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173 of 175 found the following review helpful:
 Worth every penny! Nov 09, 2009
By R. Zamudio
I researched filtration systems for almost a month before settling on the MSR miniworks. I figured I could just go pick one up at the local Cabela's or REI, but BOTH retail stores were sold out of these, while there was still a good supply of the other MSR and Katadyn filter systems on the shelf. I took this as a sign that this is the filter to have and ordered it from Amazon, and it has been worth every penny. Read on....
In Camp:
The filter is very simple to use and has a good output-per-pump ratio. You never really feel like you are doing more work than you should for the amount of water you are pushing through, especially if you take into account the fact that every pump is worth about one gulp of nasty water that you WON'T have to drink. If you do see a diminished output, simply unscrew the filter housing and give the element a light scrubbing. We were taking water from a brown lake that is loaded with tannins and we would get about 2 litres through (about 2 full-size nalgene bottles worth) before we noticed the filter could use a cleaning. Tannin-loaded water is supposedly some of the worst for clogging these ceramic filters, so if you have cleaner water sources at your site than we do, your element-cleaning cycles should be farther apart. The water came out crystal-clear and almost tasteless. It didn't taste like Dasani bottled water, but it definitely didn't taste like tea-colored lake water either. Pretty much neutral. More importantly, it tasted CLEAN and nobody got sick. Also, the MSR Miniworks requires no chemical additives but still claims to filter everything but viruses. The chance of contracting a waterborne virus from a U.S. lake or stream (think Polio, Hep-A, SARS, and a few others which you have probably had vaccinations for) is far lower than getting sick from bacteria or parasites. If this still bothers you, you can still boil your clear, clean-tasting water just to be sure.
Out of Camp:
The maintenance on this filter is very simple. The unit breaks down into 4 major parts, and the wrist pins on the pump assembly are quick-release squeeze-and-push types. You can literally have this thing stripped down and cleaned completely in about 5 minutes, and that includes the sterilization of the filter element. A couple dabs of silicone grease or chap stick is all you need to lube it up when you are reassembling the unit.
The Hidden Bonus:
$80 may seem like a lot for a water filter, but the MSR miniworks pays you back exponentially...
Prior to buying a filtration system, everyone in our backpacking party hauled their own water needed for the entire trip. We would calculate what we needed for hydration and cooking each day, plus a bit more just in case, and we strictly stuck to these rations. We would have enough water, but never enough to truly quench one's thirst. Having this filter in our party allowed us to drop about 15 lbs carried, per person! Plus, we didn't have to pack out a bunch of empty water bottles anymore. One filter supports 4 of us and we now drink as much as we want. When you think about how important hydration is to your body's systems (Read Cody Lundin's "98.6 Degrees" book and you will know more about the subject than you ever wanted to), shelling out $80 to have clean, safe water on-demand anywhere you can find a water source is a small price to pay.
Tips:
-Put a coffee filter over the hose inlet and secure it with a twist-tie, rubber band, or fishing line. This will make your MSR filter pump more efficiently for longer without as-frequent element cleaning. Everytime you clean the element, you are scrubbing away some of the element's overall diameter. When it gets too thin, you have to get a new element. Fewer cleaning cycles = prolonged filter life and more money remains in your pocket. Filter element, $40. Coffee filter, 3 to 4 cents.
-Bring a spare filter element if you are going on an extended trip or are going to be absolutely dependent on this filter for your drinking water while you are out! Meaning: hiking back to your vehicle and driving like a madman to the nearest 7-11 for a drink before you go into a coma from dehydration is not going to be an option! The word is, these ceramic elements are fragile. Finding this out at the wrong time and being caught without a spare would be a very bad thing. If you spent the cash for the filter and other people in your party use it, have them pony up the $40 and buy the spare element for you. It's only fair.... right?
-USE A NALGENE BOTTLE WITH THIS UNIT (or other similar one that will attach to the adapter). The motion created while you are pumping is far too violent for precision-aiming the output stream into any loose container, except for a bucket. You can also attach another length of rubber hose to the outlet and run that to your container, but we have not tried this yet. The Nalgene bottle seemed like the simple solution to use with the filter and we filled our other containters from this bottle.
{Product use update} - Our party of 3 did a 4-day backcountry hike in the Grand Canyon (search: Tanner Trail) this past winter. This is definitely NOT a tourist trail, and the first 2000-3000 ft of elevation is not much a trail at all. The noted only water source along this entire route is at the very bottom of the canyon, the Colorado River. We were able to augment our hike-in water supply by searching for pools of water trapped in depressions of the rocks near the places where we made camp, and pumping water from them using the MSR Miniworks. I don't even want to think of what was in those water pools, but what came through the filter was clean and refreshing. We made notes of the larger water pools, which allowed us to lighten our water load on the hike-out and stop by the pools for a top-off when we needed it.
103 of 105 found the following review helpful:
 Great filter with one expensive weakness Sep 18, 2007
By Ronald Nugent
This is a great filter that I have used on many hiking trips. It pumps fast and is very handy. At 16 oz. it is not the lightest filter on the market but it's design makes it very field maintainable. This filter has one annoying weakness that can leave you in a world of hurt when deep in the wilderness. The ceramic filter element is very fragile. I have broken two with no trouble at all. At $35.00 to $40.00 a pop to replace, it is something to keep in mind, be very careful when cleaning the element.
38 of 41 found the following review helpful:
Great portable water filter... Feb 01, 2007
By Pete S.
The MSR MiniWorks is a fantastic water filter. I've used it while camping and hiking in the wild, as well as in the US Army with some really funky water from old pipes.
While it doesn't remove all the bad taste of the funky water, it certainly removes harmful bacterial, cysts, and protozoa. I don't believe it's rated to remove viruses, but boiling certainly will. I've used it in clear and cloudy lakes, rivers, and streams and haven't gotten sick. Definitely worth the money.
25 of 27 found the following review helpful:
Tremendous little tool Aug 21, 2006
By wolfefreespace
"wolfefreespace"
This is a great little device. It is designed so that a standard Nalgene bottle attaches to it. It can take brown, sandy water and make it drinkable. I've taken one to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness 3x, and it has never let me down (e.g. I never got any dread disease from the water). It is light, easy to clean, and so simple a 6 year old child can use it. The only drawback is (and this is not really a complaint) that if the water is not spectacularly clean to begin with, the cylinder that does the filtering needs to be scrubbed often (after 2 or 3 liters) to work at its best. Nevertheless, I'd buy one again.
22 of 24 found the following review helpful:
 It Worked Well At First Jun 20, 2010
By Scout
When I bought this it worked well, and it was faster than my friends pumps. I took it apart and cleaned it after every use, and I treated like it was extremely fragile. I just pulled it out after a year of not using it, and the check valve failed on the trail. It pumped a couple squirts of water, then the check valve tore. I have always been a fan of MSR quality, and I think I will call to see if I can order the valve. Even with this problem, I still suggest it to people, but it you can afford the weight I will tell you to go with the full size filter.
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