[Review] 4L Trail Base™ Water Filter Kit by MSR

It seems surprising that the Trail Base Water Filter Kit by MSR is the first water filter we’ve owned. With our motorcycle trips, canoe adventures into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, camping in the backcountry of CO and travels into Baja, a water filter is an important piece of gear. In the past, we’ve either rented one to use or gone naively without one. Thankfully now, we have our own filter that doubles as both a great basecamp filter kit and a small filter that can be used separately.

Most recently, we had the Trail Base set up in our camp in Baja. We had access to tap water but it’s not advised to drink the tap water there. We just ran tap water into our Trail Base and always had filtered water for drinking. We love how simple the Trail Base is to set up, how it packs into its own relatively small bag, and the fact that you can use it in a few different ways.

Included in the Trail Base system are two 4L soft reservoirs. These reservoirs are both compact and durable. After using MSR’s dromedaries, we were a little concerned with how the included reservoirs would hold up. We haven’t had any issues and have hung ours against vehicles, trees, and fences. While these reservoirs are not going to be bomb proof like MSR’s dromedaries, they’ll hold up to a good amount of abuse.

The reservoirs are labeled “dirty water” and “clean water” so you always know which is which at a quick glance. The reservoirs are a little different. The dirty water reservoir includes a wide fill (which we love!) and a roll down closure. There’s also an included strap and buckle so you can easily hang this reservoir from anywhere. The port for the gravity system hose is a couple of inches from the bottom of the bag so any large sediment won’t be sent through to the filter.

The clean water reservoir has a port for the filter/hoses and a 3-in-1 cap. Whether you’re drinking, pouring, or filling, it’s nice to have versatile options. I will mention that it is a little bit harder to get in and clean the clean water reservoir but we don’t have any special tools or gadgets (they make them).

All of the connections are quick connect, making it super quick and easy to set up the Trail Base System. If you have this set up in camp and you’re heading out on the trail for a long day, it’s really easy to just disconnect the filter and take it with you. It works entirely independent of everything else in the system. You can simply stick the hose end of the TrailShot (the filter’s name when it is just by itself) into a water source and either drink right from it or fill a bottle. It’s really nice that you can invest in a water filter that easily adapts to the activity you’re embarking on. It would kind of be a bummer to have to buy something to use at basecamp and separately something to use out on the trail. With the Trail Base Kit, you can take only what you need and adjust accordingly.

Most importantly, the Trail Base Filter is effective against “bacteria (99.9999%), protozoa (99.9%) and particulate” (msrgear.com). We never had any issues in Mexico with filtering tap water.  

We’re not sure why it took us so long to add a water filter to our quiver of gear but we are glad we did. We’d highly recommend the Trail Base Water Filter Kit because it is easy to use, versatile, affordable, and reliable. We even used it as a pseudo outdoor shower when we needed to and it worked great! If you’re interested in purchasing the Trail Base Water Filter Kit, doing so using our provided link supports us in that we get a small kick back from your Amazon purchase. We appreciate the support.

**We received the MSR Trail Base Water Filter Kit for free in exchange for a review however, it’s important to know that all thoughts are our own.