Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter

Katadyn's Base Camp water filter filled a need for us. We normally hike and camp as a family and our group size numbers between 7 and 10. In years past we have carried at least two water purifiers. One an MSR and the other a Pur Hiker. In order to produce enough water for our needs we would pump long and often. This product fit our needs well. The filtration is accomplished by gravity flow. The clean water released to a large storage container for storage...(additional purchase needed here, ours was a 2.5 gal collapsible). My only complaint is a minor one. It took much longer to filter than advertised. If our group needed immediate access to fresh water we needed to use our personal water filters. We found ourselves planning ahead to take care of our water needs. We would "harvest" the available water before bedtime to ensure our needs the next morning. By planning ahead we managed a consistent supply. We will supplement this product with at least one handheld purifier for immediate fresh water needs.

I've had the Base Camp for three years. I've used it on a number of trips with groups of as little as 3 and as many as 12 people. We had a problem with slow flow on only one trip; every other time, it's worked flawlessly ... and as others here have noted, it's great not having to pump water whenever you want something to drink.

I have two tips for users. First, be very generous with the silicone grease for the O-ring on the filter because the grease actually helps make the seal. If you're too sparing with the grease, you'll end up with an annoying drip of unfiltered water running down the hose. Second, if you're going to boil water for cooking, don't bother using filtered water: just keep heating the water for a minute or two after it reaches a boil, and it will be decontaminated. This is way faster, and it doesn't use up filter life.

Enjoy!!!

I purchased this water filter to replace a pump action model. This model is an absolute "must have" when camping with any group larger than 1! It takes the work out of water filtration. Gone is the hour of pumping just to have enough water for 1/2 a day. When not in use, it folds / rolls down into a packable size and is ready for reuse. In the time it took 4 campers to set up their solo tents, we had 2.5 gallons of drinkable water ready to go.

Having 4 gallons of water at our disposal within a very short period of time, without a single ounce of exertion, was a convenience I've likely learned to never camp without! It made fluid replenishment, cooking, and cleaning alot easier to deal with.

A+ Product!

We've used it on two trips on Adirondack ponds, and it works great! No complaints.

I bought the Katadyn Base Camp after doing what I thought was quite a bit of research. Previously, I had used an MSR pump with reasonable results. My camping is done in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of Minnesota. In previous years, I had found that I had to clean the ceramic filter of the MSR every 2-3 liters to get adequate flow rate, especially in the summer when there were more "swimmers". It took a good bit of effort (and a tired arm) to filter the 6-8 liters of water that a group of 4 would go through in a 24 hour period.

So I found the Katadyn Base Camp. Read up on the reviews both here at Amazon and on MULTIPLE other web sites. Bought it here and was promptly delivered (good job Amazon!). Just got back from the BWCA (mid-May 2008, 1 week after ice going off the lakes--i.e. pretty darn clean water). At first I was very impressed. Filtering from the Base Camp hung from a tree branch with hose completely extended, filtering into collapsable 96oz (3L) Nalgene bags. One 3L bag in about 7 minutes. Wow! The second 3L bag slightly slower but perhaps because the filter within the bag wasnot completely covered now that 3 liters was gone from the hanging bag.

The second day out, the first 3L bag was again good, but by the second bag quite a bit slower. So I cleaned the fine mesh sheet that covers the microfiber glass pleated filter. That seemed to help a little, but still didn't get back to the original 7 minute mark. Suffice it to say that by the third and fourth days (at 6L per day), flow rate was at a SLOW trickle even with repeated attempts at cleaning. Don't get me wrong, it still worked. I could hang the filter, set a collection bag underneath and go about other camp duties, or even fish for a bit and come back 1-2 HOURS later to find an almost full 3L bag of filtered water.

According to the Katadyn web site the Hiker Pro filter should not need cleaning. "Just swish around in clean water" and, of course, sponge off the pre-filter mesh screen. Once home, I find no good way to clean the pleated filter without considerable work. Even tried a toothbrush, but that makes for lots of loose glass fibers...will likely throw this first filter out. Luckily I bought a replacement.

Now, and this is where my confusion comes in, Katadyn makes a Siphon filter that is ceramic (suposedly good for 20,000L) and can be cleaned just like my old MSR filter and is listed as a "replacement filter for the Katadyn Camp" NOTE THIS IS NOT THE BASE CAMP. The Katadyn Camp is a similar product not sold in the USA (through Katadyn at least, though available from some outdoor retailers) that uses the ceramic filter. It has a different base that screws on to the bottom of the bag. All of the pictures of the Katadyn Camp show a black cap on the bottom that looks like a pull top water bottle. In fact the Katadyn BASE Camp picture on the Amazon site (as well as most other US online retailers) is not the BASE Camp model but is a picture of the similar and yet fundamentally different filtered CAMP model. The Base Camp does not have a black cap. It instead has a blue ring that clamps the Hiker Pro filter in place. To add to the confusion, if you check out the Katadyn website only the Camp model is listed with ceramic filter (unfortunately this was part of my original research and thus I was mislead by my own lack of attention to detail). The USA katadyn website ([...]) does only listes the Base Camp model with the hiker pro filter. Why the difference, I know not.

I am still waiting for a reply from Katadyn to see whether the Siphon filter works with the Base Camp, and what, if any, additional adapter is needed. If anyone knows, please post a response. To me it makes much more sense to use a much longer lasting, and truly cleanable filter.

So, my bottom line is that it is disappointing that the Hiker Pro filter flow rate drops precipitously after only a couple of days of use in what I think was pretty darn clean water (supposed to be good for up to 250 gal.). On the other hand, even with the poor flow rate there was NO PUMPING (yeah!), and I had adequate amounts of filtered water with very little effort. Take it for what you will.