Backflushing Sawyer filter on thru-hike

A lot of people use a TORNADO TUBE Erin WIRED Saver talks about it in THIS blog post from 2013 when she hiked the CDT she also used a prefilter with a small o ring strainer, she seems to like the set up and continues to use it on all her thru hikes. There have been a number of discussions using a tornado tube for this purpose on BPL . You can also use a Smartwater sports bottle cap to do it also JOE BREWER VIDEO  (this works best for the mini ) HERE is another video for the regular squeeze. HERE is the coupling that sawyer sells shown in the second video.

According to Sawyer they package their filters with a large syringe so that the back flush is a powerful blast of water. They claim this prevents paths of least resistance in the filter lessening their effectiveness. There was talk early in the history of the Sawyers about carrying a smaller syringe but that also was discouraged due to the volume of water. If what they say is true the smart water bottle method may not be the best for the filter. That is not developing nearly the pressure you can achieve with the syringe. YMMV

If I were going to be out for several weeks, and thought I might need to backflush, I would pack the syringe and follow the manufacturers recommendation.  However, I use a MYOG gravity filter and think it would have to become really slow before I considered it unworkable.

However, I use a MYOG gravity filter and think it would have to become really slow before I considered it unworkable.

I thought the same thing until I realized how much time I spent filtering water on the JMT for my son and I using a Sawyer Mini, often in gravity mode. We’d spend 15-20 minutes at least twice a day and it often wasn’t in the spot we wanted to take a break in. I’ll never use a Sawyer on a long hike again because the time really stacks up day after day. I’d rather use a faster filter (BeFree/Steripen) and use my down time to take longer breaks at beautiful spots where I feel like taking a break.

YMMV/HYOH

Matthew, I retain the right to change my opinion once presented with circumstances and/or facts outside my current experience :)

P.S.  Mini no.  Squeeze or black bottle filter yes.

If you use Sawyer in squeeze mode, it’s faster.

You can carry untreated water and then use the filter at a convenient time when you’re taking a break

I should have clarified my original post by stating that I am using a Platypus 2.0 L reservoir as my clean bladder.  Is there a male adapter that will mate with the threads on a Platypus to backflush the filter with?  The filter I am currently using is the SP121 all-black filter as I described in this thread last year:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/the-sawyer-mini-may-not-be-the-best-filter/

Overall, I’ve been happy with this setup, although I will say that I have never used it for a thru-hike as I am currently thinking about.  Typically, I’ll go home and backflush and then I’m back in business.  But for being 3-4 weeks on trail…I think I need a better system for backflushing in the field.  I know that many prefer Smartwater bottles (I’ve seen Joe Brewer’s video before), but I prefer a 2 L Playtpus with a drink tube.

Now that I’m revisiting my current setup, I’m actually thinking of switching out the all-black Sawyer for the Squeeze.  I had some trouble last summer on the Continental Divide above treeline.  I had nowhere to hang my filter in gravity mode.  I tried hanging it on a trekking pole, but that didn’t work so well.  I would really like to have a “squeeze” option as well, especially given that much of the Colorado Trail (my intended thru-hike) is above treeline.

My current thought is to pick up a Sawyer Squeeze and an Evernew bladder which mates with the threads on the Squeeze, along with the inline adapters Sawyer makes

https://www.campmor.com/c/sawyer-inline-adapter-water-filter-connections?utm_source=Connexity&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Campmor%20Connexity&szredirectid=14948145559156125469410090302008005

The plan would be to use dirty tubing to establish a gravity system while in camp as I’ve done in the past, using quick-disconnect valves to regulate flow.  By unscrewing the inline adapter, I would be able to hook up the Evernew bladder directly to the filter and squeeze if necessary (for example, when above treeline).  This would probably add about 1-2 oz to my current system.  Right now, my total system consists of the following components:

• Platypus 2 L bladder with screw-on male barb; Z-line cord to hang bladder upside from tree
• 28″ length of Platypus “dirty” tubing
• Male/female quick disconnect attached to dirty side of black filter
• Black filter (SP121)
• Clean tubing used with my Platy hydration system
• 2 L Platy hydration system (stored against back in pack)The beauty of the system is that I don’t even really need to remove my 2L Platy from my pack. I can hook the whole thing up and just sit down while gravity does the work.  The total weight of this system is 5.36 oz wet (getting rid of as much water as possible).  This obviously does not include the weight of my clean bladder and hose.

But I digress….Back to the original point of the thread, I am trying to think about a workable solution for backflushing with my Platy.  Should I just try squeezing through the drink tube into the clean end of the filter?  (I’ve tried this, and it works OK, but not great).  Or should I try finding another attachment to hook up the clean Platy directly to the clean side of the filter?

Thoughts???

