MSR
MiniWorks EX MicroFilter

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

I added a MSR paper prefilter to remove silt and small debris and highly recommend the same. This pump has served me well for several years without fail. It is lightweight and easy to carry even in a small daypack. I never travel without this filter.

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

If you're an avid hiker and like to pack light don't leave home without this instrument in your pack. And if the filtered water doesn't taste to your liking,put a Katadyn filtration tablet and a lemon-lime tablet in your hydration bladder.

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

This is the best pump I have ever owned! Also the only pump i have ever owned. I bought my first one 12 years ago and it worked great the entire time. I lost it flyfishing last year and now just bought my second and hopefully last one. This is an amazing pump. Super easy to maintain and operate. You will never regret getting this filter. I've used it from Colorado to Wisconsin to Tennessee and never once had a problem. Seriously 12 years of use and no problems. You will be happy get your money worth. Enough said!

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

This filter is great for longer trips when there is a chance the filter could clog. Heavy and bulky for smaller trips, however it is worth it for trips longer than a week if you want a filter rather than a purifier.

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

The MSR Miniworks EX isn't the smallest, lightest, or fastest filter out there. What it is, however, is the BEST filter, and cleans your drinking water in the backcountry more completely than any competing product. The ability to mate the filter directly to a Nalgene bottle or Dromedary bag is very convenient, and keeps me from wishing I had extra hands while I'm pumping.

With this filter, I've filtered water out of gross, tannin-colored woodland pools. I've filtered cave water known to contain fecal coliform bacteria. I've filtered water that was cloudy with silt. I've never been sick, and the water out of the Miniworks EX always tastes good, even if the water going into it doesn't.

The ceramic element needs to be cleaned fairly frequently -- I can usually filter water for two people out of a flowing stream for a weekend before the pumping process becomes difficult -- but the cleaning process is easy, the ceramic element lasts a long time, and the ability to maintain the unit in the field is one of its strong points. The necessity for periodic cleaning is the trade-off for such a thorough filtration process; once you've seen the slime this thing catches, you'll be glad it's on the outside of a filtration media instead of on the inside of your body!

You can prolong the time between cleanings by using MSR's silt pre-filter at the intake, or using a cheap coffee filter in its place.

Bottom line, the Miniworks EX is a reliable workhorse, and provides the safest water for you to drink. I've used a lot of filters, and this is the one I keep going back to. If it somehow broke -- I think I'd have to run it over with my car or drop it off a cliff in order to break it -- I'd buy another one without blinking.

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

Ceramic filters are exactly what I was looking for, for ease of cleaning and degree of filtration. The disassembly and reassembly is also easy to provide maintenance for the unit giving a long life and great value.

Comments about Msr MiniWorks EX MicroFilter:

This pump filters water extremely fast and with the carbon filter any tastes in the water are removed. Its is extremely easy to clean even in the field. The filter is just a tad on the bulky side, but I am willing to sacrifice that for clean water. Also the filter on it is easy to clean which allows the filter to last for a really long time. Goes well with the MSR dromedary and dromlite bags since it attaches to it.