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It will filter out viruses, bacteria, parasites, protozoa, and heavy metals, pesticides, and chemicals.
It can also be configured to be used in four different ways the last time that I checked.
http://renovowater.com/muv-eclipse-water-filter/
https://www.amazon.com/Renovo-Water-Eclipse-Survival-Filter/dp/B077YX5QWF
A close second on my list is the Survivor Filter Pro, which filters water in pretty much the same way as the Renovo MUV, just not as versatile, but much less expensive.
https://www.survivorfilter.com/products/pro-series
https://www.amazon.com/Survivor-Filter-PRO-Emergency-Cleanable/dp/B00QFXGSIY
I guess it depends on the situation, or environment that you find yourself in at the time, or that you expect.
A couple of minor cons...there are always cons...LOL
Once the sponge inside the bottle is wet, you will be carrying around some excess water weight.
Also, there is only a 20 oz. capacity, so you probably would need to carry an extra bottle to fill, in order to have 40 ounces of water to carry, or I guess you could fill a 2 or 3 liter hydration bladder.
The S1 will filter about 125 gallons of water, and the S3 about 64 gallons, so probably enough for one year of hiking for most avid backpackers, or thru hikers.
The Renovo MUV can be used in several (5) different ways like inline from a hydration bladder, or by gravity feed from the gravity feed reservoir bag, as a pump system, or as a straw, or screwed onto a bottle.
The Renovo MUV1 filter will remove heavy metals, chemicals, etc. and has a life capacity of 150 gallons.
The MUV2 removes bacteria, protozoa, parasite, etc., down to.1 microns, and has a life capacity of 10,000 gallons!
The MUV3 removes viruses, and everything else removed by the MUV1 and the MUV2, and has a life capacity of 90 gallons.
I'll keep the Sawyer Select system on my list as a potential backup.
It will filter down to 0.2 microns, much like the Sawyer filters, and the LIfestraw, which will not remove viruses, but in many back country, park, or wilderness areas in the US and Canada, viruses are "usually" not an issue.
I did notice that it has a carbon filter which also improves the taste of the water, and can remove chemicals.
Here are a couple of reviews that I found on the Katadyn Vario:
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/backpacking-water-filter/katadyn-vario
https://www.trailspace.com/gear/katadyn/vario-microfilter/
Following is the complete list of backpacking water filtering systems that was reviewed by my buddies at the Outdoor Gear Lab:
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-backpacking-water-filter/ratings
I am not sure why, or how this happened, but they completely missed two of the best water filtering systems available to backpackers on the market today, namely the Renovo MUV, and the Survivor Pro water filters.
See my previous comments above.
Again, not sure how or why they were missed by the Outdoor Gear Lab, but I believe that the Renovo, and Survivor Pro are two of the best water filters available.
However 0.1 microns is still not a small enough pore size to filter out water borne viruses like Hepatitis, Sars, Echoviruses, Adenoviruses, Astroviruses, Rotaviruses, Toroviruses, Noroviruses, Polioviruses, etc.
There are many more viruses in existence, but the viruses referenced above are the most widespread viruses that affect humans and their drinking water.
For example, the Poliovirus, Cocksaxie A virus, and the Echovirus that causes meningitis are all different types of Enteroviruses.
Let's just say it can get complicated when discussing viruses.
Most viruses fall into the molecular size or range between 0.025 microns, up to 0.1 microns, so viruses are much smaller than the pore size of the Sawyer filters, and most filters for that matter.
On the other hand, 0.1 micron filters should be able to filter out the more commonly encountered bacteria, (Salmonella, E. Coli, Campylobacter, Listeria), Protozoa (Giardia, Cryptosporidium) and parasites.
The CDC recommends boiling as the most efficient way to kill viruses, along with chemical treatment. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/travel/backcountry_water_treatment.html
However...Boiling water does not remove heavy metals, chemicals, or pesticides!
The Sawyer filters also do nothing to improve the taste of the water and do not remove heavy metals, chemicals, or pesticides.
It is widely reported that Mercury, Lead, and Arsenic are being found at high levels in water in various places, and do you really want to ingest whatever pesticide or chemical a farmer may have sprayed near his cow pond to control insects, or weeds, etc?
Rather than have a filter that has deficiencies in its filtering capabilities, I would rather use the Renovo MUV Eclipse water filter, and the Survivor Pro which are both reasonably priced and versatile, in conjunction with boiling water when possible.
Both filters will remove over 99% of
viruses, bacteria, protozoa, parasites, heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides!
http://renovowater.com/muv-eclipse-water-filter/
https://www.survivorfilter.com/collections/all/products/pro-series
https://www.survivorfilter.com/collections/all
Following are a couple of links to videos that talk about water filtration, molecular size, viruses, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC-1rlRks64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9j2eQfEoZI