Originally Posted by
grampa.sjb
Unless you will be totally away from towns, etc, you will seldom need one. If you want to take something along just to be safe drinking that ice cold stream water and can't use purification tablets, I'd suggest the Sawyer Mini filter: very light weight, no batteries or pumping, takes care of everything except viruses.
+1 for the Sawyer Mini. It takes very little room, and to pare it down even further you can get by without the drinking straw and the syringe cleaner (improvise something if and when need be). Only caveat is that you mustn't let it freeze.
The Katadyn Pocket is the Rolls Royce of water filters, but I wouldn't bother unless there was a need to filter water regularly.
edit: oh and if you ever come across a glacier after a stinking hot climb - say in S.Island New Zealand - then drinking directly off the glacier face is pure magic!
