Amazing how many people are experts on both!
"Truth is anything you can convince someone else to believe" - Me
I have both. I am no expert.I loved the squeeze. I bought the mini because I am a gram weenie. It pains me to add the extra weight back in. However, after my last 9 day trip, I am tossing the mini and going back to the squeeze. The mini works fine, just too slow for my tastes. It does not seem like it should matter. Really! What is the hurry? You are out for a very long walk. That tiny stream drove me foolisher. It's back to the squeeze... and its enormous weight
for me.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
I like the Mini for short duration solo hikes, if I have more people or will need a lot of water for whatever reason I will bring the Hiker Pro.
I carry a 2L Platypus hoser in my pack, I cut the hose 6 inches from the bite valve and installed the Mini. I just keep filling my bag and drink from the hose.
+1 to Mini in gravity mode. I do, this at night or during lunch break. I don't use hose or tubing. I just let it dribble into the bottle. Like water torture. Or watching paint dry. During the day, I do the squeeze method. I back flush it nearly every day, since it is slow enough, even when working perfectly.Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu
Bag tied to a tree.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/509517...7656444867825/
I've since punched holes in the 2 liter squeeze bag.
Talked to two PCT thru hikers who had taped Smart Water bottles to their hiking poles and gravity filtered with a Mini while they hiked. They did this last year. This year they switched to a pump type filter and were happier. They are a couple and were sharing a Mini last year and had a real love/hate relationship with the thing.
I saw a lot of thru hikers on the PCT with minis this year. Many people just leave them screwed onto a SmartWater bottle, stuck in a side pocket. Also saw a few larger Sawyer filters.
My sister actually enjoys filtering water. She finds it relaxing.
+1 to Mini in gravity mode. I do, this at night or during lunch break. I don't use hose or tubing. I just let it dribble into the bottle. Takes a couple of minutes per cup of water. During the day, I do the squeeze method. I back flush it nearly every day, since it is slow enough, even when working perfectly.
Bag tied to a tree.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/509517...7656444867825/
I've since punched holes in the 2 liter squeeze bag.
Talked to two PCT thru hikers who had taped Smart Water bottles to their hiking poles and gravity filtered with a Mini while they hiked. They did this last year. This year they switched to a pump type filter and were happier. They are a couple and were sharing a Mini last year and had a real love/hate relationship with the thing.
I saw a lot of thru hikers on the PCT with minis this year. Many people just leave them screwed onto a SmartWater bottle, stuck in a side pocket. Also saw a few larger Sawyer filters.
My sister actually enjoys filtering water. She finds it relaxing.
Seems pretty straight forward I think. Smaller filter, smaller area for water to pass through, clogs faster. I have used a few different filters including these, looking for what I liked best. In gravity mode I would guess the bag leaks would not be an issue. I blew out a bag with the mini also, I think because it started to slow down quicker than the squeeze and the back pressure caused by my squeezing harder did the deed. So my fault, just need to clean more often. I now have the squeeze in gravity mode but am considering using the life straw mission, also a gravity filter, though it is a little heavier.
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