Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter

You know the drill. Sit or squat by a stream or lake, and pump, pump, pump until your Nalgene is full, your arm is too tired, or the filter clogs. Chug water, then repeat. Man, I really hate that. With this filter, that is not necessary! I fill it up, then my biggest problem has been remembering to turn it off when my bottle is full (not uncommonly, I look to see clear water spilling out of my full bottle). This is a great filter for a base camp. My fellow backpackers are always happy to see that I have this filter along; it saves a tremendous amount of time and effort. I really don't know why everyone isn't using a filter like this.

Easy to use! Scoop up a gallon of water, hang it from a tree and gravity does the work! Durable, and I haven't had the filter clog on me yet. Really good filter!

This is an excellent, EXCELLENT filter. I can't recommend it enough. I (a total backpacking newbie) went on a 4 day backpacking trip in the high Sierras with 5 very experienced backpackers. I like to hydrate, far more than the average person, and I have once tried to pump water from a normal Katydin filter, only to be totally disappointed at how hard/long it takes to get a little water. So when I discovered this filter on the Backcountry website, I thought it was too good to be true.
It was perfect! In the end it made the trip so much easier: We all could fill our bottles as soon as we got down to set up camp, we had plenty of water for cooking and drinking, and nobody was stuck with the labor of pumping for 6 people. We had plenty of water again in the morning, and then could all pack out with full bottles of water for the long trek ahead.
Every guy on the trip said he'd never drank so much water hiking, because it was too hard to pump, and that it had made a real difference in their trip.

This is a life saver for us lazy folk! Fill up with water hang and put cup under it. It is that simple. While canoeing on the PM river in Michigan I use it as a hydration bladder fill & drink. mmmm

I have used this for a few trips into the boundary waters now and it is the way to go for water purification. We used to pump our water through filters and that would take forever (with sore arms afterwards). Got to say this thing is a champ and filters enough water for our entire group of 6 people while we set up camp. We have filtered our at least 60 gallons so far without an issue.

I have always hated having to pump water first thing after getting to camp. Well, with this gizmo, you can "pump" water and set up camp (or relax) at the same time. I recently did a 5-day trip, and the performance of the Base Camp was just outstanding. Hang it up (adjust it to the right height so the hose doesn't drag the ground - easy with a short rope and carabiner), fill it, and let gravity fill your Camelbaks, Platys and Nalgenes. We were blessed with relatively clean water, so no problems with clogging - this could be an issue on longer trips with sediment-loaded sources (there's no "backflush" procedure), so carry a backup filter cartridge if you expect these conditions (or wrap a coffee filter around the installed cartridge and secure it with a rubber band).

I highly recommend the Base Camp filter.

I just got back from a 5 day trip to the Adirondacks. The filter worked with the first bag , slowed down for the second and was just dripping from then on.IT BECAME UNUSABLE. Has anyone used this filter in water that was stained from tree roots? We tried cleaning but we could not continue using it and since we had 9 people we had to start pumping water. Good thing we had 3 back up pumps.

Nothing beats pumping water by hand quite like just filling a bag and hanging it! I've had the base camper since it came out as a new product. Over the years I have come up with some things to be cautious of when using this product:

1) When hanging it in a tree, be careful not to run it along the bark. The skin is durable, but only to a point. Also, be mindful of wind tossing the tree, which could result in the bag rubbing with you are makin' water.

2) I ran into a situation the last time I used it. Air was getting in between the discharge point of the filter (a little nipple the hose fits on) and the end of the hose. When this happened the filter would no long keep its siphon going, it would just slowly drip. After hours of trying to find out how the air was being let in, I found the when I bent the nipple on the end of the filter (where the hose connects) to one side it would work perfect. I concluded that the nipple has gotten bent and cracked near the top of the hose (bottom of filter). ALWAYS BRING A BACKUP SOURCE FOR WATER!

I figure this issue was caused by one of my group members (or myself) setting the bag on the hose/nipple area while the bag was full. The nipple is enclosed/protected by plastic fins, but when the hose is connected it can bend it to one side causing it to break.

3) When on open water (such as in a canoe), do NOT let a young novice try to fill the bag by leaning over the edge of the vessel! The bag gets quite heavy when full and could make for an unwanted swim (or worse).

