The First Need XL is a compact and lightweight portable water filtration system, made by General ecology, Inc. First Need is a very hokey-sounding name, but water is one of the first things that we need, so maybe that's how they came up with it. General Ecology makes filter systems for large and small needs, like campsites and recreational vehicles, down to this one, which fits in a backpack in its own small stuffsack. It weighs only about 8 ounces. This is one of the first things that you will want in your backpack.

At a retail price of about $110.00, it represents a significant investment, but can easily pay for itself. It can extend your range at the same time as reducing the weigh you have to carry in your pack. It can can be operated by one person, and can filter at a rate of 2 quarts per minute. It also comes with a gravity-feed accessory that allows hands-free operation. The cartridge will filter about 150 gallons of water before it needs to be replaced.

No chemicals are required, and no waiting time is needed before drinking the water. And there is no bad aftertaste. To determine when it is time to replace the filter cartridge, you put 2 or 3 drops of food coloring in a large glass of water, and pump it through the filter. If there is any trace of the color in the filtered water, it is time to replace the filter. If you use it every weekend to filter 3 gallons of water, the filter will last a year. Most day hikers will probably use it once or twice a month, and filter one or two quarts.

Most people will never own a filter, because of fears of how well they work, or how the water will taste. This one can put all your fears to rest. The water tastes clean, with only the slightest hint of where it came from originally. It gets out the tiniest particles, including parasites, bacteria, spores and viruses. The pump works in both directions, and quickly fills a water bottle or a backpack reservoir bag. It comes out easily, and stows easily, also. It connects directly to the mouth of a standard Nalgene water bottle, and adapters are available for other bottles and reservoir bags.

A prefilter for larger paricles is attached to the intake tubing. This helps extend the life of the ceramic filter in the sealed cannister. Backflushing the filter is only necessary if the filter becomes clogged. This involves running water through the filter in reverse, and should be done with great care. The manufacturer recommends not dropping the filter cannister, as it can be damaged by severe impact.

You should look for the cleanest water source available before filtering. Clear, running water is best. Running water is better than standing water. Standing water should be clear. Watch for runoff from streets or roadways, as motor fluids and aromatic hydrocarbons are too small to be filtered, and can taste awful. The water will taste best if it is cold. Some water can have a very slight dirt-like taste, depending on where it is obtained, but that is the nature of water, and it will still be safe to drink. After we got used to the idea of filtering water, we figured out that we could carry less water, as long as water was available to filter along the trail. Most places we hike have natural running water.

We consider this to be one of the best water purifiers around. We recommend this as an item to always have in the bottom of your pack, just in case. Even if you don't think you need one all the time, you should have one for very long hikes. We have used ours on group hikes where other hiker ran out of water before they expected to, and they were very grateful to have something like this available at that moment. The First Need is a five-beenie item.