Mountain Safety Research MiniWorks EX Water Filter |
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Introduction
Ecologists have only just begun to realise the prevalence of parasites in our ecological systems and the enormity of the role that they play in influencing host behaviour, and ultimately the balance of the eco-system itself. This, allied with the fact that tropical medicine has traditionally been poor cousins to the more Euro-centric medical research into bacterial and viral diseases, means that there must be legions of protozoan and other eukaryotic parasites in our Great Tropical Outdoors waiting for you to pass by and offer board and lodging, for which parasites modern medicine may not have a cure, or which it might not even know about. Living as we do in the tropics, but yet not venturing far or long enough into the jungles for our immune systems to adapt to the ravages of parasitic infection, using a water filter on our wilderness forays would be a prudent thing to do.The MSR Miniworks EX, priced at RM385 at the Nomad Adventure Pro-Shop, is a reasonably lightweight and compact water filter that strains both protozoa and bacteria from water.
Features
The MiniWorks EX appears to be well made, feeling reassuringly sturdy in hand. It comes in a little mesh bag, and at 460g is small enough to fit into a medium-sized Camelbak-style backpack.The main component of the MinWorks is its ceramic filter, which has carbon core to remove chemicals and odour. The ceramic filter is cleaned by scrubbing it with the included scrub pad. Also included is a small plastic gauge that snaps onto the bottom of the filter, which you use to measure how worn the filter is. If the body of the ceramic filter is able to pass through the gauge, it’s time to buy a replacement filter, also available from Nomad Adventures Pro-Shop. MSR does not state size of particles that will be strained by the MiniWorks EX, but claims to sieve bacteria and protozoa. To neutralise virus, first treat the water to be filtered with iodine or chlorine tablets, and then filter the water. Claimed flow rate is 1 litre per minute, or double the equivalently-priced Katadyn Mini filter. To use the filter, all you need to do is unscrew the bottom of the filter, stick the inlet hose into water, and start pumping. Filtered water comes out of the bottom of the pump.
The pump action feels very natural and positive, and you don’t get the feeling that they’ve compromised ergonomics to deliver a pump that’s compact or lightweight. Although I did not time how long it took to filter a litre of water, the claimed flow rate is pretty believable, once the pump is primed. Priming the pump takes about 5-7 strokes, after which the water flows freely.
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 Disassembly is very easy, and is done entirely by hand. Design and construction is first rate. There're several "sumps" in the filter design, intended to capture progressively smaller particles so that the ceramic filter doesn't get clogged by larger debris. Parts, clockwise from top right: filter wear gauge (which snaps onto the bottom cover), filter body, bottom cover, top cover, inlet hose (which screws into the top cover), small rubber valve (snaps onto top cover; one of the debris sumps), upper pivot parts, pump handle with piston attached via lower pivot, and the ceramic filter (at the top of which is a foam pre-filter). |
The inlet hose has a cork-like synthetic float attached to it, which means that you don’t have to worry about placing the end of the tube away from the bottom of the river or pond to prevent the ingress of dirt or silt. An elegantly simple solution to a seemingly minor problem that can be annoyingly difficult to overcome if you are precariously perched on slippery rocks at the edge of raging waters. The use of an inlet hose allows you to filter directly from a river, and does away with the need for an additional container.
Filtered water comes out of the relatively large diameter base of the pump, which may make collecting the water difficult unless you have receptacle with a slightly larger opening. Fortunately, MSR also makes water bladders (similar to the popular Camelbak bladders) that can you screw directly onto the base of the filter. You may also use Nalgene bottles, which also thread directly onto the filter base, although most mountain bikers would probably find the bladders more useful.
Conclusion
Mountain bikers, who are notoriously concerned about weight savings, will be pleased to note that carrying the MiniWorks can potentially shed half a kilo of excess weight. On long exploratory rides and ball-breaker hashes, 3 litres of water (which of course weighs 3 kilograms) should be the minimum amount of water a rider should consider carrying. With the 460g MiniWorks, you can afford to use a smaller, 2-litre bladder, saving some 540g (1.2lbs) in weight. Of course, this suggests some advance knowledge on the availability of water sources on the trail, but it would be fair to say that most if not all bikeable trails in Malaysia will have a source of water within a convenient distance of the trail, if not intersecting the trail itself. Refilling from all but the cleanest of these sources would be dicey proposition without a water filter. Hikers and campers will also find the MiniWorks indispensable for multi-day treks, though this group of users would be more likely to carry a stove and to boil their drinking water, which is not always an option for mountain bikers who wish to travel light and fast.At RM385, it’s not an outrageously expensive investment, particularly when you consider the peace of mind that a filter affords. Some, like my wife, remain unconvinced that water filters are necessary for outdoor activities on the premise that the rivers from which we are likely to drink are remote and therefore clean. But then again, she hasn’t read Carl Zimmer’s fascinatingly horrifying book, Parasite Rex…
Other filters to consider
- MSR WaterWorks EX: a slightly larger and much more expensive version that has an additional water-permeable membrane filter that filters down to 0.2 micron (which sort of suggests that the MiniWorks doesn’t quite get to 0.2 micron). Rated at 1 litre per minute (somehow the membrane doesn’t affect the flow rate) RM674.50.
- Katadyn Mini: more compact than the MiniWorks, the Katadyn Mini weighs just 210g but is rated only at 0.5 litres per minute. Also in the RM300-plus range.
- Katadyn Pocket: priced at RM900-plus, the Pocket pumps at 1 litre per minute, and weighs 550g.
Where to buy?
MSR equipment are sold at the Nomad Adventure Pro-shop (Tel: 03-8024 5152), located at the Summit Climbing Gym on the 4th floor of the Summit in Subang Jaya. They’re also available from selected agents, of which Bike-Pro Centre is one.Katadyn filters are available from the Outdoor Centre in Jalan Ampang.
