I'm looking for a good water filter for my hiking/camping trips. So far I've found this one for a good price: Katadyn Base Camp But does anyone have any opinions about it that they can share with me?
What kind of stuff are you planning on doing? Gravity filters are great because they're light, have no moving parts, and require no effort, but when it comes time to refill your bottle on the trail, it's not so awesome to have to wait 45 minutes. The name of the filter says it all. If you're just hanging around one camp, then go for it, but if you are backpacking, I wouldn't recommend it.
I agree with briancs. The heaviest filter I would take into the backcountry is a Katadyn Hiker, and that's only if I'm hauling my weight all the way in to my camp site on the first day and spending the rest of the trip doing day hikes/fishing/hunting/etc. around my base camp. If I'm doing a hike-through consisting of many miles in a day (perhaps on the Appalachian Trail or a similar trek), then I'll take something significantly more portable. Vis a vis, a filter that you just place into the water and suck through like a straw, or even Iodine Tablets (though I really do hate these).
Yeah, they're basically more elaborate versions of the one I use for lightweight backpacking, hiking, and my Urban Survival Kit, which is just Iodine and Carbon based. I'm all for it, they definitely need greater access to resources of this nature over there.
Thanks for the replies-- I do a variety of trips including long hikes and just recreational camping. Thanks for all the help!