Sawyer mini VS Katadyn befree

Joined
Jun 26, 2017
Messages
505
I'm in the market for a water filter and was curious if anyone has any experience with these. Looking at specs the Katadyn has a much higher flow rate but I read several places that they seem to plug up faster. I will be using it for about 2 weeks this fall if it makes a difference.

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Joined
Dec 11, 2016
Messages
689
Location
Tallahassee, FL
Everything I read pointed me to the Sawyer Squeeze over the mini, even though I ordered one first. It can be run as an inline filter if you choose, but the sweet setup many use is the quick connect.

You don’t have to take the bladder out of your pack to refill it, and if you have to carry a full day’s worth of water you can leave the filter at camp. I spliced mine in farther up the hose so the mouthpiece stays attached to the shoulder strap clip.

Sawyer Fast Fast Fill Adapters - YouTube
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
5,944
No experience with the sawyer.

I spent a week using the Katadyn Liked it but experienced the silting and flow reduction when it got plugged up. Worked great in clear lake water. Silty river stuff was trouble. The issue was that if you tried to back flush the dirt went into the dirty resivoir so it plugged again. If you buy Katadyn make sure you get an output hose. Trying to pour into bottles and pans was a pain in the ass.

I bought a platypus rig in part because the inline filter can be back flushed by removing the filter and running clean water back thru with a reverse flow - gravity or squeeze. I liked the two resivoir concept and 4 liter capacity as well. So far I have tested it but need to ring it out for a trip or two before I can say whether I really like it.
 

Floorguy

WKR
Joined
Sep 26, 2012
Messages
841
Location
Palmer, AK
The mini is slow and I have had issues with two minis cracking and leaking at the place where the body meets the endcap.

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