs 17 ounces, meaning you would need more room to carry this when going camping.
GRAYL Ultralight Water Purifier Bottle
The GRAYL Ultralight Water Purifier Bottle is a bottle filter, which means you get to filter and drink the water from the same bottle. It has a filter capacity of 150 liters and filters out protozoa as well as viruses and chemicals. It weighs 17 ounces but offers a lot of benefits that it is worth considering.
Katadyn Ultra
Using UV technology, the Katadyn Ultra filters water with the help of a rechargeable battery-powered light. It can filter 50 liters of water in 5 days. This less than 5-ounce filter does not do well against very dirty water but it would work even in freezing temperatures when other filters would not work.
Sawyer Squeeze
This makes use of squeezes to get dirty water from a bag through a filter, giving you clean water in your container. The Sawyer Squeeze is very easy to use and comes with everything you would need, with the main filter weighing just 2 ounces. You would need to bring replacement bags along because the one it comes with tends to burst under pressure.
Survival Filter Pro
This is a pump-styled filter that is capable of filtering up to 100,000 liters of water, meaning you can take it on many camping trips with you. It has a flow rate of 0.5ltr per minute but when you consider the fact that it removes heavy metal, chemicals, and viruses from your water, you would understand why it has its name as it truly helps you survive out in the wilderness.
Aquamira Chlorine Dioxide Water Treatment
If you would be going in a group, you can settle for chlorine drops as the best water filter option. Just a small drop of chlorine dioxide can kill so many bacteria and viruses, leaving you with pure water. You just have to let the water sit for some time to allow it to completely get rid of the contaminants.