PUR Voyageur Review

"Once again, PUR failed to pump. This was the third time a PUR has failed in two years and as many pumps. Pull the pump out and about 12" of water is drawn into the intake tube. Press the pump handle down and it pushes the water back out. Since PUR did not include any directions on how the pump works, I have not idea what to do to get the down stroke to push to the oulet side instead of he intake. No, the intake and it's tube are fine per the home test. PUR is a lot of weight to haul when it does not work. If you know how to handle this (I saw the priming post below, but that did not fix the problem), please post!"

"We just got back from Boundry Waters in Minn. 8 of us used it for 6 days and pumped about 10 Gallons a day. It got pretty thought at the end.But it still does the job."

"So they have a hold on Voyageur filters. Saw what the Pur website offers and to wait 20 minutes to get water using it is crazy. I used to like the filter but now I think I'll go to MSR types. Frustrating that their customer service isn't being very helpful replacing or quickly fixing the problem. Supposedly by spring of 2002 the Voyageur will back to be EPA certified"

"Day two of an eight day trip...four of us counting on this pump, and it stops pumping. The plunger froze up on me. We lubed it withe a couple drops of olive oil and it limped through the rest of the trip

But in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness in Oregon this September the handle snapped right off the plunger, rendering the entire thing useless.

I hated the round bottom, which made it slip all over while pumping, and the fact that the outlet hose was always tangled up in the pump plunger.

These PUR filters need to be redesigned to be a little more user friendly.

I bought something else, far easier to use, but too soon to tell about durability.

I'm thinking about swtching to Aquamira."

"This is a great water filter for backpacking. It is easy to pump large quantities of water and is lightweight. Some reviewers have mentioned the slight Iodine taste to the pumped water, but I like the idea of having the additional protection the Iodine provides to my drinking water. I have used other water filters with pumping mechanisms that either take a week to produce small quantitiies of water or they require four extra hands to operate, so I really appreciate the ease of use this filter provides."

"The pur water filter is a product I should have never bought. Unfortunately there appears to be no backing or customer service from the manufacturer. I bought my filter and found a piece missing from the activated charcoal section, so naturally I called the company to ask them to send a replacement. The response from the customer service representative was extremely negative. I was told to call him back to supply him my zipcode among other things. So much for backing your product. And as far a performance, I took the filter to task in the high Sierra's of California. It produced an Iodine flavored swill that was barely drinkable and I got sick (probably Sporia) to boot. I would recommend that if you are considering a water filter, spend the extra cash and get a Katadyn filter, no trace of iodine in the tast and you probably wont get sick either. Thanks."

"I used on on a multiday hike. I found it to be quick, convenient, and reliable. There is an iodine taste, but not too bad in my opinion. I filtered for an entire scout troop and there were no problems. I would definitely recommend it if you want a purifier system."

"Bought the Voyageur this past summer. Hve only gotten to use it for one 5-day outing, but am very pleased with its initial performance. Pumps fast and with ease. Compared to the katadyne it's a cakewalk. Can't yet attest to its durability but considering how easy it pumps, damaging the apparatus during normal use would seam unlikely. The Voyageur cartridge does have an iodine element that adds a slightly medicinal taste to the water but I found it minimal and far from unpalitable. But both the Voyageur and the Hiker cartridges are interchangable so if you decide that you can't stomach the slight iodine taste you can switch to the Hiker's element (same cartridge less the iodine element.) The unit comes with 2 hoses about 3' each so you don't have to try to hold the bottle right next to the filter. Also comes with act. charcoal add-on filter to curb odors and obnoxious tastes. Easy to use, not too bulky or heavy, needs no priming, not too pricey ($50-60)."

"The PUR Voyager filter- "guaranteed not to clog"
First day on an 7 day hike in the Grand Canyon. First gallon of water this device had purified. BAM!! It Clogged!!
Granted, the water was murky, but come on, this pump is apparently just not up to purify anything but fresh, clear mountain spring water.
I have the PUR Explorer, which has been quite good. Only problem, it weighs about 2 lbs.
Next time I'll learn to bring tablets along. I might just abandon the whole pump thing altogether, and just use purification tablets.

Excuse, me, but I have to go now. I'm experienceing painful stomach cramping and copious diarrhea.

Bye."

"When used on a recent canoe trip this filter held up well. We pumped from a tannen (caused by cypress tree bark) stained river on several occasions with no clogging of the filter and more importantly no running of the intestinal tract! If you don't already know, these filters do not completely remove color from the water they are pumped. The resulting water however is safe to drink, you just have to get over the color problem."

"GREAT! My girlfriend bought this for my birthday even after my review of the PUR Hiker. Her medical background however insisted on the higher filtration Voyager. On first use it impressed my eagle scout camping buddies. If you've not bought one and looking buy this one...."

"This past fall my dad and I traveled to the Smokies for a 5 day hike. We both have PUR Voyageur water filters; however, for the sake of the weight we only brought one with us. I had absolutely no troubles what so ever with my purifier. I was pumping about 8 quarts of water a day, 4 at night and 4 in the mornings. That's almost double what they tell you should do. You do get a little bit of an iodine taste but it still tastes better than the water at home. I've heard of people getting their filters clogged. My only word of advice, be a little bit smarter about where you get your water and how much you carry. If water is too limited on the trip then maybe you shouldn't be there in the first place."

"This is a great purifier! Probably the best one you can get for that price. I used it (so many time that I can't remember it) at ADK trails in New York and it's a charm! The only thing I haven't gotten used to yet is the taste. Even with the carbon filter which is supposed to reduce the bad taste and the color of your water, you are still stuck with this aftertaste that will surprise you...but I'm ready to endure that to get water that is safe and save time by not having to boil my water and let it cool for a hour or so. Finally, I was a bit disappointed by the lifespan of the filter. I think I must have filtered 150-200 liters of waters which is much less than what I had expected...."

"I bought a PUR Voyageur about 2.5 years ago. I simply feel abandoned by PUR and their customer service. They are not standing by their product and it does not seem like they are in a hurry to fix its problems. I will not buy another PUR filter, no matter how good it is rated."

"This is a great filter- it purifies well and runs smoothly. I have to say that after about 10 3-7 day backpacking trips with it, it has never clogged or fouled up on me. A word on that- if people are clogging this filter chances are they're using very heavily sedimented water and are letting the prefilter acorn touch the bottom of the source- both very bad ideas-- to these people, try adding the filterage of a bandanna rubberbanded around the acorn- it'll help keep out the debree- also, try and use running sources if possible, not stagnant. My only qualm is with the short life expectancy of the filter. Why is it so short when a company like Katahdyn can make theirs last for 16,000 gallons or some other rediculous life-long amount? I for one would pay the extra for a more durable purifying filter."

"Have had the Voyager for about 5 years now and have had no problems."

"I've had this filter for about 3 years - its a little big for backpacking sometimes (compared to others) but it sure can pump out the water!"

"I love this pump, bought it many years ago. FYI Katadyn bought this product line from PUR and the Katadyn-HIKER model filters are the current replacement filters for the Voyageur. I just confirmed with their technical support people. Enjoy"

"This is a great product and I have been using it for several years. I never had a problem with it.

FYI:
It is safer to pump from still water, than from moving water. The reason is because Protozoan cysts have hard shells and will sink to the bottom in still water."

"Brilliant design and use.

Having real problems locating a new cartridge in the Uk.

peter_carthy@hotmail.com"