Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

I've had this Basecamp filter for years and love it! I don't use it for backpacking because it's too much weight and bulk to carry, but I LOVE it for river running and car camping. It filters large amounts of water quickly and well. On my last Grand Canyon trip, the multi-filter system our trip leader had designed and built stopped working after the first week. We filtered water for the remainder of the trip with my Basecamp, and it performed beautifully! All my fellow boaters were quite impressed and asked that I bring it again on our Grand trip this year. My only regret is that it has a replaceable filter rather than a cleanable one.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

My friend and I went out to Emigrant Wilderness and Yosemite for a month. Luckily we brought Iodine tablets for a backup.

The gravity filter works great, wasn't particularly easy to find a thick branch to hold the thing up when it was full, but other than that it's easy to use.

We had good filtration for maybe the first week or so, then it slowed to a dribble. No big deal, as we allowed it to filter into a 5 liter hydration sack overnight. Unfortunately, it got so slow near the end of our trip we had to begin just boiling water to keep up with our needs.

As far as using this on the trail, that's an obvious 'no' unless you want to haul around a bunch of water around. It doubled as a nice little dry sack though...

After using this, it's a great, passive system that works. I'd bring another filter, pre-filter, and make sure I have a good alternative handy in case the flow slows down dramatically.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

The point of a large gravity filter system is to avoid the constant fuss of having to clean/purify small amounts of water for a large group. This product doesn't come close to accomplishing that task. I've used this filter on 2 seperate trips with 4+ people for several weeks in the bwca. The filter clogs after a day and is never the same afterwards, even with cleaning. This year the group went in on the Platypus 2 bag filter system. We didn't know how bad we had it until this one crushed the old one. You'll regret buying it.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

I bought this product to use in the BWCA. I have never used or owned a water filtration system. In past trips, we would canoe out to the middle of the lake and dip water, never filtered it. Although we never had a problem, I figured it was best to stop taking chances. I bought this product online at REI based on the reviews about how much easier it was versus pumping. It was very easy to set up and use, and for the first two days it worked great and supplied 5 of us with good-tasting, clean water. However, by day three it slowed significantly and we were barely able to get enough water through it to finish out our trip. One of our group had a steripen and filter set up that helped us get through. (The steripen/filter worked fine, but took a lot of time to filter enough for a group.) I estimate we filtered about 100 gallons over 4 days through the Katadyn. When I went to REI to get a replacement filter and saw that they were about [$], I was very disappointed. Shame on me for not checking into that - I had gotten the whole kit on sale for [$]! I talked to a salesperson and he was not surprised about my experience. He recommended the Sawyer gravity filter as an alternative. This one has a filter that is guaranteed for a million gallons if you store it properly and backflush after your trip, never needing replacement. The Sawyer was not much more than the regular-priced Katadyn, so it sounded like a bargain in comparison! In true REI fashion, they took back the Katadyn for me with no hesitation and I left with the Sawyer. It will be brought on another BWCA trip soon so I will update my review afterward.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

We took this on a desert river trip.
The water wasn't too bad...not much sediment, but we settled the water out first anyway.
We then strained it through a fine mesh bag that we use for brewing. Then, we used the filter as directed. We got only 2 buckets full out of the filter before it was completely clogged and draining at a drip by drip "snail's pace". We opened it all up, cleaned the filter as directed and tried again. This time, the flow was even worse. This product is definitely not something I would recommend unless you have a serious back-up plan for water.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

I bought this for a scout trip and had complete success. Even the youngest boys were using this. It easily filled a 2 liter pack in 6 minutes or less.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

I instruct backpacking classes for our AT club and for our field practical I bought this filter because of our large group. I did not try the unit before the trip, I use a Katadyn pump filter which has worked flawlessly for years. We filled the bag with water as clear as comes from my home tap,hung it up and nothing but drip, drip, drip. We tried several things to remedy the flow problem including removing the pre filter and squeezing the bag. Nothing helped.
This product has another flaw.The buckle is situated in the middle of the hanging strap so when this 15lb. bag of water is hung up all the weight is focused on bending the buckle in half. for two cents they could have added another inch of webbing resulting in the buckle being moved off center.
Our outing was saved by one of the students who had just purchased a Sawyer filtration system which worked all weekend with no problems.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

