Reviews > Water Treatment > Filters > Katadyn Hiker Water Filter > Roger Caffin > Initial Report

Initial Report - Katadyn Hiker Filter
Roger Caffin

Preamble

Since getting several doses of Giardia lamblia infection a long time ago, we (my wife Sue and I) have generally used a filter for our water supplies. I have bought or borrowed and then experimented with many of the available filters, and looked closely at the specifications for most of the rest. I also wrote a broad review of filters for a local walking magazine (which helped with the 'borrowing'.) Many years ago we ended up with the Pur Hiker filter as the best out of those we had tried: it was easy to pump and the replaceable cartridge had a far longer life than any of the other brands we had tried. In my experience (in Australia) the replacement cartridge was cheaper than most of the competition as well. Since then we have noticed that the filter we most often see in the field is the Hiker. I was sufficiently impressed with my original Pur Hiker that I even wrote an Owner Review for it.

However, my original Pur Hiker filter has had a long hard life and is beginning to show significant signs of wear, mainly on the pump shaft. It has been through many cartridges along the way (but we have never been sick while using it). I was beginning to think it was time I considered getting a new one - and then this test was declared and I was accepted for it. So many of my comments in my reports will involve comparisons between the old and the new versions.

Product Information

*     A meaningless figure: how fast are you pumping? But it matches my experience.
**   Another fairly meaningless figure in practice: everyone will carry the filter wet. Includes pump, hoses and inlet filter.
*** The filter cartridge retains water, so the weight is only approximate, depending on how much draining is done.

Product Claims

It was a bit hard to work out just what the claims should be, but using the box the filter came in and the web site I was able to derive the following. Actually, I can't say that the web site actually gave me a lot of information about this filter, and Katadyn could beneficially improve this a bit in my opinion. But then, I didn't need a lot since I already had one of the older versions. Apart from technical data such as dimensions and filter pore size there's not much in the way of measurables. The dimensions are not particularly significant in my opinion (weight is everything!), and I do not have the facilities to check the filter pore size. I have added some preliminary comments to the claims.

• Lightweight backpacking water microfilter
  The term 'microfilter' has no legal meaning. Some filter companies have agreed to use it to mean bacteria and protozoa are removed, but others may give it different meanings.
• Removes bacteria [eg E coli], Giardia and Cryptosporidium [protozoa]
  Supported by the Lab reports I have read.
• Easy operation - high water output
  I can already endorse this claim from experience.
• Low-cost replaceable filter cartridge inside pump
  They don't really mention the 'low-cost replaceable' cartridge bit in their advertising as far as I can see, for some weird reason. I think it is a vital bit of technical information so I have included it here.
• Hydration system compatible
  They include an adapter for the output hose.
• More people rely on Katadyn's Backcountry Series products than any other brand.
  America's #1 selling microfilter
  The favorite choice for all-round use
  These three claims just say the same thing. But I agree it is very popular: it's the one I see out in the field.
• Ribbed housing - ensures good grip
  Looks the same as the old one I have, which does work quite well.
• Pleated cartridge - more surface area than any other microfilter
  I agree about the huge surface area, and I have compared it with most other cartridges on the market.
• Efficient pump design
  The word 'efficient' had little meaning for me. 'Low force' maybe?
• Ergonomic pump handle - comfortable and easy to pump
  I have some reservations about this handle design: see below.
• Activated carbon core - reduces unpleasant tastes and odors from your water
  I have never measured this.
• Meets EPA purifier standards for bacteria and protozoa
  Quite true, I believe, but see under 'Reservations'.

Additional comments

Somewhere along the way the Swiss company Katadyn took over the American company Pur, so the 'Pur Hiker' became the 'Katadyn Hiker'. I have no worries about this change: the Katadyn company has been involved in water filtration for longer than most, and is highly respected. Whether this means the manufacture has moved to Switzerland is something I cannot say. The phrase 'Swiss Made' appears on the box, but the legal meaning of this is not clear. It probably does not matter.

The long life and low pumping force of the Hiker is almost entirely due to the huge surface area of the pleated filter, shown here. It is very much like a pleated air cleaner cartridge in a car. The opened-out surface of the filter looks huge compared with the surface area of other filters. I can say this with confidence because Pur had sent me a paper filter element by itself when I was writing a survey of water filters. They claim about 126 square inches (813 square cms) of filtration area, while the uncrimped filter paper is about 40" * 4" (102 * 10 cm) which translates to 160 square inches (1020 square cm). They lose a bit at the top and bottom edges with the gluing. A close examination of the 'paper' shows it to be a fairly sophisticated bit of multi-layer engineering too.

