MSR

Guardian Purifier System

Prep supplies

I have not used it, so I am not sure, sorry. I purchased it to add to my prep supplies. Thank you for asking.

Always a Drink on Hand

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Two weeks on the Green River filtering our drinking water needs with the Guardian pump was easy. We always used settled water so the pump was never tested with silty water. This pump will be a constant companion on our future river trips

I would prefer a somewhat

I would prefer a somewhat larger piston volume for home use. Let me know if you have one in the works. Thx, M

Still the best out there- but you need to take care of it!

We have had the guardian for nearly 5 years. We have used the old MSR waterworks pumps in the past, as well as Katadyn filters, and this unit is easier to use and the through-put is exceptional, with a 1 litre bottle taking less than a minute to fill. Our canoe trips usually consist of 6-8 people, and the Guardian keeps everyone watered with no complaints about who's turn it is to pump. The only quibble with the Guardian is that it DOES require annual maintenance, and you can't throw it in storage for a year or two and expect it to perform flawlessly. The filter unit keeps integrity for a long time, but O-rings and pump rings do seem to shrink or lose seal after a year or two, and you need to replace them. I consider this a small price to pay for a filter which can go anywhere and keep you safe and healthy with a minimum of fuss.

In a word: unreliable

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I've used this filter three times on day hikes out to a hot spring on a river. Since I tend to get dehydrated soaking, I always bring a filter to refill my canteens for the hike back. Day one: filter worked fine. Day two: filter worked, but started leaking/dripping around the base. Day three: filter did not work at all. Water sprayed out everywhere around the base. I hiked back totally dehydrated. This thing is hot garbage and I'm so glad I didn't have this thing fail on me several days from a trailhead. It appears many other reviewers have had the same issues.

Amazing product!

I bought this 2-3 years ago for use on scout backpacking trips and emergency use during hurricane season. The thought was to have zero worries with water supply no matter where I was. The troop had another MSR filter with lower filtration pumping 1L per minute. Scouts became impatient and those were quickly abandoned to use mine. Win #1! We recently took a long distance backpacking trip and most groups used micropur tablets for sterilization, but not wanting to wait used this filter instead for immediate water consumption without an altered taste. Water supplies were typically streams or in some cases cisterns from rain collection or pumps which still needed sterilization. Win #2! One camp ran out of water in their cistern with zero streams for decent water nearby. I said not a problem and we filtered out of a cattle pond full of all kinds of bugs, algae and things no one wanted to deal with. This pump had zero issues and no one got sick. Win #3! Lessons learned: most of the time, filtration just occurred over one or two days, this last trip was longer. If the nalgene was too tight, it would cause leaks between the filter and the water bottle. The same occurred if the gray ring at the bottom was too tight to the red cylinder on the filter. Loosening those connections brought everything into alignment with no leaks. A gentle tightening was all that was needed. After each trip, I do pump some clean water through the filter thinking one or 2 extra liters won't impact the life of the filter. I hang the filter to dry out the entire length of hose, and invert the filter section with fibers so it drains as well. I've had zero issues with the performance of this filter and have full confidence whenever it is used. I still carry the maintenance kit with me, but it has yet to be used.

Works...if you win the lottery on a working one.

I had to watch a youtube video of a guy having to modify his stock item to make it serviceable. Recently, a colleague of mine attempted to use his for the first time in keeping with redundancy out in the field...he bough the same as mine. The MRS Guarding leaked from various places. These were the piston rings, the lower gasket sealing the filter element. Mind you, this was snow melt, extremely clean water. Please fix this issue or offer replacement item.

Why haven’t they released a gap ring??!

This filter is great except the tolerance flaw in the design where the whole bottom leaks contaminated water all over your hand and clean water bottle because the gasket doesn’t seal when the filter is screwed in all the way. The solution I was given was “just unscrew it a bit” yea well every time you have to screw a new water bottle on, that changes the gap and leaks again. Ridiculous! Why hasn’t MSR come out with a gap-ring (or set of thin rings?) to fix this very obvious design flaw? It’s like you out half-a-decade into the design and then didn’t test it and when customers told you about the flaw you didn’t fix it and didn’t come out with an easy solution. If you fixed this issue in subsequent models I’d like a replacement. If not, I’d like your design team to sell a gap-ring to allow me to tighten it down all the way so I don’t contaminate my water… thanks.

Not a product to stake your life on

This product has a certain shelf life before the filter dries out making the purifier useless. I bought my purifier and put it away (3 years) in an emergency kit. Then I took it out to try the integrity test which it failed. In fact the filter has dried out. There is NOTHING in the manual that states how long this product can stay dry after purchase before the filter dries out. I have lost my faith in MSR as well as a great deal of money.

Reliable, use it correctly

I have used this product multiple times and have not experienced any issues. Watch videos on line to ensure you know how to use and clean it. What’s nice about this is that it can quickly filter large quantities of water and it tastes great. So if you are hiking or backpacking with a larger group you can serve many people and share the load.