I am kicking around getting a Katadyn base camp gravity fed water filter. I currently have the "clean stream" from platypus and consider it excellent for 2 people. I hate pumping water and I go through a lot of it so these gravity fed systems make me happy. By the time the tent is up the water has taken care of itself. [smiley=thumbup.gif]

With a few more folk to tend to this summer I like the idea of a couple gallons at a time which is double the platypus. They usually make good stuff but what the heck, might as well get some feedback. Anybody use one? Happy with it or nay?

Might try this thread:

  (You need to Login or Register

dd

Thanks for keeping the gloves on DD. I keep forgetting to do a search. Seems like that would be the first thing that should pop into my head.  :P

Great thread, very informative. I think I will stay with my platypus. Sounds like less hassle. I didn't see it mentioned so I will provide a link for consideration. So far I am quite pleased with initial results. Only 1 trip with it though. Time will tell.
  (You need to Login or Register

Thanks again DD.

Masterangler I really like mine. Dont find it to be a hassle at all-got the system all worked out. Fastec buckle straps, beaners, and a large MSR drom. bag all attached to a tree in camp. And the filters seem to be holding, but I do carry a spare-16 days and counting and the time savings-WOW. A walk in the park IMHO ;)

While I would like to be a masterangler I make no such claim. Rather master-Tangler is my true forte'. If you see a black gold bell solo drifting across the lake and can just barely hear the occupant mumbling oaths and mild curses under his breath while he slowly picks apart another birds nest, ah, that would be me  ;D. Of course once in a while I get to tangle with Mr. Big but that's another story. (My wife says it's ALWAYS the same story as she spreads her arms wide......."It was this big and it jumped and broke my line".............Of course she is wrong, at least 1/2 the time it runs back up under the bushes and breaks my line but her eyes have already rolled back in her head from boredom and she is no longer listening)

Life used to be so simple! All these gidgets and gadgets. I hate being double minded. Now you have me doubting myself.  :-/  

Big fan of gravity systems.  Make the planet work for you!  I've heard the gravity kits, where you connect your existing filter to the bags & hoses, don't work so well.  

I hate pumping to the point where my filter stays home & I use Pristine or boiling most of the time.  I haven't pumped water in years.

I just bought one! Looking forward to using on my up coming trip. It's my wifes first time and my 3rd. I think that Midwest Mountainering is going to have a special on these filters at the Expo. Something like 50 bucks each while supplies last. I'm impatient, and had to buy one now.

Sorry! That last post made it sound like I work for Midwest Mount. But I don't. If I did I wouldn't have a house anymore because I would have spent all of my paychecks on gear.  ;D

Point the tip at the fish Master when they jump and the tip under the surface when they run for cover.

Marlin, you may want to avoid drinking water directly from the Crow or go to the Riverside every other day. ;D

marlin55388 wrote on Apr 20^th, 2010 at 5:19am:

Point the tip at the fish Master when they jump and the tip under the surface when they run for cover.

Preachin to the choir brother! I belong to the "stop'em or pop 'em" club. If they are headed into reef, wreck or mangrove shoreline I am puttin the muscle to them. Break it if you can big boy. Once they get under the bushes your odds go down considerably rod down in the water or not. You got the right idea though!  [smiley=thumbup.gif]

That's what is so much fun about canoe country for me is being able to to fish with the light stuff. I love it!

Rats, we're off topic......... YOU pushed me over the edge on getting the Katadyn. I got a pretty good deal at "Man Venture Outpost" (you gotta love the name LOL). I think I will be a bit more careful where I fill it however. I can picture draggin up a lot of sediment when scoopin 2 gallons near shore.

My wife just purchased a Katadyn Base Camp for my birthday.  I haven't used it yet.  It was $53.00 at Amazon.  It gets good reviews and real life testing gives the filter closer to 150 gallons vs. 200 before replacement.  

For 18 years, I've never used a water filter in Quetico.  It will be interesting to see how this effects my, uh uhm . . . overall constitution.  While I have never gotten overly sick from Q water I do have some theories.

I can picture draggin up a lot of sediment when scoopin 2 gallons near shore

Get a pair of those knee high nylons the old ladies wear, and tie over filler area of base camp.  Take the other nylon and pull over small pot.
Scoop water from lake with pot, and pour into filter.
Nylons will filter most of the larger sediment.

I use this method when filling pots for boiling/drinking water. Some here like the taste of whatever is in the shoreline sediment, but I like my coffee/ food FLOATY FREE ;D

solotripper wrote on Apr 20^th, 2010 at 3:18pm:

Get a pair of those knee high nylons

Oooh!  Gonna stop by the dollar store on my way home!

Got the Base Camp filter as a present.  If it works as slowly on the trail as it did with tap water at home fresh out of the box, I doubt I'll be much of a fan.  10 minutes for 1L of water.  Has anyone esle experienced this, or did I just get a defective filter.  It has not been used to filter anything except tap.

jjcanoeguide wrote on Apr 20^th, 2010 at 4:53pm:

10 minutes for 1L of water.

