Versa Flow Light-Weight Water Filter System - Hollow Fiber Inline or Straw Filter for Survivor and Emergency Filtration

I make a few trips a year back country camping with the same group of friends, and usually trade off the chore of pumping water. A typical trip involves setting up camp in one spot for several days and doing day hikes. It happened all too often that we ended up down at the stream at night with flashlights getting some water bottles filled, because we kept putting off the task. This last trip I was the champ (actually the credit goes to the HydroBlu filter); I had two three liter bladders hooked up, an orange one and a blue one, and there was always a full bag of drinking water ready for use. I looked at making up an arrangement of bags, hoses and filter, but ended up just screwing a bag to each end of the filter and hanging it from a tree branch with a carabiner. It was a simple arrangement and worked well for our situation. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RSF2WT6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I designated the orange one "dirty", so it was a quick fill from the stream, hang it up and go about my business, half an hour later (it varied from ten minutes to over an hour and time to back-flush) we had three liters of drinking water. I got in the habit of distributing the good water and hanging up a fresh batch of stream water, we always had plenty of water to drink and there was no waiting for water, so I quit watching how long it took. By the end of the third day it was time to back-flush it by lifting the clean water over the filter and giving that bag a squeeze for five seconds, then right side up and it was good as new. Now all my buddies want the same setup, it's so easy and so good. I would have saved money by buying the kit with the two bags included, in retrospect I wish I had gotten that just because of the fittings included, but I do prefer these cnoc reservoirs because they're so easy to fill. This packs up into a compact bundle that was smaller than the pumps we used to use. No moving parts and the energy required to filter water is provided by Mr. Gravity! When I got home I carefully followed instructions for back-flushing the filter and running vinegar through it and let it sit out and dry for a week before storing. Hopefully this will last a long time, it's supposed to be good for 100,000 liters of water. I'd estimate it's filtered 50 liters so far, so it's got a long way to go. I did a lot of homework before getting this, I looked at the Platypus gravity system, the Sawyer Squeeze and several others, sent to a bunch of outdoor product websites and blogs, YouTube, etc. but based on price, ease of use and ease of maintenance, I decided the HydroBlu is the one to get. Now that I've used it I feel that even more strongly.

Why "Squeeze" your water to filter it like the competition, when you can easily gravity filter it? Trust me I started with a Sawyer, then had another Sawyer that wasn't a mini, then, I found this thing. Both ends are threaded for a standard bottle. But I use a CNOC bag on the dirty end and screw on a smartwater bottle on the other, Then, I hang it in the end of my trekking pole and let gravity do the rest. Just make sure to keep the bottle a little loose to let the air escape and this thing drops a steady stream of fresh filtered water. backflush after use and shake it out. Put the caps back on and store for next use. Do a really good backflush when you off trail and let it air dry for a few days before you put it away for extended storage. I will say though, that if you push this thing with say a shallow dark brown beaver dam water that still tasted horrible after 3 passes through the filter... this thing slows down. It slowed to a trickle after that trip, no matter how hard I backflushed it, that bever dam lake Ruined my favorite feature about this filter. But that pond was an extreme. typical use, this thing will last it's lifecycle.

This is perfect for my camping needs. Our trailer only has a 9 gallon fresh water tank (2 showers & it's empty), but we always camp near water. I have a Sawyer Mini, but I needed a gravity feed for larger volumes. I received this today and tested the flow, 4 gallons in 35 minutes, which is way adequate for our needs. It takes a 5/8" drill bit for the bucket (if you buy the kit). They just back flushed our municipal water lines and the water was very murky, the output was crystal clear. If I'd have seen this first, I wouldn't have bought the Sawyer. This filters at .1 microns (same as the Sawyer), and it could double-duty for potable water, coffee and tea. Addendum: Just had it out on a 3 day camp out and it worked flawlessly. I was actually able to supply another camper with potable water due to it's capability, so we're totally pleased with it. The river water tasted awesome. And a few years later: We have a bigger trailer now and I'm on my 2nd filter. I ordered a third one for backup. It takes about 1 1/2 hours now to filter 6 gallons of water, but it's passive and stays at the campsite, so the time is acceptable. With politics the way they are, inflation, the recession, shortages at the grocery store, the way America is declining under this administration, I'm making sure we'll have safe drinking water if all else fails...

