Katadyn BeFree 1.0L Ultralight Collapsible Water Filter Bottle for Hiking, Camping, Backpacking

I purchased this for a 3.5 day hike of the Timberline Trail in northern Oregon as a trial replacement of my Sawyer Squeeze.I tested it at home, worked amazingly well. Filtered water 5-10x faster than my Sawyer.First attempt at filtering water on the Timberline was a fail. Water trickled out. Very disappointing. But wait! I read the instructions on cleaning, conveniently printed on the bottle. I filled it again, gave it a shake, and wah chang! Back to filtering water through a jet-powered turbine!!!I like my Sawyer, but filtering water was such a long chore. The Katadyn makes filtering water very fast and almost fun. Almost.I cannot comment on long-term durability. It worked really well on my 3.5 day backpacking trip, filtering several gallons of water, some of it slightly silty from glacial melt. The collapsible, soft sided bottle made storage really easy. The downside is that it's kind of floppy if you want to keep water in it in your pack. I mainly just used it to filter into other bottles at water sources.My hiking mate was so impressed with the speed and efficiency that they immediately bought one upon return to civilization.This filter is a winner.

Ditch your Sawyer and Be Free!. The large opening makes filling a breeze and MUCH better than filling a sawyer squeeze pouch or a smart water bottle. I only needed a scoop on the very shallowest of water sources. I tested this over a couple week section hike on the AT. I had a Sawyer squeeze set up for gravity feed with a CNOC bladder (My old go-to) and this Katadyn BeFree that I was deciding on. Since I was starting at Amicalola, I knew I would be at Mountain Crossing in a few days, so I left the Sawyer at home and just brought the BeFree. I figured I could replace it at Neil's Gap if it sucked. It does not suck. I could gather from 99% of water sources without scooping, and filter directly into my smart water bottles from the BeFree. The flow rate is incredible. I would be done filtering 2 liters and cameling up on the 3rd before folks with Sawyers were done filtering their first liter.The flow rate is high enough to drink directly from the BeFree if that's your style. I have tried this previously with the Sawyer filters and found it to be a less than satisfactory process. The mini has too little flow and, even when used in-line with a bladder, the flow rate is terrible and will leave you sy=ucking hard on your bite valve to just get something to drink. The Squeeze is also difficult to drink directly from for a couple reasons: You have to squeeze the bottle hard to get water into your mouth and the bottle crushes, leaving low pressure in the bottle forcing you to break the seal to allow the pressure to rebalance.Since the BeFree is collapsible, you don't have the same problem with the difference in pressure, should you choose to drink directly from it.I hike with 2 1L water bottles. I can fill 2 of these very quickly. I also usually will chug a 3rd liter at the water source AKA "Camel up", and if I knew I was going to be dry camping that night, I would fill the BeFree 1L bladder with an extra liter, so I would have extra water for cooking and in the AM. With a sawyer, you don't really have that option unless you carry an additional bladder.Bottom line: I could not recommend this more. I was a long time sawyer user, and still have them in my spare gear box for emergencies, but the BeFree, stays in my pack.

I had a Kat. Pump water filter and I hated how complicated it was to use and clean. This is so dang simple and so much lighter to Carry. A great little hiking gadget especially for those who want to keep things light weight.

I first used a BeFree during an ultramarathon around Mt. St. Helens (volcano in Washington state). I beat several other competitors purely based on how well my BeFree performed.I truly believe the BeFree is the fastest and easiest water filter out there. The way I use it, you unscrew the top from the soft flask, dip the flask into a stream or pond, screw the top back on, and drink. The flow is incredibly fast thanks to the large filter. I can have 1L of water ready to go in under 10 seconds. I frequently filled the flask (10 secs), squeezed the filtered water into other flasks (30-40 secs to empty), refilled the BeFree (10 secs), and was on my way. This compares to other filters which are incredibly slow to filter. So what took me 1 minute to stop and grab enough water for 20 miles of running, other people had to plop down on the side of the stream and filter water into their bottles for easily 10-15 minutes.The filter can be cleaned by running it under water. You can also get replacement filters without the bottle to save cost.The filtering seems good, transforming muddy, silty water into clear, tasty water with the removal of most microorganisms. I trust it with my life. Highly recommended.