Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter test

We planned a trip to the Ukrainian Carpathians for a year, i.e. from returning from a previous trip to those regions. Being taught by experience we have prepared ourselves even better. As you know, one of the most important issues on every trip is access to water. And it was during this trip that Milworld took care of it, which equipped us with a Katadyn Hiker Pro water filter. Is the equipment really worth the money, you'll find out after our short account.

Together with the filter, we received a link to the instruction manual in Polish – unfortunately, the manufacturer did not care about placing the instruction in Polish, which is a pity. That is why here a huge plus for Milworld for taking care of the client and preparing the Polish version. The instruction turned out to be very understandable and there was no problem with putting the filter together and preparing it for first use.

The filter components are divided into those on the already filtered water side and those on the contaminated water side. Protected in an additional string case, the "clean" elements are: a hose, an adapter that allows convenient filling of water bottles / bottles with a wide infusion, and a set of connectors to connect with various types of hydration sets. The rest of the elements are a hose with a float to draw contaminated water, a quick coupling that allows you to conveniently connect and disconnect the hose with a filter, and a pre-filter with a cover, which also acts as a weight to keep the filter submerged.

In addition, a small sponge for cleaning the filter membrane and grease for the pump piston is included. The whole is packed in a black nylon case. The size of the package allows you to carry it in a small backpack pocket. The Katadyn Hiker Pro filter will easily fit in your thigh pocket, cargo pants or shorts. The first impression after removing and assembling the filter is very positive. The material of the body inspires trust, the whole looks solid and it begs to see how it works.

First filtering according to the instructions. We pump over a liter of water that we do not drink yet. This is to flush out any remaining carbon dust that may have deposited on the walls / filter. Filtering alone does not cause any problems. It is accompanied by the sound of a working diaphragm and pump. We pump quite slowly and evenly, according to the instructions comes out about a liter of clean water per minute. With our group of 10 people, this is sufficient performance to quickly provide everyone with the right amount of clean water.

We used the filter wherever there was water. The assumption was that each of us has 1.5l of water with us. So it's easy to count that we needed 15 liters of water to fill the containers of the entire crew. Filtering was done 2x a day. It was not always full filling all the containers, because not everyone managed to drink all the water from the water bottle. We can assume that we filtered about 25 liters of water a day. In total, it gives us about 200 liters of water throughout the entire outing. According to the instructions, the filter is sufficient for 750 liters of water. Of course, it is also conditioned by the state of water pollution that we filter. In our case it was water that looked optically clean. Despite this, at the end of the trip, the pump began to resist. As we read in the instructions, we unscrewed the filter, removed the membrane and cleaned it with the included sponge. After reassembling the set, it turned out that the "cleaning" procedure restored the original efficiency of the filter.

During the whole trip it happened that we drew water from low-lying streams, streams where sheep, horses or cows grazed. There was no case that someone felt any ailments that could be associated with the consumption of contaminated water.

Upon arrival, we rinsed the filter as directed with clean water and a dissolved dose of Micropur Forte DCCN tablets. Then the filter was unscrewed to dry After removing the membrane, you can see how much dirt the filter has retained.

This made us realize that there were a lot of bacteria and other factors that could cut us off our feet during the trip. Thanks to the filter, we were sure that we always have a safe water supply and that we could focus on hiking and staying with the mountains.

The only negative thing, if you can call it that, was that after a few days the string bag for "clean" elements cracked. However, this is only a piece of foil that can be replaced with any other bag. Otherwise, the filter worked reliably.

Advantages:
+ performance,
+ small dimensions,
+ easy installation and operation,
+ trouble-free membrane cleaning,
+ filtering efficiency,
+ a set of accessories to facilitate the filling of various hydration systems

Disadvantages:
- we didn't notice any.

Author: Marek Maćkowiak