I’ve covered a fair few wild edibles in the past on this blog and where as I do enjoy going out collecting these plants I usually take them home to cook in a “normal” kitchen with taps.
I wanted to talk today about stripping things back a little and heading more in a survival / wild camping direction. At the right time of year I don’t think I’d have much trouble surviving for a few days, even a week or two foraging for my sustenance however clean water would always be a bit of a worry and carrying 2 litres for each day I would be out would be rather weighty. Things to be concerned about when collecting water are chemicals, toxins ,pesticides, bacteria, protozoa, cryptosporidium and waterbourne viruses. This is where the MSR Miniworks EX comes in.
The Miniworks has a replaceable carbon ceramic filter, good for 2000 litres and with 0.2 micron filter size will get rid of all of the above apart from the viruses. For the viruses I’d suggest a using a chlorine tablet after you have filtered the water and if you are not a fan of the flavour, filtering the clean water through the Miniworks again should remove most of the pool water taste.
Weighing in at 16oz / 450 grams some say that it is a little on the heavy side but when you think about it, it is only a quarter of the weight of your daily water needs. The Miniworks is completely field maintainable needing no tools to take it apart and just a little 3M scrubbing pad to clean the filter. On the base of the Miniworks there is a little red calliper which when able to fit over the removed filter indicates that its time to replace it. Replacement filters cost around the £40 mark but you do occasionally see them cheaper.
The filter is operated by a hand pump which includes an Airspring Accumulator and when completely clean will deliver a flow rate of a litre a minute. It is ideally suited to the MSR Alpine 1 ltr bottle which will screw straight onto the bottom of the Miniworks. Together you have a great little set up to extend your adventure time in the wild, keep you and small group hydrated and at £77 from Webtogs won’t break the bank!
When compared to its rival the Katadyn Hiker Pro which comes in at around the same price with a similar cost for the replacement filter I would certain chose the MSR over the Katadyn as the latter filter is only good for 900 litres so less than half that of the MSR.
For more reviews like this why not check out Outdoor Gear Review
For more reviews like this why not check out Outdoor Gear Review
