Another Sawyer Squeeze Question

[Christopher Kuzak]

Please don't rake me over the coals for this one, but I've got another Squeeze question. I've got the inline filter, which I like a lot, but think I can be a bit more efficient and cut a few ounces from my water setup going with the squeeze.

Basically, with the squeeze, I am envisioning just using two hard sided bottles (and maybe bringing my cutoff soda bottle scoop). The filter would stay attached to the "dirty" bottle while the other bottle would be my "clean" bottle for Gatorade etc. while I hike. Both bottles could be on the outside of my pack instead of on the inside like my current platy setup. Thought about modifying my inline to achieve this, but just don't think it'd work as well.

Anyone out there do this already? Any problems with it I am not seeing?

[Jerry Adams]

If you leave the Squeeze on the water bottle while you're carrying it around, it puts more stress on the bottle and it might break. Maybe better to unscrew Squeeze and carry it seperately.

[Adam Rothermich]

What Jerry described is basically what I do. I have two bottles and the Squeeze on the outside of my pack. One bottle is for clean water, the other is for dirty. When I get to a water source I fill the dirty bottle, screw the Squeeze onto it, and fill the clean bottle. Then I remove the Squeeze, store it, fill the dirty bottle, and cap it. That way I can drink straight from the clean bottle and if it runs out before the next water source I can either refill the clean bottle from my "dirty" reserve or drink straight through the Squeeze. Its best to use two different styles of bottles so you don't confuse which is clean and which is dirty. I don't leave my Squeeze attached to the dirty bottle when its stored though, no reason to risking damaging the threads.

Adam

[Harald Hope]

Hard bottles have a problem with vacuum as the water drains out with a sawyer, there is no air inlet to let in air as the water drains out, I haven't tested that enough to know if the sawyer bubbles up as the water drains using a hard bottle, I kind of doubt it does. Better to use a soft bottle like an evernew/platy or the new sawyer bags for the dirty water. Also remember, even though they call it a 'squeeze' you really don't need to squeeze much to get the water through, it basically gravity filters. If you have screwed on the bottom hard bottle, it's the same issue, where does the air go as it fills? I use the adapter they sell on the clean end with a short length of tube and just fill the clean bottle using that, and a soft collapsable bottle for the dirty water, that works just fine.

[Jerry Adams]

With a 1 liter soda bottle, I squeeze out about 1/4 of it, then unscrew the Squeeze to let in air, squeeze out another 1/4, etc. The bottle gets a little wrinkled when 1/4 is squeezed out which might cause it to fail at some point, so maybe I replace it after a few trips.

[Ross Bleakney]

It sounds fine to me, but I'm not sure why you want hard sided bottles instead of a platypus and a squeeze bag. I guess it depends on how far your water sources are from one another and how much water (dirty or clean) you plan on carrying.

Personally, I rarely carry water. So I just attach the filter to a dirty bag and stop and sip every hour or so. All of this gear is on the outside of the pack, so I don't need to take the pack off to drink. This assumes I am passing by plenty of water sources. If not, then I either drip filter the water into a clean platypus, or carry dirty water. I guess carrying hard sided water bottles on the outside of the pack is easier than carrying Platypus/Sawyer bottles on the outside, but if your water bottles are empty most of the time, I don't think it matters. I personally like using the hydration sleeve (but not the tube) found in most packs when I do carry water because it carries it in a very efficient space. In other words, when I am carrying water, it is the heaviest single item on my back, so it is nice to carry it centered and very close to my back.

Oh, I forget to mention that my filter system consists of a modified Tornado Tube plus cord that I ran through a Sawyer Squeeze bag (it is OK to put holes in the bag — it doesn't rip). This adds less than an ounce.

[Christopher Kuzak]

Thank you guys for the great insight. Since I'm off work and in recovery mode today, I've gotten a chance to goof around with converting my inline into a squeeze. I found, as you guys have confirmed, that a soft bottle is better in terms of water flow than a hard sided bottle. I do have to let some air in if I'm using a hard bottle to keep the flow going. Water flow itself isn't bad, but I assume water flow is better on the real squeeze?

What I'm aiming for is to not have to get into my pack every time I want to throw a little water into my bladder. Been using bladders a long time, but am getting jealous of folks with easy access to their hydration stuff. Plus my total weight for my inline filter, 3-liter platy bladder (which I don't fill all the way typically), 1-liter platy bottle (dry while hiking), and cut-off Coke Zero bottle water scooper is around 8.5 oz. If I can shave some weight and have a more efficient system, I'd like to go for it.

