Creekside Fabrication
Small-batch trail gear · Michigan

The Creek Anchor

Your prefilter stays put.

A sinking intake cage for the Katadyn Hiker. Fill it with creek pebbles, drop it in, and pump with both hands.

Creek Anchor pinned in moving water, hose leading out of frame

Prefilters float

Every time you pump, the intake drifts to the surface and sucks air, or settles into the silt and clogs. So you end up kneeling at the bank, holding it in place with one hand and pumping with the other.

The Creek Anchor holds the prefilter underwater and off the bottom. The creek supplies the weight, so there's no sinker to carry. A threaded lid keeps everything together in current.

Both hands on the pump while the cage sits in the creek

Set up in a minute

  1. Thread the lid

    Slide the hose through the lid once. It rides on the hose from then on, so there's no lid to lose.

  2. Add pebbles

    Drop in a layer of creek pebbles, bigger than the gaps between the ribs.

  3. Load and close

    Set the prefilter on the pebbles and screw the lid down.

  4. Anchor it

    Lock the cable loop through the base tab, tie your line to it, and start pumping.

Spec sheet

Ø 61 mm 64 over thread 120 mm
FitsKatadyn Hiker prefilter
Size61 mm wide (64 mm over the thread) × 120 mm tall
WeightAbout 75 g, cage and lid together
BallastCreek pebbles, collected on site
MaterialPETG: tough, water-resistant, holds up outdoors
In the bagCage, screw-on lid, stainless cable loop, instruction card
MadeDesigned, printed and field-tested in Michigan
CREEK ANCHOR · REV 3DIMENSIONS IN MM

From the field

Two people, one bench

Creekside Fabrication is a two-person shop in Michigan. The Creek Anchor started as a fix for our own filter: the prefilter kept floating away mid-pump. Three versions and a lot of creek time later, it stays put.

Every piece is printed, checked and packed by hand.

Clipped to the pack, ready for the next creek