The BeFree can be purchased with a .6L soft bottle for $40, or just the filter for $25, making it the same cost as the Sawyer Mini. It has several advantages over the Sawyer Mini (my previous goto filter). It is rated by Katadyn at a 1,000 liters lifetime.
- It has much higher flow through the filter, probably 3x the flow of the mini
The filter is internal to the container, instead of external like the mini
The BeFree does not require back-flushing. Just shake the water bottle to clean the filter
The wider mouth of the water bottle makes filling the bottle much easier than the Sawyer
On the trail I kept the BeFree in it's .6L bottle and just filled it as needed, drinking directly from the filter. The high flow rate made this much better than drinking directly from a Sawyer Mini. I could easily quaff down a bottle and refill for the trail in just a minute or two. On longer waterless trail sections I would use the BeFree to filter additional water into a Platypus 1L collapsable bottle.
Cleaning the filter is dead simple. Just fill the bottle 3/4 full, screw on the filter, and shake.
The only con; water bottles with 42mm openings are harder to find. HydraPak Seekers fill the bill nicely, and come in 1, 2 and 3 liter sizes.
Also, the BeFree .6L bottle seems pretty rugged, but a couple reviewers on REI.com have reported failures (pinholes, and a catastrophic failure at the connection between the body of the soft bottle material and the harder plastic at the top of the flask) . Having the Seeker along seems pretty good insurance. Those reviewers with problem flasks noted that Katadyn replaced them without questions free of charge.
A few reviewers reported reduced flow over time, but I did not see any reduction on our 8-day trip, filtering all camp water for 4 people, and my personal drinking water during the day.