Sawyer Squeeze help from those who use one?

[Many Moons]

Alright! Trying to go lighter, MSR micromini in lost toy box. Sawyer squeeze is in the mail. Do you carry all three bags that it comes with? What else do you carry to get water in the bag, like a light weight cup for scooping? Hike On!!!


Miller

[Stink Bug]

Alright! Trying to go lighter, MSR micromini in lost toy box. Sawyer squeeze is in the mail. Do you carry all three bags that it comes with? What else do you carry to get water in the bag, like a light weight cup for scooping? Hike On!!!


Miller

I usually carry the 32oz bag (as that's what size my water bottles are). To fill it, if I can't find a mini-waterfall etc, I'll just use my coffee cup.

[slims]

I only carried the 32oz bag. Cookpot or cup works fine for scooping water. No need for an extra cop just for that purpose.

[T-Rx]

I only carried the 32oz bag. Cookpot or cup works fine for scooping water. No need for an extra cop just for that purpose.

+1 on this. And I never carry a cop with me anyway. LOL.

[Hosaphone]

I bought one to play around with but haven't used it on trail yet. I think it's going to replace Aqua Mira for me, but we'll see.

Have heard tons of negative reviews regarding the durability of the bladders that come with it - most people recommend using a different bladder. The filter is compatible with some bladders but not all - older platypus and Evernew are the main ones people talk about. I didn't want to buy a new bladder, so I improvised a solution that seems to work very well: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...-easy-solution

A dipping device of some sort seems necessary. Some people apparently use a ziplock bag, but you probably want something that can be used 1-handed because most bladders will flop over if you try to just stand them on their own. Any sort of thing will work - bottom of a peanut butter jar or soda bottle, etc.

I would think using a coffee cup might that you want to drink from later might not be the best idea? You'll be contaminating it with dirty water. I'm not sure how resilient giardia, etc, are - they probably doesn't survive too long if you dry the cup out afterwards and the water evaporates? (similar to how HIV can't survive outside the body) It probably will never be an issue, but that's because you very rarely "need" to purify your water anyways. It seems to me that if you're going to go to all this trouble, you may as well be a bit more careful to keep clean things clean and dirty things dirty?

[Hosaphone]

Cookpot or cup works fine for scooping water.

Cookpot seems like a good idea - since you'll be cooking in it, you'll be sterilizing any bugs that might be lingering around. Since you won't be boiling water in the cup, it doesn't seem as safe to me. But again it's likely never going to be an issue because 99.5% of the time the water is safe to drink anyways...

[Duramax22]

i carry 2 of the 2l pouches only because i hate going for water multiple times. the bags weigh basically nothing and you also have a spare as i have broken bags before. The bags are tough but they are still just a bag. the seam around the opening usually is the place they blow out. just dont apply to much pressure. i carry the bottom of a .5l water bottle for a scooper. they are easy to come by and are flexible for making a spout or whatever.

[Aquaman12]

I just bought two of these(used one last summer). One for me and one for the wife. We are using them inline(with the adapter kit) on our hydration bladder. No need to "squeeze" any bags. I did take the small and medium size bags and cut the top off to make a scoop if the source is weak. We use 1L bladders and carry 1L gatorade bottles. Use it like a gravity filter to get water to cook or fill other things. We carry a 3L platy for getting water at the end of the day and for the next morning. I did install a prefilter and got a new syringe that matches my platys hose for easier backwashing.

[dornstar]

I've been carrying the 64 since I'm the only one in the group that carries a filter. Allows to refill everyone faster.

[leaftye]

Do you carry all three bags that it comes with?

Only the big one. I would actually like to carry a pair of 2 liter bladders, but I was only able to acquire one Evernew bladder. They can't keep up with demand. New Platypus bladders don't seal right. So for now I carry disposable 1.5 liter bottles and filter into it, but these bottles also seal up tight with the Sawyer, so it's a backup solution too.

