It may have been. If it was I'm actually pleased. You see, I contacted both the PUR and General Ecology websites with the link to the original post. I'm sure we are a minute market segment for either so I didn't really expect anything - just curious. I heard absolutely nothing from PUR, and received a decent auto response from General Ecology with customer service phone numbers.

I've used a First Need Deluxe (General Ecology) for at least a dozen years. I even used it at home to remove the chlorine taste from of my city's water when I had good Scotch. It's so old the rubber gozinta and gozouta hoses and caps are starting to dry out and crack. I went through a lot of filters in the beginning. A prefilter seems to double or triple the life of the filter cartridge. I'd guess 120 camper days was about the limit per filter without a prefilter. Less in shallow brown lakes. The weight is about a pound plus a little more for the water that stays in it.

I can't compare it to anything. It's all I've ever really used or looked at since I bought mine. It's easy to use until the filter starts getting clogged. Then it takes a while.

QPP no longer states there has never been a confirmed case of Giardiasis from it's lakes. Makes me glad I've been filtering. Chemical disinfection may be less effective because it is highly dependent on the time, temperature, pH, and cloudiness of the water.

OPP recommends a three micrometer pore size to ward off the nastys. Whether that's a nonimal or absolute number I don't know. What I do know is no matter what you use, a prefilter is an investment that will pay for itself very quickly.

If there is an REI near you try some different ones out.

Posted by db on February 11, 2002 at 01:42
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