Downside of Sawyer Filters?

I tried one of these "bottle with integrated filter" units from Sawyer. Neat idea but in practice I found it too much work to draw water through it. Sometimes you just want to guzzle a drink of water. All you get from this is a trickle and you really have to suck to get that. YMMV.

G

I think the sawyer works good in gravity mode, at least from what others say, check the reviews and you can see how people are using it. IT does nothing for taste though.

I wrote one of the reviews on this product. I used my Sawyer all summer in gravity mode. I get reasonable results with a six foot head on the filter. I agree with the other guys, sucking hard can get old quick. I fill my dirty bag (2 L platy when I come across a good water supply. At my next break or when I stop to camp, I hang it up and connect it to the filter which connects to my clean bladder . I can't say how long it takes because I keep busy doing other things (the great advantage of gravity over pumps) but I'd guess somewhere between five and ten minutes to empty the dirty bag. I always back flush a couple of ounces after filtering. I've never noticed a mark decrease in flow.

Dean,

I wrote a detailed review of the Sawyer filter.

I have been using it for over two years….in fact, I just came back from a three day trip with my 6 yr old daughter.

Filter works fine as a gravity filter and I find that back washing it is a little bit of work, but the easy way to do it is simply to take the out put portion of the tubing and blowing air into it to force the clean water back thru it.

I did not need to do this at all during the trip, but I now do it as a matter practice.

In comparison, the father and son that I went with had the MSR Mini Waterworks and had to clean the ceramic cartridge twice in order to keep functioning. Frankly, I was surprised by how many times they had to clean their filter from water that was clear.

Okay, back to your question about negatives.

I have not used the water bottle that you are talking about, but do use mine with a disposable water bottle.

It works, but it is definitely some work to suck the dirty water through it.

Not chugging water on the trail with this baby!

If you want to chug, better whip out the gravity filter and give yourself 10 times to get yourself a few liters of water.

In gravity filter mode, which I only use in camp, it works great and time is not an issue.

The big negative to me with this is that you really don't know if the system is not working.

Just like any filter, you need to store it dry by sucking the water left in it out and, if you have to, sleep with it in your sleeping bag….don't let it freeze!

Point is, if the hollow tubes in it are damaged, you have not way to test to know if it does not work……so you are working on faith here.

That said, I have never gotten sick nor has my family.

I have heard that the sawyer filter that removes viruses requires priming to get started, which might not be possible in the field to do…..I just don't know on this one.

It does absolutely nothing for improving taste….as there is no active carbon/charcoal element to it.

You can add one by building one or using a heavy Katadyn attachment.

The major thing that I have heard, but not experienced is muddy water clogging the filter.

No idea of who well it would do in muddy water and if it would be possible to backwash at that point….I think that you should be able to do it.

On the extreme end, I had to backwash by sitting on my clean bag of water to force the clean water back through the filter…..it took a lot of force to do that.

Hence, why I make a point of blowing a puff of air back through the system after every use to do an easy backwash as preventative maintenance.

Yes, these issues are common to regular filters…to me, if there was some built in charcoal/carbon element, it would be perfect….I can live with the rest of the issues.

And yes, I also wonder why more people don't use the Sawyer filter.

I just realized that it is not a perfect system…I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

-Tony

Tony,

I had read your review before I posted, actually. Thanks.

I thought the freezing issue was common to all filters- why do you emphasize it so much? Likewise the "no way to test if it is really working" issue?

Generally, though, from what I've read I'm very impressed. I anticipate that I'll end up ordering the four-way filter, and I'll play around with using it in the bottle vs a gravity system.

In the vein of Jason's DIY gravity filter, I took a 2L Platy, cut off the wide end, ran a tube from the cap end to a Sawyer inline filter (don't have it in front of me, but about 2-3 feet of tubing), about another foot of tubing out the other side screwed onto a 2L clean Platy. Filters the 2L in a couple of minutes, and is very light! And since I employ 1 piece of thin line with a loop at each end and a mini carabiner, I can hang it just about anywhere very quickly. And it seems a bit easier to fill the 'dirty' bag than it was to fill my amigo pro.

I set up a 4L big zip platypus (discontinued) with hoses a Sawyer filter, an MSR pre filter and a Camelback valve at the bottom. It works fine. The prefilter tends to clog up, but the Sawyer keeps going. It has good flow.

With a decent water hole I can fill the 4L big zip bag in about 2 seconds. I hang it from a tree in camp and I am set for a day or two.

Last year I added an unfiltered tap by tee'ing off a hose above the filter. I can fill cooking pots with water very quickly. (Being a typical engineer I can't keep from tinkering with things. Next year I am thinking about adding a third tap to run a hydropowered battery recharger – no)

Dean,

Well, I guess I emphasize it because it is the one thing that I can think of to try to be balanced in my review that is a big issue.

