View Full Version : Sawyer Mini Alternative
hailstreak
03-10-2016, 23:16
Hi everyone,
On a recent thru hike attempt, I used a Sawyer Mini, but was discouraged by the amount of effort it took to produce a little water. Unfortunately, I had to abort my thru hike after 200 miles for reasons of illness/injury, but I plan to pick up again next year and want to improve my purification methods. The Sawyer Mini worked okay, but I found that I drank less water than I should have because it was a hassle to squeeze water all the time. Going into the hike, everyone told me that the Sawyer Mini was the best thing ever invented. The next time, however, I would prefer something that delivers a better effort to volume ratio, even if it weighs more. Apparently, the original Sawyer Squeeze provides a higher flow rate than the Mini, so that may be an option. I have never used pump filters before (Katadyn, etc.), and everyone seems to be down on those, but they do seem to produce a lot of water without squeezing. I have used Aqua tablets before, but I am not thrilled about the waiting period. I tend to need A LOT of water when I hike. Any recommendations?
Cotton Terry
03-10-2016, 23:31
Use the regular Sawyer
Rain Man
03-10-2016, 23:38
I have a regular Sawyer, a Sawyer mini, and a Katadyn pump filter. Pump filters take a lot of pumping, so don't think they are effortless. A regular Sawyer also takes squeezing, unless you set it up as gravity feed. But then, you might as well use a Mini, set up as gravity feed (which is what I do). No muss, no fuss, no effort. Mine filters two liters in a few minutes as I'm getting out a snack, setting up camp, enjoying a view, whatever.
Neither the regular Sawyer nor the Mini will work well indefinitely unless you back-flush them at least occasionally.
SkeeterPee
03-10-2016, 23:39
I have the mini with 32 oz bags and can easily fill up a liter bottle. But I have noticed it almost filters itself so I plan to experiment with some extra tubing. From what I have been reading you should be able to gravity feed without squeezing if you have a longer tube past the filter. then it become very easy to filter as you set up camp.
bigcranky
03-11-2016, 08:12
We used the mini for a couple of years - not fun. Just replaced it with the regular Sawyer, and that thing can put out some water. It's not much heavier, too.
soumodeler
03-11-2016, 09:36
One ounce heavier for the Squeeze. Much better flow rate than the mini.
Casey & Gina
03-11-2016, 12:09
The Sawyer Squeeze filter is MUCH better than the mini. Much much much much much better.
The Sawyer 3-way filter is even better than the Squeeze in terms of flow rate, though it could be called overkill. I prefer the 3-way though because the filter housing includes quick disconnect fittings. Adding those on to the Squeeze makes it heavier than the 3-way.
I have all three, so here's a picture comparing them:
34047
Here's my whole setup:
34048
GreenBlaze
03-11-2016, 15:40
The Sawyer Squeeze filter is MUCH better than the mini. Much much much much much better.
The Sawyer 3-way filter is even better than the Squeeze in terms of flow rate, though it could be called overkill. I prefer the 3-way though because the filter housing includes quick disconnect fittings. Adding those on to the Squeeze makes it heavier than the 3-way.
I have all three, so here's a picture comparing them:
34047
Here's my whole setup:
34048
Is it mainly the flow rate & clogging problems you dislike with the mini? I've used it plenty of times (don't even back-flush it that often) and it seems fine to me. I've had it clog once or twice, but that's easily sorted out.
Casey & Gina
03-11-2016, 16:11
Is it mainly the flow rate & clogging problems you dislike with the mini? I've used it plenty of times (don't even back-flush it that often) and it seems fine to me. I've had it clog once or twice, but that's easily sorted out.
Clogging, poor flow rate, virtually impossible to use as a gravity filter, extreme sensitivity to air in the line on the input side, etc. It ends up taking a very long time to filter water with the mini - if I had to rely on it on an extended trip, I would just stop filtering water altogether because of the time and hassle. In addition, I don't like the smooth hose fittings on the ends - with how hard you have to end up squeezing the dirty bag to get water to trickle through the mini at all, if your dirty bag doesn't explode, the hose inevitably pops off of the fitting and dirty water shoots everywhere. Maybe the mini works out okay if you screw it onto a plastic bottle instead, but it sucks hardcore in the ways I've tried to use it.
