Platypus Quickdraw Water Filter Long Term Review
I’ve always struggled to drink enough water while I’m out working in the hills or on the crags. There is only so much you can practically carry and on hot days it never seems to last. This issue is particularly acute on Mountain Leader expeditions or on my own overnight camps or bivouacs. The longer days and the need to rehydrate in the evenings, potentially away from a clean water source, are problems we need to consider when wild camping. Boiling water is a obvious and reliable way to kill any nasties but isn’t always practical while walking during the day. Some like to use water purification tablets but I’ve never liked the taste or the idea of drinking chemically infused water.
So two years ago I started using the Platypus Quickdraw Water Filter, mainly as a solution to refilling my water bottle from water sources that I couldn’t necessarily trust or judge to be clean.
Platypus Quickdraw Filter attached to the dirty water flask.
The Platypus Quickdraw system is very simple to use and very well designed. The tubular filter is 13cm long and filled with hollow fibres that Platypus say removes 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of protozoa.
There is a dirty water end were you attach a water bottle or flask filled with suspect water. This dirty water can then be squeezed through or the filter and container left hanging for a gravity fed system.
The Platypus Quickdraw can filter three litres per minute with normal squeeze pressure or 1.75 liters per minute in a gravity setup.
The clean end can be fitted with a drink cap with a flip.over cover to allow you to drink direct through the filter or pour directly into a wide mouthed bottle such as a Nalgene. A separate clean end fitting allows you to screw the filter directly onto a narrow 28mm thread. This size fits most Platypus reservoirs and bottles and also some Cnoc bottles and flasks.
In Use
The Platypus Quickdraw is a very practical and usable filter. It weighs only 81g and packs up nice and small. I keep it in a small dry bag or ziplock bag. To use it just fill up the dirty water flask and attach it to the dirty end of the filter. Then flip up the cap on the clean end, squeeze the dirty water flask and clean water immediately pours out into your mouth or water bottle. You can also easily screw the clean end into a bottle with a 28mm thread.
A blue Platypus Quickdraw water filter
Out on the hill it’s quick and easy to stop at a stream fill up the flask and squeeze it through the filter. It takes just a couple of minutes to filter a couple of litres. It’s particularly useful during this summers hot weather. It’s difficult to carry enough water so carrying the Platypus QuickDraw allows us to safely fill up on the hill
Buy it here – https://www.outside.co.uk/platypus-quickdraw-water-filter
Features
- Combine & Customize: I/O dual threads and the ConnectCap let you dial in your custom leak-free system using the clean and dirty vessels you prefer, like smartwater bottles and Platy bottle
- Ultralight & Compact: Filter weighs just 2.4 oz (69 g) and can fit in your pants pocket.
- Fast Flowing: Hollow fibers filter up to 3 liters per minute with normal squeeze pressure or 1.75 liters per minute in a gravity setup.
- Easy Cleaning: Easily shake-to-clean the system or backflush it to keep the water flowing fast throughout your trip.
- Safe & Effective: Each microfilter is individually tested to ensure it meets all EPA & NSF guidelines for the removal of 99.9999% of bacteria and 99.9% of protozoa*.
- Integrity Test: Unlike other squeeze filters, easily determine if your filter has been compromised and is unsafe to use in the event of a fall or freezing.
- Comes with QuickDraw Filter, dirty-side cap, ConnectCap™ with cover, DrinkCap, and backflush washer.
- Weight including ConnectCap : 81g (the filter by itself is 66g)
- Size: 5 x 13 cm (1.8 x 5 in)
- Flow Rate: 3L per minute
Alex
Beyond the Edge Ltd is based in the Peak District, easily reached by train from London and within easy travelling distance from Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham and other Northern towns and cities.
We are one of the UKs most experienced providers of climbing, walking, scrambling, mountaineering and navigation training courses.
Most of our courses are run in the Peak District National Park which has some of the finest rock climbing, bouldering, walking and hiking in the world.
