Questions about Sawyer Squeeze

[rhendrix]

So in an effort to lighten the load I'm looking for a new water filter system. Right now, I'm contemplating using the Sawyer squeeze, where I'll be hunting this year there's plenty of water. I'm so used to running a water bladder though and having quick access to a tube when I want a drink. So...here's my question, can you filter 3L of water fairly quickly through the sawyer squeeze? And if not what are my other options? Aquamira drops? Iodine tablets? If I decide to do Aquamira drops, do I even need a sawyer squeeze filter? Most of the water that is in the unit I'm hunting is moving, and what water is in a lake I can filter with a handkerchief. Thoughts?

Ron

 

[PA 5-0]

Sawyer Squeeze is awesome and really lightweight. I have never really squeezed it, just gravity feed. It runs thru quickly. I have the 3 bag kit. You can hook it right to a water bottle for direct drinking. I just bought my third kit as the guides on my 2 AK hunts asked for it as part of their tip. Super simple. Good luck, Dan

 

[colonel00]

I run the Squeeze inline from a "dirty" bladder which allows me to filter on the go. However, I can also unhook my mouthpiece and gravity feed into a larger holding vessel too. Works well. I've never actually used the squeeze bags but I think I have one in my possibles pouch as it weighs nothing and would be handy should I ever rupture my bladder.

 

[airlocksniffer]

I just started using the Sawyer Mini, which is probably comparable to the Squeeze. It takes me about 1 minute of squeeze time to get through the 16 oz bladder into my 32oz Platy bottle. With refills, I'd guess 3-4 minutes for a full fill. You could also run the Mini inline with your bladder and just fill up the bladder with untreated water and drink as needed. While Micropur/Iodine/Aquamira work good, they take time to kill the bugs. If completely out of water, it's at least 15 minutes of wait time to ensure full treatment. Giardia and Crypto treatment require 30 minutes and 4 hours respectively. I always pack some Micropur but am really liking the Mini. I would probably still pack my Katadyn Hiker if filtering for a group though. Not sure of the wait time for Aquamira but looks like only 30 gallons of treatment for $15 at REI, while the Sawyer Mini is good for 100,000 gallons for between $15-$20 on sale. Hope this helps.

 

[luke moffat]

Just get a Sawyer inline filter with a platypus big zip so you can just dip the bladder in the creek and go. Then the water gets filtered as you drink it. No pumping, no waiting for Aquamira to work just simple and easy.

Here I am in 2011 the first year we started using it:


No reason to change to anything else at this point given our uses. Much faster than having to stop and filter.

Here it is being used in gravity filter mode to fill a 6 liter dromedary if you want to filter water to have more than just the 3 liters in your bladder on hand:



Personally I always thought the squeeze filter is pointless and can see zero advantages to it.

The squeeze bottle is a PITA to fill up, then you might as well be pumping a filter rather than taking the time to squeeze the water out.....

 

[COlineman78]

The inline is much faster than the Squeeze if using it in a gravity system. The bags that come with the system are quite heavy though. I will get actual weights tonight for the inline vs the squeeze so that you can compare. Takes about 2 minutes to run 2L though my inline.

 

[AdamW]

The Squeeze is super popular and from my reading the only downside is you can't let it freeze or it will kill the filter. Most filters are that way though, be it ceramic or otherwise.

I put the quick in-line connector on the hose of my bladder for filtering straight in to the bladder if I choose to do so. So far so good. I like the multiple pouches for filling now and filtering back at camp or when I have time. I might run Aquamira as a backup. Aron Snyder has mentioned several times when he did the filter tests with Outdoor Life, the most effective thing was the Steripen. Gotta filter out the turds, but nothing kills like UV light apparently.

 

[rhendrix]

Hadn't occurred to me to run one inline. I see sawyer sells an adapter kit for the squeeze, how do you run an inline filter using the mini, just attach the tubing?

 

[AdamW]

Yep. Google "sawyer mini inline" for pictures.

 

[colonel00]

I tried the mini for a little bit but went back to the regular sized one. For me, I seemed to have flow issues with the mini for some reason. Admittedly, I didn't spend a lot of time testing and troubleshooting as the regular Sawyer filter isn't that much heavier.

 

[mrbillbrown]

How are you guys protecting the filter from freezing if it's inline? Just put the entire bladder filter set up in the bag with you?

 

[Curtis C]

I have my Sawyer Squeeze Filter inline with a Platypus Big Zip. If I'm on the go I fill the bag and drink through the filter, if time allows I quick connect dirty bag and filter to a clean water only Platypus and let gravity do the work while I'm on to other task.

 

[luke moffat]

How are you guys protecting the filter from freezing if it's inline? Just put the entire bladder filter set up in the bag with you?

Probably not a legit way to do it, but if I know its gonna be freezing I disconnected it and blow all the water I can out of it from both directions and call it good. Maybe my filter hasn't been filtering anything for years now, but I haven't had to run to the toilet yet so I assume it is

 

[COlineman78]

Yeah, I actually have the mini not the squeeze and run it inline with a 3L Geigerrig and just fill water bottles straight out of it. I also use a mosquito head net as a pre filter. The major downside to using the mini inline is that it's a pain to get the tubing off the stem in order to back flush. If you get the gravity filter kit it comes with a faucet adapter with quick detach that you could rig something up, but that turns into an expensive and complicated solution. What I ended up doing is cutting the hose off every time I needed to back flush, which isn't very often when filling from alpine lakes and pre filtering. So each time I would lose about an inch of hose. The inline kit is already set up with quick detach on either end, so a good light weight solution would be to go that route and replace the bags with platty: a big zip for dirty and a hoser for clean.

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk

 

[mrbillbrown]

Thanks Luke. I'd rather be lucky than good any day. Lol

As a fairly new backcountry hunter..... Last year I slept with a ton of stuff in my bag with me to avoid freezing. After a couple of bladders, battery pack, Jetboil fuel etc. I felt like I was sleeping in my backpack. Experience and confidence in gear should help with a better nights rest this year.

 

[AdamW]

After a couple of bladders, battery pack, Jetboil fuel etc. I felt like I was sleeping in my backpack.

Hahaha. I hear you. Battery pack and filter will hopefully be my only two sleeping companions if needed this fall.

 

[Becca]

In true freezing temps I sometimes disconnect our sawyers and toss them into a ziploc or small dry bag at the foot of my bag. But as Luke indicated above, we most often just blow the water out and call it good.