Defective.

Katydyn Base Camp Specs
Capacity (gal)
~ 200

Capacity (L)
~ 750

Dimensions (cm)
7.6 x 16.5 x 6.1

Dimensions (in)
3 x 6.5 x 2.4

Output (gal)
~ 1 quart/min

Output (L)
~ 1 L/min

Technology
AntiClog Technology with 0.3 micron glassfiber (no cleaning needed) Activated carbon granulate

Weight (grams)
310

Weight (oz)
11

I just tested mine with tap water. I got 1 liter in about 3 and a half minutes. I thought the "slow flow" was caused by a vacuum, like DD talked about in the org. thread but in reverse. So I timed another liter with the top of the bag open but got 4 and a half minutes, so much for that theory! It's got to be that pre-filter, but I can't see not using that in a real life situation.

I bought one last fall on way up to Quetico, Just my wife and I but I drink lots of water. I have always been thirsty and craving cold water. We took a cooler with block ice and several water bottles.  After hanging the bag to drain into a 12qt ss pot, we would fill the bottles and put them in the cooler. This is the first time in15 or so trips that I had all the cold water I wanted. It sure beats the heck out of sitting around and squeezing bottles! We of course still took our filter bottles to use if needed when out on the water. It will go again in June. I would say this was probably the best camping purchase I have made.

Hey all....it is better than pumping. Fill and hang. More fishing (pj) 8-), more shots, more cooking....not pumping ;) I have always filled mine a shore, but I am careful not to stir it up. I just bring a spar element and the tablet in the first aide kit in a pinch, dont need the fever on top of something else :o

No drinky out of the river, dont need another horn ;) Riverside, that is years gone for me :-X

You're a lot more likely to get sick from poor campsite hygiene than from drinking untreated water.  Giardia originally came from people, not beavers.  People are still the source you are most likely to pick it up from, too.

Just pay attention to where you get your water and you can leave the expensive, easily compromised filtering equipment at home.  I bring a bottle of treatment tablets just in case I am unable to get water from a source which meets my minimal standards.

That said, there's no way you'll get me to drink from Lakes 1-4 and several other insanely popular lakes without treating the water.  I don't fear the beavers too much.  I fear the two-legged disease carriers much worse.

Snow_Dog wrote on Apr 21^st, 2010 at 2:38pm:

You're a lot more likely to get sick from poor campsite hygiene than from drinking untreated water.  Giardia originally came from people, not beavers.  People are still the source you are most likely to pick it up from, too. Just pay attention to where you get your water and you can leave the expensive, easily compromised filtering equipment at home.  I bring a bottle of treatment tablets just in case I am unable to get water from a source which meets my minimal standards. That said, there's no way you'll get me to drink from Lakes 1-4 and several other insanely popular lakes without treating the water.  I don't fear the beavers too much.  I fear the two-legged disease carriers much worse.

I'll concur with Snow_Dog.  I just make sure that I'm filling my water containers some distance from shore, unless the dipped water is going to be boiled before use/consumption.  That said, I can think of no place in the lower-48 where I'd choose not to filter unless the water was coming directly from a spring.

I did decide to try the Katadyn Base Camp filter a couple of seasons ago (mostly because I was traveling with other "new" companions).  It was a reasonably easy "swap" since I had been using a comparably-sized dry bag for that purpose (the one I use if from Cabela's and has an air-bleed valve at one end ... or should I say a water spigot).  The Base Camp worked well at the beginning of the trip, but I did notice a slow down before the 2-week trip ended.  Being that the trip was in late May/early June, I'd guess the filter started to become clogged with pollen ... which seems to be everywhere that time of year.  

I did take the filter on 2-3 trips, but I'm now back to my former technique for "far-north" traveling.

One should also note that things like Giardia CAN BE acquired through activities other than drinking water ... like bathing and swimming.  So a bit of caution should be exercised when doing these activities (unless you swim without stirring up bottom sediments ::)).

dd

jjcanoeguide wrote on Apr 20^th, 2010 at 4:53pm:

10 minutes for 1L of water.

If it's a model with a screw on lid for water bottles, did you screw the lid on tight?  Don't do that.  Air must be free to exit the bottle you're filling, otherwise it will chase up the tube and get caught in the filter.

Well I have some thoughts on the katadyn base camp since I was able to put one to use recently. Bottom line was that if you weren't in a hurry it was fine. I found it frustratingly slow when compared to the platypus clean stream which I also own and have used.

The clean stream performs quickly and efficiently but holds less than 1/2 the water the base camp does. In my mind this is the way to go with 2 or 3 trippers.

Once I lowered my expectation level and got about other business and would eventually glance over at 1.5 gallons of water ready to use I was a bit more satisfied. There are some other drawbacks however. Scooping up a couple of gallons of water and then clambering up a potentially slick bank after a long day might invite an unexpected spill (and I ain't talkin water). It might also take a bit more thought concerning where to hang 10lbs of water to initiate the process.

If I had it to do over again I would stay with the clean stream I guess and just fill a bit more often.