Katadyn  BeFree 1.0 L Water Filter Bottle - 33.8 fl. oz.

Took the Katadyn Befree on a 14 mile hike in the Latir Peak Wilderness, NM. I did not take any water with me knowing that the trail followed a creek all the way to Lake Fork. Never have I hiked without water, but doing research on the Befree I decided this would be what I needed to lighten my pack. It worked GREAT! What a fantastic purchase. The water didn’t have any grit or other “floaters” in it. From now on this will be what I use, if water accessible, rather than lugging water around on my hikes.

I have had 2 of these with a total use of about 8x between them. Both rapidly developed micro-sized holes that spray out water with no impact or unusual wear to the reservoir. HydaPak makes these and Katadyn will push customers to them to Warranty- which I did the 1st time. When it happened again, I pressed Katadyn to stand behind the Product with their name on it and they did nothing bu push me to HydraPak... I ended up calling them and asking them to replace the reservoir with another reservoir not Katadyn Branded. Pretty disappointing result since I have been using Katadyn/PUR products for 30yrs... I will pick MSR next time.

Love this for portability and for cleaning my water.

I've done a video or two about this product, that kind of says it all. https://youtu.be/a31Bem0s8UE?si=mpROiA8nQlNP9ExX What I love about it is that it's pretty simple to use, and filters water fairly quickly. One tip or trick is to leave the filter parts soaking overnight in water at home before you use it on your next trip. Preferably, this is 24 hours prior. That way, the individual strands have a chance to separate, rehydrate, and perform better to filter out any particular it's in the Water Source you are obtaining water from. Once you screw the filter part back into the main water bag, it's a breeze to squeeze and get fresh water.

Since I started using the Katadyn collapsable water systems, there has been no looking back. When not in use, they weigh almost nothing and take little space. Yes, when you need water, they are so easy to use. Just fill the collapsable tank and squeeze. I fill my backpack reservoir this way and get my cooking water the same. On the trail, it is a great way to tank up when you hit a water source, which has allowed me to travel with less water in my pack reservoir. Pro tip: before you hit the trail, be sure to run a few litters of water through your filter as it can dry out and cause low flow rates. If you prime it at home, you will have great flow rates on the trail.

Like many reviewers have mentioned, the seal between the soft flask and the hard cap at the top of the bottle broke after the 2nd use.

Bought this to compare to my Sawyer to use on a 3 night trip last week along the Colorado trail. Things I loved: Very light. Incredibly easy to fill the bottle. Night and day compared to my Sawyer. Things I didn't like: On day 3, the seal of the collapsable bottle came open. I was able to duct tape it closed and continued to use the filter. I think this can be avoided by not squeezing the bottle aggressively. Over all I loved the filter. The bottle design needs to be fixed and made more durable. I'll be purchasing a replacement bottle in the 1 liter size and trying it again, but if this happens again I probably will give it up. It won't make sense to buy a new bottle for every trip.

I took three brand new Katadyn BeFree 1 liter water bottles on 6 day trip to the Bob Marshall Wilderness. While filling the first bottle with water at the at the trailhead, I noticed it had a pin hole leak in the bottle. By the third day, a second bottle had a leak in the seal at the top of the bottle. The thought was after the hiking portion of the trip, I could collapse the extra bottles thus taking up little space and saving on weight. However, the fragility of these bottles aren't worth the space/weight savings. I take pretty good care of my gear and was highly disappointed in these bottles.

I love the weight and ease of this product! I do wish it was more durable though. The plastic lid cracked after a few uses and water now leaks. Can't replace the lid without buying entire filter replacement. Also wish there was a way to attach it to my pack...as water levels decrease, the bottle starts to deflate and bend and it tends to want to fall out of side pocket of my pack. I lost mine several weeks ago and had to backtrack a mile to find it. I also found someone else's on the trail this week...so be careful yours is secure. Wish they would make more durable....really love the concept!!

The Katadyn water filter is a great product with an unbeatable flow rate, but it was designed to work better in certain circumstances than others. Due to the inability to properly backflush the filter, it is not the most suitable option for water where you might pick up a lot of sediments or large particles. In conditions where you won’t pick up sediment, though, this filter performs superbly for an extended amount of time. I brought a new filter on a desert section hike of the PCT and a new filter on the Oregon section, and the difference was night and day. The one I took through the desert was shot after just a few days, and the one that went through 4 weeks in Oregon is as good as new.