MSR Guardian Gravity Purifier

Will use the Purifier for the first time on a Sierra backpack trip in Sept, but today use the purge hose to get rid of the carbon deposits, then filtered about 5 liters of water into a bucket. Am really looking forward to no longer backflush, like we had to do with our old MSR filter (which is on its way to Geartrade). Also, very happy that the Purifier gets rid of viruses, which is a major concern now.

This is my nomading travel companion, not just my backcountry water treatment. Warding off microbiome disasters wherever I go; rural Mexico to remote Nepal, and everywhere in between (including sketchy airbnb tap water).

I bought this after using MSR's regular gravit flow system for years. It's great to have the self-flusing feature, instead of having to back flush the old model. Very fast.

Very satisfied. Used every day to provide drinking water for a family of five in the Philippines.

utilisation is very simple. i drink lake water all week and i was ok.

If budget is no object - then this is the filter to buy. I also have the Sawyer Gravity system which costs 4x cheaper. Not just a mere filter, it is a also purifier - and the carbon filter is the icing on the cake and makes the filtered water pleasant tasting. Everything about the package is pure premium. MSR did not skimp on the components and it looks and feel as expensive as it actually is. Operating is easy. Long term storage is a bit tedious - it is a 1 hour procedure - but I don't mind doing to ensure tip top performance and longevity. I know some complain about the flow rate. I never measured - I mean between the claimed 2 mins to reputedly slower 2m30secs in the field .. it is rather irrelevant to me for my use. Which is base camp use where I wont be moving for days. Part of enjoying the outdoors is the being calm about everything and 10L filtered water that comes about a few mins late, is a non-issue for me. And it is really great to produce so much filtered water for camp use effortlessly AND it is supercomforting to know that it is (if the claims are to be believed) the only filter to meet military grade specifications. That seems overkill for me but then why not! Downsides : long term storage and PRICE. This filter is insanely priced.

It's just a great and reliable system. Even my kids can use it. We are a family of 5 who go camping with friends and we need a lot of water often we use 70 liters on a weekend. With the gravity system we never run out of water and the system does not require attention so it's very good for camping with small kids.

I purchased this filter two years ago for big group and family trips. This year my wife and I took our two kids on an 11-day trip on the Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainer. The filter performed great, even in dried-up silty/tea-stained lakes. At first, I thought this filter was overkill - many people use squeeze bottle-style filters. Though having to make water for the four of us over 11 days, I was happy I did. Most days, I was filtering around 20 liters of water per day. We filtered into a separate 10l bladder so anyone could quickly fill the cook pot, bottle, or brush teeth. When stowed, the filter, dirty water bag, and extra balder are chunky. However, the weight is negligible once you put this into the group gear pile that gets divvied up between the party. It was consistent with other group gear items in size and weight - rainfly, first-aid kit, stove and fuel, etc. Lastly, the flow rate is brought up on this filter. The filter works great if you hang it high and routinely flush the system. At the end of each season I've owned this, I "winterize" the filter by following the disinfecting directions supplied with the filter. This extra step makes a big difference in the overall performance of the filter.