Hiker water purifier

The Katadyn water purifier filters out the impurities in stream water and the result tastes great! Have used it for 2 years now. It's also small, lightweight and easy to carry.

This water filter is very lightweight and compact so it is great for extended kayaking trips that require a lot of gear. It is very reliable, easy to use and purifies a lot of water in a short period of time for its size.

I am currently on my 2nd hiker pro...if I get one item to take, this is it! I have filtered water from the streams in GNP and even a swamp in the Ozarks. I drink bottled water when at home because I do not trust tap water, however I have never had a bad drink on the trail! I do not even have any suggestions to improve the product...it is PERFECT for me!

ANOTHER UPDATE:
Owning 2 Katadyn Hikers and a Pur, which are the same thing, and a MSR Mini, I keep going back to the Hiker. Although the filter is expensive ($40) and the filter openings not as small as some others, the Hiker is easily the best pump system I've used.
However, if you filter mud, you will clog your filter! Thus I am a fanatic about pre-filtering your water.

One 5-day trip around Apache Lake and my Hiker was barely taxed. I was able to use that same element on a number of trips and was months later before I bought a replacement filter.
BUT, one weekend on Sahuaro Lake did the job. Although I chose the cleanest water and prefiltered it, after two days, the filter was done! Stuff I could not see had clogged my filter even through my prefilter system. I suppose that had I not used the prefilter, the filter would have clogged the first day which made me glad I used the prefilter and the water filter!

The point here is that sometimes, muck you cannot see will clog your filter on some lakes so use a filter system and always prefilter your water. This applies to any and all water filters.

REVIEW UPDATE:
Last month I did a 4-day trip around Apache lake and the first time I used my Katadyn, the intake valve broke. Now I must confess, I suspect that it was probably my fault and I may have leaned the filter at an angle that snapped the intake. But I was able to jury-rig the thing and finished the trip safely. When I got home, I sent an e-mail to Katadyn explaining the problem, confessing that it may have been my fault and asking for a replacement valve. The response the next day was that they couldn't replace the valve but had to replace the entire body (ca-ching$$$$$) and asked for my mailing address.

The next weekend I did another overnighter on Lake Pleasant for an Eagle Watch trip so epoxied the valve on but that failed in the field so I resorted to my back-up filter. When I returned home, I found the new body in my mailbox. NO CHARGE!

You have to LOVE a company that puts so much effort into that kind of customer service.
NOTE: when iread other reviews for the Katadyn, all complain about the filter clogging. Yet, when I re-read the reviews carefully, it is clear that the owner is trying to filter mud! So long as I try to filter clear water I have no problem and if I cannot find clear water, I pour dirty water through a coffee filter into a bucket into which I put my intake tube and have never had any problem.

Would I recommend the Katadyn to everyone? YES!
Would I buy another? I did! I now own two Katadyn Hikers so I will always have a back-up or a loaner.