Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter

[Ken Helwig]

Has anyone seen this or have it??? I just found this and was wondering. Looks ineresting. It weighs in at 3 oz.

http://www.sawyer.com/SP131.htm

[Rick Dreher]

Nice find! It must be quite new; I've neither seen nor heard of it before. If the pouches hold up I could see this becoming quite popular. (I wonder what the cleaning syringe is?)

Cheers,

Rick

[Ken Helwig]

Rick, I just got the new Backpacker and saw an advertisement for it. Looks promising! I too was looking at the syringe and wondering what it is for….backflushing????? You get three bags with it too. 3 ounces….hmmmm

[Bob Gross]

The product ad does not state what the lifetime of the filter is, like 100 gallons or whatever.

–B.G.–

[John S.]

Betting the filter has the same life as other Sawyer filters. The syringe should be for backflushing, same as for other Sawyer products including a syringe.

[Rick Dreher]

"Betting the filter has the same life as other Sawyer filters. The syringe should be for backflushing, same as for other Sawyer products including a syringe."

Agreed, it's a slight reworking of the standard Sawyer 0.1µm filter, in which case it's basically a "lifetime" warranty, per Sawyer. Other Sawyer filters come with a faucet backflush adapter and they tell you for field backwashing to force clean water back through the filter using a water bag and hose. The "syringe" that comes with this one might be an irrigation syringe with some sort of fitting.

Need to get my mitts on one!

Cheers,

Rick

[Ken Helwig]

Rick, Ebay has them for $49.95

and yes, the syringe is indeed used for backflushing in the field. The directions on how to do that are on the bags that come with the filter

[Doug Reeves]

The ad in the newest Backpacker says it has a one million gallon guarantee.

[Ryan C]

Very cool. Since there is a threaded cap, is there a possibility some sort of small carbon filter element could be attached? Possibly MYOG? I have contemplated converting my MSR Hyperflow into a gravity feed with a screw on carbon element but this new Sawyer looks much better.

[Link .]

http://alanrayneroutdoors.blogspot.com/2011/05/water-filter-sawyer-squeeze.html

[Dean F.]

Lot's of info on sawyer filters in the reader reviews:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=5536&cat=Hydration%20-%20Water%20Treatment&cid=55

But bear in mind that some of them date back to 2007. For instance, there is a lot of discussion on how to MYOG a gravity setup. (Sawyer now makes one.)

I love my Sawyer, and don't understand why more people don't use them. They seem to be the Perfect Filter.

[Tim Zen]

Filter and other water treatment methods are on the wiki in Gear:Water

[Heath Pitts]

Dean, I have to agree with you on the Sawyer filters. I used their inline model on my MYOG gravity filter last weekend and it was great. The flow was much higher than I expected. These squeeze filters look like a good addition to their lineup

[Randy Smith]

Mine came in the other day. Looks good, but I haven't yet put any water through it.

Couple observations/thoughts.
The top (or dirty) end is a female threaded "2 liter bottle sized" opening which the included bag or alternate bottle or bag can attach.

The bottom (or clean) end is a male threaded "2 liter bottle sized" opening which the push/pull cap is attached.

I'm kinda thinking that this filter may be the perfect "one size fits all" filter I've been looking for.

Should be easy enough to rig it as a gravity filter by fitting it with hoses and adapters. Use as purchased for a squeeze filter. Used to top 1 liter bottles on a solo trip.

If folks are interested, I'd be happy to take a couple photos and share them.

[Thomas Budge]

I would certainly be interested in photos, how easy it squeezes, and how effective it is when used in a gravity setup.

[Randy Smith]

I put a few photos and some initial test results and weights on this web page.
http://www.mydiygear.com/pages/other-gear/sawyer-sp132.php

[Alex H]

Randy, great work on the photos and write up. Looks promising, thanks.

[Donna C]

I have a question about these filters….is anyone concerned about them not removing viruses? I was thinking of using a setup like the sawyer, but no viruses are removed. I use a Steripen right now and wondered about this. Anyone?

