Hi Brian,

Those are filter bottles with an integrated filter. Yes, there are pros and cons to both. The hard-sided Lifestraw makes harvesting water from a still source (like a lake) easier, because you can’t fill a soft-sided bottle without having a stream pouring off into it. But the BeFree obviously packs down better.

Thanks Michael,
I had looked at both of those but didn’t scroll down far enough in your recent gear review article; I stopped at the Bottle Filter section. Is there a reason why you have the Katadyn Be Free in the the Water filter category? They both seem to fit into the bottle filter category but maybe there are there some differences (aside from the Be Free being a “soft-sided bottle”) that I’m overlooking? More importantly, do you prefer to use one more than the other. It seems that there could be several pros and cons for both.

Thanks Michael,
I had looked at both of those but didn’t scroll down far enough in your recent gear review article; I stopped at the Bottle Filter section. Is there a reason why you have the Katadyn Be Free in the the Water filter category? They both seem to fit into the bottle filter category but maybe there are there some differences (aside from the Be Free being a “soft-sided bottle”) that I’m overlooking? More importantly, do you prefer use the Lifestraw more frequently than the Be Free? I’m leaning towards trying the hard-sided Lifestraw bottle, but only because it looks more durable, easier to carry and easier to handle when filling and drinking. Are all of my impressions accurate? Am I missing any other important differences?

Hi Brian,

Yes. See to my review of favorite backpacking accessories. This is among the list of gear tips I provided in your custom trip plan.