My current thought is to pick up a Sawyer Squeeze and an Evernew bladder which mates with the threads on the Squeeze, along with the inline adapters Sawyer makes

David – I suspect you’ve already thought of this, but unless you need the extra carry capacity of the Evernew, wouldn’t it plus the adapters weigh at least as much as, or more than, the syringe?  (I haven’t actually weighed the syringe). Should be easy enough to use the syringe on the output side of the black filter.

I used the squeeze in my gravity setup for awhile and it worked great.  I went to the black filter as it was lighter (plus eliminated the threaded adapters), and had the same flow and lifespan.

David,

I think that back flushing by pushing clean water back through your drinking tube would be fine.

HOWEVER, after pushing the clean water through the filter and into the dirty bag, you should consider tossing out the water in your dirty bag.

The reason for this is that if you don’t you are now filtering water that has an abundance of contaminates in the dirty water that will re-foul the filter.

Toss the water out and get a new batch of “less” contaminated water to run through the filter.

Another thing that I did to help prolong the need to do a big back flush of the black filter was to squeeze a little bit of clean water back through the filter after each round of filtering.

In this way, I was trying to keep my filter spores clean as possible and to keep up a good rate of flow vs. waiting til the filter was ready clogged up and running slow….therefore needing more pressure to be pushed through the filter to clear it out.

Basically, a little bit of preventative maintenance with every use.

Funny side note, I am getting sick of my Sawyer mini and I was considering going to the Squeeze to have a better flow rate/faster filtering for efficiency on the trail.

Recently, I have come across the BeFree water filter and I am going to give that a shot.

Apparently, you can back flush that filter by using the Sawyer coupler that allows a soft bottle like a Platypus to be screwed onto the out flow/clean side to back flush the BeFree.

Now, the big unknown is if the BeFree is using the identical filter material as the Sawyer, which I believe they are based on the photos of the inside of the BeFree.

If that is the case, no reason why you cannot vigorously back flush the BeFree like the Sawyer.

Flow rate is a lot better than the Sawyer…however, given your upcoming trip and need for reliability, might not make sense for you to switch off the Sawyer.

Anyway, hope this helps and have a good and safe trip.

Tony

does the befree have a bigger surface area of filter?  more tubes or whatever?

David, like you I have put a lot of thought and time into water, playing with all sorts of configurations of bottles, bags and hoses. I have settled on what i find to be the most flexible setup, easiest and the the most luxurious. It can be pretty UL or just light depending on what i bring. It consists of 2-700ml Smartwater bottles. One in a side pocket (Dirty) with Sawyer Squeeze attached usually carried empty. One on my shoulder pocket: (Clean) with sports cap (used for back flushing). In the shoulder pocket I have a quart sized bottle bottom cut off for filling that my 700ml bottle slides in and out of very easily. Weight 5.2oz. This is all you need, but I also carry for in camp only, a gravity setup that consists of a Platypus 4L Dirty bag with a Big zip clip and tubing for gravity setup 5.8 oz Great for hauling water to a dry camp . Total weight for everything is 11oz

Jerry,

I have not gotten my hands on the BeFree, but what seems to make the big difference is surface area in contact with the water to be filtered.

The Sawyer has narrow input side, which restricts the rate in which the water can come in contact with the filter material.

The BeFree has an open cage design around the filter material, so water can contact the hollow fiber tubes a lot faster….from almost all sides vs. a single input nipple on the Sawyer filters.

What is confusing is that the BeFree does not have a method for forcefully back flushing the filter.

They suggest simply taking the filter and shaking in clean or dirty water to clear the filter….or using tap water from the faucet to push water through the output/clean side to back flush the filter.

The BeFree is rated for something like 1000 liters before it needs to be replaced vs. the Sawyer’s 10000 or 1 million gallons.

I think that the difference is that the Sawyer allows for a much more forceful method of back washing.

I am curious to know if there is something different about the BeFree that prevents back flushing like you can on the Sawyer.

BeFree has some sort of “membrane” that is cleaned by swishing the filter in the water and therefore you are cleaning this membrane????

Tony

@krshome

Kurt,

Are you using the 700mL Smartwater bottle as your own clean water container?  For me, I prefer a 2L Platy with drink tube, mostly for ease of use so I can continue hiking while I drink.  I’ve found an easy way to extract and replace a water bottle without breaking stride.  I see also that you carry a 4L BigZip.  I actually used to carry a 4L dirty bag reservoir from Platypus’ CleanStream system as my sole dirty bag.  This one is a bit lighter than yours because it doesn’t have the heavy blue plastic “big zip” thingie.  But same concept.

Out of curiosity, how much does the grey screw-on adapter weigh for the Sawyer Squeeze?  Again, I am thinking of moving to the Squeeze so that I can have a more versatile system (squeezing when above treeline, gravity when below treeline).