Check this out, if you want a very light Sawyer filter that works way better than the mini without adding the very small amount of weight a bigger filter like the Squeeze or 3-way would add:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X8YkD5Xvp0
Casey & Gina
03-11-2016, 16:11
duplicate.
Skeptical Dog
03-11-2016, 16:25
I have an MSR Miniworks and I love that thing.
lonehiker
03-11-2016, 16:29
I've used the mini on multiple week trips (primarily as gravity feed) and have had good success with it. However, I backflush it regularly. This process only takes a couple of minutes. I ran into a guy on the PCT who was really cussing his mini. I asked him when he had backflushed it last, I knew the answer by the look on his face...
All this being said, I more often than not take the original filter. But again I backflush it regularly as well. If you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you.
Casey & Gina
03-11-2016, 17:08
I've used the mini on multiple week trips (primarily as gravity feed) and have had good success with it. However, I backflush it regularly. This process only takes a couple of minutes. I ran into a guy on the PCT who was really cussing his mini. I asked him when he had backflushed it last, I knew the answer by the look on his face...
All this being said, I more often than not take the original filter. But again I backflush it regularly as well. If you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you.
Backflushing is not an issue for me - if you look at the picture of my complete setup, I filter from a dirty bag into a clean bag. Then I transfer water from the clean bag into the bladder without taking it out of my pack via the use of quick disconnect fittings. Every time I have filtered adequate water, before disconnecting the clean bag from the filter, I sit on it or give it a good hard squeeze to backflush the filter. I also use a faucet adapter to blast water through backwards at higher pressure when I get home or to some place with a faucet. Also, run a little bleach-water when you get home to prevent microbial growth in the filter (most people don't do this and would be astonished to see what the inside of their filters look like).
Likewise the guy who made the video I shared above backflushed regularly and stated as such in his video. If you compare the filters in side-by-side tests, you will get a lot better performance out of the larger Sawyer filters than the mini. If you never backflush them, they will clog up too until you do, but they are much less hassle overall. For an extra ounce or two, you get at least 10 times less hassle. Seems very worth it to me.
Here are the weights of all 3 filters, when recently-used (so wet) but shaken out as much as possible, representing actual "trail weight":
Mini: 52.8g
Squeeze: 93.7g
3-way: 109.0g
The two fittings for the squeeze (blue and grey screw in/on pieces) weigh an additional 12.3g bringing the Squeeze weight up to 106g, and then there’s the weight of quick-disconnect fittings and short pieces of tubing if you want to add that functionality that I’m not even counting, which is already built-in to the 3-way. The 3-way weighs about double what the mini does, but is such a massive difference in performance it is well worth it. 109 grams is less than 4 ounces. Until recent years, backpackers commonly carried filters that weight upwards of a pound - some still do. I really don't think that when you have a very good option that weighs less than a quarter pound, that you need to worry about shaving off half of that and ending up with a problematic system you will not want to use. The Squeeze is a good filter, and more commonly available in retail outlets. The 3-way is even better.
All use the same fundamental design but have varying amounts of porous tube surface area inside the filter. One of the biggest issues with these filters is when you have an air bubble stuck on the intake side - it can be pushed through but it is difficult - the filter allows water to pass a lot more easily than air. You can make improvements over the guy in the above video by letting air out of the tubes and then holding them pinched before attaching them to the filter, etc. but no matter what, you're going to end up with some amount of air to deal with. The larger the filter's porous surface area, the less of an issue that is, or more precisely, the faster it can be dealt with. Beyond that, there is the simple matter of how fast water can pass through the filter given the same amount of force (whether by gravity or squeezing). Also the mini's narrower housing seems to have more of an impact than the simple size difference would imply. I could speculate as to why but really won't know for sure unless one day I crack the filters open to compare the insides.
Casey & Gina
03-11-2016, 17:14
Here is why you want to bleach your filter per the Sawyer instructions after every trip:
https://backpackinglight.com/wp-content/uploads/bpfed/photo-5-min.jpg
https://backpackinglight.com/wp-content/uploads/bpfed/photo-1-min.jpg
https://backpackinglight.com/wp-content/uploads/bpfed/20160229_074509.jpg
I agree with Casey on the 3in1, fast and last a long time between backflushes. It's really great for 3 or more people. I did just get StS Ultra-sil folding bucket that holds 10 liters and weights 23 grams. My gravity set up is currently a modified MSR 4 liter bag. I am planning to punch a hole in the bottom of the StS and use a 1/4" threaded adapter to connect to the silicone tubing.
