New Water Filter Needed...Suggestions??

Dr. Nick said:
I use a steriPen in the mountains quite a bit. Has anyone tried the steriPen in the desert?
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I've used a steripen for years in canyon country (adventurer opti and now Pure+) and have zero interest going back to futzing with a filter. The only time I've used anything different since switching to a Steripen was an 8 day trip in the Grand Canyon with packrafting and canyoneering gear where I really needed to be extra weigh conscious and took Aquamira.
 
Had used the Sawyer filter for about three years on every trip to the wilderness and they exceeded my expectations: the water was clean and delicious. Only be careful not to leave it for too long without cleaning as they can become clogged.
 
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We use the Platypus Gravityworks and love it. We're generally in a group of at least 4, and it makes filtering for the whole group very easy.
 
I also own and love a gravityworks, though it's not a great match for all trips. Last summer in the Jarbidge range we ended up being near water often enough that it was easier to just filter a liter here and there when we got thirsty using my buddy's katyadyn befree. This also let us drink cold water instead of stuff that had been warming up in a backpack all day. We ended up futzing with the gravity filter just once on this trip. Of course for desert trips where you tend to want to filter a lot of water at a time (and it's not cold anyway) the gravity filter is ideal.
 
Using a katadyn hiker pro filter since they came out. Easy and fast.
 
I've completely switched over to the bigger Sawyer Squeeze (too impatient for the Mini). I use a piece of a gold coffee filter under the gasket as a prefilter for cruddy water, like late season potholes.
 
LifeStraw is also very good, it is affordable. It could also be ideal for outdoor activities such as hiking, travel, and many more with an included gravity bag. I like how its filtration system works on any water surface.
 
If quality of water and maximum filtration is what you are concerned about get a first needs filter. Once you have drunk water filtered with it over any of the other solutions you will agree that nothing else comes close. Unfortunately it is expensive and it is rather large and heavy, but if you want the best tasting and cleanest water it's the way to go.
 
I vote for the Sawyer Squeeze with Cnoc bladder bag. I’ve done the Arizona trail and a ton of desert backpacking with it and it’s still going strong on the original setup. I have the coupler so I can back flush it. You can also use a squeeze top from a smart water bottle to back flush, but I prefer the screw on coupler it’s light and you don’t have to crush your smart water bottle to back flush. It’s easy to set up as a gravity system with a camelback as well.
 
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