Backpacking Water Filter Review - Best Backpacking Water Filters

For many enthusiasts a backpacking water filter is essential gear needed, since we can only carry so much water in a pack and the risk of drinking water without backpacking filters from a stream or other source is just not worth the risk.

There are many quality backpacking and hiking water filters on the market that consumers and we found are just the ticket for needing a compact but effective unit at an affordable cost which are supplied by the popular Katadyn and MSR brands.

If you're new to buying water purifying and filtering systems for the outdoors we would advise you to take a look at the Camping water filter and purifiers guide to gain a better understanding of how they function and which type is best suited for you.

We take a look at the best filters on the market today that outdoor enthusiasts have put to the test that should provide a good idea of where you want be spending your hard earned cash.

Best Backpacking Water Filter by Brand

There are only a small amount of brands that supply quality backpacking water filters that we would consider and make recommendations for, so we will use this as a guide to the brand and Hiking water filter models they supply that we would like to recommend.

Katadyn Water Filters

Katadyn is a Swiss company that's one of the leaders in outdoor water purification systems which is over 80 yrs old. Here is some of the best Katadyn models available.

Katadyn Hiker and Hiker Pro: The hiker and pro hiking water filter is simple to use and weighs 11 oz which is light enough for backpacking.

The filter physically removes particles, protozoa and bacteria down to 0.3 microns in size, including Giardia, salmonella, cryptosporidium and others. The pleated anti-clog cartridge that does not require cleaning is very handy; just swish it around in water and it's clean.

This Katadyn will filter up to 750 litres (200 gallons) depending on the water quality which is well known for one of the best all around use filters, available.

Katadyn Pocket Water Filter: The Katadyn pocket backpacking water filter is one of the most durable devices because the material it is built with; Suitable for those needing a filter device that will last and can be used in extreme conditions.

This unit uses a ceramic filter that's silver impregnated to inhibit bacterial growth inside its pores that will remove particles, bacteria, cysts and parasites larger than 0.2 microns, including protozoa.

Consider this hiking water filter if you want a unit that is built to last and is easy to clean. It,s pricey at $299 but is made from stronger materials than most. There's more info here at the katadyn pocket water filter review page.

Other Katadyn Filters We like

MSR Water Filters

Many outdoor enthusiasts, especially backpackers and hikers are well aware of the MSR brand and are likely to own or have used MSR gear before. MSR have a couple of tidy filtering devices that compare with the affordable range of Katadyns.

MSR Miniworks EX Microfilter: The miniworks is MSR's best seller and is used around the globe by thousands of outdoor enthusiasts.

The Airsprung accumulator enables this unit to pump a liter of water per minute and renewing the flow rate is easily done on the field.

It's made for heavy or frequent use and uses a carbon/ceramic element for clean water that frees bad taste.

The MSR miniworks is lightweight (weighs around 14 oz) and compact that can be picked up for under $100.

MSR Autoflow Gravity Filter: We thought we would throw the MSR autoflow into the mix that works very different to the miniworks in that it does not use a pump to operate but they're still effective backpacking water filters.

This is a simple unit that you fill, hang it up and re visit it when water is needed with no need to pump. These are very lightweight, portable and compact enough for backpacking.

These are not as popular as the pump types but are definitely worth a mention because so many consumers that have used this backpacking water filter love it. How's its operated will be attractive to those that like the idea of filling a unit up and leaving it rather than pumping each time.

Other MSR Hiking water filter models we like:

Overall, if your an outdoor enthusiast searching for a reliable water filtering device then any of the above models are high quality worth considering.