Hybrid energy storage systems (HESS), i.e., the combination of two different energy storage technologies, are widely discussed as a promising solution for energy storage problems. A common control scheme to allocate the power between these storages and the subject of this study is filter-based control, where a filter splits the input signal into a low-frequency and high-frequency part. It provides robust results and easy implementation, although more advanced strategies may perform better. Many publications use this controller for specific problems, but a structured analysis of this controller type that quantifies the advantages and disadvantages, traits, and setbacks is missing. This work fills this gap and structures, summarizes, and provides mathematical background and guidelines on filter-based control of hybrid energy storage systems. Numerical simulations are performed to quantify the impact of design variables, parameters, or the input signal by using a linear storage model with efficiency and self-discharge rate and a low-pass filter controller with constant energy feedback as a representative subtype of this control scheme. The present work proves the high cycle-reduction capabilities of filter-controlled HESS at the cost of overdimensioning compared to more advanced control strategies. It demonstrates that using a high-efficiency, high-power storage with a low self-discharge rate and high-energy storage leads to smaller overall dimensioning and losses than a single storage system. The study identifies the feedback factor of the controller as the most impacting design variable.