Filters.
Am I right? They鈥檙e heavy, slow, expensive, and frustrating to use. Worse: The marketing around them obfuscates what they鈥檙e genuinely capable of, making it difficult to know which one can genuinely keep you safe.
Well, I think I鈥檝e got an answer to all those problems. weighs just five ounces, is slim enough to fit in your pants pocket, and removes absolutely everything that might make you sick, at least here at home.
What Is It?
It鈥檚 a tiny squeeze-to-pump water filter that removes nasty stuff with聽hollow fibers. Pores in those fibers are simply too small for bacteria, protozoa, or particulates (read: dirt) to pass through.
The Trailshot does not remove viruses, as do more expensive, heavier MSR filters, like the Guardian. I rank that as a good thing. You鈥檙e extremely unlikely to encounter problematic viruses in backcountry water sources here in the U.S., and going without the ability to remove them is a big part of what keeps the Trailshot so small, light, and cheap. This thing retails for just $50.
(Think a water bottle with a built-in UV light might be more convenient? .)
Who鈥檚 It For?
MSR markets the Trailshot to trailrunners, ultralight backpackers, and other people who need to prioritize weight and packability over all else. While it is ideal for those applications, I think that鈥檚 mostly to avoid putting this more affordable filter in direct competition with the brand鈥檚 other offerings.
The Trailshot is just so damn convenient that it鈥檚 hands down the best water filtration option there is right now. Period. It flows fast enough (one liter a minute) to fill the bottles of a small group, while remaining so light and small that it makes sense to carry one even if you don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l need a filter.
Really, the only reason to buy something else is if you鈥檙e traveling to a country where viruses, chemicals, or toxins in the water are a concern, or if you need multi-year longevity.
Design
The Trailshot couldn鈥檛 be simpler. The filter is housed inside a rubber body that you squeeze to suck water through. There鈥檚 a 12-inch long tube fitted with a metal screen that you dangle in the water source, giving you plenty of room to fill an upright water bottle, or to drink directly from the spigot.
Clog the filter in dirty water? Just shake it vigorously to remove the impediment. There are聽no tools required, and you can鈥檛 disassemble this filter. That means there鈥檚 nothing to fail in the field, and no parts to lose. Like all other MSR filters, the Trailshot has a positive end-of-life indicator: the filter slowly clogs over time, and will stop passing water when it鈥檚 unable to clean it. Filters with positive end-of-life indicators will never allow you to drink dirty water.
Using It
I鈥檝e been carrying one of these for a little over a year, and it鈥檚 been the only filter I鈥檝e used in all that time.
Using it doesn鈥檛 require instructions or demonstration. I鈥檝e simply handed it off to neophyte campers, told them to fill their water bottles, and they鈥檝e come back with full containers a couple minutes later. In the past, doing that with more complicated designs has resulted in broken handles and lost parts.
Next week, over the Thanksgiving holiday, I鈥檓 taking five or six friends on a tough backpacking trip. We need to keep our packs as light as possible, but we鈥檒l also be drinking from stagnant, algae-filled pools, sulfur hot springs, and from a stream filled with bighorn sheep poo. The Trailshot is the only filter we plan to carry, and it鈥檒l deliver clean, nice-tasting water for everyone throughout the trip. I know that because I鈥檝e carried it there before.
In that year or so of frequent use, I haven’t yet noticed a decrease in the Trailshot’s flow-rate. At $50, that’s amazing value. And it’s also great that you can save a few bucks by replacing the filter cartridge聽with , without buying an entirely new Trailshot.
Likes
- Small enough to fit in the pocket of your shirt or pants.
- Flows as fast as larger pump handle filters.
- No moving parts to break.
- Service-free.
- At five ounces, there鈥檚 no reason not to bring one along.
- One of the cheapest water treatment options out there.
Dislikes
- Sometimes it鈥檇 be nice to have a longer source tube for reaching those difficult water holes you find in the desert Southwest. But, it鈥檇 be easy to add a piece of your own tubing to do just that.
Should You Buy One?
Yes. The Trailshot will save you weight, space and money, while also saving you from the runs.