Katadyn Base Camp

[Western Hunter]

In prepping for my familyâs 20 mile backpack trip into the Cloud Peak Wilderness of Wyomingâs Bighorn Mountains I only had 2 major concerns: sleeping bags and water!

This was my girlâs first backpack trip with me. I have a lightweight Big Agnes sleeping bag and they all have heavy âtruck campingâ bags. I couldnât afford to just go out and drop cash on 4 new bags for this trip so we would make do with what we had. A couple of my kids are still fairly young and couldnât carry a full pack with sleeping bag and pad. My older 2 had smaller packs with insufficient space for a big sleeping bag so I was nominated as the beast of burden. My pack was big enough that I ended up with 3 bags crammed inside. One bag was big enough for my youngest 2 daughters to share so that left my wife to pack her own bag and one daughter to pack my lightweight bag. By the end of the trip I was wishing Santa would have been a little more pro-active over the years.

Loading up at the trailhead

Cloud Peak Wilderness, Wyoming

With our bag problem âsolvedâ it was time to focus on water. Iâve been using a Katadyn Hiker Pro Microfilter for many years and am impressed with its size, speed and utility. I am typically solo on my backpack trips and the Hiker Pro is perfect for those situations. With 5 additional hikers, this trip would be different. We were planning on setting up a base camp 7 miles in and then hiking up to the surrounding lakes above timberline to fish for golden trout. My Hiker Pro filter would be perfect for those day hikes but I also wanted to make sure there was ample water for everyone around camp without spending all our time filtering water. I jumped on the Katadyn website and saw an awesome solution to my dilemma: The Katadyn Base Camp. Basically, it is a heavy duty bag with a filter placed inside. Fill the bag with water, roll down the top and elevate. Gravity will filter the water out of the attached hose valve and into your desired container. The bag holds 6 liters of water and the whole system tips the scale at 11 ounces. Katadyn shows output at ½ Liter per minute.

Creek crossing with my most precious cargo!)

Katadyn Base Camp

Once we arrived at our destination, my girls were so excited to try out the newly arrived Base Camp. They ran to the creek while I finished setting up our tents.

Filling with water in Paintrock Creek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe itâs still a smart idea to filter all drinking water â even frigid run-off at 11,000 feet elevation.

By the time I finished putting on the rain fly, they were filling water bottles. Every water bottle they could find!

My girlâs verified that all 6 liters of the Base Camp can, in fact, be emptied in less than 3 minutes. Just to verify their findings they would run back to the creek and fill it again! The Base Camp is easy to use, fast, lightweight and tough. It also meets industry standards for reduction of bacteria (99.9999% Klebsiella terrigena) and protozoan cysts (99.9% Giardia and Cryptosporidium). We hung it on a tree in camp where it filtered 5 or 6 full loads in 3 days. It was the perfect solution for our family outing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Optimus Elektra FE comes with a Crux Lite gas stove, FE (fuel efficient) heat exchange pot, piezo ignitor and clip-on windshield all weighing in at just 16 oz.)

The Base Camp Filter was an absolute hit on our family backpack trip but would I use it on my solo hunting trips? YES! I have several hunting locations where the Base Camp will be very efficient. During early season deer hunts there is a small lake 1,500 vertical feet below where I camp. I typically only come off the lofty peaks to stalk a mule deer or to filter water. By filling the Base Camp and carrying it up to camp, Iâll ensure an extra 2-4 day supply of water. Now Iâll only have to come off those lofty peaks to stalk velvet bucks!

For this trip I also packed an Optimus Elektra FE cook system for all of our cooking. The Cruz Lite stove really will boil 1 liter of water in the FE Heat Exchange pot in just over 3 minutes â at 10,000 feet! I was truly amazed and will be writing a review shortly.

Rainey and I pondering âWhatâs for Dinnerâ along the trail.)

None of my girls had eaten freeze dried food before. We packed a couple brands but the hit of the trip was Natural High in Chicken Teriyaki and Natural Highâs Cinnamon Apple Crisp for dessert. I will be sampling some of Natural Highâs new products throughout this hunting season and will report in on what I find.

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[Redman]

Nice write up, thank you for sharing. Nice pictures

[cramerhunts]

Good review and recap of your trip. Enjoyed reading it!

[bigorange]

Nice write-up and great job getting out with the kids! I've always used the small pump filters and didn't know about the Base Camp. Very cool...sounds like it worked very well.

[CouesPursuit]

One of the most important items for our upriver camping weekends at Lees Ferry. The only liquids that get packed in the boat are alcoholic or gasoline. The Katadyn does the rest.

 

Great family trip, thanks for sharing!

[ElkyG]

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing

[willhunt4coues]

I have also looked at the camp bags and wondered how well they work. Thanks for the motivation to buy.