Use this all the time in the backcountry. Very essential so that you don't have to carry all the weight of water bottles. Just care the Katadyn and you have all the fresh clean water right out of the stream!!!
My three Sons and I Elk hunt in Colorado every Fall camping five miles from the truck. We are near water but never sure if it is safe to drink or cook with and sinse I am in charge of camp supplys I bought this filter. It has worked great every year supplying us with all the water we need for a week just by filling the bag and letting it gravity feed into our water containers. We will go through ten to fifteen gallons a day. Couldn't be any easier.
This pro/base hiker is a must if camping in a large group. I camp in the BWCAW a couple times each year in a group of 6 or more. This makes it so easy to have fresh water for the group. We bring a collapsable 5 gallon container with us and fill it with the pro/basecamp. Works excellant. The down size is it does not last but one summer and the replacement cartridges are rather spendy. I split the cost between the group. They don't mind at all. They love that there is always plenty of fresh water available. I have a small portable filter I use when it's just myself and one or two others camping.
I used the Katadyn hiker pro last year on a DIY backpack hunt in Wyomings Medicine Bows in Oct. The filter worked great for filtering our drinking and cooking water that we gatered from a natural depression in the rocks. I would have no problem recomending this system to anyone looking for a lightweight packable filter system