I was recently doing research on a gravity water filter system that would be affordable and at the same time a filter that I could trust would actually filter water effectively.
I looked at many of the well known gravity water filter systems on the market such as those made by Sawyer and Lifestraw but I found that these were quite expensive being in some cases 100 dollars or more. As well I found that the reservoir of some of the systems were too small for a base camp setup. If you wanted to use a larger liter capacity reservoir (bag) than you would have to pony up more money and by another bag system for that purpose. Using the smaller bag capacities may be sufficient for backpacking but for a base camp setup with a few people a larger bag system would be more ideal allowing for less trips to the water source.
I noticed that there were some less expensive gravity filtration systems on the market, however I knew nothing of the companies that made the filters. The water filter industry is not highly regulated in the US and Canada which adds to the trust issue that I had with some of these unknown companies.
One of the companies that caught my eye is Miniwell. They produce a very affordable flexible gravity water system that I found appealing. The system allows you to choose your own bag reservoir by providing the necessary parts to make your own. This was a very appealing concept to me since they provide you the bones to build a system that matches the water filtration needs that you have at camp.
But is Miniwell a trustworthy company? Can you trust that their water filter is legit? I did some research on my own and these are the results of what I found out.
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My Research Results
Miniwell is a white label Chinese company. White label means that a company in China mass produces these filters so that other companies can put their label on it for sale under their own company name. In most cases this means that the manufacturing company has to guarantee that their products are in fact trustworthy since its this reputation of trust that brings them business.
I checked alibaba.com which is where we can find a lot of white label products that western companies slap their label on. Miniwell (or more accurately their parant company Guangzhou Lanquan Household Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd.) produces a large amount of water filters and has been in the business for quite a number of years. I would not be surprised if many of the similar styled water filters that are available on amazon and at other stores are made by the same factory that produces Miniwell filters. I would also not be surprised (though I don’t have any evidence of this) that this same factory also produces some of the big name water filters that we have come to trust and are being sold at a premium.
If you look at the Miniwell water filter on amazon there is an analysis report. 1 The analasis report in the top right column gives the company name that did the water purity test. The company name is TUV Reinland. TUV Reinland is a world recognized testing facility that also tests water purity in filters. 2
First go to alibaba.com and type in Miniwell. You will be able to see that the company’s parent name is Guangzhou Lanquan Household Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd. After you get the name of the parent company go back to TUV Reinland’s company certification search database and type in the name of the company. To see the results of the search click here for the search results.
Doing this research took some time but gave me enough confidence in Miniwell water filters to purchase the product. We do most of our camping here in Canada and most of the lakes and water sources where I do my camping are pretty clean to drink even without a filter. Using the filter ensures that any “beaver fever” or other harmful bacteria in the water will be filtered out for drinking.
How To Build Your Gravity Water Filter System
I bought the brass tacks kit from Miniwell. I guess you could call this their DYI kit. I first purchased a 8- 10L dry bag for a few bucks from Dollarama. We drew a circle where we would make the incision for inserting the included spigot. We made sure we would insert the spigot a little higher than the base of the bag. This way any sediment will settle on the bottom of the bag and not go into the filter which would cause it to clog up sooner.
After drawing the circle we cut a small cross with an exacto knife inside the circle. We then worked the spigot in making sure that the gasket seals were on both sides of the bag lining to prevent leakage. I then attached the compression valve so to be able to control the water flow. The other end I attached to the Miniwell water filter inlet.
For storing the filtered water I purchased a 10L collapsible plastic water Jug from Canadian Tire. The lid of the jug has an open/close valve that can be screwed onto it. I filled the dry bag up first making sure that it was rinsed fully. I then hung the bag and inserted the Miniwell water filter into the jug and then opened the pressure clip. The water flowed through the filter surprisingly fast and the jug was filled up in no time.
In The Field Test
We took the Miniwell water filter on a 5 day winter camping trip. How did the filter perform? We ended up purchasing another collapsible 10l water jug from Canadian Tire. So now we had two 10l identical water jugs. These jugs are free standing so do not need to be hung.
To get the water I needed to chip through the lake ice with an ice chisel. We used a Ziploc bag to fill up the one water jug since I didn’t make the hole big enough for the entire jug to fit. I think if it was a longer trip I would have enlarged the hole so the entire jug could fit.
The 10l lasted us the entire trip as well as the water we brought in with our day bottles. So we only needed to make one trip to the lake for the entire trip. We kept the filter from freezing solid by putting it in a collapsible cooler with a bottle of hot water.
If the filter needed to be thawed a bit we just warmed it up in our clothing and also sucked some warm water through it. Once the filter got going we filled the water jug and went about our daily activities. I am definitely sold on gravity filters, they take the work out of having to manually pump your water.
Concluding Thoughts
I am definitely sold on gravity filters, they take the work out of having to manually pump your water. They also save time needing to make multiple trips back and forth from the water source. I would encourage purchasing a larger water reservoir (jug) if you are base camping. It is the most efficient method. It is not a requirement to hang your water jug if you buy one that is free standing, although hanging one also gets the job done.