Aqua Mira vs Sawyer Mini

[matt9817]

I have both Sawyer mini and aqua mira drops, but i was wondering which would be considered the best for the AT. I know the Sawyer is easy to use and you can drink the water without waiting. But i dont believe the sawyer kills bacteria etc. So what would be the best way to go? any takers? get back to me!

[mattjv89]

When do you plan to start? Whether you are likely to encounter freezing weather is a part of that decision. If the Sawyer freezes it's likely ruined, and if the Aquamira freezes you thaw it out and use it. I imagine you could pretty well keep a Sawyer from freezing by always carrying it next to your body etc., but personally I'd rather not have the risk. I've been using Aquamira for my winter hikes and liking it despite the half hour wait in cold weather.

[MuddyWaters]

I have both Sawyer mini and aqua mira drops, but i was wondering which would be considered the best for the AT. I know the Sawyer is easy to use and you can drink the water without waiting. But i dont believe the sawyer kills bacteria etc. So what would be the best way to go? any takers? get back to me!

Well, you are correct. The sawyer doesnt kill bacteria at all. It filters them out.

[ChinMusic]

I have both Sawyer mini and aqua mira drops, but i was wondering which would be considered the best for the AT. I know the Sawyer is easy to use and you can drink the water without waiting. But i dont believe the sawyer kills bacteria etc. So what would be the best way to go? any takers? get back to me!

Aqua Mira is tried and true and probably the #1 treatment on the trail. I don't use it because I am impatient. I do not like to wait when I want water.

I saw a lot of folks using the orig Sawyer on the trail in '13. It was just about as fast as my Steripen. Now that the Mini is out I bought one. I have not used it yet but it is about to be called up from the minors.

I would not worry about freezing with the Mini. It is so small that it would not be a burden to keep warm (pocket, sleeping bag), but it must not be allowed to freeze.

Re bacteria: Either method is as good as the other.
Re virus: Aqua Mira gets the nod.

[Sarcasm the elf]

The sawyer mini and aqua mira are the two primary methods I use for water safety. A good starting question is Are you asking for advice for a section hike or a thru hike, however I will warn you that there is no one right answer.

A filter works by capturing the bad things that can make you sick, and the larger that the baddie is the easier it is for the filter to catch, so the Sawyer works great on larger pathogens such as protozoa (Giardia, cryptosporidium) and bacteria (salmonila and E. Coli).
The aqua mira on the other hand works by actually killing the pathogens and therefore does a better job of killing the smaller and easier to dispatch pathogens such as viruses (norovirus etc) but can take hours to kill protozoa such as giardia.

That said, you should also be aware that water available on the trail is far safer than the average person thinks. The bulk of supposedly "waterbourne" illnesses on the trail are usually caused by poor hygene, poor handwashing, and other person to person contact which readily transmits disease. So by all means treat your water, but be aware it is far more likely that you will be exposed to an illness when you handle a logbook that you found in a shelter or shook a fellow hikers hand than it is when you grab some water out of a free flowing stream. The moral of the story is WASH YOUR HANDS! So treat your water, but also practice good personal hygiene, as it will be even more important than water safety.

[colorado_rob]

I started the AT with the Sawyer, but because of the high quality of the water along the AT, I realized Aqua Mira was the way to go; lighter and easier. By "high quality" I mean nice and clear. One reason I like a filter in some places is to clarify the water. Not necessary along the AT. Zapping the bacteria and Viruses is good enough. Basically, I became an Aqua Mira convert.

[lonehiker]

I made a decision years ago to filter all of my water, period. Just a personal choice. The good quality of water on the AT means that if you do take a filter (like the Sawyer) you will not have to backflush it nearly as often as other places with "dirtier" water.

[Meriadoc]

They are both so light and do different things well. This is one of those places where I take something redundant.

I use the Sawyer and drops (Sweetwater). Most of the time, I use just the filter. If the water is particularly nasty, I'll use the filter and the drops. If I'm on a really long day and don't feel like taking the time to filter, I use the drops. It can save 5-10 minutes per water stop. If I'm just really in the groove and don't want to stop, I use the drops. This is the main reason I like using Sweetwater - there is no mixing time.

I hiked for a while with just the Sawyer, but wanted something even faster. Carrying chemicals too was a small price in weight that I'm willing to pay for the convenience.

On a section hike, I would probably bring just the filter unless I plan on some long days.

[Violent Green]

I use the Sawyer Mini for the following reasons:

- No wait time. Chlorine dioxide "can" work in 30mins under ideal conditions but cold water lengthens the treatment time. I don't like to carry all that water plus the water I am drinking currently.
- Cheaper. Thousands of gallons of treatment for $20.
- No chemical taste

Ryan

[Coffee]

I've been using Aquamira but plan to get a Sawyer Mini. At such a minimal weight and with zero waiting for water it seems unbeatable. I plan to carry a small amount of Aquamira as a backup in case the filter freezes.

[redseal]

I've used both on the AT. I prefer AquaMira as there is no fuss with backwashing. However, I do like the mini for sections where there are only puddles. The filter helps to take out sediment.

[chiefiepoo]

I use the Aqua Mira product after giving up on the weightier MSR sweet water. Even if you think you are dipping clean out a spring pool or from a piped source you will collect particulate. After a few days of dipping I had about a teaspoon of sand and organic crud in the bottom of my camelback.

[daddytwosticks]

The sawyer mini and aqua mira are the two primary methods I use for water safety. A good starting question is Are you asking for advice for a section hike or a thru hike, however I will warn you that there is no one right answer.