@pastyj-2-2

JCH, I think you might have misunderstood my comment when I mentioned getting an Evernew bag.  The Evernew bag would serve as my sole dirty reservoir in lieu of the Platypus I am currently using.  By screwing it directly onto the Squeeze, I’d have a squeeze bag.  By hooking it up to a hose and the filter with a quick disconnect, I’d have a gravity system.  The only additional weight would be the difference in weight between a Platy bag and an Evernew bag.  (I think the Platy ones are a few grams lighter).  With regard to backflushing, I was thinking about keeping my clean Platy reservoir and figuring out a way to hook it up to the clean end of the Squeeze.

@valshar

Tony, I have actually tried squeezing clean water through my drink tube to backflush the black filter, and it seems to work somewhat, but I get a slow seep, not a forceful backflush.  Do you think this is adequate?  I like your idea of routinely doing this every time you filter as a measure of preventative maintenance.  Like you, I started with the SP121 (black filter) and switched to the mini, then I switched back to the SP121.  (How long have we been exchanging ideas on water filtration?  At least back to 2009 or so…we should just do this full time and make our own filter) :)  Now, I have never owned a Squeeze because I found the SP121 to be a lighter in weight and set up for gravity filtration, which is my preferred mode of filtering.  But in thru-hiking the CT I will be above treeline for a while, and it’s kind of annoying when there are no trees around…

Now with regard to the BeFree, I actually just learned about this a week or two ago.  I am really enthused to hear that there is a filter with a faster flow rate out there.  However, I’m also not sure I want to be a beta tester, so to speak, while thru-hiking the CT.  I want a filter to be reliable.  So while I’d like to play with one, I don’t know if I’d trust it…

Going back to my original question again…do you think that backflushing through my drink tube is any less effective than hooking the clean bladder directly up to the filter? And, should I be concerned about my Platy bursting by using it as a backflushing reservoir.  It would kind of suck to be on a long-distance trail with nothing to drink out of.

I have a regular Sawyer Squeeze set up as a gravity filter with the Sawyer SP150 Coupling (their version of the tornado tube), which I can use to backflush it out of my Smartwater bottles. If you start with a full bottle and squeeze hard, it seems to make a decently forceful blast of water run through the filter. Sawyer also promotes that coupling as a way to field backflush.

The Sawyer cleaning coupling offers an alternative way to clean your Sawyer squeeze Filter. To clean your Filter with the cleaning coupling, remove the push-pull cap from your Filter, attach the coupling, then screw the other side of the coupling onto a bottle filled with clean, filtered water. Once attached, you can forcefully squeeze the bottle to backwash and clean your Filter.

Does the coupling in question allow one to hook up a Platy bag, or are the threads not compatible?

David,

I think that if you are doing regular maintenance on the filter by doing a little back flushing each time, you should be okay.

I say this because it means that you should not really be put in a situation where you need to apply a ton of pressure to back flush the filter.

I don’t think that it makes a difference if you are pushing water through the tube or not….pressure is pressure applied to blow out anything clogging the filter.

That said, the “safe” option is for you to carry the syringe so that you never have to worry about blowing out the Platypus, but at the expense of weight.

That said, you should practice with the syringe at home to see how if works with the black filter…..no reason why it should not work.

Yeah, you and I have been using these Sawyers for a long time….I really wish that they took the body design of the Mini and apply the same body to the bigger Squeeze.

I am going to be a guinea pig and go for the BeFree, but I am not doing any big trips, so it will likely be fine for me.

Tony

Tony,

Did you ever have issues above treeline with your gravity setup?  The BeFree system really has my interest–the capacity to squeeze without all the fuss.  I tried out the Mini squeeze concept and gave up…it took so much effort to squeeze, especially when hands are cold, etc., that my hiking partner and I had to switch and take turns.  I’ve never tried the Squeeze so I’m guessing it would be better than the Mini, and the Squeeze seems to be the go-to now for long distance hikers.  But I’m curious if any thru-hikers are planning on picking up the BeFree this year.

For those that own a Squeeze, can someone tell me if it has a male barb on either side like the Mini or just a hole?  Trying to determine whether I’d need an adapter to convert it to gravity mode.

David, the 700ml smart water bottle i carry on my shoulder strap is the only clean bottle i carry. It has the sport cap for back flushing and ease of drinking. I usually squirt a little water back into the filter after each fill, doing this I have never needed to a serious back flush on a trip. The one thing i pointed out is the cut piece of a larger bottle in my chest pocket bottle holder, this makes it super fast and easy to pull out and drink and slide back in without fooling around with it. BTW the 4 litter gravity system is my luxury item Im lazy when i get to camp and hate having to keep getting water.

David,  I figured I just didn’t fully grasp your intent :)

Re BeFree, There seem to be a lot of people who are really happy with this relatively new filter. But there also seem to be a number of reports of slowed filtering that cannot be rectified by the “swish to clean” method.  Given the length of your trip, I personally would opt for the “more proven” (at least in terms of hours of use on the trail) Squeeze.  Just my opinion.

