PUR Hiker follow-up

All this talk about the Hiker and lo, where did I find myself last 
evening but at the local REI (Release [all] Extra Income). (I was 
there to get a replacement for the bolt I sheared off my bicycle [25 
cents], but that's another story.)

Brain: "You should look at a new Hiker to see what the changes are."

Emotion: "Ooh look, new and shiny."

Brain: "Your's works fine"

Emotion: "But it COULD break and besides, a replacement filter 
element is thirty bucks. This is a replacement everything for only an 
extra eighteen, plus you get a spiffy storage sack."

Brain: "Shut up, you don't need it."

Emotion: "Since when does NEED come into the discussion? You just 
don't understand (sniff)."


Emotion wins by playing the...emotion card. Here are the changes to 
the Hiker since the original:

- The aforementioned storage bag.
- Asymetric handle means more compact to store, but less ergonomic in 
use (i.e., t-handle is easier to pump).
- Prefilter no longer a sponge inside the ventilated weight; rather, 
it's a plastic mesh cylinder inside the ventilated weight.
- Hose material is similar, but stiffer silicone tubing, rendering it 
a lot harder to attach and remove.
- The check valve at the bottom of the pump body is different, and 
hides behind a plastic shield that juts into the main cavity.
- In response to the above, the cartridge itself now has a depression 
molded into it to accommodate the new check valve configuration. What 
this means is that while the new cartridge will fit into an old 
Hiker, an old cartridge will NOT fit into a new one. This is no big 
deal unless you happened to stock up on Hiker cartridges when they 
were being cleared our for fifteen bucks (what, you missed that 
sale?).

--Rick