Water is very important. For one thing, it's used to make beer. If that's not enough for you, try slogging through the desert with nothing but a bag of peanut butter sandwiches and nothing to wash them down with. Not so smart now, are ya?
Even on long day trips it's a lot lighter to carry a filter than all the water you need. MSR's HyperFlow has a lot going for it, but if you don't like to really get to know your gear it may just drive you crazy. The HyperFlow requires a stout arm to pump, and the more you use it the harder it gets. There's a backflush procedure that, if you do it right and often (every 8 liters), will "reset" the unit. You actually have to learn and practice the procedure, which may turn some folks off. Searching YouTube will assist.
On the plus side the filter really puts out, about 2oz per pump. The prefilter is super-thin and will drink from the shallowest sources; if it floats around too much you can use the velcro strap to secure a stick or other object to keep it down. The bike-pump style design is overall very solid with no breakable levers or flimsy parts, with one caveat: the hollow-fiber filter design is not supposed to be frozen, dropped or kicked around too much. The clean cap is not leashed to the unit, so be careful not to lose it.
The wide-mouth bottle adapter works great and can be attached to Camelbaks without taking them out of the pack. You can also hook up a piece of tubing to fill just about anything, or just aim carefully. The whole unit with included storage sack is 10.5oz. You gram weenies can cut weight by carrying only the pump and prefilter and trimming the intake tube a bit. Bottom line: If you're willing to put in the time and trouble to learn the system, you'll get a light, compact, efficient and effective filter. If you want simple, look elsewhere. Free advice: as with any filter, always carry a chemical backup.
One response to “MSR HyperFlow water filter”
I looked up hiperflow at youtube, and this is very interesting. I’m considering the purchase of this.