Versa Flow Water Filter System Package

I have been using this filter with the CNOC bags for years now, almost a decade. And love it! This filter fits onto a smart water bottle too. It’s filters quickly. Gravity flow works best, although I have squeezed my CNOC bag to make it go faster. I have had many different filter systems when hiking, camping, backcountry etc. and I always come back to this one. I would recommend this, as I have bought a few of these through the years.

I make a few trips a year back country camping with the same group of friends, and usually trade off the chore of pumping water. A typical trip involves setting up camp in one spot for several days and doing day hikes. It happened all too often that we ended up down at the stream at night with flashlights getting some water bottles filled, because we kept putting off the task. This last trip I was the champ (actually the credit goes to the HydroBlu filter); I had two three liter bladders hooked up, an orange one and a blue one, and there was always a full bag of drinking water ready for use. I looked at making up an arrangement of bags, hoses and filter, but ended up just screwing a bag to each end of the filter and hanging it from a tree branch with a carabiner. It was a simple arrangement and worked well for our situation. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RSF2WT6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I designated the orange one "dirty", so it was a quick fill from the stream, hang it up and go about my business, half an hour later (it varied from ten minutes to over an hour and time to back-flush) we had three liters of drinking water. I got in the habit of distributing the good water and hanging up a fresh batch of stream water, we always had plenty of water to drink and there was no waiting for water, so I quit watching how long it took. By the end of the third day it was time to back-flush it by lifting the clean water over the filter and giving that bag a squeeze for five seconds, then right side up and it was good as new. Now all my buddies want the same setup, it's so easy and so good. I would have saved money by buying the kit with the two bags included, in retrospect I wish I had gotten that just because of the fittings included, but I do prefer these cnoc reservoirs because they're so easy to fill. This packs up into a compact bundle that was smaller than the pumps we used to use. No moving parts and the energy required to filter water is provided by Mr. Gravity! When I got home I carefully followed instructions for back-flushing the filter and running vinegar through it and let it sit out and dry for a week before storing. Hopefully this will last a long time, it's supposed to be good for 100,000 liters of water. I'd estimate it's filtered 50 liters so far, so it's got a long way to go. I did a lot of homework before getting this, I looked at the Platypus gravity system, the Sawyer Squeeze and several others, sent to a bunch of outdoor product websites and blogs, YouTube, etc. but based on price, ease of use and ease of maintenance, I decided the HydroBlu is the one to get. Now that I've used it I feel that even more strongly.

Better flow rate than my sawyer mini, tastes good too

I started using this gravity-flow system for filtering water a few years ago, after years of relying on a pump. I am not going back! I find it more than keeps up with the water needs of party of 4, while requiring a lot less time and effort. I did get different bag for getting water from the lake or stream, which opens wide for filling and then rolls to seal, and holds several quarts of water so you don't need to run back to the water source as often. Of particular value in this system is the easily back-washable filter. I do this every time I disassemble the system, and I notice the first back flow is noticeable cloudy, sometimes noticeably green. Frequent backwashing makes the filter last longer and flow more rapidly during filtering. Another big plus is the the filter cartridge itself is quite small and light. I always carry a spare in case silty water does clog the filter or it fails in other ways I have not experienced.

Looks OK Can’t say I have tested it yet, still waiting for the zombies 🧟‍♀️