Platypus QuickDraw Microfilter & Reservoir System

Product Information

During those 20 seconds, look for a steady stream of bubbles in the spout emerging from the hollow fibers on the clean side.

Over the last few years I’ve increased my amount of hiking and wild camping trips. In 2019, I tried out my first filter water bottle for my E2W Challenge, hiking 950-miles across Britain and it was a total game-changer! Hollow Fibre Advantage: Hundreds of tiny hollow fibres enable the micro-filter to filter water faster than traditional filter media. The dirty water reservoir is made of the same taste free and durable film as other Platypus’ products. The filter is also compatible with multiple bottle types. Additionally, users can drink directly from its spout. litre dirty water reservoir is made with tri-layer film which uses a durable outer layer and taste-free inner layer.It has a shake-to-clean mechanism that allows it to keep working throughout its lifetime with no need to take it to pieces or wash it out. The fill and squeeze method considerably reduces the weight and complexity of the filter. You can buy the filter part separately so you’d be able to replace that and keep your reservoir. Do you still use filter water bottles or is this a better option? A note on flow rate: Platypus claims it can filter up to 3 L per minute. I don’t have a 3L reservoir (I have several 1L reservoirs and a 2L version). So I performed the flow rate test based on 1 L of water. In testing, I filtered from several clear and fast-running alpine streams, and then one not-so-ideal creek source. This dirtier source made for the best (most brutal) time flow rate test.

The filter has a grey screw lid at both ends, one covering the filter (known as the dirty end) and one that you pour or drink the water from (the clean end). Multi-cleaning: There are two ways to clean the filter — no accessories needed — which is required to maintain anything close to an acceptable flow rate. The easiest, yet least effective is the slosh method. Put a quarter-liter of water in the dirty reservoir and shake it all up for 30 seconds. This splashing dislodges some of the grit built up on the exposed filter fibers. In practice, I found this easy enough to do regularly, but not useful in noticeably restoring flow rate. The wide-mouth bag has a handle which made it easy to scoop up water from lakes and streams. The bad THERMAREST & MSR: Sale! 30% Off all MSR Tents and Thermarest Sleeping Bags including the award-winning Parsec 0!The water filters at a good speed! No waiting around for your water, you can fill, filter and drink!

Aside from a doomed return to squeezing with the Micro Squeeze for part of the CDT, after which I again vowed, “never again,” I’ve been gravity all the way. That is, until this summer—when Platypus introduced a new contender in the squeeze filter category. A steady stream of bubbles indicates the hollow fibers are compromised and the filter is not safe to use. The reservoir also comes with a cap so you can store and carry water in it, and also use the filter attached to a secondary source or bottle at the same time. I’ve used quite a lot of filtering methods in my fairly short lifetime. Chemical and UV treatments, tablets, pumps, and my favorite method as someone who travels as efficiently as possible — a hollow fiber or activated carbon membrane filter (there are a few in this category — like a LifeStraw or Grayl Geopress). There is really only one bad thing about the filter. For some reason, Platypus decided to use 2 protruding plastic pieces instead of a traditional thread on the filter bag. The filter bag uses a proprietary design instead of traditional threads.As a solo hiker it was great that I could hike with less water and then filter on the go.But I was also able to help a few fellow hikers who were low on water during the hike, especially when the weather was insanely hot. By using the Platypus reservoirs and soft flask by total weight for the water containers was about 200 grams, then with 3.5 litres of water (3.5 kg) the total weight was 3.7 kg. Hollow Fibre Advantage: Hundreds of tiny hollow fibres enable the microfilter to filter water faster than traditional filter media.

You can use this filter as a straw directly at the water source or attach it to a bottle of water to drink easily. The filter can be combined with a range of Platypus hydration options or other branded bottles with a 28mm screw top opening. It safely removes 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of protozoa, including Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Salmonella and Cholera. Hollow Fibre Advantage: Hundreds of tiny hollow fibres enable the micro-filter to filter water faster than traditional filter media. Each end of the filter — the threaded “dirty” end and the drinking end — are labeled clearly. Each comes with a cap, so you can keep the clean end truly clean and protected when filling up. Then depending on where the next water source was I’d fill the 1-litre reservoir and maybe my 500 ml one too, if it was a distance to hike. In the field, I noticed the water I retrieved from a mountain stream at 12,000 feet tasted a bit purer than the dirtier creek water (which also had a slight color before filtering), but other than that, no difference.Effective: Each microfilter is individually tested to ensure it meets all EPA & NSF guidelines for the removal of 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of protozoa*. *This includes Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Salmonella and Cholera. For thru-hikers, especially solo hikers, the gold standard seems to be the Sawyer Squeeze. But possibly not for long. If I’d have taken traditional water bottles, firstly, it would have been harder to fit them in due to their shape and secondly, they would have been heavier. For example, my 1-litre water bottle weighs 142 grams so three of those would have been 426 grams, with 40 grams for the soft flask my total weight with the same water would have been 3.9 kg. I’ve been using water filters since May 2019, when I did a 2-month hike using one, since then I’ve tried and tested a few different filter systems and bottles and I can 100% say I’ve not been ill from drinking filtered water. The loop by the lid makes it easy to fill without a fear of letting go and losing your reservoir downstream and it’s handy to use to hold it too.