I never have really understood why so little is talked about this types of filters. I have used mine for some 7 years. If you use the "buddy system" on backpacking or kayak/canoe camping trips, this supplies EVERYONES water effortlessly. I have used this on extended kayaking trips, backpacking trips, and car camping trips supplying everyones water for up to about 7 people. It's fantastic! For the doom's day folks, this is a great backup filter. On many backpacking and kayaking trips, my buddies just have me bring this along and one other person will bring a pump filter as a backup. In 7 years, I have only changed the filter out once! Again, I have yet to understand why the outdoor magazines and others do not talk about these gravity filters. After having this one all these years, I hate pump filters now. About the ONLY negative thing is you need to carry a garbage bag to put it in your backpack after use because of the bag being wet. This adds a little bit of bulk, but hey, it is NOT that heavy at all and worth every cent!

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

So, take this review for what it's worth. I am not an experienced backpacker. I don't measure every ounce and I probably overpack for my trips.

That being said....

I took a backpacking trip recently to Packwood Lake near Mt. Rainier (first lake trip ever). Normally I camp near rivers and boil my water, but I wanted to try a filter for a while, and the lake water, while pretty clear, still had some floatys and other junk in there. It was sterile after boiling, but still kinda gross.

I debated all the different filter types before going with this bag. I saw numerous people at the lake with them, so I thought I would try it. Went back to Packwood lake a few weeks later with my wife and man, this bag is AWESOME!!!!

It is a little akward to deal with when full, since its so heavy, but it is manageable. Water flows very fast. Took only 3-5 minutes to fill a Nalgene, many times i forgot and then noticed it was overflowing. The water was perfectly clear, clean, and tasted GREAT! It also is very light weight. I just hang it off the back of my pack in a stuff sack.

When you install the filter though, make sure you put the silicone grease on the O-ring so it will slide in. It took some effort, but the manual tells you it will.

The most telling thing though, was when we were done, there was some pretty nasty filmy stuff in the bag that we would have drank if not for the filter. It is WAAAAY easier than a hand pump filter.

Comments about Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter:

This was the third year that I've used this product Canoeing in Quetico Park. We were excited the first year, how much easier can it get! We hate pumping water. 4 large people use lots and lots of water. However, by the end of the about 3 days into a 10 day trip the flow rate started to diminish to a trickle. We thought this was a defect. We dealt with it, but we were in Quetico park, we just needed to go out from shore and fill up the Nalgenes in the boat. So by the end of the trip, we didn't even use it.

Second trip, new bag, new filter, only 2 people, 7 days, 3rd day, flow down to a trickle again. I was hopeful that it was just another fluke. It worked so well the first few days. Besides frankly, we had bad weather and were camp bound much of the trip, so we just dealt with it.

Third trip, 2 old bags, 2 new filters, 4 people, 9 days. Tested equipment at home, worked, fine! First bag started to leak out from the filter area 2nd day (oh by the way, we are not mechanical idiots, we even read directions and know how to build build and repair things). We put that bag away. By the 4th day the second bag slowed to a trickle. Timed it was 25 minutes per nalgene. We inspected the sand filter, cleaned the sand filter, we took out the sand filter, no significant improvement, quickly returned to the trickle. 4 people, we use 4-5 nalgenes per cooked meal between cooking and drinking, that means we have to watch the bag for 2-3 hours, longer if we miss change time. Again thank goodness we were in Quetico (the water in the lakes we were on was not dirty, sandy murky or had debris in it), By the 5th day we just took the bag in the canoe, filled it away from shore and did a little filtering, but didn't pay attention to it and used it as a water storage bag. By the 7th day, we didn't even bother to use the filter feature and just used it to store water.

This is a fantastic idea, if the trip were short, and just a couple of people, this would work, however with the cost of replacement filters, it is a very expensive proposition for most people. Without the manufacturer making the appropriate changes to the filter system, a 9 day canoe trip would require 3 filters. If you are already in a wilderness area like Quetico, why bother.