MSR SweetWater Water Purifier System

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

I have had two of these manufactured under the Guardian label and both have broken in the field. One the stem inside broke and the other had problems with the pump handle. Filtration is great but the design puts a lot of stress on the plastic parts. For the same money a Katadyn is more durable, if not nearly as fast.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

This was the first filter I have bought and it did not disappoint. I have used this 3 times in the Red River Gorge Kentucky. Every time this filter has performed well. I was the only one with a pump my first two backpacking trips and was pumping water for 5 other people both times, 3 other people the 3rd trip. Water was clean when it came out, pumping was easy, the only problem was that sometimes I had to stop pumping in between bottles and brush the filter 3-4 times to do some minor cleaning so it would pump easier. But besides that it pumped well and I love the fact that it pumps water with both the up and down stroke! The river where i got the water from those times too wasn't a clean river either. The 3rd time the water that i pumped from was actually down stream of a place where people were bathing i found out later! But all three times everyone who used my filter did not get sick. After I got back I washed the filter thoroughly and stored it back in my pack, when i used it the 2nd time it worked just as great as the 1st, same with the 3rd time I used it. I would recommend using a coffee filter over the prefilter in the water you are pumping to help preserve the filter. The filter works very well and i would highly recommend this product to anyone, great filter for the price!

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

I've taken this wonderful filtration pump (I have the older model) to Isle Royale, the Boundary Waters, South Manitou Island and North Manitou Island. It's easy to use AND easy to clean for someone who is very non-technical, and gives me great water every time. I use the anti-virus drops with it. Never had a problem. Highly recommended.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

I've used this system for the last couple of years, and recently relied on it completely during a weeklong summer trip to Lake Meade, where temperatures were well over 100 degrees daily and our water intake was massive. The system held up well and produced clean, clear water with no bad taste. It's actually useable while I'm still in the cockpit of my kayak, which was convenient. There are a couple of downsides, however. First, the intake tube is constantly making contact with the output tube, which could be a problem in contaminated water. There's no way to keep them seperate. Second, the end of the intake tube, which holds a pre-filter, never sits correctly or stays where you need it to in order to get a good pumping position. There's a float provided that would work great in deep water, but if you're pumping from the edge of a stream or a beach (freshwater, of course) it's constantly moving towards you and into silty water. In order to really get away from heavily silted or muddy water, you need to get knee deep in the water so that the float can be adjusted to keep the pre-filter above the mud or silt. The filter, like any micropore filter, clogs quickly because of this, although with a quick brushing with the provided cleaning tools, you can be up and running even with a filter that is towards the end of the useful life.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

This pump has been great for me. i have used it many times. During all seasons and in some murky water sources. Just make sure you follow the instructions and this pump wont let you down. It fills a 1 liter bottle in less then a minute. if water starts to come out of your over pressure valve good chance you need to clean the filter. This is a quick and easy processes. Make sure you do this i learned the hard way and broke my pump on the 2 day of a 4 day trip. This was not due to a equipment flaw. i was over taxing my pump and not performing the proper maintenance. luckily i had another one and remembered to clean it and had no problems after that.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

I am not one to write reviews and completely bash products seeming like an unbiased raving mad backpacker. However, if I sound harsh it's because I had a tremendously disappointing experience with this product and the MSR company as well.

I backpacked over 650 miles on the Appalachian Trail this summer and carried this water purifier with me the whole time. Initially, it seemed to work fine. The initial set up was a breeze, it was light enough and the mechanics were simple. 6 days into the trip we started to notice how incredibly difficult it was to pump even after repeated cleaning. By week two we had gotten to a point where we had to disassemble the purifier and clean with the brush every liter. The stats on this product claim that you can pump a Liter per min. This is absurd. Even at its cleanest and in its highest state of functionality it would take at least 2 mins to pump a Liter (by our count- 165 full pumps).

At first we thought there was something faulty with our model. Perhaps some seals were too tight or the pump handle improperly attached, etc. So we had to hike into town and call the MSR company. The 1-800 number takes you to someone's personal work phone--as in only open during business hours when this particular individual is in his office. Unfortunately for us we came into town Friday night, thus we had to stick around a phone until Monday morning. While this was a major inconvenience, as you fellow AT hikers are aware of, at least we were promptly sent a replacement filter to our next Post Office drop. As it turned out this model had the same exact problems.

