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[pct-l] PUR filters



I've done a considerable amount or research on the PUR hiker vs the PUR
pioneer water filter, so I'll share my personal findings. 

The Pioneer Filter advantages over the Hiker:  
-The Pioneer is smaller and lighter.
-The Pioneer is less expensive to buy (bought mine off of the REI outlet page
for $20) and to replace filters (but yes, you do have to replace the filters
more often, the cost may eventually equal)
-You definitely can carry many replacement filters for they are almost
equivalent to a piece of paper while the filter on the hiker is huge, heavy
and costs about $35. (Pioneer filters are around $7 for two)

Drawbacks of the Pioneer:
It seems that the pumping handle is a little flimsy. I have seen them break
at the connection.  

Both filters can adapt well to a nalygene bottle, gatorade bottle etc.  When
I carried the Hiker last summer, the suction capability decreased around 90%
in the middle of our trip.  It still filtered, but VERY slowly and we had to
remove the tube and stick the bottom of the filter in a stream.  The
directions on how to field strip it were nonexistent, they just talked about
how the filter was guaranteed not to clog unless you filtered water with ANY
type of sediment in it.  duuuhhh 
When I got back home the filter just started to work normally.  I called up
PUR and they didn't seem to know what happened but sent me a new shell and
O-rings no charge.

I'm going to test out the Pioneer more, but I think it will end up being a
winner for me.  

What I found amusing was that REI marketed the PUR Pioneer as a "Great
dayhikers water filter".
The filter level for both systems was a level 2.  (Which I believe is MOST
bacteria, including Guardia)  

Disclaimer:  I have not tested both filters nonstop for months at a time.  I
have never used the MSR line of filters, they may be superior.  I haven't
been in an area where I worry about viruses, so I doubt this filter would be
satisfactory in those areas.  But I have used them in cloudy glacier water. 
I am not a PUR sales rep, I have no hidden agendas, I am not an "expert", I
do not have documentation to back up any of my statements, nor can I site any
published studies. 


"Many people would rather die than think, in fact most do"
-  Bertrand Russell


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