Review Date
November 19, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by: lex(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $50.00 at REI

Summary:
A damn good filter that does what it is advertised to do. Used it for a couple of days water that was full of sediment and didn't have any problems with it clogging.

The only complaint I have is that the design is suited more to packing well than for pumping large volumes of water. (We ended up having 3 flters for 14 people--my hiker, a sweetwater guardian which clogged frequently, and a pur first need which also worked well). As such it gets pretty tiring after pumping more than two gallons or so.

Customer Service:
Haven't needed it.

Review Date
October 9, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: JamesS(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker

Price Paid:  $54.00 at REI

Summary:
Great filter - I've used it on five extended day trips and dozens of overnighters without one glitch. Its fast, light, and easy to use. I'm approaching the 200 gallon limit on the filter and will replace it soon but not because the pumping has slowed down because it hasn't.

Customer Service:
No need to use.

Similar Products Used:
None

Review Date
February 11, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by: T Horton(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker , from Wetumpka

Price Paid:  $60.00 at rei

Summary:
Great piece of equipment! Light and effective. Pumps a whole lot of water fast.

Review Date
December 29, 2002

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: Romania(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker , from Phoenix, AZ

Price Paid:  $35.00 at Easter Mountain Spor

Summary:
I have both a PUR Hiker and a Sweetwater Guardian. While the Guardian has been my filter of choice lately because of compactness and weight, the Hiker is more reliable and durable. I have yet to have my Hiker clog or fail, but it is more difficult to pump. I would recommend this pump to anybody looking for a good all around water filter. Purchase the iodine filter for it (if they are still available) and you have a higher level of protection.

Review Date
December 15, 2002

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.17 of 5, 6 votes

Reviewed by: yagil(Unregistered User) ,  Backpacker , from Jerusalem, Israel

Price Paid:  $60.00 at EMS

Summary:
this gilter greatest attraction to me was it's "guaranteed not to clog" promise. with such a promise, i bought it although it's not field serviceable.
at the begining, it was really fast - 1 qt./minute, and even beyond.
my first cartridge clogged after only 8 gallons, when i had to filter murky water in the appalachian. after that - even after rinsing and on clear water, it was very hard to pump, and took up to five minutes a quart. i continued to use it for about more 35 gallons, because i wasn't in place to replace it; pumping become a work for 2, and was VERY hard.
i called PUR, and they explained that very dirty water can clog the filter, however they sent me a replacement free of charge - as their advertisement promised.
with the next cartridge i was more careful: i've added another prefilter (Sweet water SiltStopper), used coffee filters, and tried the best to use the cleanest water around.
this time, it has clogged after 30 gallons approx. removing the prefilter and filtering clear water from a home hose didn't do much to improve the flow rate, and rinsing the cartridge didn't do much either, although it was only off-white, meaning "no very dirty".
this time, Katadyn's (Pur mothercompany) responded to my enquiries in several e-mails, all pointing out that they can't assure the filter will not clog, becuase even in clear water and with the prefilters some silt may get through.
in other words, the filter that was guaranteed not to clog can be clogged by almost everything. and when it cloggs, there nothing u can do about it.
enough for me - i'm switching filters.
if it's reliable only in completely clean water, it's no use for me - i hike in varing conditions, and sometimes have to filter dirty water. the PUR, my experience showed, is quite useless in such conditions.

si'll probably go with one of the field-servicable models, like the msr (heavy! slow!) or the sweetwater guardian (Mixed reviews).

Customer Service:
good. they replaced the cartridge at their own cost.