All of the various filters used for testing.

The Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2024

We pumped hundreds of liters of dirty water to find the fastest and most reliable filter

Imagine this: you’re in the backcountry, nearly out of liquids on a scorcher of a day, when you hit the first water source you’ve seen for hours. You sit down, pull out your bladder and your pump, and drop the intake tube into the water. But when you go to pump, the pressure goes slack. Or the nozzle jams, barely a drop coming out no matter how much you squeeze. Chances are, if you’ve spent enough time in the backcountry, you don’t have to imagine this scenario: It’s happened to you. Maybe more than once.

It’s certainly happened to me. So for Outdoor Life’s test of the best backpacking water filters, we decided to see which models from the top brands—including MSR, Lifestraw, Katadyn, Grayl, Platypus, and RapidPure—could handle the gnarliest water conditions backpackers can expect to find: stagnant water with high levels of bacterial contamination, the dark-tea tannin-filled water of a wetland, and silt-filled glacial runoff.

Fastest Flow: Platypus QuickDraw
Easiest to Use: Katadyn BeFree
Best Value: Sawyer Squeeze
Best Lightweight: Sawyer Squeeze Mini
Best Gravity: Katadyn Gravity BeFree
Best for Groups: Platypus GravityWorks
Most Reliable: MSR Guardian
Best Treatment Drops: Aquamira
Best Backup: Aquatabs
Best UV: SteriPEN Ultralight
Best for International Travel: Grayl Ultrapress

Continue learning more about the best backpacking water filters, written by Laura Lancaster here.

Writer and Editor

Laura Lancaster

Hi, I‘m Laura. I’ve been editing and writing for nearly twenty years, covering everything from developing a seismologist’s first book to telling the story of my first deer hunt. While the first half of my career was spent learning the ropes of publishing in New York City, for the second I’ve been in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, working on projects for clients in the outdoor space. Most recently, I’ve been working as a senior staff writer at Outdoor Life. When I’m not at home with my husband and daughter, you can find me camping, backpacking, and running in the foothills of the Cascades.