I didn't see many reviews by backpackers, so Let me see if I can help a bit. Used the sawyer mini for a couple of weeks, really did hate the flow rate. So went back to the sawyer squeeze. I ate up the extra oz, in benefit of a better flow rate. Which I love. But then I saw a couple of thru hikers reviewing this. So I ordered it, opened it, weight it dry and was 1.4 oz, and 1.8 wet (shaking all the water I could.) Then I did a test and tried to filter tab water to a 1.25 lt Aquafina water bottle. ( I don't squeeze my bags, just gravity) tested them with evernew bags, The squeeze did it in 2 minutes 23 seconds, while this clocked at 2 min, 15 seconds, so it is a faster filter and lighter. Yes this has a shorter life span than either sawyer, but really???? Are you really going to filter even that much? The threads also work perfectly with platypuss bags. No leakage whatsoever vs any sawyer which will leak on platys. So far so good, the taste is a little hosey, which I like though I think by this weekend the hosey flavor should be gone. the back flushing is a little simpler, just use any clean water bottle with clean water and put it against the clean side, it will sort of create a seal with a rubberized part it has on the fron, and squeeze some water into that for a couple of times.. Works really well. It is slightly larger and bulkier than the mini. I will continue to use it almost every weekend I go backpacking. But will keep my squeeze just in case I have to back to it. Update: the hosey smell went away after a couple of litters.

This is a great product if you are choosing yes it had a carbon filter and a very good filter as well other brands provide things like back pump and pouch so dont expect it to come with one. I will say on the pouch do not squeeze more than needed to make the water come out. Also if you want something for home just buy a home filter as this is no substitute and very tedious for making liters or gallons at home

YouTube reviews were spot on. This HydroBlu filter is comparable to the Sawyer Squeeze and Sawyer inline filters. Flow is faster, probably due to more surface area in the filter. Fills 32oz bottles in 3-4 minutes and did an excellent job overall in my recent adventure in the Adirondacks. Recommend their charcoal filter also to improve taste. Note that Smart Water bottles fit the threads but cannot be used to squeeze water through. As with all filters, make sure you backflush the filter regularly and store after back flushing with bleach water.

Excellent. Remember, Smartwater bottles don't fit airtight, they're ok for clean receptacles because slight airleak allows air displacement as water fills them, but they're NOT good for dirty water input, dirty water will drip down onto your clean end. But if you use a CNOC water bladder or regular thread soft plastic soda bottle for dirty water, then you've got a great gravity AND squeeze system. Threads on both ends means easy backflush without extra attachments, and output spout allows putting clean water directly through a drinking tube into a bladder, no struggles taking the bladder out of a jammed pack. Just pull the drinking mouthpiece off and put the clean end spout in the tube. If you want you can put a scrap of coffee filter over the dirty end spout and secure it with a twist tie or loop of dental floss before you screw it onto the dirty water bottle, and do a sort of a homemade pre-filter. I love these things for ultra-light hiking.

I've been using this filter on canoe trips deep in the back country for 6 years now. Flow is good if you make sure to back-wash it occasionally. I've never gotten sick while camping, so it seems to be doing a great job!

I have been using this filter with the CNOC bags for years now, almost a decade. And love it! This filter fits onto a smart water bottle too. It’s filters quickly. Gravity flow works best, although I have squeezed my CNOC bag to make it go faster. I have had many different filter systems when hiking, camping, backcountry etc. and I always come back to this one. I would recommend this, as I have bought a few of these through the years.

Looks OK Can’t say I have tested it yet, still waiting for the zombies 🧟‍♀️

Best filter I’ve owned. Better than sawyer filters in my opinion. Great flow rate and easy to clean. Really good quality filter. Would by another.

Super. Während man bei Sawyer ständig mit Adapter hantiert ist der einfach durchdacht.

Better flow rate than my sawyer mini, tastes good too