Versa Flow Light-Weight Water Filter Package

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.

Used this filter with a platypus gravity bag system in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) for five nights and had no issues. After a couple days it began to slow a bit but a quick backflush cleared it out. Even raising the clean water bag to backflush some clean water sufficient. The Sawyer syringe also fit to backflush. I havr used the larger Sawyer squeeze filter for a couple trips but that clogged earlier and more often. Tried the Sawyer mini filter on one trip and that was awful and clogged constantly. I'll be sticking with the Hydro Blu.

This thing lasted me a few years. I didn't use it a lot, but it worked very well. The water tasted good and the flow was great. I loved all the accessories it came with it. It got stolen unfortunately, so I'll probably be buying another.

Easy to use

I love this thing!!! Cheaper than most other water filters, comes stock with threading that connects to a smart bottle on both sides (good to connect to a CNOC and gravity filter), fast enough compared to the competition. Quite lightweight. Has a cool window to see inside the filter Downsides: I do wish it had an O ring. Unless you really twist it tight, it can leak. Technically filters not as small particles as the sawyer squeeze, but does well enough. Overall I think this is the best option on the market :)

This worked very well and is a good value. Seems to have higher throughput than (for example) a Sawyer Mini. It might be because it just has more surface area (the area with the filter tube looks larger than the Sawyer Mini, about in proportion to how much more water it filters). The window so you can see the status of the filter is helpful. The fittings and bags it comes with are good. You will need some way to backflush the filter (ie, a large syringe) - not included in the kit. We went to the neighborhood hardware store and bought 9 feet of clear flexible tubing to match the size of the enclosed tubing. Setting the bag or bucket with the dirty water at least 5 or 6 feet higher than the clean water bucket increases the pressure rather dramatically and produces a lot more water faster. We also used a 5 gallon bucket to settle the dirty water and another to receive the clean water. We were using the filter in the Green & Colorado Rivers, which are very silty. So we first clarified the water using alum (1 teaspoon alum per 5 gallons dirty water, stir and let sit for at least 15-60 minutes but preferably overnight). Using this method plus backflushing before & after every use, we were able to easily filter 4-5 gallons per day in reasonable time. When backflushing, you want to do backflush rather forcefully. I used a large syringe and generally gave it all the pressure I could by hand; supposedly you can backflush with the pressure from a regular kitchen tap or the like and it is all the better.

I bought the Versa Flow water system for a four day backpacking trip along the lost coast. I found the filter very quick and easy to use and had no problems with use or flow rate. Carrying all of the parts of the system was a bit tedious and I only ended up needing the water filter and both filter bags, but the water tasted fresh and I was able to easily get enough water when I needed it. I did not have to backflush the filter during the four day trip at all and saw no slow in the flow rate, but I did have friends on the trip with the same filter that had to backflush the filter three or four times along the trip. Great little system for backpacking!

We did 4 days in a wilderness area recently. For a clean water source we used the Versa Flo filter with the 2 very light weight canteens in the kit. They worked well together, came with aluminum clips to hook them to our packs. To fill the "dirty" canteen you need a container of some kind. At least I couldn't fill it otherwise, but I was carrying one anyway. If we were filling up streamside along the trail we just screwed the filter on the dirty bag and squirted it into the clean canteen bag. If we were at the camp I screwed the 2 bags to the filter and hung them with the full dirty bag above and the empty clean bag below. In 10 or so minutes the clean bag had been filled. Easy Peasy. light, efficient, easy and convenient. What more can I say?

Very happy with this filter and kit. The price is great and everything is there to use as a filter for sourcing water on the go. It doesn't leak at all. The bags are fine and feel like they should last well. I found from new with slightly dirty stream water it will gravity filter 2l in under 5 minutes and with the bag compressed to push the water through it woud do the 2l in under 90 seconds. With tubes attached to use as a straw direct from a river it is easy to get a good quantity of water, ie mouthfulls or water rather than a trickle like some other filters. It backflushes easily and can be done each use really, I let mine gravity filter and then just turn it upside down before removing the bags, and push a little of the clean water back through the filter by sqeezing. That is not needed every time but it's easy to do, quick and looks after the filter nicely. Negatives? The 2 bags are the same so I have put a coloured zip tie on the dirty water bag so they don't get mixed up. It only comes with 1 silicone tube so to use it as a straw either cut it in half or use a hydration pouch tube with mouthpiece if you have one spare. Only other thing I would say is the little rubber caps can pop off quite easily so just watch for getting the clean end dirty with unfiltered water. Overall I'm very happy, will try the carbon filter add on at some point and probably make a screw in cap for the clean end of the filter.

Just transitioned into backpacking after years of day-hiking and car camping and decided I needed a filter. Bought it for my first backpacking trip in Algonquin and it worked like a charm. Very reasonably priced, flow rate is decent, conveniently screws onto pop bottles and Smart Water bottles (though I used them screwed onto the bottom of the filter to catch the filtered water so I can't speak for whether they leak when used upside-down at the top of the filter), and the collapsible bottles held up well and didn't leak when screwed onto the top. Bit of a no-brainer, but if you are filtering silty water you might want to remove the visible particulate before filtering because it's tough to remove via back flushing, but apart from that this little filter works great. Update: After 2 years of occasional use I can say that it's holding up well. The flow rate has slowed a bit, as will all in-line filters, but it still works perfectly well. The collapsible bottles still work fine as well. This little filter is excellent imo.

Works well, but you have to remember or identify which is the CLEAN side and which is the NOT CLEAN side and see that you drink from the correct side. Mark the Clean side with something bright or obvious. When you're trekking and you're exhausted and de-hydrated you may not have the presence of mind to see which is which. But it is a life saving device if you get that right.

Works extremely well. One of the bags became leaky, but there is a spare one. Highly recommended.

Arrived fast! Everything works good for our needs.