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Travel Himalaya Nepal
Water & Health

Filters & Purifiers

Bottled water climbs steeply with altitude.

About the links on this page.Some go to Amazon, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend: every card here also says who the item is not for, and a few things we think you should simply rent in Kathmandu or Pokhara instead, which earns us nothing.

Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter — Bacteria and protozoa out, for the whole trek, for the price of two lodge bottles
Best overall

Bacteria and protozoa out, for the whole trek, for the price of two lodge bottles

Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter

0.1 micron hollow fibre, ~85 g

Effectively unlimited water for the cost of a couple of bottled waters, and it threads straight onto a standard bottle — it does NOT remove viruses, so pair it with chemical drops on trails below villages.

Removes giardia and cryptosporidium, the two that actually ruin treks

No batteries, no waiting, no taste

Lasts years if you backflush it

Viruses pass straight through

Ruined permanently if it freezes with water inside — sleep with it

Flow slows unless you backflush

Not for you if: Anyone treating it as complete protection. Below the last village, add drops or a UV pen.

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Katadyn BeFree 1L — Drink as you walk, no squeezing at a tapFastest flow

Drink as you walk, no squeezing at a tap

Katadyn BeFree 1L

The fastest flow of any soft-bottle filter and it collapses to nothing when empty — the flask is the weak point, and a pinhole in it ends the system rather than the filter.

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Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets — What you add to a filter, not instead of oneThe virus half of the answer

What you add to a filter, not instead of one

Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets

Handles the viruses a filter misses and weighs nothing, which is why we recommend carrying both — it does not touch cryptosporidium, and it makes the water taste of a swimming pool.

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GRAYL GeoPress Purifier — Viruses, bacteria and protozoa in one pressSimplest complete answer

Viruses, bacteria and protozoa in one press

GRAYL GeoPress Purifier

The only single item here that removes viruses as well as everything else — you pay for it in weight, in cost, and in a cartridge that needs replacing every 250 litres.

Check price on Amazon