Katadyn Hiker Microfilter – Reliable Lightweight Water Filter for Backpacking and Outdoor Adventures

I bought this Katadyn Hiker portable filter early in 2020, for general/emergency use mainly at home. I bought it after a year of looking for the better filter, the General Ecology First Need filter, that I had from decades ago for backpacking, but couldn’t now find again for sale because I’d forgot its exact name, and it is no longer widely carried; and even Amazon won’t show it to you on a search for whatever reason, even though it has about the highest Amazon user review ratings, unless you enter its exact name. So, having failed for a year to find the First Need, I eventually resigned myself and bought this Katadyn Hiker filter. In its favor, and the reason I bought it, is that I think this Katadyn Hiker, going for between $50-$75, is probably the best available portable filter for under $100 - maybe even the best for under $200 if you exclude the First Need (which goes for around $120). One of the first things I did upon receiving this Katadyn filter was to subject it to the same easy self-test that I learned from my First Need 30+ years ago: I tried filtering some clean water with a few drops of food color dye added. I was surprised and disappointed that the Katadyn filter fails to remove the color, confirmed by Katadyn, a test that the First Need passed 30+ years ago. This means that the Katadyn doesn’t filter as well as the First Need did even 30 years ago, in particular the Katadyn Filter does not reliably remove viruses. It also means that, unlike the First Need filter, and again confirmed by Katadyn, the Katadyn filter has no good way to test and verify that it is intact and working effectively. To be fair, those faults with the Katadyn filter are shared by essentially every other filter out there except only the First Need. The Katadyn has another significant weakness, peculiar to it, noted by a number of reviewers here, namely that the barb/nipple onto which the water input hose connects, is obviously, and quite needlessly, quite fragile, at high risk of breaking off, and deeply recessed into the filter housing, leaving no good, easy way to gently disconnect the hose after use. I spent a long time trying and failing to gently pull and wiggle the hose off, very concerned that I was gonna’ snap off the barb and destroy the filter almost immediately upon receiving it. I eventually hit upon the idea of using a small crochet hook that I happened to have around the house to prise the hose from the barb, which worked fairly well - but I don’t usually carry crochet hooks while backpacking. Numerous other reviewers here describe their actually having the barb snap off while out in the woods, as would obviously often occur, leaving them stranded totally without clear water. A literally very possibly fatal design defect. Other than that - and that is a heckuva’ lot - this Katadyn Hiker is a pretty good filter, better in almost all respects than almost all the many competitors. It’s reasonably compact, reasonably lightweight, easy to use, pumps easily and well; and - except for the needlessly fragile input barb, as noted above - seems strong and robust. Their customer service seems very good. So how to rate this Katadyn Hiker filter? On an absolute scale, I would have to say that this water filter that fails to remove all pathogens - namely viruses - when a readily available competitor (General Ecology’s First Need) does - and has a critical weakness like the input connector barb described above, I would have to say that this filter isn’t really even in the running. On that basis, I would have to give it 1 star (effectively 0), or maybe as a courtesy 2 stars for some good effort even if ultimately a fail. However, virtually all the competitor filters, almost all of which are inferior to this Katadyn, have ratings in the 4+ range; so, trying to be fair, grading somewhat on a curve, I reckon I’ll rate this Katadyn Hiker 4 stars. But, regardless of the rating number here, better to skip this filter and buy a First Need. (Only after buying this Katadyn filter and being disappointed by it, I went back to searching even more intensely for the General Ecology First Need, which was still difficult because I’d forgot its name. But eventually I stumbled onto it and bought one and found it slightly better than ever. Just to be clear, I have absolutely no connection to General Ecology/First Need, in fact I don’t even like the company all that much; it’s just that I’m a well satisfied customer/user of their obviously still superior filter for 30+ years.)

I love camping in back country, which means I am on my own for water, and this filter makes it so easy to fill up. The compact size and sleek design make it easy to store at arms reach while backpacking so stopping for water is very quick. The sediment filter and foam float on the intake hose make quick work many source water issues like depth and debris. Finally, the wide mouth bottle adapter means one less thing to juggle during fill-up; attach the adapter, secure the outflow hose, and no spills. everything fits into its convenience pouch, but I keep my outflow hose in a sealed bag inside the pouch to protect against cross contamination. That means I pull the hose off the pump's barbed connection a lot and so far no issues there. I also make certain to follow the manufacturer's cleaning instructions after each camping event. Happy Trails

First off, the product arrived as promised. Let me put this into perspective, I ordered the Katadyn Hiker Micro-Filter to have in Miami just before hurricane Irma hit. The Boy Scout Motto is, "Be Prepared", and I was ready to have drinking water! The good news was I did not need that Katadyn Hiker Micro-Filter after hurricane Irma hit, thank goodness, but I was able to use the product while camping in the Everglades. It was very easy to use, and the instructions were to-the-point. It filters one liter (just over a quart) of water a minute, without much effort. It is lightweight and very easy to pack. When you need water, you need it to be safe. The Katadyn Hiker Micro-filter DOES THE JOB!

We took this on a two day hike through the Zion Narrows and it was wonderful! In the Narrows, there is no source of water other than the river that you are wading through. The Katadyn was able to to purify water for our group of 11 people. We were able to use the pump to fill water bottles and hydration packs. It took some time and we traded off to keep any one person from getting too tired, but I was very pleased with the speed of the the water flow. We found that the water was cool and fresh and tasted great. The best part was that no one experienced any ill effects from drinking water that was originally loaded with all kinds of fun friends! 10 years later...and I am still using this water purifier. I replaced the internal filter a few years ago and have long since lost the little plastic covers that go over the intake when you put it away for storage, but this is still my preferred water purifier for backcountry camping. I've never even considered replacing it. I was a hike leader for a group of teen girls last summer and we used it to purify water for 14 people. Everyone line up and each girl pumped water for the girl behind her so no one got too tired and filled 14 water bottles in record time.

I bought this to take on a hiking trip in North Georgia where the only sources of water were very shallow streams. The Katadyn Hiker worked very well, even in super shallow water. The result was very good, clear water. I didn't use the bottle attachment. We just dropped the output tube into an empty bottle or camelbak. After reading other reviews, I brought along a few coffee filters and rubber bands to wrap around the intake, and it didn't slow down the pumping at all. My hope is that the coffee filters will extend the life of the filter. Also, the lubricant included is absolutely imperative for attaching the intake tube to the unit. I recommend assembling the strainer/sinker/float and attaching the intake tube before embarking on your trip. Skip the lubricant and this assembly is impossible. I highly recommend this filter for any outdoor enthusiast!