Lastly, after the second model had been used to purify less than 15 Liters of water, the black intake hose began to suction each time we pumped. I can understand a dirty and clogged pre-filter and, but after only 15 Liters of usage? That is not my idea of a product with longevity.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

I used this on day hiking and backpacking trips, especially to Colchuck and Yosemite. Very light, easy to use, and simple and easy to pump. I have the original Sweetwater system before it was part of MSR, and it's working like a charm. Never broked on me (as other have mentioned). One thing I like about this filter is that I have those Camelback filter attachments, because I have had too many instances where I needed water, and I didn't want to take out the bladder. I can just change the bite connector, attach it to the end of the filter, and just pump cold, refreshing, filtered water.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

[...]. We have taken it on several back country trips and high elevations. It has proven it's worth many times over. We ended up pumping for friends also because thier system was to complicated for them. I would strongly recommend this product!!!

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

I use this filter(kit)for hiking/backpacking in the deserts of AZ, NM, and in the Mountains of CO.

It provides good tasting water with little effort. I like the design and found it easy to use. I can simply drop the pick-up into the source water and then start to pump.

I pump mine without using force, at an easy pace, and the action is very smooth. It takes about 60 pumps to fill a 1.0 liter bottle. This may sound like a lot, when I read the specs I was concerned about this myself. But once, when I was loosing light and needed to keep moving but needed water; I was able to stop at a shallow spring, unpack the pump, pump water, drink, pump another liter of water, repack and then back on the trail in less than 8 minutes. This was without rushing or pumping rapidly, just taking it easy.

I found the the pickup doesn't give me any problems and the kit comes with a float that will keep the pickup off the bottom of shallow pools. In flowing water the pickup about floats on its own but still picks up water well.

It comes as a kit and all the accessories pack well and is about as light as one could expect. Ultra-UL probably not, but lighter than water by a huge margin. I carry the entire kit (less the water bottle adaptor). It packs to about the size of a .5 liter bottle of water, but is much lighter.

I fill my bottles with RO water from the house but I think that the water I filter with this pump actually tastes better and provided a product that actually quenches my thirst better.

If using in silty water then a prescreen is going to be a good idea, regardless of which filter you use. A bandanna or other permiable cloth would work in a pinch. I have never clogged my pump.

Read the instructions, treat it with a little common sense, and enjoy fresh water without having to pack as much water in.

Oh, I also never leave myself without options if my life or safety is relying on something; such as the availibility of potable water. I pack along with my pump another water purification method, such as aquamira or iodine tabs.

Also this is a PUMP, with sealing rubber rings that if become even a little dirty may stop sliding (pumping) easily. If it is pumping hard, STOP, something is wrong, look to see what the problem is and repair as necessary. Often just dab of vegetable oil, or vasaline, etc, will get you back pumping again. Forcing a pump may cause a fixable problem to turn into a complete failure. I take a little time to get to know my gear before relying on it for my safety.

Comments about MSR SweetWater Purifier System:

Used: long day hikes in CA nat'l parks and Shenandoah backpacking. Conditions were always in clear, shallow streams.

Pump action: One advantage is that this filter does expel water on both the upward and downward pumps. However, the pump is stiff and tiring. On first use, the filter body started spraying water everywhere on each pump stroke. I have no idea if the water that sprays is fully filtered or contaminated water. The force required to pump can also blow the hoses out of the intake and output sockets, potentially contaminating your output hose or losing your intake hose in swift-moving water. On its third trip out and fourth day of lifetime use, it took six minutes per quart of water -- a half hour for four water bottles and one pot, which added a full hour to our backpacking day. Treating cold water with iodine takes the same amount of time and is less work.

Prefilter: The prefilter floats. Technically, this is a good thing because it keeps the filter from dragging in silt. In a shallow stream, however, it floats all over the place, making it challenging to keep the intake fully submerged; it turned pumping into a two-person job - one to pump, one to hold the prefilter stationary. (It also helps to have a relief pumper given the time and effort to filter water.)

Packing: The filter is relatively small and lightweight, but not a superstar. To fully protect against contamination, you'd be wise to store the intake and outflow hoses in separate compartments away from food, water, and cooking utensils.

Taste: The taste is fine, particularly as compared to iodine-treated water. However, the filter we use is stored in the freezer in between trips in order to inhibit the growth of heebie jeebies, so all of our water tastes like freezer-burned food. After pumping ten quarts of water, the taste was still there.

As I type this, I am home with probable giardiasis or bacterial infection from contaminated water DESPITE having used this filter. Caveats: our filter is seven years old, and we may have caused the contamination ourselves by allowing the intake and output hoses to touch.