DIY: Put a filter on your hydration pack

Ask what you should do on a backpacking forum for potable drinking water and you’ll come up with a lot of answers. Some swear by chemical tablets, others are devoted to filters and or simple boiling. Most people are aware of the dangers of giardia and cryptosporidium and so it isn’t a question of whether or not, but rather of how to purify your water. I’m never one to want to dilly dally and not one to do a lot of work, so I came up with this DIY project to incorporate a backflushable 0.1 micron filter into my hydration bladder. With my bladder (Outdoor products) the filter from my sawyer water filter attaches perfectly to my hydration hose.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• a hydration bladder and hose
• sawyer water filter. Preferably an Inline filter
• sharp scissors or knife

1. Determine where to cut. Based on your hydration pack and use, you will have to choose your ideal place for the filter. Things to keep in mind are:
1. Whether it will fit into your hydration pack with the filter connected or not.
2. Whether you will want to have it insulated (if you put the filter close to the bite valve you’re more likely to have a frozen filter in cold weather).
2. Cut the hydration hose leaving at least 4 inches of tube from the end connectors of the hose. This will make it easier for future adjustments and repairs.
3. Determine the flow direction of the filter. There is usually a flow indicator on the filter. Make sure to get it right. If there is no indicator, choose a direction, mark it permanently on your filter and use it only in that direction.
4. Connect the filter to the hydration tube. If it is too loose and allows air in or water out, you can try hose clamps (available in most hardware stores).

That’s it. I’ve used this method on several hikes and it’s great. Just scoop water out of a stream or lake and start drinking. Even better, you can disconnect your bite valve and hang your hydration bladder in a tree and drip filter for other people as well! If I don’t want to bring water to a full boil i’ll just fill a pot from my bladder and go from there!

I bought a sawyer water bottle with inline filter from Walmart that I pulled the filter out of for this project. If you’re looking to try this but still have a useable filter system that works, here’s the walmart link.