10 Best Backpacking Water Filters and Purifiers of 2024

What are the best water filter and water purification treatment systems used by backpackers? That really depends on the quality of the water you need to filter or purify, the number of people you need to treat water for, and your personal preferences. For example, squeeze-style water filters, UV purification, and filter bottles tend to be good for solo users and clear water sources, while chemical purification and pump filters/purifiers are good for larger groups and riskier or murkier water sources. Cost and filter longevity are also worth considering.

Here are the 10 best backpacking water filters and water purification systems we recommend for backpacking, hiking, and camping.

1. Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter

The Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter System includes the Sawyer Squeeze Filter, two 32 fl. oz. pouches, a cleaning coupling, and additional accessories for gravity and inline use. Like the Sawyer Mini, you can drink directly from the Sawyer Squeeze but most people squeeze untreated water through it from a soft bottle to a clean container. The filter uses a hollow-fiber membrane filter that removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera, and E.coli, and removes 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium. The filter itself weighs 3 ounces. Read the SectionHiker review.

Continue reading the list by Section Hiker here.

LAST UPDATED

November 1, 2024

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Section Hiker

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Philip Werner is a full-time outdoor author and backpacker who resides in New England. His website SectionHiker.com is ranked as the #1 Hiking and Backpacking Blog on the internet by AdventureJunkies.com in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The name of this site, Section Hiker, refers to the Long Trail which I section hiked in 2008 and the Applachian Trail that I’m still working through. To date, I’ve completed 1400 miles of the AT and hope to complete all of the sections between Georgia and Maine someday. I’ve also hiked thru-hiked the TGO Challenge (Coast-to-Coast across Scotland) twice and I’m currently section hiking the Cape Wrath Trail, also in Scotland.

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