Think twice about a paper element water filter

“So in about 40 days of overnighting on the trail, I have been through TWO water filters on trail. Both have been paper element water filters.

The first, a First Need, #&%!$ the bed after only about 15 days on the trail. It became really hard to pump and the pump housing leaked at the seams.

So I decided to go next with what I knew, the PUR Hiker. Of course, PUR had been bought by Katadyn but I figured everything was the same. After six days on the trail, the Hiker #&%!$ the bed. I couldn't believe it. I used one for years in the states with no problem. The water here is the same as I filter in the states -- alpine water. So I wrote to Katadyn about the problem. Intersting....

Verbatim:

-----Original Message-----
From: Jill and Josh
[mailto:]
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 11:58 AM
To: Outdoor
Subject: Complaint about the Hiker


Dear Customer Service:

My name is Josh. My wife and I are currently
backpacking our way through South America, including
much time in the backcountry.

I purchased a Katadyn Hiker model water filter in
December 2003 after our First Need purifier failed. My
decision to purchase a Hiker is based on the fact that
I own a PUR Hiker back in the states and it has always
delivered stellar performance.

I am disappointed to report that after five days in
the field, the Katadyn Hiker has failed.

The filter seems to become blocked, making it nearly
impossible to pump. As a result, very little water is
delivered. When the filter element is unscrewed (very
difficult to do), air pressure is released. When the
element is allowed to air dry, it seems to work fine
for a few pumps and then becomes difficult to pump
again. Am I to assume that the element is clogged
after only five days of use in nearly clear alpine
streams? This hardly meets with your "100 gallons"
guarantee. Did Katadyn change the filter design when
it acquired PUR? In ten years of repeatedly using a
PUR Hiker throughout the western U.S., I never had the
Hiker fail on me in the field.

Unfortunately, this setback puts my me and my wife
(and potentially our health) in a compromising
position as there seem to be no replacement cartridges
available for the Hiker in Chile or Argentina where we
are currently trekking through South America. Other
types of water filters appear to be non-existent here.
It is also not worth our while to send the element to
you for a replacement as it would cost us probably
more than the filter is worth.

I am requesting that Katadyn expedite a new filter to
us in Chile using an overnight mail service. I can
provide an address once a confirmation received that
Katadyn will stay true to its guarantee.

I appreciate your time and hope I can come to trust
Katadyn's commitment to customer service as I did with
PUR.

Sincerely,

Josh

Reposnse:

Hello,

Based on your description, it does sound like your hiker cartridge has
indeed clogged. Things that you can run into that will clog a filter
that fast in apparently clear water include a species of clear algae,
high VOC's, or tannin. We have all of those in my favorite destination
in Northern Minnesota and my cartridges last a fraction of the time
there as they do when I go to the Wind River range or Southern rockies.
It is usually a rare thing but as you are experiencing, it is really
frustrating.

It is that wide variation in water quality that prompted Katadyn to not
continue with the no-clog guarantee that PUR used to do. The filters
have not changed at all, so you should expect the same solid performance
from your next cartridge that you had with your PUR filter. I can not
send you a new cartridge overnight to Chile free of charge, but I can
suggest a compromise: I'll provide the cartridge if you cover the cost
of mailing it to you. I'll also send along some samples of our MP-1
purifier tablets that will give you a second filtration option. They
work like iodine except they work faster and do so without the iodine
taste.

Let me know what address you want me to send it to, with a phone number
if possible, and what service seems to be reliable going to your area.
(eg. DHL, FedEX, UPS, USPS, etc.)

Lastly, what you can do to help prevent the same thing from happening
again would be to 1) rubber band a standard coffee filter over your
prefilter intake, and 2) use a lightweight collapsible bucket to allow the
water to settle for 20 minutes. I do both those things and it does
help. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Best regards,

Nate

Nate Mueller
Katadyn North America

My respose today:

I appreciate the offer Nate but I think it's just not
economically feasible for me to pay for the filter
element to be sent to South America. The costs would
be comparable, if not more, than the worth of the
filter.

I guess the lesson learned for me here is that paper
filters are no longer worth it as demonstrated by both
the First Need and the Hiker.

