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The Katadyn water filters are used mostly by professional expedition parties that travel to wilderness, into the mountains and in sea. Katadyn brand is also used by major relief organizations (U.N and Geneva Based Red Cross) and numerous armies.

Click here to see the complete catalogue of Katadyn water filters products and pictures

Characteristics of a Katadyn water filter (pocket model):

Warranty: 20 years on all parts

Production capacity : 13,000 gallons - 50,000 liters (at the time of this writing this is the highest capacity water filtration device)

Industry standard #1: Reduction of bacteria 99.9999%

Industry standard #2: Reduction of protozoan cysts like Legionella, Giardia and Cryptosporidium 99.99%

Sharing capacity: Can be used for water consumption needs of up to 4 people

Operating instructions: Place hose in water, pump water through filter into a container

When it's time to clean the Katadyn ceramic filter the handle becomes hard to push. At this point the ceramic needs to be cleaned.

Common user complaints:

The output hose with the bottle clip has to be transported in a separate re-sealable bag which is included with the purchase of the Katadyn water filter.

Before each use the user has to pump out 0.2 litres of water in order to remove stale taste

Heavy sediment (dirt) conditions require users to wrap a bandana around the input prefilter (users can also place the untreated water inside a container until the sediment settles on the bottom, before using the Katadyn water filter).

Katadyn filters cannot be ordered directly from the manufacturers web-site, they're available at a discounted rate on the partner Amazon site, click here for details.

Company profile:

Katadyn is a swiss based company that has been developing water filters, chlorine and silver-based sterilizing agents, and mobile desalinators for the trekking for over 70 years.

Click here to see the complete catalogue of Katadyn water filters products and pictures

Customer feedback:

The Katadyn pocket has a well-deserved reputation for reliability and durability. It is one of the pricier filters but is also rated to pump much more water than its competitors. The Katadyn pocket isn't light (20 oz), but the better competitor pumps are also about 16 oz., so this isn't too much heavier. Some of the others pump a little faster, but they are usually 0.3 micron filters, whereas this is a better 0.2 micron filter. The Katydin pocket is also the only pump with a lifetime warranty (excluding wear of the ceramic filter). If you search the web, you'll find a lot of reports of the $75 pumps eventually breaking, so if you have to replace them (or their short-lived filters), you've already spent what it takes to buy this. This thing is pretty damn tough, and the only way to break it would be to take it apart and drop the inner ceramic filter.

I've found it easy to use, though you need to hold it upright to keep water flowing. During trips through the Sierra Nevada, Utah and Wyoming this filter has never disappointed.

Busotti / Actual user feedback from Amazon.