Condensation in the moister climes can be an issue in getting water into fuel. So can buying fuel out of a steel can or drum in remote areas.
After a bad experience with Racors I don't like them as much as I did. You can not see if water has permeated the filter element. A perfectly fine looking element can have enough water in it to block fuel passage. I learned this the hard way. No water ever showed in the bowl, but the element was mostly plugged with water which limited fuel flow to a 20 MPH demand and no more. Not to say that other filters wouldn't suffer the same fate, but the ability to inspect the Racor filter element lead me to think that is was fine since there was nothing visibly wrong with it.
I use the marine spin-on water seperating fuel filters and carry a spare element. My local West Marine frequently has the mount with 2 filters on sale for ~$30