Clean water, on the go, at your fingertips

By Mark Pavilons
Editor

Water is a necessity for all of us, especially when spending a lot of time outdoors.
Clean drinking water isn't always at you fingertips, when camping, hiking or just living off the grid.
Well it is, with a couple of great products.
The AutoFlow by MSR (Mountain Safety Research), is an extra-large gravity filter system that delivers 10 litres of clean water fast. How fast? It filters 1.75 litres per minute – literally while you set up camp, prepare dinner or relax.
Its large capacity means fewer trips to the river to haul the water you need. It's ultralight and packable, offering the luxury of pump-free filtration for large groups of people – base camps, Scout troops, trail riders and other back country groups. And just one 10-litre fill of the reservoir can supply 1-2 people with a whole day's worth of clean water.
The system is very simple, just hang the water bag on a tree, pole, or anything handy, and let it do its work.
The inline filter is a extremely efficient, effective against bacteria (99.9999%), protozoa (99.9%) and particulate.
It comes with a separate hang strap and bag clip for easy hanging for maximum convenience. It's built tough, with a durable 3-dimensional film reservoir with RF-welded seams and a 1,000-denier flat base that resists wear-and-tear.
The sediment trap in bottom of bag and the filter are easily cleaned on the fly, no tools required.
MSR believes that better, safer, more reliable equipment is the key to unlocking greater adventures.
A close-knit team at the company is still “obsessed” with designing the most reliable, high-performance gear possible, using knowledge of engineering and science to find better solutions to the challenges of the mountains.
“At MSR, we are engineers, tinkerers and passionate outdoor users – each with strong perspectives on how a product should work based on our own experiences in the wild places we love. But collectively, we believe that innovative solutions are bred by challenging convention, and that functionality, simplicity and reliability are the governing elements of enduring design.”
You can't go wrong with this unit and it's reasonably priced. Also consider it for everyday use in your cottage. Most cottages use lake-fed water, and if you hang this in your kitchen, you have constant access to clean water.
For more, visit https://www.msrgear.com/ca/water-treatment/filters-and-purifiers ¹
GravityWorks by Platypus is another great contender that offers many sizes to meet every need.
Their water filter systems come in two main sizes – 2 and 4-litre reservoirs. It also meets the guideline of removing 99.9% of contaminants.
For the Platypus, there's a “dirty” bag and clean one so you never interchange them by accident.
This is also an ultralight and versatile water filter that makes it easy to treat water for 2-4 people on camping, hiking, and adventure treks. The pump-free GravityWorks 2.0L Complete Kit filters up to 1.5 litres per minute. Plus, it comes with a complete range of adapters, and a high-capacity collapsible bottle, for easy tailoring of the system to meet different needs on different trips.
Hundreds of tiny, hollow fibers, enable the microfilter to filter water faster than traditional filter media.
Collecting water is easy – simply open the top, scoop water, and close; control delivery of filtered water with a hose shutoff clamp. No pumping, just fill the dirty reservoir, hang it, and let gravity do the hard work.
For over 20 years, Platypus has made water bottles and hydration solutions for everyday hydration needs from the city to the trail.
“We are water geeks, laboratory technicians, researchers, designers, managers, directors, worker bees, and people with useful degrees … and we also like to ride, hike, run, paddle, climb, rip, rail and try to enjoy every sip of adventure we can get.”
The company also gives back and supports organizations like IMBA, Evergreen MTB, and the PCTA. They also get out and do trail work themselves.
For more, visit https://www.platy.com/ca/filtration ²
With either of these units, you're guaranteed fresh, clean water, where and when you need it most.

1. https://www.msrgear.com/ca/water-treatment/filters -and-purifiers
2. https://www.platy.com/ca/filtration