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I've been reading a lot of product reviews, and filter/pump solutions seem to be very high maintenance, very heavy, or both. Are there any lightweight filters which can be relied on for many liters of water without requiring lengthy clean times, lots of extra cartridges, and/or spare parts?

I'd prefer a recommendation from someone who has used one on a lengthy hike (one requiring more than 20 liters of water filtering over several days).

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I can't help you on this one - I have always preferred Aquamira to fiddling with filters. I have vaguely heard of thru-hikers liking gravity filters like this one (Sawyer Inline): rei.com/product/801824/sawyer-3-way-inline-water-filter – Ryley Mar 19 '12 at 15:49
Last thru-hiker I talked to also preferred chemical solutions over filters, preferably the two part system that eliminates taste. I still use a pump for shorter hikes, but I'm tempted to switch to a gravity system. – BMitch Mar 20 '12 at 14:05

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I've use a Katadyn Hiker (not sure which model) on several multiday trips, pumping more than 20 liters per day. It holds up well. It is possible to break the plastic and clog the filter on any water filter, so you should have a backup plan in case it fails -- spare water filter, iodine tablets, enough fuel to boil water, etc.

If you get into some water with lots of silt (glacier silt or muddy water) it can clog up a filter. The ceramic filters seem more susceptible, but it will eventually happen with any water filter in water with lots of silt.

I prefer to carry an entire spare water filter rather than a filter cartridge. That way, I can still pump water no matter what fails on the first filter.

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I've used the Platypus GravityWorks filter with great success and found it to be reliable, easy to clean and it filtered water quicker than any hand-pump filter I've ever used.

What I really liked about this filter was that not only was it relatively small and light compared to other filters, but there are no moving parts whatsoever. If you were to need to replace a filter, you just replace the filter module.

The longest trip I used this filter on was a 7-day backpacking trip with one other person along Isle Royale's Minong Ridge (a lot of hiking on exposed ridges, so we definitely went through a lot of water).

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how often did you have to clean it? does it clog if you use silty/dirty water? – Ryley Mar 19 '12 at 22:36
Most of our water supplies on the trip were reasonably silty, and I remember cleaning it once, maybe twice in the course of a week. But cleaning it was really, really easy: just run some clean water backwards through the filter to rinse out the trapped particles. – James Mar 20 '12 at 17:29

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