BEST BUY: Katadyn Befree Water Filter

Price: £32
Weight: 67g

The design of the Katadyn BeFree Water Filtration System is deceptively simple. It consists of a sports bottle-type top that screws onto a squeezy Hydrapack plastic pouch. Hidden in the top, however, is a hollow fibre filter and EZ-clean membrane with 0.1 micron-wide holes that block out nasty bacteria and protozoa but allow clean water to pass straight through.

OM editor Will Renwick took it with him on a five-day hike along the Snowdonia Slate Trail last summer and was highly impressed with its effectiveness. He particularly liked the good flow rate, which means there’s no need to suck the water through the filter. That means you can easily decant clean water into another cup or pot.

The capacity of the pouch is 600ml, while the BeFree will filter up to 1,000 litres of water. That’s not quite as long a lifetime as some other filters, but still offers pretty good value given the relatively low price. All in all, it’s a lightweight, affordable and effective portable water filter that works well and has a good flow-rate. That’s why it takes our best buy pick.

Read our full Katadyn Free review.

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Platypus QuickDraw Water Filter System

Price: £30-40
Weight: 68-100g

The Platypus QuickDraw removes any worries about water contaminated by dirt, bacteria or protozoa and brings a quick flow rate of up to 3L per minute. It’s also very packable, with the QuickStraw filter rolling up neatly within the reservoir when the filtration isn’t required.

The filter can be used separately from the reservoir if you simply want to suck water directly from a source, or you can even attach it to a standard plastic bottle if needs be. The reservoir itself has a wide mouth and little handle so it’s super easy to fill it up from a water source. 

Perhaps our favourite thing about the Platypus Quickdraw is that you just need to squeeze it in order to dispense filtered water, with no sucking required, and that aspect of it makes it very useful for group use and for preparing water for cooking.

The filter couldn’t be simpler to clean. All you need to do is quarter fill a compatible reservoir with clean water, attach it to the cartridge and shake vigorously for 30 seconds for a clean filter and good-as-new flow rate. 

Bear in mind that you can by both the reservoir and Quickdraw together or separately.

Selected for the Outdoor 100 2021/22. Here’s our full Platypus Quickdraw Water Filter review.

Sawyer Mini Water Filter

Price: £22
Weight: 57g
More info: prepareforadventure.co.uk

The cheapest and lightest option in this round-up, the Sawyer Mini is a tried-and-tested water filter used by travellers and adventurers across the globe. It provides 0.1 micron absolute filtration, meaning it will remove turbidity as well as bacteria and protozoa, but not viruses.

As a personal filter system it works well, though the flow rate is not as high as some other filters, and you have to flush it regularly to prevent clogging. These limitations can be frustrating if you need to filter a lot of water quickly, e.g. for a group camp.

Still, the Sawyer’s versatility and low cost meant that it recently made it into our list of best value budget outdoor gear. We still maintain that it is possibly the most useful bit of wild camping kit you can buy for twenty quid and some change. It will last for up to 100,000 gallons too, making it exceptional value for money.

MSR Trailshot Microfilter

Price: £40
Weight: 142g

The MSR Trailshot is a small, simple filter that is ideally suited for fast and light adventures or trail running. It is best used to treat water on the go, though at a push it can also be used to fill your water bottle. When first released it was one of the lightest options on the market. Since then, smaller and lighter filters have emerged, though the Trailshot is still one of the most durable, robust and best personal water filters out there.

The flow rate is pretty good, and backflushing to keep the filter clean is very easy. It’s simple to use too. You just dangle the hose in the chosen water source, give the hand-held plastic pocket a squeeze, and voila – one big gulp of clean drinking water.  The design reaches its limitations if you want to filter larger quantities of water quickly though.

Read our full MSR Trailshot review

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Lifestraw Go Water Purifier

Price: £38
Weight: 168g

The LifeStraw Go combines Lifestraw’s patented two-stage straw filter system with a standard 650ml plastic water bottle. The 0.1-micron filtration is able to remove 99.999 per cent of bacteria and protozoa from water sources, though not viruses. That should still guarantee safe drinking water in most outdoor scenarios though.

The Lifestraw Go is very easy to use. You just fill up the bottle, screw the lid shut and suck water out through the filter. It’s a different method to the squeeze filters from Katadyn and Sawyer or Lifesaver’s plunger-type mechanism. Though effective, it does mean the Go is only suitable for personal use, since you can’t decant or siphon water into other bottles or cooking pans, for instance.

Read our  full Lifestraw Go Water Purifier review

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MSR Autoflow XL Gravity Filter

Price: £85
Weight: 340g

As you can probably guess from its whopping 10-litre capacity, the AutoFlow XL filter from MSR isn’t strictly a personal water filter. This one is primarily intended for group and basecamp use. You simply fill it from a stream or river and hang the bag from, say, a branch or fence post. The gravity-fed filter will then do its thing at the rate of 1.75 litres per minute.

OM Editor Will Renwick was certainly impressed. “In terms of durability and reliability, I haven’t had any problems; it seems tough and the rolltop is certainly watertight”, he said. “I also like the fact you can quickly disconnect the hose when you need to venture with the bag to find water. This thing works, and works well.”

Though it’s almost certainly overkill for personal use, the Autoflow XL is a great system for anyone planning a backpacking trip with a group.

Read our full MSR Autoflow XL Gravity Filter review

Lifestraw Universal Water Filter

Price: £39.97
Weight: 102g

Released in early 2019, the Lifestraw Universal is an evolution of Lifestraw’s filtration system, rather than a new innovation. In fact, the technology contained within the Lifestraw Universal set is identical to the Lifestraw Go bottle featured above. The only difference is that this set comes with various adapters to enable you to fit the Lifestraw bottle cap and filter to your favourite drinks bottle. That includes insulated vacuum flasks as well as large capacity bottles, adding to the product’s versatility. Or as OM Editor Will Renwick puts it, “This new set just makes their product more of a chameleon, as you’re not just limited to filtering from one specific bottle”.

It’s a new take on a tried-and-tested product, and the added flexibility might make it worth considering over the Lifestraw Go. It’s worth noting, however, that it shares the same drawbacks as the Go, so is best used solely as a personal drinking water system.

Read the full Lifestraw Universal Water Filter review

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