[Ross Bleakney]

Here is my system:

3 Liter Platy: 1 1/2 oz.
Sawyer Squeeze Bag: 1 1/4 oz.
Filter: 3 1/2 oz.
Tornado Tube: 1/2 oz.
Two Caps (one for Platy, one for Sawyer Bag): 1/4 oz.
Bag: Which holds the entire thing and grabs water from ponds and lakes: 1/2 oz.
Entire weight: 7 ounces (more or less).

Not the lightest hydration system in the world, but very flexible. Most of the time, I don't carry water. Nor do I wait for water. I have everything but the platy on the outside of my pack, so I can just sip and go. I do this numerous times during the day. Keep in mind, if you are carrying water, it is probably heavier than my system (who carries less than one cup of water?).

Around camp, I connect the Tornado Tube and I have plenty of clean water for sipping. When I hike to the top of a mountain, I fill with clean water, or dirty water, or both. I have the ability to hold about 7 liters of water.

Unless you have the patience to wait for tablets, I don't think you can get much lighter than that. Just like tablets, it depends on where you are going. Tablets make sense if you are in a dry climate and have to carry lots of water. Or they make sense if you are really patient and like to "camel up". On the other end of the spectrum, if you are always drinking from the Sawyer filter when hiking, then it makes sense to leave the Platy and Tornado Tube at home. Just drink and go when hiking, and drip into your cook pot when camping. So, that will save you a couple ounces (since the Tornado Tube is useless without a Platy). But the trade-off is drinking from a clean water container that you can stuff into your pack.

[Christopher Kuzak]

Ross, thanks for the tips. Since I've been using a bladder for so long, I realized had yet to try accessing a full water bottle in the side pocket of my Exos while on the move. Well, frankly, this thread saved me some time and cash. Found it a pain. On the other hand, my 1 liter platy with the hose and inline worked well in the side pocket, but as you noted in your earlier comment, keeping the water in the center of your back, my current setup, feels better. Guess I need to get a different pack before I get a different water setup.

[Sean Passanisi]

Do you use the Tornado Tube for back flushing?

I have two 2L Evernew bags on the outside of my pack. I connect the Sawyer to the dirty bag and "squeeze" into the clean one. I only carry about 1L of water in each bag. Not sure if this is the most efficient solution.

I've also been using the Evernew water tube, which is basically a P.O.S. but I like to drink while I hike without having to reach around and grab the bottle.

FYI, I thought I was clever to use one of the shock cord water bottle loops on the strap of my ULA pack to carry my Sawyer. Lost it this weekend.

[Jim Sweeney]

BTW, what is a tornado tube? Did a Google search on it, but only came up with a children's toy. Thanks.

[Eric Lundquist]

It has standard soda bottle threads in a female – female coupling. Basically a children's science experiment to combine two 2L soda bottles and create a 'tornado' within the bottle. It allows us to screw/attach a water bottle to the sawyer squeeze without tubing.

[Jim Sweeney]

Cool!

[Sean Passanisi]

Hi Eric,

Doesn't the Sawyer have a female side that connects directly to the bottle? Why use a female-to-female coupler?

[Steven Paris]

My Sawyer Squeeze set-up is this:

(1) Squeeze Filter
(2) Clean Water: 2x Smartwater 700mL bottles
(3) Dirty Water: 2L Evernew bladder
(4) Water scoop: the lower 1/3 of a Nalgene Canteen Bladder (2L or 3L? Can't remember)

I scoop water, pour it into the bladder (much easier than submerging a bladder) and attach the filter. The Squeeze push-pull cap fits snugly into the neck of a Smartwater bottle and this means no hoses or tornado tube. I squeeze the bladder and fill up the bottles. Like Russ above, I don't necessarily carry even one full 700mL bottle at any time, which is often easy to do in the Cascades, but if I need to to, I can carry 2L of untreated water and almost 2L of clean water at any time. The scoop is flat, the bladder is flat and I carry the bottles in the side pockets of my pack.

Also, using a cut-up bladder scoop is much easier than submerging a bottle or whole bladder to fill it and allows you to use the corner to get water from small dripping sources. Also, it makes a nice (albeit small) "sink" for washing at camp.

[Eric Lundquist]

Sean,

The dirty bladder is a direct connection to the filter. The clean outlet side is threaded for a drinking spout cap. To set it up in a gravity mode filter, a female to female connection allows you to walk away and let the filter to all the work unattended.

[Sean Passanisi]

Eric,

Got it. I will need to try it out.

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