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Reviews > Water Treatment > Filters > Katadyn Camp Gravity Filter > Owner Review by Tom Van RossumKATADYN CAMP Water FilterBiographical Information Name: Tom Van Rossum Age: 47 Gender: Male Height: 5'10" (1.78 m) Weight: 155 lb (70 kg) Email: tomvr1@yahoo.com Portland Oregon, USA 01 May 2004 Background: I started backpacking in Scouts and have been hiking ever since. Most trips are in the typically wet mountainous Cascade Range in Washington and Oregon - from thick underbrush, to old growth forests, to snow above the tree line, I enjoy it all. I also make occasional trips to the more arid region east of the mountains or along the very wet Pacific coast. One or two night weekend backpacking trips are my most common, followed by day hikes, and a couple week long hikes each year. I am a traditional "heavy" packer enjoying comfort and low risk. The last couple of years I have tried to lighten my load but have had minimal success. Product Information Manufacturer: Katadyn Model: Camp Purchased: March 2003 URL: www.katadyn.com Listed weight: 0.62 kg (1 lb 6 oz) Description: A simple gravity system which allows filtration without pumping. A siphon system with silver impregnated ceramic filter (0.2 um), 10 l (10.6 qt) water bag, and 1.5 m (5 ft) rubber hose. - Eliminates bacteria, giardia & crypto - Output: up to 5 l/hr (5.3 qt/hr) - Service life: max. 20,000 l (5300 US gal) - Protective plastic carrying case Equipment Review It can not get much simpler than the Katadyn Camp water filter. No moving parts. Just a nylon dry bag with a ceramic filter fitted into the bottom of the bag and an output hose. Fill the bag with water, hang it up, put the hose in a container and wait for clean filtered water.  Katadyn Camp water filter (picture below with bag inside-out)  First a few dimensional details. The weight I measure is 0.53 kg (1 lb 3 oz) a bit less than the specified 0.62 kg (1 lb 6 oz) but when the plastic carrying case is included it is 0.67 kg (1 lb 8 oz). The dry bag used to hold the water I measure at 23 cm (9 in) in diameter with a length of 51 cm (20 in). It all fits in the tubular storage case which is 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and 28 cm (11 in) tall. The water bag is simple to fill. The waterproof dry bag used to hold the water has a plastic band along one side of the open end. This band gives the bag some structure when scooping up water from a lake or stream. The only difficulty is lifting the 10 l (10.6 qt) bag which weighs 10 kg (22 lb) when full of water then rolling and clipping the open end of the bag to seal it shut. The loop made by clipping the bag shut makes a convenient carrying handle. The clip I have did not always make a solid connection and tended to come undone (the resulting flood is not pleasant). The next task is to find some place to hang it up. The filtering is quickest when the hose is fully extended below the water bag (see table below) so hanging it high above the ground is the goal. Several issues arise. First is that I must have a good sized tree near by. Second, is the weight of the full water bag (10 kg, 22 lb). Third, how do I get it up that high? The best scenarios I had were large trees near the camp with large horizontal branches at least 2.5 m (8 ft) off the ground, where I threw a rope over the branch and pulled the bag up. Twice, when there were no horizontal branches, I had to climb a tree and secure the water bag with a rope tied to the tree trunk. One time I even tried using rope tied between two trees and hanging the bag from it (this was unsuccessful due to the weight of the water bag stretching the rope and bending the trees). And on a couple occasions when I was camping at the tree line with only small trees I just tied it to the tree trunk 1 m (40 in) off the ground settling for a slow filter rate. This is a gravity filter so filter rates are slow. The suction of the water in the output hose is what pulls the water through the filter so the more vertical the output hose the faster the filter action. The following are my average measurements based on the height distance between the bottom of the water bag and the bottom of the hose.
1) There is no significant difference in the filter rate if the water bag is full or half full. The flow rate only slows down when the filter inside the bag is no longer fully submerged, (<20% full). 2) Water temperature does make a difference in the filter rate. The above test results are with water at 15º C (59º F). Tests with warmer water, 35º C (95º F), made no difference but 5º C (41º F) water reduced the filter rate by 25%. Lastly the water must filter into another container. If small containers are used I must remember to change them frequently to prevent overflow. When I use 1.0 l (1.1 qt) water bottles I have trouble remembering to change bottles. I have a 4.0 l (4.2 qt) MSR dromedary bag with a spout which the filter hose fits snugly over, this works well. The other method I like is to use the plastic storage case which holds 2.0 l (2.1 qt). Special care must be taken in freezing conditions. The ceramic filter may crack if the water inside freezes and there is no method to quickly purge the water from the filter. This filter is not intended for quick water breaks. It works well for a base camp environment where I have adequate time. When arriving at a camp site the first thing I do is get water and start filtering. By the time camp is set up and dinner cooked I have plenty of clean water for dishes. Before calling it a night I make sure the water filter bag is refilled so I have water the next morning for coffee, breakfast, and water bottles. Likes: - no pumping - simplicity of operation - easy to filter a large amount of water Dislikes: - rigging the water bag up 1.5 m (5 ft) - the clip for sealing the bag is not solid and reliable - the time it takes to filter water Summary - The Katadyn Camp easily filters large amounts of water and is a great second filter (not the only source of clean water) for groups where time and trees are available. Outside of these parameters I prefer using other lighter and faster options. Read more reviews of Katadyn gear Read more gear reviews by Tom Van Rossum Reviews > Water Treatment > Filters > Katadyn Camp Gravity Filter > Owner Review by Tom Van Rossum | |||||||||||||