More so because if it is damaged, you can not readily check it or see the damage that is done.

Yes, my MSR ceramic filter can also be damaged by freezing too, but in the case of a traditional filter, you can very easily remove the cartridge and inspect it to look for damage where you can not on the Sawyer.

My understanding is that the new Sawyer filter are glued shut so you can not unscrew them to open them up. I think that the Sawyer company is concerned that people will poke around on the inside and damage the hollow tubes.

As for not being able to test with the Sawyer filter, I think that it is harder to test because the filter only removes "solids"….a traditional filter probably has a charcoal element in it that might help "test" for damage.

Example….the 1st time that I used my Sawyer filter was with green pond water….the filtered water came out green, but was safe to drink.

The Sawyer rep at my local REI store that I happen to run across a week after my trip with the green water said that things dissolved at the molecular level will pass through the filter….hence why my filtered water was green.

He even went on to say that if I had gatoraide pushed through the filter, that it would still look and taste like gatoraide…again, all the sugars and such being at a molecular level and smaller than bacterial and would pass through the small pores of the filter.

I have pretty ignoranted about the validity of the science of what he was saying, but it mades sense to me.

My assumption is that a traditional filter would make my green water clear….if the traditional filter was damaged, then it would pass through as green (not clear) and would then show that the filter is damaged.

Anyway, that all said….the freezing issue is very minor.

I just make sure that I store my filter by sucking out as much water as I can with it before storing and if it is really cold, I sleep with it in my sleeping bag, using a small cloth that I used for washing (like a bandana) to wrap it up so that it does not come into contact with my bag or that the metal clamp does not snag any part of my sleeping bag.

Frankly, to me the biggest draw back is that there is no active charcoal/carbon in the unit….then again neither does Aqua Mira, right?

Given that the Sawyer filter does not wear our like a ceramic cartridge, does not have issues with bacterial growth inside the filter, and essentially has a life time gurantee….it is the perfect filter to me.

Maybe I am being to harsh in my review of the Sawyer filter, but I am the type of person that would rarely give a five to something and I strive to be critical and balanced in my review.

-Tony

Tony Wong writes:

“Frankly, to me the biggest draw back is that there is no active charcoal/carbon in the unit….then again neither does Aqua Mira, right?”

That depends on if you’re refering to their chemical water treatment or their Frontier Pro filter, which does contain activated charcoal and also can be used in a gravity system. The drawback of course being that at 3 microns it only removes larger bio hazards like Giardia and Crypto.

The Frontier Pro has been commented on at length here, so I didn’t mention it in my earlier post, but I far prefer it to my Sawyer bottle. It draws easily and I can put it on a variety of different bottles including Platys, soda or water bottles. I use Micrpur tabs to dispatch bacteria and virus. A 15 min wait time is generally adequate for that. The Frontier Pro then does a pretty good job of removing the chlorine taste, better than sans filter anyway. Not a perfect system either, but the best I’ve found. I’m a big fan of “scoop, treat & go”.

G

>> I have pretty ignoranted about the validity of the science of what he was saying, but it mades sense to me.

I grok kidney dialysis. The Sawyer filters seem VERY robust to me. I'm ready to go on faith.

By the way- in your review you mentioned that the ends of the tubules were embedded in resin, and some weren't open. I'd bet that the tubules are all bent into a loop, so as long as one end is open the tubule is still functional. Granted, having both ends open would increase total cross-sectional area and probably result in more flow, but with only one end open it is at least functional. UNLESS the rate-limiting step is water flow across the membrane rather than water flow out of the tubule, which actually seems likely, now that I think of it. No, actually, a long thin tube open at only one end would have more resistance than one open at both ends, since the latter essentially halves the effective length of the tube… But that is probably a much smaller effect.

My head hurts.

So, were the tubules looped center-to-periphery? Or some other fashion? (You are correct- my new REI-purchased unit seems to be glued shut…)

>> That depends on if you're refering to their chemical water treatment or their Frontier Pro filter, which does contain activated charcoal and also can be used in a gravity system.

Well, yes, but Gordon, if you are going to carry 2 oz of water treatment system why not go with the simpler system? One filter. Especially since it lasts forever, without needed chemical replenishment?

Also, for me the fact that the Sawyer doesn't change the taste of the water is a PLUS- but that's just me. I am heavily into the aesthetics of the thing when I hike, and I enjoy the interesting tastes. (Of course, where I've hiked I've usually had pretty pure water…) It makes it more real for me. The chemicals ruin that. But HYOH.

Dean,

You are right, the hollow tubes are a loop…really a U shape.