What else do you carry to get water in the bag, like a light weight cup for scooping?

The bottom part of a disposable 1 liter water bottle. The filter and an empty bladder fits inside.

[Hairbear]

i use a colapsable platy ,an inline sawyer filter.take two 20 ounce pop bottles and 1-cut the botton part off where it flares at the top.two -cot the other bottle where it flares at the bottom ,leaving the uniform centers.now you can slide one from the top piece over the bottom,recreating the look of the origional bottle only longer and adjustable.the bottom is a scoop, and the top a funnel.inside goes the sawyer, the dirty bag platty ,plumbing, and eye dropper of bleach.now a piece of bungy cord tied in a loop goes around the neck then across the bottom holding you storage closed.7.4 ounces.

[mn_scout]

A 1-quart ziploc worked great as a dirty water scoop for me on the AZ Trail. Lots of the water sources are sitting troughs with lots of crud floating on top, but not so much down a few inches so I could submerge the ziploc, fill it, and bring it up. It's easy to pour a ziploc one-handed, and it weighs nothing.
The dirty water bags do tend to pop a seam so I always have 2 along. For long dry stretches, I'd just fill the dirty bag for extra H2O and not filter it until needed.

[staehpj1]

I carry the two larger bags that came with it. I do that mostly because of rumors of the bags failing, but so far they are holding up.

I also carry a cut off version of the smallest bag to use as a scoop. My dog chewed the lid off so I cut the top off to make it into a scoop. It has worked much better for me than a ziploc.

[G-FOURce]

will the squeeze function as a gravity filter if you simply hang it and use the proper attachment(s)? i hadn't thought about that possibility as i made the heroic assumption that more pressure was needed (hence the name). also, i had the same immediate concern regarding how to fill the bladder that Hosaphone voiced - using your drinking cup to scoop dirty/suspect water to fill the blackwater blader for filtering seems counterproductive to keeping nastiness out of your system.

[cowpoke]

I have used my sawyer on two AT trips thus far with no issues. I carry the small and medium bag..has worked for me. I carry an empty 12 or 16 oz water plastic bottle that I use to get water from source to bladder...have had no problems so far.

[Hosaphone]

will the squeeze function as a gravity filter if you simply hang it and use the proper attachment(s)?

Yep! The flow rate is slower but it should work just fine it's not all gunked up.

[colorado_rob]

A 1-quart ziploc worked great as a dirty water scoop for me on the AZ Trail.

The dirty water bags do tend to pop a seam so I always have 2 along. For long dry stretches, I'd just fill the dirty bag for extra H2O and not filter it until needed.

Awesome tip about using a zip-lock, thanks! I also use the dirty-water bag a lot at camp, basically I filter from it at the collection site into the clean bottles, then fill the dirty bag one more time and use it back at camp for dinner cooking; it gets boiled and hence, completely purified. No need to filter water that gets boiled anyway.

[Many Moons]

Awesome tip about using a zip-lock, thanks! I also use the dirty-water bag a lot at camp, basically I filter from it at the collection site into the clean bottles, then fill the dirty bag one more time and use it back at camp for dinner cooking; it gets boiled and hence, completely purified. No need to filter water that gets boiled anyway.

Thanks for all the info! Hike On!!!

Miller

[walnut]

The Sawyer fits on a standard water bottle. I prefer the 1L SmartWater because its tall, slim, and seems heavy duty. Fiji bottles work too. I've only had to scoop water a few times. Most times it's either deep or flowing well naturally or through PVC. I just felt like the bags were a lot of work and bottles are easier to squeeze. Just remember which bottle is your contaminated one. I still take the bags to store more dirty water to be filtered later, usually at camp.

[Starchild]

In hiking in areas where water is plentiful I carry a 5.4 oz Steripen and maybe 8 oz of water after drinking my fill at the source. Compare that weight to any other method and I believe except for dogging down every mud puddle untreated you will not find a lighter weight solution except for the 3.6 oz Steripen.