This area is huge compared to the surface area presented by many other filter cartridges. Granted many of them can be cleaned while the Hiker cannot, but I've tried cleaning some of them and it was either difficult or I damaged the surface of the filter. It is this huge surface area which makes the pumping force so low of course.

The Hiker filter also contains an activated carbon core to take out nasty farm chemicals and bad tastes. They don't put any specifications on this other than 'reduce'. I will say that the output from my old filter always tasted pretty good. However, it must be remembered that it does not remove viruses.

Initial Impression

Well, the very first impression was that little had changed between the old version and the new one. This was reassuring. The kit includes the following parts, some of which are visible in the pictures:

• Pump (1st picture)
• Cartridge, with very well (excessively) greased O-ring at top (2nd picture)
• Two lengths of smooth silicon rubber tubing, for inlet and outlet (1st picture)
• Inlet stainless steel mesh filter (4th picture, left)
• Inlet weight, looking like the original inlet 'acorn' weight/filter (4th picture, middle)
• Inlet float, black foam (4th picture, right, on tubing)
• Nalgene bottle adaptor (right, #1)
• Hydration bladder adaptor (right, #2)
• Soft tubular covers or stoppers for inlet and outlet spigots (right, #3 & #4)
• Tube of silicon lubricant or O-ring grease (right, #5)
• Instructions for filter and cartridge (not shown)
• Instructions for Inlet filter assembly and Hydration bladder adaptor (not shown)
• Pretty decorated cardboard box (not shown)
• Wallet style carrying bag (1st picture)

However, closer inspection showed many small changes, some of which are visible in the first picture. The changes which I could see immediately were as follows. I mewntion them because many people will have seen the older version, and the changes do highlight some features.

• The old pump body was plain grey; the new one is speckled. Unless the new plastic has substantially different properties, this is probably irrelevant.
• The shape of the pump case, shown in the above picture, has changed very little. The old pump had a 'Pur' logo in the moulding: this has been replaced with a Katadyn logo - printed, I think.
• The old pump handle was a solid T shape; the new one is seriously offset. It is not clear to me that the design of the new handle is as functional as the old one, and this will be closely monitored. It was wear on the sides of the old pump shaft which was giving me concern, and I worry that an offset handle could make the new shaft wear even faster.
• The tubing used on both pumps is a silicon rubber, but the old tubing had a 'sticky' surface (dirt stuck to it) while the new tubing has a smooth almost slippery surface. I already prefer the new tubing: this is an upgrade.
• The old inlet tube had a weight on the end similar to that shown on the end of the hose in the first picture. The exploded version of this is shown to the right. But the old weight was quite different on the inside to what is shown here, and it used a tube of soft foam as the inlet prefilter. I suspect the old prefilter foam was a bit of a token gesture. The foam has been replaced with a more sophisticated stainless steel wire mesh prefilter. I used to regularly extract the foam prefilter and wash it out - in hope. Perhaps cleaning the mesh prefilter will be easier? Anyhow, the mesh filter looks to be an upgrade too.
• The foam prefilter did not have any specifications as far as I can remember, but the mesh prefilter has a 130 micron specification. Whether this prefilter will extend the life of the main filter remains to be seen. I note that Katadyn do recommend the use of a coffee filter or bandanna wrapped over the prefilter if the water is really bad. I've done this in the past using heavy filtration paper.
• The old pump had a shortish outlet hose with a clever and extremely useful plastic U-shaped bend on the end. This bend could be hung on the lip of a bottle, and it would stay there while I pumped. The new pump has a long outlet hose but nothing at the end. In my opinion the omission of the bend is a mistake, but I shall simply transfer the bend from my old pump to this new one.
• The pleated filter cartridge looks to be exactly the same. Since it is this pleated filter which is the core of the Hiker design and the key to its long life, low pumping force and hence its popularity, I did not expect to see many changes here.
• The old pump came with a fabric/mesh carry bag. The new pump comes with a wallet-style carry bag, with a zip. Both are a little heavier than needed, but at least the new one looks slightly more waterproof than the old one. The bag I normally used for my old filter is lighter than these (and I lined it with a plastic bag too).
• Both versions came with an adaptor for wide-mouth bottles such as the large Nalgene ones. However, since I use the far cheaper and lighter PET bottles (or soda pop bottles) for water, this fitting is of no use to me. The new pump also included a small adaptor which connects the outlet tube to some common hydration bladders. Since I use a far cheaper and lighter wine cask liner with a much larger port as a water carrier or bladder, the adaptor will not be of much use to me either (pity).

