[pct-l] hiker's friend filter

[natgold at ufl.edu (Nathan Goldfarb)]

Hi folks-

I just made a Hiker's friend water filter using my Pur thru-hiker 
filter, a Coghlan's water bag from Campmor, and 7.5 feet of latex hosing 
from Home Depot.  

Questions:  1.  is the latex taste in the water from the tubing bad for 
you?   is another tubing better?  this taste is kinda' like the taste 
from water out of a Platypus. (we're not allergic to latex, BTW)

2.  is there a lighter filter to use, since we may want a back up in our 
resupply box.

Thanks and Happy hiking,
Nate