[Randy Smith]

This will be the only filter I carry this summer on my hikes.
Possibly someone more knowledgable can answer questions concerning viruses?

[Tony Wong]

Donna,

Consensus seems to be that viruses are not an issue in the States.

Not sure why, but does not seem to be an issue.

I have been using the Sawyer filter for about 3 years now as my only water treatment on my hikes in the SF Bay Area and the Sierras.

Never had an issue, never been sick, still using the same ole filter with no problems.

If you are concerned about that, you could add chemicals to the water after treating or you might be better off with a Steripen.

I like the Sawyer because I psychologically don't like the idea of particles and chunky things in the water I drink and the Sawyer takes care of that for me and is faster than chemicals.

Nothing wrong with the Steripen at all….have a friend who used it for 9 days on the Tahoe Rim Trail with no problem, so I know it works too.

-Tony

[Rafi Harzahav]

It's interesting because there's a version with three pouches and a version with only one pouch. Both seem to cost the same???

https://www.sawyersafetravel2.com/checkout.asp

[Donna C]

Tony,
Thanks for the info. I was just curious as to why no concern about the viruses. Like you, I'm not fond of the floaters and all, but I do filter them out. I like the Steripen. I do collect a few liters of water for camp and the inline filter wold be a nice thing to use.

[Hoot Filsinger]

Hey Ken,

I just put up a review with pics here:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/reviews/display_reviews?forum_thread_id=48761&cat=Hydration%20%2D%20Water%20Treatment&cid=55

Bill

[Randy Smith]

Just got back from a week-long hike on the AT (Ensign Cowall to Pine Grove State Park) using this filter and have a few additional thoughts.

Our group – We had 12 total people in our group and hiked in small groups of 3 or 4. We had a gravity filter, a pump filter, my Sawyer Squeeze filter, and 1 or 2 that used Aqua Mira. As each small group reached a water source, whoever had a filter treated water for their group. I usually ended up filtering 6-8 or so liters each time.

Rubber washer – The rubber washer fits into the filter too loosely and falls out quite easily. Need to either put a spare in the kit or check my local hardware store for a slightly larger one that will stay in place.

Push/Pull Cap – Aiming the stream of water was easy and flow was plenty fast enough to allow me to hold the bag at an angle so that any untreated water dripping off the bag wouldn't accidently fall into the water bottle. I originally thought I might replace this cap, but I'll keep it like it is for now.

Extra Scoop Needed – Several of the water sources we encountered were no more than 2-3 inches deep. This made filling the water bag more difficult. I forgot to bring a scoop and had to use someone else's cup to fill the water bag one cup at a time. This was slow and tedious. I think I'll probably cut the top off a plastic water bottle and carry a .5 liter scoop with this kit.

2 Liter Bag – On the second morning of our hike, just North of PenMar. I filtered several liters of water and filled the provided 2 liter bag to top off bottles after the climb up to Deer Lick Shelter. Another hiker fastened it under the lid of his pack. Halfway up the hill, the bag fell from the pack landing on a rock and burst. No more bag. Fortunately, I had an extra 2 liter Platypus bag with me.

Capacity – The high temperatures in Southern PA last week ranged from 84 to 93 degrees. We went through alot of water! I was able filter water for myself and 2-3 others easily and quickly (except for filling the water bag).

Cleaning Syringe – I carried the syringe because I was unsure how long it would take for the filter to become partially clogged and slow. Never used it. The flow from the filter never varied one bit after filtering dozens of liters during the entire week. I did, however thoroughly backflush the filter with tap water upon my return home. I'm convinced that the syringe can stay at home for weekend trips.

[Rakesh Malik]

Your experience sounds encouraging. I just got one myself, because my Steripen didn't work on my last outing (I think due to dead batteries, though I replaced them after I got back from Africa a few months ago). I ordered mine from Saftey Products International, for $45 + shipping, and they included an extra pouch attached to the outside of the package. I haven't had a chance to try it out in the field yet… hopefully that will happen this coming weekend :)

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