Lightweight water filter (need advice)

fngTony

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I'm another sawyer guy. I run the mini and the bigger version. With 2 filters and 4 reservoir bags its still under a pound. I second everything hunt'nfish said except I bring two of the back flush syringes. One for cleaning and the other for desperate times of sucking up small puddles on rocks.

Some say the included bags are too stiff to fill, I blow in them so they open up. Another option is to use a ziplok or water bottle cut in half as a scoop.

I love that they can screw on top of water and soda bottles.

My back up system is filter sediment with coffee filter then boil. The sawyers are small and I lost my first on a day hike.
 

Bughalli

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Nov 16, 2012
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I used the sawyer mini last year. You can't go wrong with having it as a backup, but I found it exhausting and inefficient. The 16 or 18oz squeeze bottle was a pain to fill. I won't use the Sawyer as my primary again and I'm a little surprised other speak so highly of it. It worked, but it took too much effort and time. I'm exhausted from hunting and the last thing I want to do is filter water inefficiently. I said screw it and went back to iodine tablets. They are so damn easy and effective. Add a lemon flavored electrolyte tablet and it tastes great. I boil the water used for meals (no idodine tablet because it leaves a residue in your pots). This was Colorado mountain water, so very clean to begin with. I could feel differently with water from a stock tank. I might consider the gravity system at some point, but I'm not sure I want the weight for a solo backpack hunt.
 
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Bughalli, I think the majority of us Sawyer Mini fans are using it in a gavity setup..... and inline on a suck hose & bladder. Time isn't so much of a factor in a gravity setup. Personally I nixed the little 1/2liter squeeze bag.... well actually I just added it to my collection of collapible whiskey bottles. :)

However I will never give someone a hard time for using purifier tabs. I think everyone should carry some.... I do. Normally I just use them for re-sterilizing a bladder, but should I have an issue with a filter... I can use the tabs, even if they taste like shit.
Hunt'nFish
 
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I started with the sawyer system. It was great with bigger water. When I got to slower streams or stream with silty bottoms using that big bag was a pain. I use a pro hiker now if I know it's small water or unsure of my source. I use the sawyer if I know I have bigger streams or lake to filter
 
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I started with the sawyer system. It was great with bigger water. When I got to slower streams or stream with silty bottoms using that big bag was a pain. I use a pro hiker now if I know it's small water or unsure of my source. I use the sawyer if I know I have bigger streams or lake to filter

I also carry a silnylon bucket (you can get one that's about an ounce). One of the advantages is that you can let silty water settle out before putting it in your filter system. Just hand the bucket in the tree for 10 min or so and most the bigger silt will settle out. I also pour it through a mosquito head net to further per-filter. Both of these items weigh less than any backflush solution so I consider it a net gain.
 

Randle

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I have been using a frontier pro , 2 patypus bags and aquaria tabs for years now . Tabs and let them go for 1 hour then screw the swamp water bag to the filter and gravity into the drinking bag or just drink from the filter. I carry a cut mre. Pouch to scoop out of seeps or puddles. It has served me well .
 
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Everyone has a system that works for them and different priorities while out. I don't go out for more than 5 days usually. So I don't take a backflush kit. I just take some tabs as backup. Also I'm out there hunting I don't really feel like waiting around for stuff to settle and pre filter and so on. I just want to get my water and get back to spotting. As far as the 5oz difference. I'm planning on coming back with 60+lbs of meat so 5oz isn't really a huge deal to get my water faster and easier. It's the same with a sleep pad I went super light but found I just sleep better on a pad that's 6oz heavier than the super light one. So I carry the extra weight. It's all preference. If messing with bags and pre filters is worth carrying 5 less oz (just a guess on weight) than the sawyer gravity system is good.
 
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wyelkhunter

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Mar 14, 2012
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I love my sawyer. Works great in any size stream. I have my bladder and filter rigged with quick attaches so I don't need to remove the bladder to fill it.

