Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter -- anyone tried it?

[Candace66]

http://www.rei.com/product/837824/sawyer-squeeze-water-filter

Anybody tried this yet? It sure looks like a great idea, not to mention very compact and liteweight. :2thumbs:

However, some reviewers found that the pouches aren't as durable as Sawyer claims. The description says the filter unit "will also fit the threads on most bottles of water that you buy at a grocery store." Which leads me to wonder if it will screw onto the uber-durable Platypus water bottles (for example: http://www.rei.com/product/797977/platypus-softbottle-with-closure-cap-34-fl-oz)...

If you've used this product, or seen it used, or have an opinion based on looking at it, please chime in!

[Scott Card]

Curioius also about this product. It won the Editor's Choice Award for Backpacker magazine (2012)....:popcorn:

[Deadeye008]

I've got one and really like it. It filters really fast with little effort. The only downside I can think of is the the mouths on the squeeze bags are fairly small so it takes a little bit longer to fill the bags up. I really like that it has threads on both sides of the filter and you can use any bottle with standard threads. It's also really easy to field service/backflush it. Here's a video I shot using the 2L bag.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr0f5tydpN8

[jamesdak]

I guess my concern would be cross contamination from the outside of the bag. Seems like you will need some way to dry/clean it after you dunk it in your water source to fill it. Curious to hear what others say also as I am looking for the best way to filter on the go also. I carry enough weight with my camera gear so packing in a lot of water is a burden I want to get away from.

[Byron]

Funny thing, I haven't used a filter of any kind since the mid 90s. I drink from springs, seeps and potholes and I've never been sick. Once, on a big, epic loop dayhike thru Cheesebox Canyon I ran out of water. I filled my bottle up at a pothole and guzzled it down only to notice after I'd satisfied my thirst there was a dead, bloated bat floating in the pool! Yuk! I always carry a paint strain bag to filter out the swimmers and debris. As long as it's reasonably clear and doesn't smell funny then I'll drink it. Never a problem for me but some of my friends would never consider it.

I bought a Steripen years ago, used it a couple times then stopped carrying it. I'll use Iodine for only the nastiest of water, and that only seems to happen in the dry backcountry of the Grand Canyon. The water always seems to be good at the higher elevations.

[jamesdak]

LOL, reminds me of the time I drank straight from a creek in the San Juan Mts of Colorado when I first came out west. Water was clear, cold, and so sweet. Then as I followed the trail upriver I came upon the rotting carcass of a deer in that same creek, ughh! Not to mention all the beavers ponds on the waterways out here. I have never gotten sick either but I will not even consider drinking unfilterer water any more.

[DesertDuke]

I was in the Uintas once and drank from a spring. It was the best water i have ever tasted and I filled an xtra canteen. hours later, after hiking out in the sun I took a taste and it had gone putrid that quickly. Part of the excellent taste was the plethera of bacteria I was swilling. I just thought it was mountain clean water. I was also bowhunting once and went ahead and drank out of the stream next to camp. it tasted great. The next day I went upstream and saw the sheep herd about 2 miles up from me right on the stream. I did get sick then but it may have just been the sight of those range maggots and their additions to the stream.

I want the natural taste (sans sheep crap) but don't want the bacteria so I use the UV lamp.