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Tried a new water filter on the Pacific Crest Trail and it clogged in 2 days flat
I swapped my usual Sawyer Squeeze for a Katadyn BeFree on a 5 day stretch near Crater Lake last spring. Figured the faster flow would be worth it, but by day 2 the filter was so clogged from silt I could barely get a liter out in 5 minutes. Tried backflushing it like my Sawyer, but that basically did nothing for the BeFree. Guess I learned the hard way that those hollow fiber filters just can't handle murky water. Anyone else had a filter fail in a specific kind of condition like that?
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danielm8017d agoMost Upvoted
Man, I feel your pain. I had the exact same thing happen with a BeFresh filter in the Sierras a few years ago. I switched back to my old Sawyer Squeeze after that trip and never looked back. What saved me on those murky creeks was just pre-filtering the water through a bandana before putting it in the bag. The silt still clogs the Sawyer way slower than the BeFree ever did, and a good backflush gets it flowing again.
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My buddy Jake swore by his BeFree until it gave out in murky Lake Tahoe runoff too.
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harperp2416d ago
Are you telling me I've been trusting my water safety to something that taps out when things get a little dirty? I gotta say, I feel like the biggest fool because I bought into the hype on the BeFree for its speed and weight. I spent a whole afternoon by a murky creek trying to squeeze water through what felt like a coffee filter after it got clogged. Meanwhile, my buddy was just sitting there laughing with his old Sawyer, taking his sweet time but actually getting water. Guess I'm the one who learned the hard way that "fast" doesn't mean much if it quits on you. I'm definitely going back to my pre-filter bandana trick for the silt, that's for sure.
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