If it works, it will save about 3.5 ounces over my system and add 4-5 liters of more capacity.
lonehiker
03-11-2016, 19:13
Backflushing is not an issue for me - if you look at the picture of my complete setup, I filter from a dirty bag into a clean bag. Then I transfer water from the clean bag into the bladder without taking it out of my pack via the use of quick disconnect fittings. Every time I have filtered adequate water, before disconnecting the clean bag from the filter, I sit on it or give it a good hard squeeze to backflush the filter. I also use a faucet adapter to blast water through backwards at higher pressure when I get home or to some place with a faucet. Also, run a little bleach-water when you get home to prevent microbial growth in the filter (most people don't do this and would be astonished to see what the inside of their filters look like).
Likewise the guy who made the video I shared above backflushed regularly and stated as such in his video. If you compare the filters in side-by-side tests, you will get a lot better performance out of the larger Sawyer filters than the mini. If you never backflush them, they will clog up too until you do, but they are much less hassle overall. For an extra ounce or two, you get at least 10 times less hassle. Seems very worth it to me.
Here are the weights of all 3 filters, when recently-used (so wet) but shaken out as much as possible, representing actual "trail weight":
Mini: 52.8g
Squeeze: 93.7g
3-way: 109.0g
The two fittings for the squeeze (blue and grey screw in/on pieces) weigh an additional 12.3g bringing the Squeeze weight up to 106g, and then there’s the weight of quick-disconnect fittings and short pieces of tubing if you want to add that functionality that I’m not even counting, which is already built-in to the 3-way. The 3-way weighs about double what the mini does, but is such a massive difference in performance it is well worth it. 109 grams is less than 4 ounces. Until recent years, backpackers commonly carried filters that weight upwards of a pound - some still do. I really don't think that when you have a very good option that weighs less than a quarter pound, that you need to worry about shaving off half of that and ending up with a problematic system you will not want to use. The Squeeze is a good filter, and more commonly available in retail outlets. The 3-way is even better.
All use the same fundamental design but have varying amounts of porous tube surface area inside the filter. One of the biggest issues with these filters is when you have an air bubble stuck on the intake side - it can be pushed through but it is difficult - the filter allows water to pass a lot more easily than air. You can make improvements over the guy in the above video by letting air out of the tubes and then holding them pinched before attaching them to the filter, etc. but no matter what, you're going to end up with some amount of air to deal with. The larger the filter's porous surface area, the less of an issue that is, or more precisely, the faster it can be dealt with. Beyond that, there is the simple matter of how fast water can pass through the filter given the same amount of force (whether by gravity or squeezing). Also the mini's narrower housing seems to have more of an impact than the simple size difference would imply. I could speculate as to why but really won't know for sure unless one day I crack the filters open to compare the insides.
It appears that you have a system that works for you. I am satisfied with the results that I get whether it is the mini or the "original" squeeze. I have been using both since their respective introductions. The flow rate is actually fairly low on my list of concerns for a filter. I use both as gravity filter and am not too concerned about a couple of minutes. Most important point for me is that I have purchased 2 filters that have a million gallon and a 100,00 gallon guarantee. I expect each filter to last the rest of my hiking days (barring allowing them to freeze).
I prefer to backflush with the syringe as I feel that I get a much more forceful flush using it.
Reference the bleach post. Sawyer recommends putting a bit through the filter prior to prolonged storage.
Tip: If any of their filters start to have a slower flow rate you may have a calcium build-up. To solve this soak, and backflush, with hot (below 165d if I remember right) tap water/vinegar solution.
hailstreak
03-12-2016, 11:35
Thanks for all the great input! I will likely switch over to the Sawyer Squeeze, through the 3-way looks better for an inline system which I am also considering. The flow rate on the Mini is just such a pain to deal with. If the Squeeze offers better flow rate, the modest weight increase is well worth it in my mind.
Casey & Gina, have you ever tried drinking directly through the 3-way filter from a dirty bag? I'm wondering if you have to labor much to suck water from it. It seems that I could collect water and get back on the trail much quicker if I just filled a bag and drank straight through the filter, assuming the water is not total gunk.
The Sawyer Squeeze filter is MUCH better than the mini. Much much much much much better.
