Hydration

If I had a gravity water filter in 1976 my Appalachian Trail thru-hike might not have ended in Waynesboro Virginia. I drank bad water, I never used a water filter. Hydration meant drinking straight from a water source.

My hiking style is to carry a minimum amount of water. On a long distance hike I tend to follow the supersaturation style of hydration. Each morning before I start hiking I drink 1 quart of water. Again during my midday lunch stop I'll drink another quart. I'll repeat this again at the end of the day. In between I use my gravity water filter to drink water as I come to it. I only carry water if I'm on a very 'dry' stretch of trail, and then only enough to get me to the next water source.  

Homemade Gravity Water Filter

In 2000 I started using a home-made Gravity Water filter for hydration while Ultralight Backpacking and Hiking. My set-up used an in-line water filter from Safewater Anywhere. The filter was typically used with a hydration bladder but I used it in between a 2.5 liter Platypus that held "untreated water" and a 1 liter Platypus that received the "filtered" water. It took approximately 1-1/2 minutes to filter 1 liter of water.

Here is the breakdown of my home-made Gravity Water Filter system:

ITEM	WEIGHT
2.5 liter Platypus	1.4 oz	holds unfiltered water
Filter link	0.2 oz	connects Platy to tubing
36" Tubing	1.5 oz	from my SweetWater filter
SWA in-line filter	2.2 oz
18" Tubing	0.7 oz	from my SweetWater filter
1 liter Platypus	0.9 oz	receives filtered water
Cleaning Brush	0.3 oz	to clean in-line filter as required

Total weight 7.2 oz for Filter and Water Bottles.

The weight of the gravity water filter (less water bottles) is 4.9 oz. This compares to my SweetWater pump at 13.1 oz. A substantial weight reduction!

As far as I know, Safewater Anywhere is no longer in business. I'm excited to see that Platypus has introduced their   CleanStream Gravity Water Filter System . They also offer the  Gravity Filter Cartridge separately. Their gravity filter is effective down to .2 microns and meets EPA Guide Standards for the removal of bacteria and protozoa. Approximate filter life of 1500L depending on quality of water filtered. It sounds like a good gravity water filter. I can't wait to try it out!