Versa Flow With Activated Carbon Filter

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The Versa Flow is a highly effective, versatile and lightweight filter set with both hollow fibre and activated carbon protection. Weighing just 90g it can screw onto bottles, be used for in-line and gravity filters to clean water and keep you safe. 

HydroBlu says

The Versa Flow water filter is one of the lightest and most convenient personal water filters on the market. Weighing in at only 2 ounces you don’t have to worry about adding extra weight to your pack or try to find a dedicated spot for it. It will fit virtually anywhere. This water filter is perfect for backpacking, hiking, camping, travel, and emergency preparedness.

Although it is lightweight, it is heavy in features. Every filter is built to exacting standards and exceeds EPA standards for filtration. The Versa Flow has many tiny tubes called hollow fiber. Hollow fiber works through size exclusion. Meaning the hollow fiber tubes have thousands of tiny holes (0.1 microns) that block 99.9999% of harmful bacteria, Giardia, E. coli, protozoan cysts, Cryptosporidium and more. All of these organisms are too large to fit through the 0.1 micron holes. Some manufacturers filter the water through the core of the hollow fiber tubes, but this restricts water flow because only so much water can fit through the core opening. We filter water through the outside of the tubes by bending the hollow fiber. This dramatically increases the surface area and flow rate of the filter while protecting the filter integrity itself. If the core of the tubes become clogged from sediment on the competitors filter you can no use the filter. The Versa Flow allows you to be able to backflush the filter, clearing out all of the particulate and increasing the lifespan of the filter. If you consistently backflush the filter you can use it almost indefinitely. This means no additional filters, cartridges, pumps, iodine drops, or batteries to ever buy again.

The Activated Carbon module is made up of mixture of activated carbon and ion-exchange microbeads. Activated carbon adsorbs chemicals and heavy metals, and improves the taste and color of the contaminated water. The ion-exchange microbeads are an organic polymer substrate. These beads are porous, providing a large surface area for removing pollution, poisonous, and heavy metal iron from the water. The ion-exchange replaces these negative ions with innocuous ions, such as sodium and potassium.

Additionally, this combination will remove unhealthy organic compounds such as chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, gasoline, and diesel. The adsorption of these various compounds improves the taste and the color of water transforming it into the perfect way to refresh yourself while camping, traveling, or in an emergency situation.

Our Verdict

HydroBlu’s Versa Flow with Activated Carbon Filter is a lightweight, easy to use water filter that is impressively versatile. It can be used in a number of ways depending on what hydration option you usually use such as; screwing it onto a bottle, using it inline with a hydration pack or gravity system along with using it as a straw at the water source.

This filter uses ultrafiltration technology with holes measuring just 0.02 microns allowing it to remove an extensive range of viruses along with 99.999% of bacteria. The benefits of the hollow fibre filter are no chemicals required, you can easily wash (backflush) the fibres to remove particulate and increase life of the filter and there is no shelf life for the fibre. This version comes with the additional activated carbon filter system you can easily add on or leave depending on the water source you are using. This filter set allows you to add further protection with the activated carbon top, there is no shelf life for the filter, simply the 680+ litres it should be able to clean before it essentially locks out.

– Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear

Features

Versa Flow

• The Versa Flow removes 99.999% of all bacteria, such as E.coli, salmonella, and cholera. It also removes 99.999% of all protozoan cysts, including giardia, cryptosporidium and other protozoa.
• Hollow fiber membrane
• Attaches to standard plastic bottle with internal 28 mm threading, can be used inline on hydration packs, gravity or bucket system, or used as a straw to drink directly from your water source
• Perfect for hiking, backpacking, camping, travel and for emergency situations
• Flow rate of 1 gallon in 5 minutes

Activated Carbon Filter

• Removes heavy metals such as lead, iron, cadmium, nickel, chromium, and zinc
• Removes chemicals such as chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, gasoline, and diesel
• Increases water clarity
• Improves water taste

Specifications

• Weight of set: 90g
• Includes: 1 Versa Flow Filter, 1 Activated Carbon Filter

Versa flow Tech Specs

• Filter Material: Hollow Fiber
• Removes: Bacteria, Protozoan cysts, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E. Coli, Salmonella and more
• Filter Life: up to 100,000 gallons

Activated Carbon Filter Tech Specs

• Filter Material: Activated Charcoal, ion-exchange microbeads, and pre-filter membrane
• Removes: chemicals, heavy metals, large sediments, negative tastes, and color
• Filter Life: 150 gallons

• Help & advice:

  • The importance of water purification