We are taking a look at the Platypus GravityWorks four liter system.
This system includes the dirty water reservoir, a hose for the dirty water reservoir, obviously
your gravity works filter.
You have got a bag that contains all the extras here.
You have the clean water hose with kind of a hose clamp on there.
At the end of the hose you have an attachment to attach it to the clean water reservoir.
And basically this is an excellent system for paddling, backpacking with groups, if
you are going on a trip where you have time to basically get water, hang it on a tree,
go do something else.
Within about two and a half minutes you are going to have four liters of filtered water.
It is going to filter out particulates, bacteria and protozoa.
So this is not effective against viruses.
So if you are in an area where that is a problem, you are, you know, going to have to have an
additional water purification to get rid of those viruses.
But really easy to use system.
It filters a lot of water in a pretty short amount of time.
So we will get into all the little features in a little bit.
I have got the dirty water reservoir here and we have a little over a liter, a liter
and a half of water in it now.
But I will mention this is... you know, Platypus reservoir, really durable and it is treated
with an antimicrobial slime guard, you know, finish on the inside.
So you have got some protection there.
But basically in order to use this you have a snap closure on the top.
So basically what you would do you would take this to your water source.
The do have printed on there “dirty” for the dirty water, so it is really easy to keep
the dirty reservoir and the clean reservoir apart.
But basically you go to your water source.
You dip it in the water and you fill this up.
Once you have filled it, you zip the top.
You can invert it to test it, to make sure nothing is going to come out.
And they have a nice strap on the top here.
So, you know, when you get back to camp or you get back to your base camp you can basically
hang this on a tree wherever it is convenient.
Here I have got the filter that you connect in between the dirty reservoir and the clean
reservoir.
And this is really innovative hollow fiber technology.
It is really light weigh and super easy to use.
So basically it is going to filter out all of your protozoa, bacteria and particles with
this filter here.
Depending on the quality of the water, depending on how dirty the water is, it is able to filter
up to 1500 liters of water before it needs to be changed or replaced And you are also
able to back flush this filter really easily to clean it and to remove any air bubbles.
So really easy to use.
And I will mention it has a nice big graphic here to show you the flow direction of the
water so you don’t get them confused.
There is also a black cap on the dirty water side and a white cap for the clean water side,
so you know you are going to connect it correctly every time.
So basically you would connect this piece to the dirty water hose like that.
And I have got the dirty water reservoir on this side which I would connect there.
So on the other side of this filter that is where the clean water hose goes and the clean
water reservoir which we will take a look at next.
Basically the differences between the dirty water and the clean water reservoir, the clean
you have a cap at the bottom and this is where the filtered water is going to enter into
the reservoir and you don’t have the same type of zip top.
Basically this is secure.
So it is basically just a bag of water here with a cap on the top.
Same webbing strap as the dirty water reservoir.
So the longer hose is the clean water hose and it does come with a shut off valve right
here.
So basically before you have the dirty water filtering into the clean water, you can shut
that off and it basically doesn’t allow the water to go through so you can kind of
get everything hooked up.
I am going to attach the clean water hose to the white side or to the clean side of
the filter and then attach the corresponding end to the dirty water reservoir.
So once you have got everything connected, we have your dirty water reservoir, the hose
going down into the filter into the clean water reservoir, you just want to hang it
from a tree or hang it from whatever it is convenient for you.
Hang the dirty water reservoir higher than the clean water reservoir and then take off
the shut off valve.
And then you can let gravity filter your water for you.
A little bit about storage.
You want to store your contaminated or your dirty water components kind of separately
from the clean water.
So, you know, when everything is all said and done if you throw your dirty water reservoir
and the hose in next to the clean water reservoir and the clean water hose, it could get cross
contaminated.
So you want to store them separately.
And Platypus does include a little mesh sack.
You know, definitely if you are in an area where it is really cold you don’t want the...
any of the components to freeze.
So you want to make sure all the water is out of it and as dry as possible.
But, yeah, storage is a breeze.
Basically the water reservoirs are bags.
So when they are empty you can roll them up.
When the hose, you know, the hose you just wrap up.
And, like I said, the filter weighs next to nothing.
So storing is pretty easy with that.
But, all in all, a really simple system, really easy to use and it certainly beats having
to pump water, you know, sit there for long periods of time.
If you have got a big group or if you just have time to be able to hand the water up
to use it later, you are able to filter out, you know, four liters of water in a relatively
fast time.
So with the ease of use, with the confidence that this filter is going to filter out everything
you need, this is an ideal system for your next back country adventure.
It is the GravityWorks four liter system by Platypus.