Photos : Sascha Burkhardt
On the other hand, the water has a great flavour, the suspended sediment is obviously filtered out too, and you can pump just the quantity required. In addition, you don’t have to wait for it to be treated as you do with tablets which take thirty minutes to get rid of bacteria and viruses, and in fact two hours for certain protozoa like giardia. When bivouacking we used a Katadyn Combi a lot, but it’s pretty heavy. The Katadyn Mini on the other hand, is well adapted to our sport, it weighs less than quarter of a litre of water. But for sure, pumping is tiring, it takes about 1 minute to do 0.3 l of water (Data from Katadyn: 0.5 l/minute). If there are several of you, it’s best if everyone has one so that you don’t have to queue to drink! In summary: a good insurance against diarrhoea or more serious illnesses such as parasitic diseases. Reassuring, an acceptable price (134 €) and fairly light for ‘hike&fly’. It saves weight, even for a one day outing, because you don’t need to carry as much water. Be careful, if the pump is dropped, the filter can crack and become ineffective. www.katadyn.com
The mini’s pump is ergonomic