Best Hiking Water Filters & Purifiers – Clean Water Wherever You Go!

Water, it's the lifeblood of us all, something we need to take in every day and we can't go very long without it. It's so central to our body's ability to function that we need to take it in very regularly, even more so if we are hiking or trekking long distances.

Australia is famously a very dry continent and as such there are not a great deal of clean water sources.

Water is also heavy to carry so by using a portable filtration system, you can shed some kilos off your back and use the available water you may find on your trek. Whether it’s a dam, creek, river or lake, by using one of the water filtration purifiers we have reviewed below, you can safely drink water from almost any source.

Best Hiking Water Filters & Purifiers

LifeStraw Water Filter

The LifeStraw is an ingenious product with its design and development intended for the developing world and was first seen utilised in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It has been used in many other natural catastrophes around the world ever since, being the predominant system in many developing countries.

The LifeStraw is now available for commercial use and its simplicity, low cost and large filtration amount has seen this product boom all around the world, including Australia.

You essentially can stick this large straw into almost any dirty water and drink straight out of it. While it’s easier to fill a container and drink out of that – the LifeStraw has literally changed the lives of millions of people.

This is a product that we should all have and at the very least sitting in your car boot for those who live in the country or head that way camping or hiking quite often.

It could save yours or somebody else’s life, costs very little and will last you for years and years and can be used in any natural water source.

Katadyn Micropur Forte Tablets

This form of water purification has been around for a long time, with different chemicals like iodine or chlorine being used to kill bacteria and viruses in contaminated water. These tablets are very light and very effective, however, the results are better if you filter your water as much as possible beforehand.

Tablets take a lot longer to work and make the water taste a little unpleasant and the Katadyn Micropur Forte Tablets are no exception. This approach to water purification is old school and was used everywhere until the newer filtration style became available because they do work very effectively.

They should be taken with you if you have nothing else and are the kind of thing you should keep in your first aid or survival kits for emergency use.

Alternatively, if you already have a hydration pack that doesn't include a filter, you could potentially use these tablets in your pack. Consult the instructions on the tablets to confirm what container materials they are suitable with.

Customer reviews are all good as with this style of purifier you already know what the result will be. While the taste and longer-acting sterilization does not make this the hiking water purifier of choice, it's a great backup or addition to survival kits at the very least.

SteriPEN Classic 3 with Pre-Filter

There are a number of ways to purify water and the SteriPEN Classic 3 uses an innovative approach with ultra-violet light waves that irradiate the bacteria and parasites in the water, making it safe to drink.

This hiking water filter can produce a massive 8,000 L of water (the LifeStraw comes second with 4,000 L) ensuring you will never run this system down on even a multi-week hike or camp. It comes designed to fit into wide mouth water bottles for ease of use and doesn't take very long to work.

Customer reviews are mostly positive, with almost everyone loving its ease of use and long lifespan, however as it runs on batteries, if they fail it won’t work.

Likewise, a few negative reviews are based on this device breaking on their trip and becoming a useless accessory as they can be a little fragile, which is not great considering the price tag attached – putting this system on the expensive side.

Epic Nalgene OG

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When it comes to simplicity and common sense, the last two hiking water purifiers are at the forefront of product designs for hikers and trekkers. They use a microfiltration technology like the LifeStraw but have taken it one step further by incorporating it into a drinking water bottle.

You simply take your bottle, fill it with water, screw on the lid and suck through the straw for pure water with not only bacteria and viruses having been eliminated, but also heavy metals and pesticides too.

In effect, your water bottle is the filtration system making this a simple and effective way to stay healthy on the trail.

Customer reviews are all very positive, with the only real downside being you have to suck pretty hard to get a good drink in fast and the filters will need replacing every 380 litres (or four months as the company advertises).

Aside from that, users love this product with many also using it all the time, even with tap water to ensure they are protected.

Grayl GEOPRESS Portable Purifier

Along the same lines as the Epic Nalgene OG, the Grayl GEOPRESS is aimed directly at hikers and uses the same premise of filling up your water bottle and then having a filter on the lid.

This one differs as it also uses manual compression to assist the filtration process. This means you fill it up, close the lid and push down a filter to purify your water.

This approach makes it easier to drink as you won't have to suck on a filter too hard and the filtered water can also be transferred to another container or extra bladders you may have with you. Like the other filter approaches, this device takes out particulates too.

This is a great system and it’s difficult to even find a bad review anywhere, with only its filter lifespan being an issue, but it will still last for a few trips at the very least. The Grayl GEOPRESS may be the purifier best-suited for hikers, with the price tag being the only real issue for most.

What To Look For When Buying A Hiking Water Filter & Purifier

There are two main types of devices: purifiers and filters. They use different methods to ensure your water is safe to drink.

Water Filters & Purifiers FAQ

How do you filter water when hiking?

You need to use one of many systems as described above. The easiest are the water bottles with a filter in their lid where you can literally fill up a water bottle and drink filtered water almost immediately.

You could also use water purification tablets, but they do take a while – on the other hand you can keep hiking while they do their thing until the water is ready to go.

Which is better - a water filter or a purifier?

The two approaches are both effective and will keep you safe and healthy, for the majority of Australia a filter system is a better one as it will literally filter out all the contaminants, sediments and any other nasty elements that could be in the water.

Purifying the water chemically may still require you to filter your water separately, adding to the process and often doesn’t make the water taste very good.

If you were to be taking water from dams, puddles or any standing water that may have had cows (or humans) doing their business in it, you may even want to consider a two-step approach of water purification tablets and then filtration.

For international travel to Africa or Asia, this may be your best option.

Do water filters remove bacteria?

Yes, they do, the microfilters are fine enough to operate at a molecular level, only letting the H₂O molecules move through them and not the larger bacteria cells, living parasites, viruses and pesticides.

Final Thoughts

We all know how important water is when going hiking.

Anyone who loves the outdoors and hikes, camps or even picnics regularly should, at the very minimum, have water purification tablets or a LifeStraw in their car, first aid or survival kit.

This allows them to use water under any circumstances, as in our big brown country you never know when you may need a drink.

For hikers, runners or long trail enthusiasts – a filtered water bottle (like the Grayl GEOPRESS) approach which will save you weight and give peace of mind when out exploring should be an essential part of your pack.