[pimaCanyon]

My pump filter broke last summer on the first day of our 7 day outing in the Wallowa's. I've been dragging my feet re getting a replacement, but now it's time as we're heading for southwestern Colorado in June and somewhere else in August (probably the Rubies in Nevada). Backpacking Light has a thread on this new filter from Katadyn: https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/14946-8019639-katadyn-beefree-water-filtration-system_usa Here's REI's webpage abou it: https://www.rei.com/product/116364/katadyn-befree-collapsible-water-filter-bottle-338-fl-oz I did a search here for this filter, but it came up empty. Has anyone tried this filter? Like, no like? I plan to buy one in the next couple of weeks. I'll report back here after I get it home and try it out.

[Bernardo]

Doesn't seem like much capacity.

[pimaCanyon]

by "capacity", do you mean the size of the container for unfiltered water? You can get 1 liter, 2 liter, and 3 liter flexible bottles to use for the dirty water. I'd probably go with a 2 liter.

[Alpine Pedestrian]

Philip Werner at sectionhiker.com did a review of it awhile ago. His review and the comments posted below it are helpful. http://sectionhiker.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review/

[texasbb]

I've got one, a couple actually. Haven't used it yet, but the original bag is largely worthless as far as I can tell. I bought 2-Liter and 3-Liter Hyrdrapak Seeker bags, which fit the BeFree perfectly. Over the sink, the BeFree has substantially faster flow than my Sawyer Mini.

[pimaCanyon]

[pimaCanyon]

FYI, this just popped up on BPL: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/love-my-befree-filter/ I will buy one of these. Because of the non-standard threading on the filter, I think I'll buy it with the .6L and get the 2L bag as well, and end up using the .6 for backup.

[RumiDude]

Well, I might have to give this one a try. I am wondering why this could not be backflushed at home. It is the same type of filter element as MSR HyperFlow and the Sawyer Squeeze. Is it because it doesn't have a setup to backflush? Or is it truly impossible to backflush it? The reason I ask is that it would be easy to set it up for backflushing. Rumi

[RumiDude]

[HitTheTrail]

[rossb]

I made the switch from the Sawyer filter to BeFree last year and haven't look back. Much better flow, and the Seeker bags are light and have a wider mouth than a Platypus or Sawyer bags. This makes it much easier to get water from a standing source (e. g. a lake). I primarily use it as part of a drip system (by connecting the other end to a platypus via a TornadoTube). The Seeker bags have spots where you can easily run some cord (no punching holes like with the Sawyer or Platypus bags). I also sometime just sip and go. I don't squeeze the Seeker bladder, just invert and suck. I've never felt the need to do a complete back-flush -- just swishing it around in clean water seems to do the trick. All in all it is a very good, very light, fast system.

[rossb]

Oh, and I bought the 3 liter bag. I may not want to carry three liters, but when I do, it is nice to have that option. Theoretically, with a "clean" 3 liter Platypus, I can carry six liters (3 dirty, 3 clean) which is a lot. But simply having bigger capacity means faster flow, for the first couple liters. I guess it is all the same if you are squeezing, but with a bigger bladder, you don't have to squeeze as much.

[pimaCanyon]

Thanks for all the replies! Good to know that several here are using this filter and it's working well for them.

[kenbee]

I got one last year, and I love it. After a couple of short trips, I took it on a 12-day solo and it worked beautifully. I ditched the little squeeze bag for a 2 liter...I used it to filter into a Gatorade bottle for hiking, and filled it as my main water source when in camp. The filter, empty 2 liter bottle, and Gatorade bottle all fit in one of my (oversized) side pockets. Couldn't be happier!

[wildernessed]

Nice. I watched the videos on it looks like my new filter.