It can also be used as gravity-fed or with squeezable dirty water bags, provided. Or, suck water right out of a dirty water source. The Mini is a smaller version of the Squeeze and can be optionally attached inline to a camel back full of dirty water.
The only concern, as with all manual filters, is allowing the inside to freeze and possibly rupture. It is inexpensive, simple, lightweight, and doesn't wear out. This filter has revolutionized wilderness water treatment. It can also be hung and used as a gravity feed filter.īackflushing in the field is simple - just force a little filtered water backward through the filter with the supplied syringe, a faucet, or your collapsible, clean water bottle. Squeezing the dirty water bag creates pressure that forces clean water through the 0.1 micron absolute pore-size hollow fiber membrane. The Squeeze has no serviceable (or breakable) parts.
I also have an MSR MiniWorks that has done well - see below for details.īut, as far as I'm concerned, the Sawyer filters are currently King of the Filters. These aren't highly polluted areas, but are typically hiking and camping locations. I've been happy with it and it has held up well. It has gone through the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, and other less exciting places in between. It was used for weekend trips and longer backpacking treks. I used the Katadyn Hiker portable water filter for about 8 years (it's actually a PUR Hiker but Katadyn is now the label).