FYI got my sawyer mini today.
Got mine today. Filter alone weighs 1.2 oz on my scales
I see that it's very versatile... However it's unclear on the website about the mini being able to be used for gravity filtering. IOW - does it need suction or squeeze pressure to get water through it? I'd like to get one for my GF setup. The price and weight are definitely good for me.
We are all one big human family.
!L in a open platy gravity bag took 3.5 minutes.
You can totally use the Mini in a gravity system. While others think the Squeeze was easier to push water through, I personally think the Mini is way easier. Just turn the sucker upside down and let it go!Originally Posted by treesloth
- Abela
HikeLighter.Com
I've been pretty happy with aquamira on all my hikes. Any tangible benefits to switching to the mini, other than instant clean water availability?
I'm an Aquamira guy myself. Am going to seriously look at the use of this filter, especially with the straw attachment. If this can fit into a typical waist belt pocket of a pack, this would be a great way to just stop at every water source and camel up by using the straw.
the filter itself is 5 3/8" x 1 3/8". The filter by itself weighs 52g on my scale.I'm an Aquamira guy myself. Am going to seriously look at the use of this filter, especially with the straw attachment. If this can fit into a typical waist belt pocket of a pack, this would be a great way to just stop at every water source and camel up by using the straw.
Thanks for the info. It MAY fit into my waist pocket (Osprey Atmos 50).
Got mine a couple days ago. Mine weighs 52 gr or 1.8 oz. I think it will do gravity feed, as long as it's clean. But, it seems to require cleaning every three or four liters (using the plastic syringe included) even when using "clean" water from my tap at home. I'm guessing it will fit in the side pockets of a Osprey backpack, it fits pretty good in the pockets of my ULA.
From the above entries, it seems there is a misunderstanding of what these do. Filters filter out anything above 1 or 2 microns (depending on what is used in their makeup) and treating water (ie AquaMira) kills everything, but leaves them in the water. The short difference is filters will not filter out viruses, treating will kill viruses. Treating will kill pretty much everything, but could take up to four hours to kill some types of protozoa, which would be filtered out by a good filter. Not every area we hike in has protozoa or virus, but you really can't tell. Backpacker magazine did a test of treating, filtering and doing neither a couple years ago and found the incidence of illness to be about 15% using all three methods. They didn't test using both a filter and treating, which is what I feel I should do. But I tend to be too tired to do both when I'm hiking. Plus it's really time consuming treating and filtering something that might not need either.
I see the mini filter has female threads on the intake side, for the squeeze bag, but does it also have threads on the output side?
__________________________________________________ __________________
Walk it off.
It's only threaded on one side.
OK lets really test it - stick cheap wine on one side and see what pours out.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Hahaha Now that would be amazing!
minimalism, mountains, merriment
unboundroutes.com
Just picked up a mini myself.. I love it
got mine a month ago. The threads are iffy!!! hard to fasten to a playtpus or even the provided (useless) bag.
the drip/leak around the threads makes for problematic filtering.
tighten more and the threads jump.
It`s okay when you get it just right.
It seems more developement is in order
Grinder
AT hiker : It's the journey, not the destination
What is the conventional wisdom on how to best address the drip/leak? I could never get the seal just right with an older platypus. Filtering worked but without the perfect seal I had to hold filer at an awkward angle to avoid contamination with unfiltered drips and dribbles.
One answer was to use an Evernew water bladder. Basically, it's the same thing as a platypus but the cap uses the "standard" bottle threads like the Sawyer uses (platypus had to go off and do their own thing). Only problem was the flooding in Japan a while back hit the Evernew factory pretty hard. So the Evernew bladders have been nearly impossible to get. The last time I was able to find someone online selling 2L Evernew Bladders, I had to pay something like $28 for the bladder.
Of course you can get a platypus hoser and connect the hose to the mini's barb rather than screwing it.
But the setup I'm loving (except the hose is pretty darn stiff) is to use a 2L Evernew Bladder for the dirty water, and a 2L platypus hoser for the clean water. The 3' hose is more than enough to turn the system into a gravity feed (you just have to squeeze to get things started). I even used a hole punch to put a hole along the margin of the Evernew bladder. That way, I can tie a string to it and hang it... let the water filter with gravity while I'm busy with other things.
Last edited by HooKooDooKu; 05-28-2014 at 19:50.
The do seem to come and go. As of today, they seem to be in stock again. I got mine last year from Great Outdoors Depot.
http://www.campsaver.com/water-carrier
http://www.traildesigns.com/accessories/water-carriers
http://www.greatoutdoorsdepot.com/ev...ter-carry.html
http://www.libertymountain.com/products/6045/NTN16026
For those of you who use AquaMira and are considering a Squeeze or Mini:
I too used AquaMira for quite a few years. Liked it just fine. Good taste to the water, light, compact. Beat filtering in my opinion. The last couple of years I'd seen others using the Squeeze. It looked convenient. Last fall I decided to give one a try. Carried it on a 150 mile section from Great Barrington area to Manchester Center. I also carried the AquaMira for the times the Squeeze wasn't convenient, or in case I didn't like it. Long story short - the AquaMira was not used once. I found the Squeeze to be very easy and convenient to use, much quicker than chemicals, much more compact than other filters I've used.
The original Squeeze is still fine, but I have purchased the Mini for the obvious reasons. I am pretty confidant that it will be come a permanent resident in my pack. I will be using it on my upcoming JMT thru hike this summer/fall. May add a few treatment tablets just as a back-up in case of "whatever", but maybe not.
I really, really liked the ability to dip some water and start drinking immediately - like the old days when we didn't worry so much about filtering. Anyone else remember hooking their Sierra Cup handle onto one of the lash patches on their Kelty pack? Kept it handy so you could just reach back, unhook the cup, dip in any stream or spring you were passing, and drink your fill. When you drank your fill, you hooked the cup again and hiked on. Didn't even have to remove your pack. Was probably no smarter to do that back then than it is now, but I never suffered any ill consequences (pun not intended, but pretty good if I do say so myself - I'll let it stand).
Both the Squeeze and the Mini are amazing pieces of gear. I used drops for a while, but hated waiting. Then I bought a gravity system (Katadyn Base Camp) and it was way too bulky and inconvenient for filtering during the day. Finally I got the Squeeze and loved it... Then I got the Mini and loved it even more. On a recent group trip someone brought a pump (not sure which) and it was so slow in comparison that he stopped using it and used my Mini instead. It's even small enough I take it in my Camelbak mountain biking in case I run out of water on a hot day. I cannot speak highly enough of the little guy.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote