I recently went to the Ecuadorian Amazon and spent a week living in the rain forest with indigenous people. I went on long treks and relied on the Vario to deliver drinking water from streams I passed on the way. The fact that I never got sick is a testament to the effectiveness of the Vario.
It was easy to hook up directly to my CamelBak, so there was no chance of contamination. Whenever I used it, I had it in the "longer life" setting where you pump a little less water per minute, but it passes through both filters inside. I''ve used several other filters and the speed and ease which I was able to fill up my 100oz Camelbak is far superior to any of them. The pumping motion is easy to use and it pumps a lot more water even on the "Longer life" (slow) setting than other filters.
Overall I think it is a fantastic product that I would recommend to anyone traveling to locations where you don''t know if you can trust the water.
I agree with consensus of prior reviews that it''s good all around, faster than other models, but has some issues w/back pressure & leaking if you pump too fast or while using the "faster flow" setting instead of "longer life". The faster setting bypasses the ceramic filter (your biological nasty filter) and uses only the charcoal (some bio, chemicals & taste, like your average Brita filter).
I bought this instead of Katadyn''s Pocket Microfilter (found for $179 on some sites at the time) for 4 main reasons:
1) ability to attach directly to Nalgene bottle. I''ll be using this primarily while living overseas in areas w/questionable tap water, so this is a nice convenience. Don''t think the Pocket filter allows this.
2)2-stage filter w/activated charcoal to remove chemicals, pesticides & bad taste. This option isn''t available w/the ceramic-only Pocket Microfilter, and again was something I want specifically due to where I''m going. If chemicals aren''t an issue where you''ll be, this aspect might not matter to you.
3) Double-piston design for faster output & ease of use compared to the Pocket Microfilter. Pumping action was simple & ergonomic.
4) Cost. $80 is great compared to $180+. I may regret that mentality if/when this breaks, but for now it''s a good deal.
Three things so far that I''m not excited about:
1) Although they state that the paper carbon "cartridge" is good for 500 gallons, the instructions say that the activated charcoal INSIDE the cartridge should be replaced about every 50 gallons or every 6 months, depending on chemical content/taste of the water. I felt deceived after discovering this omission from the reviews I read. Not printed anywhere in their online documentation, but REI does mention it. Without the charcoal, I might as well have purchased the more expensive Pocket filter w/lifetime warranty & just use a separate PUR/Brita pitcher for taste & chemicals (which I''ll probably do anyway)... (The pocket filter''s ceramic filter has a life of 13,000 gallons, compared to the 1000 gallons of the Vario''s ceramic pre-filter).
2) The back-pressure & leaking issues mentioned by people in other reviews seem to be true, but mainly occur after removing the "source" tube to flush the system. After a few pumps, handle resistance increases & it wouldn''t lower fully. I have to unscrew the pump head to release the pressure, which of course splatters water everywhere. This could potentially contaminate your filtered water if you''re not careful.
3) This doesn''t seem like the simplest system to use, clean & maintain. Several O-rings & moving parts to deal with. Also, the plastic housing may or may not hold up over time. We''ll see.
Since I need a filter for travel/living overseas where the water is allegedly contaminated both w/chemicals and biological stuff, I''ll keep this around & replace the charcoal until it breaks. After I get back, I''ll probably get the more expensive filter for camping/backpacking use. This one is a bit large too, but hopefully will be ok.
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The inlet connector broke after the first day of our 7 day canoe trip. We are not rough with our filters as we have had our other filter for several years with no issues like this. We just wanted something that wouldn''t clog so quickly.
We spent the rest of the trip either floating in the water next to or leaning over the side of the canoe with the filter submerged to enable us to pump clean water. Also, there is a little plug under the ceramic filter that will stop all water flow if it gets pushed in. This seemed to happen if the pressure in the filter built up by pumping too quickly. We had to disassemble and reassemble the filter several times to correct this issue.
When the filter was working, it was fast and filtered very well. The ceramic pre-filter was great. The water was clean, clear and tasted great. If this filter was more durable I would give it 4 or 5 stars.
Hope this helps anyone in the market for a water filter.