I will be purchasing ceramic filters in the future as
they can be cleaned and reused regardless of the water
quality. I would suggest to Katadyn that it come up
with a decent filter that economically can complete
with MSR's new ceramic line as they seem to be the
front-runner now for price vs. lifetime vs. liter per
minute.

Best,

Josh”

“I'm real suprised that the cost to Katadyn is too high to ship a new filter element to you. It prolly costs them 5 bucks to make, so the shipping should make it "even" on the profit side.

Poor customer service = loss of customers.




FWIW - I have the Pur Guide and in 4 years, have only had to change the element once. I've filtered all kinds of water with tannin in it as well. Just my experiance...”

“bummer that this happened to you. At least the guy at Katadyn tried to make a decent offer to you.

I don't see it as poor customer service q, just a realistic approach and a genuine effot to be fair. Not a "bend over backwards, no matter what" effort, but a fair effort all the same.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! SUCKER!”

“That sucks, Roseymonster!

Who needs filters anyway?

;)”

“iodine tablets and KoolAid packets....”

“seen the new design on the msr's? see-thru casing to be able to see the cartridge. pretty nifto neaty keen”

“I had a similar problem with my MSR in Maine, the filter clogged almost immiadiatly(sp) even cleanng it I was only able to get a liter at a time. It wasn't the tannins but the soluable wood pulp in the water.”

“At least with the MSR you can clean it.”

“I Like my msr, even tho its probably the heaviest of the major filters. the new pump design is super smooth, especially when new”

“Had the same problem with an MSR in a clean mountain stream. I would clean it get about 10 pumps and it would clog again. It ended up taking about 20 minutes to get one liter of water. I ended up boiling water that night.”

“I had an MSR give up the ghost after 2 days in the Sierras. Cleaning it didn't help.”

“the new msr's dont clog nearly as often, in my experience”

“I've never had a problem with my Hiker.

Why did you choose a Hiker, which doesn't have virus-killing iodine, when going to a 3rd world country?

Frankly, considering you are down in the southern hemisphere, farrrrrrrrr away from the USA, I think Kahtadin's response was reasonable.

And everyone take note...
1) rubber band a standard coffee filter over your
prefilter intake, and 2) use a lightweight collapsible bucket to allow the
water to settle for 20 minutes.
Good words of advice, imo.”

“Katadyn have a ceramic filter range. It's the one they had before they bought pur.”

“I have the MSR mini works and it has been great....
I also use the coffee filter pre-filter like Buddur sez....
A little vasoline once in awhile on the piston and cylinder area of the MSR helps too, just another trick I read about the MSR”

“I've never been to South America, but my First Need works great and I always use a coffee filter over the prefilter.”

“I have used my WaterWorks2 extensively and in some pretty murky water at times. Never had a problem that a quick field cleaning wouldn't cure. I will probably use Aqua Mira in the future just to save weight and space in my pack.”

“I use Aqua mira with an old First Need prefilter and gravity bag.”

“I have found that the SweetWater Filter is great and I have had the best luck with it so far.I know what you are talking about with those type of filters.They work the best in very clear water and if they get cloged thats it they are done.

8)”

“I used my hiker filter to pump out of a mudhole once that I dug out from a spring seep. Just let the junk settle for a few minutes and tried to make sure to keep the pickup off the bottom.

DIdn't clog and worked well for several trips after that.

Maybe I just got lucky.”

“Budder has a good point!


8)”

“I've used the Hiker for about 2 years and never had a problem. I know the hiker outsells any of the MSR filters 20 to 1 here. The ceramic seems like a better option for 3rd world or even the MSR Miox would be even better. Sorry you guys had trouble.”

“My #%&@ MSR decided to quit working in Quetico, where, it is claimed, you can drink right out of the lakes--which we had to do. With no bad results.

Cleaning it, when it was not dirty lasted for less than a quart.”

“The MIOX will kill everything in the water and there is nothing to jam on it..”

“With a long trip like that, and so far away, I'd bring a spare cartridge and a backup system.”

“I guess I'll stand corrected; nowever, I have a hard time thinking that company would be "out" so much by over nighting a filter to the guy.

Maybe I'm making too much about this, but the guy is in another country and using THERE product, which did fail.

I guess I just expect too much, or have been too spoiled by the customer services of REI and Sierra Design (Rick).”