I've read several complaints about flow. After a few trips, with a little experimentation beforehand, the solution in the field is not necessarily to empty bag and clean filter. I notice the biggest culprit to be air bubbles. The solution here is to suck on the hose as if you were siphoning gas. The flow increases and you stick the hose back into container. You can also be a little more careful when you scoop the water and try to avoid debris. Six of us have used this product and are verry pleased with not pumping. Fill it when you hit camp, hang it, forget it. Go set up camp and by the time you're done you have plenty of clean water. During that time, check the flow and fix it (see above). No one has been sick yet and I put everything into bleach water after trip. Rinse it, dry it and you're good to go. I easily recommend this to friends. I also carry a strap to use for a hanger if a good tree hook is not available. Wrap the starp around a tree and hang the bag,

I've used several different water filters over the years, Still have a nice Katadyn Pocket pump that has been serviced and ready for action. After having used the Base Camp on an ten day trip at Philmont back in 2005, I'll never use another one again. This couldn't be simpler. Scoop up the water, hang it from a limb and hook the tube into an Ortleib 2L water bag for the simplest and easiest filtration ever devised by man. We took two base camps, two Ortlieb water bags and the filters lasted twelve guys for ten days, being used several times per day. The filters never needed replacing.

For the ultimate protection, we also used MSR Sweetwater drops in each water bag before filling up from the Base Camp. Never had anyone get sick or the runs, just pure, clean water. I'll never forget the comment from a friend of mine who went on the same trip a week prior about how much of a pain it was to always be pumping water and how much time it took away from enjoying the trip. Use your brains people and let gravity do the work on your next trip.

I have used this filter on 4 or 5 trips into the BWCA. I always paddle into the middle of the lake to get clear water. I will agree It is very easy to use, but I have never gotten more than 40 or 50 gallons of water from a filter. I always take a 2nd filter, because one gets plugged during the trip.
This time I added a coffie filter over the filter, but this did not help.
Any one else get more than 50 gallons?
I would like to know how, these filters are not cheap.
Great idea simple design, just wish you could clean the filter in the field.

Used on our annual Canadian fly-in fishing trip. Worked out great! Ease of set-up and use. We're able to refill our 3-gallon jug with "hands-off" ease. Fill and walk away. It beat the pumping alternative that has been our choice over the years. Never ran out of water for our scotch!

The Base Camp is ideal if you need to quickly filter large amounts of water. My mistake was not to test it before field use. The unit leaked profusely around the filter housing, dripping into and contaminating filtered water.

After the first use the results were excellent. Could fill a Nalgene bottle within 2 minutes. A 2 liter Platypus bladder within 3-4 minutes no pumping. May be a bit bulky vs. a mini pump, but not very heavy. Worked great in a lake. May be a problem scooping up enough water from a small creek or trickle. I may carry it in place of a pump. I have a Miox for ultra light use. You will like it!

This filter worked great!! I used it to filter water that was trickling from a cave wall. The wide mouth of the bag collected the water much easier than the old taint bottle. I only gave it a 4 because the tube was difficult to attach to the filter at first, other than that, it is exactly what I expected. Also, I would never rank anything a 5, so consider a 4 to be A1.

I'm very pleased with the filter...so much better than pumping or chemicals. Seems well made, and if the filter life is as stated it'll be a bargain.

So it is not my style to drink water from a lake, but the need for water in the wilderness dictated I use my Katadyn Base Camp Water Filter. With the exception of getting the water tube on to the down spout (below the filter) in cold conditions, the Katadyn hang ‘em high contraption purified my water with ease. Gravity is your friend with this system as you don’t have to pump anymore. Buy and use this with confidence that your water will be safe and refreshing.

My filter stopped working after two uses filtering rain water. I loved it the first two times, it was great. Didn't get anywhere near 200 gallons of use..more like 4. Maybe my filter was flawed, but at 34 bucks to replace, I'm pretty bummed.

We took this on a river trip as a back up to several 7 gallon jugs of water, we set it up to try it out and didn't used much of the other water after that. In fact we wound up dumping most of the jugs of water to lighten the load on the boats and because we knew we had this. I can't wait to take it on a backpacking trip. I may actually stay hydrated with this in my pack. It packs up really small and is super easy to use. If you are looking for a water filter i would highly suggest this one.

I haven't had this out in the field yet, but I have tried it because of previous posted experience. I had no problems with the filter or bag. The Base Camp has amazing output volume. I have tried other gravity filters and add-on kits and they just drip. This FLOWS!

This is the easiest filter I've used. Just fill and forget. We camped next to a very muddy creek and this filter worked great even in the muddy water. This is now a staple part of my camping gear I don't leave home without it.

I bought this thinking how nice it would be to save time and trouble filtering water when backpacking. I used it and almost immediately the filter flow slowed to mere drops. At that rate, it would take about a day to fill up a 1 gallon water container. We're going to switch back to our regular water pump/filter. The water was clean, alpine, high elevation lakes in the California Sierras so we were starting with gin clear water. They need to re design their idea.

I just used this water filter on three-day river backpacking trip. It worked great, I had no problems. It’s lightweight and compact. I especially like the "no pump" feature. By the way, thanks for the great service!