Enjoy your thru-hike…wish I was doing that.

I’m really tempted to pick up one of the new 1L BeFree’s from REI and test it out with their 1-year guarantee.  But like you say, hiking with this for nearly 500 miles straight gives me pause.  Regarding my original question, as Tony said, I’m able to get some backflow simply by applying pressure on my Platypus clean reservoir through my SP121 black filter.  This may be enough for backflushing purposes.  I also found that I can apply pressure to the dirty Platypus reservoir and utilize the black filter as a squeeze filter, even with the dirty tubing attached between the filter and dirty Platy.  It’s a fairly simple system: Clean Platy + Filter + tubing + Dirty Platy.

Now what really attracts me to the BeFree system, as others have mentioned in another thread, is the quickness and ease of use.  The capacity to quickly dip the container into a spring while on trail and drink means that I would carry less water meaning I’m saving a lot of weight.  This might mean that I could get away with carrying little to no water where water is plentiful, as it is in Colorado where I do most of my hiking.  The downside that I can see to the BeFree system is that it is heavily dependent on the proprietary bladders that come with the system.  I also don’t see myself purchasing the HydroPack Seekers as they are heavy, non-transparent, and generally fugly (sorry…).  The Squeeze/Black filter is versatile in that if one bladder fails, you can always pick up another.  The Squeeze is probably the most versatile out there because if your Evernew / Sawyer bag fails, you can always screw a generic water bottle onto the filter and keep rolling.  I haven’t had my Platypi fail in 10 years of backpacking though…(keeping my fingers crossed)…so maybe I don’t have to convert from the Black SP121 filter to the Squeeze.

David,

You will need the inline adapter kit for the Squeeze to connect a tube to the output side of the filter.

Unless there is a nipple under the sport top cap on the Squeeze.

Unfortunately, the Squeeze does not have the same body as the mini.

When I was using a gravity filter setup, I never ran into a problem with using it above tree line that I can recall….the only issue that I would have with above treeline is to make sure that my filter did not freeze at night. (I sleep with mine in my bivy and have a small wash cloth that I wrap mine in for insulation)

Interesting side note: Sawyer seems to have a new 1 gallon gravity system

https://sawyer.com/products/one-gallon-gravity-system/

I gave up on gravity systems after I switched off the black filter….even then, I was just impatient with the whole gravity filter…..so I would just squeeze water through my Platypus.

After the JMT back in 2011, I was annoy with all the effort to squeeze using any filter.

I moved to a setup where I put dirty water in my wide mouth water bottle and then put the Mini at the end of the drinking tube with a Camelback bite piece on the output nipple in the mini….sucking/filtering on the go vs. any squeezing….other than for water for meals.

The mini is an effort, hence why I was moving to the Squeeze, but the BeFree is new to me and I am intrigued.

Tony

I use the Sawyer Mini and take the syringe to backflush, as posted before if it is not convenient to filter at the water source you can carry the dirty bag full to a nice place to stop.

I have gravity feed for camp but if necessary filter during the day and use Aquaventure liquid or tablets to obtain 2 litre of good water to start off the next day.I find it doesn`t take long to fill a bottle by squeezing the dirty bag; sussing out a quick way to fill the dirty bag can save time

If the water source looks doubtful I will treat and filter. We sometimes forget the at boiling the water is effective and done for drinks and food anyway.<b></b><i></i><u></u>

David,

Because of the “ease” of use with the BeFree….my plan is to use their proprietary bottle to scoop up dirty water and then to filter on the spot into a clean platypus, which I would have my hydration tube connected to.

Drinking clean water….no inline filtering.

I would carry a two liter platypus for collecting dirty water in camp so I have plenty of water on hand for my meals and rehydrating at the end of a long day…..filtering as I needed.

Downside, guess that means 1 L clean Platypus, 2 L Platypus for carrying dirty water for in camp or dry stretches of the trail….plus the BeFree Bottle.

Anyway, just my random thoughts on what I would intend to do with the BeFree.

Tony

Tony,

I had the same thoughts as you on intended use of the BeFree.  I notice they now have a 1L BeFree version coming out.  I just called REI today and they said they would have it in stock in about 10 days or so.  I would probably carry an extra 2L Platy for dry stretches of trail.  I think they weigh around 1.6 oz including the cap, so not that much extra weight for more storage…The thing is that I’d have to give up on my gravity system, which I’ve been accustomed to.  The nice thing about a gravity feed is that you can have a faucet in camp, especially if you are using a quick disconnect.  This is handy for washing my hands or doing dishes.  Now, if the BeFree is truly as fast as they say it is, then I could see myself not needing to wait around for gravity filtration.  Although it would be nice to have a way to hang it…