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Since I''ve got a lot of water filter/purifiers, I feel I can safely and objectively compare my experience with them in reviewing this Vario. For sure, it''s a little heavier and bulkier than say, a Hiker Pro. At it''s best, it works great. At it''s worst...well, more about that later.
First the pros and cons;
Pro;
1. It can pump fast and with only mild effort. The bidirectional pump action can really move the water, especially if you have it setup to bypass the ceramic disk.
2. I love the threaded bottle adapter built in to the base. Very nice if you''re used to trying to balance everything on rocks!
3. The charcoal bit removes most unpleasant flavors. Mind you, if the water really smells horrible to start with, you''re limited with what the charcoal can do.
4. Good instructions, packaging, decent carry bag, little tube of silicon lubricant is a nice touch from a reputable company.
Cons:
1. It can refuse to start pumping. The wonderful piston/valve assemblies that move so much water can ''air-lock'' and stop pumping. And it can take quite a bit of voodoo/fiddling to get it pumping again.
2. Any filter with a ceramic portion needs a silt pre-filter to prevent clogging. This one is no exception. (A silt pre-filter will also greatly extend the life of the pleated paper filter cartridge.)
3. The fragile plastic inlet barb sticks out awkwardly toward the back and is very unprotected. I suspect it''s no accident that the inlet barb is always positioned where it can''t be seen in the product photos and videos.
4. In my experienced opinion, I believe there is a design flaw in the flow path. On the bottom of the paper filter there is an o-ring that separates the contaminated water from the filtered water output. (Which also comes out the bottom.) If that o-ring were nicked, damaged, or missing, contaminated water would leak directly to the output stream. Of course, if the o-ring is kept in perfect shape, this wouldn''t happen...but I tend to think in ''worst-case'' rather than ''best-case''. That''s one of the reasons I filter my water rather than drinking it directly from a stream.
Conclusion;
In short, when it works it works great. It would probably be best for world travelers who could protect the fragile inlet barb and who wouldn''t expose the filter to too much grit or silt.
If you''re wanting to use it backpacking, I''d recommend a simpler, more robust design.
One last thought:
More of a tip really. If you have one of these, you''ll note they protect the inlet barb during shipping with a red plastic cover cap. While you certainly can use that red plastic piece to cap the barb when traveling, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you NOT try to pump the handle with the red protective cap still on. There are little rubber ''valves'' in the pump that can potentially be damaged while trying to pump too hard against a vacuum.
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I''ve had mine out multiple times and so far it''s worked flawlessly. One item to note is that the intake connection sticks out from the side of the unit and is plastic. I would prefer to have had it covered or protected but I just make certain I pack it so that part won''t get stressed.
As others have said, this thing filters water extremely fast. I''ve not had to use it in situations where the water has been highly contaminated or loaded with sediment so I can''t say whether it has issues in those situations. The bottom is sized to screw right onto many water bottles and hydration bladders which saves having to use the outlet tube (included). Since I don''t camp every week, I follow the long-term storage instructions on the unit before packing it away. This involves running 1L of water with either Katadyn''s water purifier tablets or a small amount of bleach through the unit. Next comes removal of the ceramic disc filter to be scrubbed off, and finally removal of the paper/carbon filter to allow it to air dry. After about 24 hours I put some included silicone lubricant on the O-rings and put it back together. I haven''t replaced the activated charcoal yet but it''s not difficult to find and not overly expensive. If the unit is dried properly the charcoal should last quite a while.
The filter parts have tabs which are designed to make certain the unit goes back together properly, but I have to wonder if some of the problems reported are the result of improper re-assembly after cleaning.
I will agree with others that it is a bit bulky (it doesn''t present any problems for my pack) but it''s also pretty light, and compared to some of the more compact units, this one produces a lot more filtered water a lot faster. As with most camping products, the buyer should consider the tradeoffs of ultra-small and lightweight vs. lower expense and more usability.
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The bottle, even after many washes and usage, makes the water tastes like plastic. The water quality becomes simply undrincable. By itself, this invalidates the usage of this arm-band bottle. In fact I had to find a canteen to replace to bottle, even if it does not fit well I''d rather have water that has no taste...