Reservations

At this stage I would like to make a comment about the packaging of this pump. Included on the front of the box is what may be meant to look like a 'seal' or sticker, with the words 'Meets EPA purifier standards' written boldly on it, while the words 'for bacteria and protozoa' appear in finer print underneath. This is shown to the right. To the uninitiated or novice users (and probably the vast majority of walkers) who know little or nothing about the bugs and wogs which can exist in water, this could easily look as though the pump really 'meets EPA purifier standards'. But it doesn't: while the pump meets the relevant EPA standard for the removal of bacteria and protozoa, it does not do anything about removing viruses (which can be just as nasty as bacteria and protozoa), and it does not have EPA approval as a 'purifier'.

To explain: 'purifier' is a legal term in America with tight specifications which are set by the EPA. The EPA purifier standard referred to requires the removal of large protozoa, medium-sized bacteria, and very small viruses, each of these can cause you serious medical problems. There are target levels for the reduction in each category. I have seen research papers and test results from Pur for this filter, and I am satisfied that the original (Pur) cartridge met the EPA standards for the removal of protozoa and bacteria. In their literature Pur did point out that the filter cartridge did not remove viruses. This would be difficult to do with a mechanical filter anyway as virus sizes can be as small as 0.004 microns. This cartridge blocks only to 0.3 microns. I am sure Katadyn did not reduced the quality of the filter in any way when they took over Pur.

I personally dislike this sort of advertising. I would have been far happier had the seal stated 'Guaranteed to remove bacteria and protozoa *', or even 'Guaranteed to remove bacteria and protozoa to EPA purifier standards *', with an explanation inside the box that it did not remove viruses. It may be that my concerns simply reflect the tighter laws on advertising which I am used to in Australia. Possibly Katadyn needs to consider different National sensitivies in its marketing plans.

I repeat: these comments are aimed at the pseudo-seal on the box. In no way does it reflect on the quality of the filter unit itself or the cartridge inside. I know Katadyn to be a filter company with a well-established record for reliability in the field. At this stage I fully expect this Katadyn Hiker filter to work every bit as well as its predecessor, the Pur Hiker.

Planned Testing

Testing will be simple: we (my wife and I) will take the filter on all our trips. Since the first trip for the Field Test period will be two months walking in the Spanish Pyrenees, this should be a fairly severe test of the whole filter and of the cartridge life. We would use about 6 - 10 L per day between the two of us in fine to hot weather (Spanish summer). We may be walking for over 50 days. That's maybe 300 - 500 L, which should be within the claim of 750 L which Katadyn make for one cartridge. So, we won't be taking a spare! But we will be monitoring cartridge life, our health, and any other aspects of the Product Claims we can.

The first small test has already been done for this report. The pump was assembled and flushed according to the enclosed instructions with water from our farm dam. We do not normally drink the water from our dam: it has a faint colour and a taste from the many ducks swimming in it. The expected cupful of black water came out of the filter at the start, after which the water had the clarity we expect from this filter. The initial black colour is due to fine carbon dust from the activated carbon core, and the manual does instruct the user to do this flushing for every new cartridge. After that the filtered water tasted just fine - much better than the straight dam water.

Summary so far

Likes	Dislikes
Previous experience	That 'seal' on the box
No apparent increase in weight	Offset handle may not be as reliable as the old T-handle
Smooth silicon rubber tubing	Lack of bend for outlet tube

Reviewer Details

Reviewer:	Roger Caffin
Age:	58
Gender:	M
Weight:	64 kg (140 lb)
Height:	166 cm (65")
Email address:	r dot caffin at acm dot org
Location:	Sydney, NSW, Australia

Backpacking Background

I started bushwalking (the Australian term) when I was about 14 years old and took up rock climbing and remote exploration walking at University with the girl who became my wife. Later on we took up ski touring and canyoning. These days all our trips involve just the two of us. Over the last few years we have become converted to the concept of ultra-lightweight walking, and we have been cutting our total pack weights down from 18 - 20 kg (40 - 45 lb) each to about 12 kg (26 lb) each for week-long trips. That's not counting climbing rope or extra water for a dry camp - both happen. Our preferred walking trips in Australia are long ones: about a week in the general Blue Mts (east coast of Australia) and Snowy Mts (alpine region), and up to two months long in Europe and the UK. Ski touring trips would also typically last up to a week. We favour fairly hard trips and prefer to travel fast and light. Many of our trips are exploratory in wild country which sees few other walkers. In between these long trips we do some day walks, often exploring the start of longer trips. On average over the year we would spend at least two days per week walking or ski touring.

I am also the maintainer of the Australian aus.bushwalking FAQ web site www.bushwalking.org.au/FAQ/.

Reviews > Water Treatment > Filters > Katadyn Hiker Water Filter > Roger Caffin > Initial Report