MSR Miniworks EX Water Filter Review
Hey Tent Camping Headquarters campers! Today our resident videographer and field agent extraordinaire Dick is going to be reviewing the MSR Miniworks EX Water Filter. This little pump action water filtration system looks like it would be great to have while camping in the wilderness for extended periods of time. Be sure to check out the video right above here! Dick takes a close look at this water filter, takes it out of the box, puts it together (with a little tip/tweak that he makes to it), and takes it out into the field to give it a real world test. Check it out! Even his dog gets in to help out!
NOTE: We spoke with Dick a week or so after he filmed this review of the MSR Miniworks EX Water Filter and he confirmed that he did not have any ill effects from drinking the water that he filters in the video. He said that the water tasted fine and he is definitely going to use his filter when he heads out into the wilderness.
MSR Miniworks EX Microilter
The MiniWorks EX microfilter is definitely MSR’s best-selling microfilter across the world, delivering long-lasting, field-maintainable water filtration in very demanding environments. It has been engineered for very frequent and heavy use, it utilizes the company’s workhorse Marathon EX carbon/ceramic filter element to ensure extremely clean, reliable, and taste-free water for you to drink. Thanks to its awesome AirSpring Accumulator, it is very capable of pumping out one liter per minute of water and the flow rate can be renewed easily and repeatedly while you’re in the field — also there’s no tools required. This water filter is very lightweight, compact, and most importantly, it has been proven reliable by thousands of campers and adventurers just like you!
Features of the MSR Miniworks EX Water Filter:
- Reliability: Durable carbon/ceramic element ensures safe, taste-free water even with frequent, heavy use.
- Field-maintainable: Can be cleaned repeatedly for full filter recovery with no tools required.
- Fast Flow: AirSpring Accumulator increases filtration speed; up to 1-liter per minute.
- Better-tasting Water: Carbon core removes unpleasant tastes and odors caused by organic compounds, such as iodine, chlorine, and pesticides.
- Made in Seattle, USA
- Effective against protozoa, bacteria, particulates, and chemicals/toxins; not effective against viruses
Specifications of the MSR Miniworks EX Microfilter:
- Weight: 1 pound
- Dimensions: 2.75 by 7.5 inches
- Filter Media: Ceramic Plus Carbon
- Filter Pore Size: 0.2 microns
- Flow (L/min): 1 liter per minute
- Flow (strokes per liter): 85
- Cartridge Life: ~2000 liters
- Field Cleanable: Definitely!
- Field Maintainable: Definitely!
- Mechanical advantage: Definitely!
- Water Bottle Adapter: Definitely!
- Cartridge Replacement Indicator: Definitely!
- Reliable: Durable carbon/ceramic element ensures safe, taste-free water?even with frequent, heavy use.
- Field-maintainability: Can be cleaned repeatedly for full filter recovery with no tools required.
- Fast Flow: The AirSpring Accumulator increases the filtration speed; up to 1-liter per minute.
- Get Better-tasting Water: The carbon core removes unpleasant tastes and odors that are caused by organic compounds such as iodine, chlorine, and pesticides.
- The MSR Miniworks EX Microfilter comes with a Lifetime warranty
Read More Real Customer Reviews of the MSR Miniworks EX Micro filter Here!
I did a 5 day hike across Olympic Nat’l Park using this filter and another guy in our party had the $25 Coghlan pump (which we used with Pur Filters). As far as the quality of the purification, we saw no difference, but we certainly never saw the 1L per minute flow. It would take about 30 mins to fill a 1L bottle with the MSR pump, where as we where able to fill our 10L dromeda with the Coghlan pump/filter in 15-20 mins. The MSR pump is built much better and we were never in danger of damaging it, whereas on day 4 we ended up breaking the Coghlan pump when it was poorly packed in the backpack.
Is this small enough to take on a kayak??? I am looking for water options then taking it all with me, specially if I am going on lakes/ponds/rivers.
You can definitely take it on a kayak. I don’t think it is rated for salt water (which is the reason I didn’t take mine on my kayak expeditions), but it only takes up as much space as a 1L Nalgene bottle.
For small size, you can’t beat the Sawyer Mini. I used mine with a couple of heavy duty Ziploc bags and a visine bottle full of bleach for sanitizing in the green mountains this summer. I had no gastric disturbances with this system.