Adapting components: BeFree to Squeeze

[matt kirk]

Per this thread, maybe there’s someone out there that might take interest in this… The time had come for me to trial my own suggestion of using a Katadyn BeFree cap casing as an adaptive filter. Emboldened by Daryl’s discovery, perhaps this was/is a reversible surgery:

In any event, it didn’t take much pressure or tugging to remove the filter from the cap. I’ve put the filter cage into storage to perhaps be used again one day. The BeFree was acting up on me and on a recent trail run, it really let me down. Although I was having some success with cleaning it at home per suggestions on this forum, I was ready to try a Sawyer Squeeze for its back flushing capability in the field.

I’m still partial to TPU soft bottles over the Sawyer bags, so I wanted to keep using my Hydrapak containers if possible, hence the push for an adaptive fitting. Turns out this works as planned and it wasn’t too hard to make (other than swallowing the risk of irreparable harm to a BeFree filter). My other Hydrapak container is a 0.5L Salomon flask with a bite valve that I really like. One thing that frustrates me with Hydrapak is how the Salomon and Seeker lids aren’t interchangeable. I took the opportunity to modify the Salomon lid as discussed in my post in the aforementioned thread. Here’s the result:

What I did was cut off the threaded opening from a Sawyer bag at the base of the neck with a box cutter. Next, I carefully cut out an opening the same diameter from the Solomon lid. I heated the two pieces in a bath of boiling water and pushed them together. I used one of the gaskets provided in the Sawyer kit to waterproof the joint. Now I could screw on a Smartwater lid, which incidentally, the bite valve fits onto! So no more need for the troublesome Smartwater flip cap that always seem to break off at the hinge. The box cutter made quick work of that.

By removing the bite valve, I can use the Smartwater lid on the Salomon flask to back flush the Sawyer in the field. So, hopefully there will be less frustration with clogged practically useless filters on future trail runs and fast packs… We shall see.

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