A filter works by capturing the bad things that can make you sick, and the larger that the baddie is the easier it is for the filter to catch, so the Sawyer works great on larger pathogens such as protozoa (Giardia, cryptosporidium) and bacteria (salmonila and E. Coli).
The aqua mira on the other hand works by actually killing the pathogens and therefore does a better job of killing the smaller and easier to dispatch pathogens such as viruses (norovirus etc) but can take hours to kill protozoa such as giardia.

That said, you should also be aware that water available on the trail is far safer than the average person thinks. The bulk of supposedly "waterbourne" illnesses on the trail are usually caused by poor hygene, poor handwashing, and other person to person contact which readily transmits disease. So by all means treat your water, but be aware it is far more likely that you will be exposed to an illness when you handle a logbook that you found in a shelter or shook a fellow hikers hand than it is when you grab some water out of a free flowing stream. The moral of the story is WASH YOUR HANDS! So treat your water, but also practice good personal hygiene, as it will be even more important than water safety.
Perfect response. I've used AM forever and will start using my Sawyer Mini also. Love the idea of drinking my fill at water sources right now using the straw, then treating with AM a small amount to carry down the trail. I'll also use the AM to treat several liters in my Platty zip for camp use. :)

[CarlZ993]

I used Aquamira on my thru-hike last year. Worked great. I never seriously looked at the Sawyer Squeeze before my hike. I liked its concept as I talked with users. When the mini came out, I bought one. Haven't used it yet. Planning to use it on a Grand Canyon trip in May. See how it works.

One water treatment system I saw on the AT that looked promising involved using both Aquamira & a Steripen. You'd use the Steripen for on-the-go water (dip, stir, & drink) and Aquamira for camp water.

[shantigrl2014]

I love your comment because hand washing is the number one way to prevent the most communicable diseases and filtration is the number one way to stop the waterbourne issues. The last word: do it all! every time! Why invite a microscopic organism in to ruin your hike? They are not welcome

[Colter]

...That said, you should also be aware that water available on the trail is far safer than the average person thinks. The bulk of supposedly "waterbourne" illnesses on the trail are usually caused by poor hygene, poor handwashing, and other person to person contact which readily transmits disease...

You are right that to maximize the odds of staying healthy a person should treat all surface water, wash their hands and use other standard tactics to avoid communicable diseases.

Since no one knows exactly the level of water risk on the AT nor exactly what "the average person thinks" I don't think there's much basis for the first sentence quoted above. There certainly isn't enough scientific data to support the second sentence.

Here is a good data driven study about Appalachian Trail: Medical risks of wilderness hiking. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12681456)

[Colter]

I have both Sawyer mini and aqua mira drops, but i was wondering which would be considered the best for the AT. I know the Sawyer is easy to use and you can drink the water without waiting. But i dont believe the sawyer kills bacteria etc. So what would be the best way to go? any takers? get back to me!

I'm not usually in favor of redundancy in backpacking gear but in this case I'd bring both because of their light weight. Desperately need a drink right now? Use the Sawyer. Too cold for the Sawyer? Use Aqua Mira. Out of Aqua Mira? Use the Sawyer. Want to treat a bunch of water at once? Use the Aqua Mira.

[ChinMusic]

One water treatment system I saw on the AT that looked promising involved using both Aquamira & a Steripen. You'd use the Steripen for on-the-go water (dip, stir, & drink) and Aquamira for camp water.

If one wishes to cut down on battery expense that would be a good strategy.

[ChinMusic]

...and filtration is the number one way to stop the waterbourne issues.

Filtration is not the number one way. Most filters let viruses right through. Filters are very good for non-viruses.

[lonehiker]

Filtration is not the number one way. Most filters let viruses right through. Filters are very good for non-viruses.

What water sources in the US backcountry have virus issues.....? You will be hard pressed to find any.

[ChinMusic]

What water sources in the US backcountry have virus issues.....? You will be hard pressed to find any.
I'm guessing, "not many" but many folks claim the AT water sources to be safe period. I choose to treat, and since I choose to treat, I want to render and all potential pathogens inert.

[Coffee]

I just got the mini and have been testing it in various applications at home. It fits perfectly on my platypus and smart water bottles and drinking directly through the filter is pretty good. The wet weight of the filter is around 1.8 ounces. It does interfere a bit with my method of carrying water on the shoulder straps of my pack since the filter is tall and sometimes doesn't slip through the shock cord on the shoulder straps that well, but no big deal. Also I find that I need to unscrew the mini periodically to let air back into the bottles so they retain their shape and can be placed back into the shoulder strap shock cord system.

I think that my strategy will be to use the mini during the day as I collect water so there will be no waiting. But each evening, I'll use aquamira to treat my water for camp use that night and the next morning. If the aquamira is used in each of my aquamira bottles and the platypus that should also result in those containers being "clean" again should I later come across a water tap and wish to use the bottles directly without the mini filter attached.

[matt9817]

Well thanks for your comments... It is for my 2015 thru hike.. but ive been section hiking the AT for years. Used AM drops up until now (bought Mini) have not used it.. but plan on using it in a few weeks on a section hike. I guess bringing both would not be a bad idea. I put a quick connect on my camelbak line so i can hook up the mini right to the line and fill my camelbak with a platy without ever taking my camelbak out of my pack. I like the idea of using the AM drops in large amounts of water and just using the mini for on the go drinking or quick drinks. I guess i will have to test both out and see what fits best, but with everyones info id probably end up bringing both. thanks for everyones input! appreciate it

[MTn music]

It really depends on the water source. Most of the water sources I encountered were pretty clean, good flowing sources. I usually use Aqua Mira, but if you really need water now, or have trouble finding particle/dirt free water sources, use a filter.