The production method seems pretty simple.

Take a a length of the hollow tubing and bend it into a U shape and take the ends and place them through the resin and trim/cut any excess tubing flush with the resin.

Some of the tubes are clogged in resin, but the vast majority are not obstructed.

The resin simply holds the hollow tubes in place and creates a waterproof barrier between the dirty and clean water.

The majority of the tubes are placed at the center of the filter/resin…fewer ones at the edges.

Despite the fact that the Sawyer filter does nothing for the taste of the water, I am good with it…..I am fortunately that the water in the Sierras taste great just as it is.

Congrats on getting the filter and after you have had a chance to use yours for a while, I will be curious to see what your user review and experience is with this filter.

Feel free to ask me questions, if you have any, about the filter.

-Tony

I've got a Sawyer filter – maybe I just get lucky with my water sources (My backyard is the Smokies where water is plentiful) but I filter by gravity all the time – camp or on the trail. I'm sold on it – works great for me with no problems.

Tony pretty much knows everything on Sawyer.

Btw, I do know that someone on her had a rig where they did their gravity feed while on the go – had cord attached to the bottom of a "dirty water" platy and hung it on their shoulder while they held the "clean bag." I just stop and eat something while it filters – no sweat.

I just bought one of these filters for my gravity filter setup. After testing it, the filter works well but I can't seem to get all of the water out. How should I store the filter? Just backflush it when I get home and then store it wet?

I have a similar in-line filter and here's what I do after a trip:

1. Wash all bladders with dishwashing liquid. Squeeze water through connected hydration tube and bite valve. Rinse.

2. Fill one bladder with tap water and some chlorine. Connect hydration tube and filter (reverse direction to back flush) and squeeze water through. Rinse with tap water.

3. Dry by connecting my el cheapo ($6) Wally World aquarium pump to hydration tube –> filter –> bladder — thus drying everything together. 8 hours or so, and everything will be bone dry and ready to store.

Dean,

I got the Four Way just to use in bottle mode. I took it on a trip that I knew I would be near water constantly. It is a bit hard to suck the water through but if you squeeze the bottle while drinking it makes it a faster drink. I even did this to get my dinner water.

Benjamin Tang says:
"3. Dry by connecting my el cheapo ($6) Wally World aquarium pump to hydration tube –> filter –> bladder — thus drying everything together. 8 hours or so, and everything will be bone dry and ready to store."

Now that's a great idea! My usual is what you described above, but without the pump – just hang and let air dry.

I'm getting a pump right away!!!

Thank you, Ben!

That really is a great idea! Thanks Ben!

Btw, for the taste issue, I am trying an inline siltstopper filled with aquarium carbon for the taste removal and to keep the Sawyer flowing. It may not be enough carbon to matter but it's worth a try. The siltstopper portion should definitely help with clogging the filter. I had my gravity filter setup with a hiker filter that quickly clogged with water from a slow moving creek. In fact it clogged two hiker filter elements on my last trip. They both still work when used with the katadyn hiker pump though.

I'll report back after my next trip if this works or not.

I have been using mine for 2 years now. It still has great flow. I only use it as a gravity flow filter; and it works great for this. I have not backwashed it yet. I do run bleach water through it after a trip; I also do this to my hydration system. I then run clean tap water through it, and dry the whole system using a dual port aquarium pump. the hoses and bladder dry out in about 3-4 hours; the filter and its hoses take overnight. I am just too lazy to use a pump filter and too impatient to use chemicals; so this works really well for me. I hang up my 2 liter platy and have a shutoff valve on the line; this is nice to be able to have good water on demand.

Hey All,
After watching Geigerrig's video's on their new bomb proof (no joke) hydration bladder I figured it'd be the ultimate partner for my Sawyer zero two filter. The zero two is almost unusable on its own with the bottle (as bought from walmart), but after pairing it inline with the Geigerrig there's no more sucking! It's not gonna spray into your mouth or anything but the pressurized hydration bladder almost removes all resistance. First picture is setup (no need to cut any hosing, just use the tube that was in the bottle to connect to plug_n_play adapter. Second pic is the steady flow coming out of the setup with no help from gravity, in fact pushing about 1 ft up. Sawyer now gets 5/5 in my opinion.

FYI, the Sawyer SP140 (hard side bottle) or SP149 (soft side bottle) cap will fit a soft side Nalgene bottle…perfectly. I'm not sure how well it would work with a true soft side container.

From online research, the early soft bottle included a ~50 cc syringe for backwashing. So, using a syringe for in the field backwashing might also work. The syringe would do double duty as a first aid wound cleaner.

Wide mouth Nalgene cap 18 grams.
Sawyer SP140 bottle cap 41 grams.