took this on a canoe trip. very easy to field maintain, but the problem is, it needs to be maintained to often. the lakes had a fine silt bottom, that recked havoc on this poor little filter. there is a substantial amount of improvement if you wrap your pre-filter with a coffee filter (held on by rubberband). this will eliminate a lot of the silt that will clog this filter quickly - this does cut down a little on the output of the filter.

Customer Service

MSR is owned by REI and I think because of this association, they try to maintain a similar service level.

Similar Products Used:

Pur, sweetwater (both present on this canoe trip)

Since it's the only filter I've ever used I can't really compare it to others. However, I recently went on a week long trip with a group of 7 people. We brought 3 filters along and they were all WaterWorks II's. I've been very happy with it. My only comment is that the filter clogs pretty quick in even mildly silty water. Not a big deal, since viruses and other nasties tend to cling on to particles in the water, I'm glad the particles are collecting on the filter and not in me. It only takes a minute to disassemble and clean.

Reliable filter, not the fastest I know of but I've had mine for 8 years of hard use and with regular maintenance still going strong. However, was helpful for me to stop into the MSR headquarters in Seattle for a quick but of advice on repair and maintenance.

I have used this pump several times and do not like it. I always have problems establishing a seal and although it pumps quickly once it starts it is a pain to have to take it apart and lubricate o-rings and the like.

Customer Service

first need, sweetwater, katadyne

Similar Products Used:

None

The MSR filters are the only choice if you can't aford to have a failure in the field. Every part of the filter can be replaced if broken by you if you carry the spare parts. The Waterworks II is twice the price of the Miniworks and offers very few advantaqes over it. In fact the glass fiber portion of the fiter ends up being a real hassle if it gets clogged. This filter isn't easy to clean and will need more cleaning than a glass fiber filter. But the up side is that you can clean it and it will not leak or break. I put over 100 days on mine this summer pumping ten to fifteen liters of water a day with out a hitch. This is a great filter for those of you that want a filter that lasts. Screws on to wide mouth Nalgene bottles.

Customer Service

MSR is a model company. Great service and availability

Similar Products Used:

Pur, Kathadyn, Sweetwater

Up here in the Pacific Northwest, we've started having to worry a lot more about water-borne parasites, thanks to Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and the like. So having a decent filter is a must these days.
I've had this MSR for a couple years now, and it's standing up to heavy use nicely. It lets us pump good, clean, trustworthy water even from silt-laden puddles--as I certainly had to do up on Lost Ridge two summers back. Easy enough to clear the silt out of the pump, thanks to the cute little scraper MSR has included in a socket on the bottom cap
It's tough, too, enough to survive a long drop down some boulders on Rainier last year. Reckon I'll not need another for a long while.

Customer Service

MSR stuff usally does not ever break--witness my 25-year-old iceaxe, used for all sorts of outlandish things one should never use an ax for!

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Started out with a First Need, which plugged up in short order. Gave that away to a hapless Cub Scout, and bought a PUR Hiker. Got the MSR as a Xmas gift three years ago, and the PUR is still sitting in a bag in the backpack gear closet.

I have used this filter to clear Canadian river and lake waters. It does the job very well. The first item I bought had to be exchange for manufacture defect, as they say (this was done quickly, without arguments). One needs to clean the filter quite frequently to get full service from this article. It doesn't treat the water for viruses, so if one is going 'out there' one should choose a different product or use the 'pills'.

Customer Service

Product exchange for defect was done without a problem.

I've used my MSR WaterWorks on numerous long term hike and climbs and never had it fail. It doesn't like to filter extremely dirty, muddy water as the primary filter plugs up rapidly. It's easy to disassemble and clean. A nice feature is the ability to screw it directly on to wide mouth Nagene water bottles and the MSR Domedary water bladder.

Customer Service

Never had a problem requiring MSR service. Replacement parts such as primary disc and ceramic filters are expensive.

As a backpacking guide, I have never been more frustrated with a new piece of equipment. While the product does filter water with speed, it requires constant attention and cleaning, sometimes 3 times in a day! The O-ring went bad after one summer of tough use. I was glad when the ceramic filter was no longer able to be used, instead of purchasing another filter, I threw the whole thing away, saving only the in-line. I should not have been fooled into thinking MSR could make a better filter than PUR.

I've found the MSR WaterWorks filter to be a great investment. With the ceramic cartrige it is really simple to maintain, and the threaded bottom works great with nalogene bottles and MSR dromidary bags. The only things that I can complain about is the slow filter rate (I guess its just because of the small pore diameter), and that if you aren't using a nalogene bottle it is differcult to filter because you can't screw the bottle to the bottom (i.e you have to hold both the bottle and the filter while pumping- a three handed job.)

Customer Service

I bought the filter from the Mountain Equipment Co-op at a great price.

Similar Products Used:

Pur SweetWater