Water filtration system help

[Ripper]

The lady friend and I are heading out west to CO/UT/AZ in about a month. We are looking at water filtration systems and have zero experience with them. We will primarily be using this to fill two, one gallon Rotopax cans. The water will be used for cooking, cleaning, and if we run out of bottled water, drinking. There are two systems that are on our radar. Any help, suggestions. concerns or comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Lifestraw
http://www.amazon.com/LifeStraw-Mis...F8&qid=1461129990&sr=8-20&keywords=life+straw

Katahdyn
http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Vario...qid=1461130051&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=katahdyn

 

[Terex]

Overlanding is very different from backpacking. It looks like you're focusing on backpacking filters. For the volume of water you're talking about, it's a lot easier to carry gallon bottles of water from the supermarket in your vehicle than pump manually. For backpacking I use a Katadyn. When overlanding, we have a trailer with a 30 gal. tank for cooking, showers and general use, a rotopax to fill the cassette toilette and gallon bottles of water for drinking. We also have a Yeti cooler for a case or two of bottled water - water is good. Look at the REI filter selection guide. I think you guys probably need a hanging filter for the volume of water you're talking about. https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/water-treatment-backcountry.html And then bring some chemical treatment tablets to kill virususes. Viri. Virulent diseasie dealies.

 

[zoblo]

If your are car camping this filter from Walmart works great to fill from a hose or spigot. http://http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Water-Filter-with-Hose/14504321

 

[Ripper]

We will often be two or four days out in the back country. That's a lot of water. The GF and I drink a lot as it is.

 

[Christophe Noel]

There are a lot of great filters out there. The new standard is the MSR Guardian, but it's big bucks. Read my review HERE.

The little brother of the Guardian is the MiniWorks which has been around for ages, and is a great filter for the southwest where water turbidity is a major issue. If you want something that requires less elbow grease, the MSR and Platypus gravity fed systems are very convenient but a bit more prone to clog, and more challenging to clean when they do.

I've used and formally evaluated all of them. I'd strongly recommend the MiniWorks.

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/water/treatment/miniworks-ex-microfilter/product

 

[TwinStick]

If you are vehicle camping & got room, these are awesome. Pick your size. Fill it & it will filter while you are doing other things. Top stores inside the bottom (or vise/versa). They are often used by emergency management after a disaster.

http://www.berkeyfilters.com/?gclid=CI-W3oTsnswCFVBZhgoduvgHeQ

If you want a backpack style, this one is good. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/water/treatment/sweetwater-microfilter/product

 

[dlh62c]

If your are car camping this filter from Walmart works great to fill from a hose or spigot. http://http://www.walmart.com/ip/Camco-Water-Filter-with-Hose/14504321

+1

The above link doesn't work; Camco-Water-Filter.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I have the Katadyn hanging bag filter as well as an MSR pocket size unit, the hanging bag style is nice for car camping because you can just fill it and let it filter as you prep dinner and other stuff for the next day.

 

[Semi-Hex]

I have the Katadyn hanging bag filter as well as an MSR pocket size unit, the hanging bag style is nice for car camping because you can just fill it and let it filter as you prep dinner and other stuff for the next day.

Also look at the Sawyer brand hanging water filters, this is beaver country so choose wisely.

 

[thefishhawk]

Are you space limited to the one-gallon cans? I would start out with a baseline of at least a 5 gallon cube or a 7 gallon container, then go with a hanging filter as backup. Then you are covered when there isn't water for a couple days. Rule of thumb is 1 gal/pp/per day so you are only talking 4-8 gallons per stint. That's really not much to carry for everything for just two people.

 

[Ripper]

Our space is getting limited. We are tenting it for the entire time. And we are really in SPCs saving mode. The fridge is taking up a ton of space. I still need to pair down my tool kit and come up with a better storage solution for it. But we only have a few weeks left and with 60 to 70 hour weeks it's not leaving much much time.

 

[Kerensky97]

I go with a cheap 5 gallon cube when I go out to the desert for the week; finding water to filter is usually the bigger problem so I have to pack in my own and don't want to have to cut the trip short because my watering hole turned out to be dry.

Since I'm usually drinking beverages and water bottles from the cooler I barely tap into the 5gal except for cooking, cleaning the cooking gear, and washing my hands.
No showers since I'm usually solo.