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halg

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Platypus Gravityworks 4L. 11 oz, filters 4 liters in five minutes while you set up camp. Use the dirty bag, with filter attached, as a bladder in your pack by putting a bite valve downstream of the filter. There is also a 2L version.
 

gabenzeke

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Oct 28, 2015
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Question on the steripen. Can you just run it longer in a Nalgene larger than 1L? Kinda hate having to get water 1L at a time.

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SHTF

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Question on the steripen. Can you just run it longer in a Nalgene larger than 1L? Kinda hate having to get water 1L at a time.

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I'd stick to the instructions otherwise it may cost you a hunt I don't mind 1 liter at a time I just take my nalgene with a human gear lid do 1 liter and pour it into my bladder x3


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SHTF

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I'm gonna try out the Vapur microfilter this year

Started researching this filter system man the reviews are not looking good at all. Flow rate is biggest complaint and the funny taste.

Check out the customer reviews on REI.com Access Denied

Be sure to take a backup :D
 
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I love the sawyer squeeze,

I use it with a short 2" hose and a quick disconnect so I can hook the filter straight into my 3L bladder with out removing it from my pack or into a bottle or cook pot.

I also carry a one gallon bladder that I buy full of ice tea from Taco Casa for dirty bags. I can hang them for a gravity fill or squeeze them for faster fills.

I also carry a plastic vinegar bottle with a Smartwater flip top cap that can be used to back flush or mix up electrolyte drinks. I use the vinegar bottle because it is thicker than any water bottle but you can still squeeze it to back flush the filter & it's almost the same size as a Nalgine so you can use most water bottle pouches.

Sawyer Squeeze with hose and QD & 2L dirty bag = 4oz
3L Platypus Hoser with QD in drink tube & fancy magnetic bite valve = 4oz
1 gallon Ice tea bag "dirty bag" = 1.4oz
1L bottle with Smartwater flip top = 1.8oz

I can carry 4L of clean water and ~6L of dirty water with the above set up.

total 11.2oz

The only thing I have considered adding to aid in collecting water from smaller and/or dirty sources is a collapsible silicone funnel I could stretch over the mouth of my dirty bag & a pre-filter like a mesh bag or a handkerchief.

I don't understand why most people seem to use a sawyer mini? It's only $10 more and .8oz heavier to carry the full size sawyer squeeze and the flow rate is at least twice as fast and they don't clog nearly as quickly. I guess the mini is slightly smaller and the form factor would be better if you're running it inline on a backpack strap.
 

deadwolf

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Started researching this filter system man the reviews are not looking good at all. Flow rate is biggest complaint and the funny taste.

Check out the customer reviews on REI.com Access Denied

Be sure to take a backup :D

It worked ok, but wasn't great by any means...still have it but have long since moved on to sawyer


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oenanthe

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Aug 21, 2014
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Fbks, AK
For Sawyer Mini users, these Evernew bags have good reviews and can be used to replace the Sawyer bags: Amazon.com : Evernew Water Carry (1500 ml) : Hiking Hydration Packs : Sports & Outdoors

I have one on order to try out, but they take about a month to ship from Japan.

Thanks for the info that these are available again. Rumor was that the Fukushima earthquake affected production; they have been hard to find for a few years.

The Evernew bags are great - I've had a 2-liter bag since 2010. It is still going strong but I need to pick up a spare.
 

dog812

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Apr 11, 2015
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I also use the mini... And use the bag that comes with it as the gravity feed.. Cut the bottom out, use some cord to hang it. Run camel back hose down to either a quick release into the bladder... Or I cut a hole in the Sawyer bag cap to fit a on off. Weighs less then 100 grams.







pic upload
 

dog812

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I dunno why the pics were such bad quality..
Hanging it off my trekking pole filtering a puddle.
 

ellsworb

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Chlorine Dioxide tablets. That's my primary. Works in all temps. If I'm extracting silty or dirty water I'll fill my containters straining through a bandana or something then allow the water to sit and sediment to fall out. Treat it and go.

But I've only had to pre-filter a couple times. With a little looking it's pretty easy to find sediment free water.
 
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I've been play with the Steripen this year. Honestly you'd have to pay me a lot to go back to a pump system! This is so much faster and easier to prevent cross contamination. Especially trying to fill my larger bladder.

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