Bacteria and protozoa out, for the whole trek, for the price of two lodge bottles
Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter
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.
Skip it ifAnyone treating it as complete protection. Below the last village, add drops or a UV pen.
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.
The rest of the shelf
Fastest flowDrink 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.
Skip it ifRough handling in a duffel. Take the Sawyer if your kit gets thrown around.
The virus half of the answerWhat 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.
Skip it ifUse as your only method. Filter first, then treat — that combination covers everything.
Simplest complete answerViruses, 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.
Skip it ifGram-counters, or anyone on a filter-plus-tablets system that already works.