The Sawyer 3-way filter is even better than the Squeeze in terms of flow rate, though it could be called overkill. I prefer the 3-way though because the filter housing includes quick disconnect fittings. Adding those on to the Squeeze makes it heavier than the 3-way.
I have all three, so here's a picture comparing them:
34047
Here's my whole setup:
34048
Hey,
How long is the silicone hose below the dirty bag to the filter connection. My setup is different, no clean bag, I just filter into 1l plastic bottles or a cookpot. The MSR system came with a plastic clip that shuts off the short "clean" line below the filter. My dirty incoming line is probably 48" or so, I have been hesitant to trim it down and lose head pressure into the filter.
The 3in1 runs like a faucet and is worth a few extra grams.
I'm using the Sawyer Mini and while I do admit that it takes a good amount of muscle power in the hands to get the water through, I wouldn't say that I have a problem with it. I carry a 3L Osprey bladder in my Osprey Atmos 65 pack, and use the Camelbak Quick-Disconnect system, so I don't need to take the bladder out of the pack to refill - however - if there is a lot of gear pushing against the bladder while you are trying to refill it, the effort required to squeeze the water through the Mini will be significantly greater. For that reason, I usually remove the bladder from the pack (along with enough other stuff to allow it to slip back in easily when full) when I refill. Being that it's 3L, I don't have to refill more than once per day, except when it's really warm, or I use filtered water for washing myself ( I always use filtered water for washing cooking and eating gear, but not always for bathing).
I bought the Evernew 2L bag, which screws onto the input of the Mini, because I read that the Sawyer bags were prone to bursting at the seams. I am very happy with the Evernew bag, but I also carry the Sawyer as a backup.
When squeezing water from the bag, I always eliminate the air before attaching it to the filter. Then, I only use my hands to squeeze. I don't recommend sitting on the bag, but I think that practice should be OK once the bag is nearly empty and you just want to squeeze out the last drops.
I do back-flush the Mini regularly, but I have never used bleach. I think I'm going to do that right now, as I have a trek coming up in 2 weeks.
So in all, I am very happy with the Sawyer Mini, but I think that I will still purchase a bottle of purification tablets to save me just in case the filter breaks.
SWODaddy
09-17-2016, 15:26
I have the mini with 32 oz bags and can easily fill up a liter bottle. But I have noticed it almost filters itself so I plan to experiment with some extra tubing. From what I have been reading you should be able to gravity feed without squeezing if you have a longer tube past the filter. then it become very easy to filter as you set up camp.
Super easy to use the mini in a gravity setup.
36253
I use an AquaMira filter bottle. Works for me. If I need more water than the bottle holds, I'll carry some unfiltered water with me.
Hi everyone,
On a recent thru hike attempt, I used a Sawyer Mini, but was discouraged by the amount of effort it took to produce a little water.
I'd suggest the Sawyer Mini. Just don't squeeze! I use one spliced inline on the hose from my water bladder. So no pumping, squeezing, hanging or weighting for me. Just dip the bladder in a water source and it gets filtered as I drink. I don't have a pic of my sawyer mini system but here's one of my sawyer 3way post thru hike.
36433
I've used Iodine, pumps of various kinds, AquaMira, Steripen, Sawyer regular and Sawyer Mini. My method of choice on recent trips is either the Sawyer or the Mini. Yes, the Mini is slower and requires daily back flushing, but really, now, it takes about 30 seconds to back flush. I filter my dinner water, then while dinner is cooking I "squeeze" my drinking water for the evening and next day, then back flush the filter for the next day's use. It takes just a few moments to get a couple of liters ready for the next day. In the morning, I "squeeze" the water for breakfast and top off the water bottles if needed, again, while my coffee water is heating. No wasted time and really not much effort. Often times I end up dumping or sharing filtered water before leaving camp. If it's a hot day, I sometimes "squeeze" some more at lunch - takes about a minute.
This is my pretty standard routine, whether using the regular or the Mini. Both are faster and easier than the AquaMira that I used for many years (which I also found very acceptable). I guess I'm not in THAT much of a hurry that I find either one a pain.
Glorious, cool, fresh tasting water with no brown color, blue oatmeal water, or nasty iodine taste. What a major improvement over the old days. I can't be critical of any of the modern water treatment methods - they all work quite well.
Edit: I also back flush with the included syringe. I've seen folks try to use other methods, but they usually do not produce enough force to be effective. I just fill the syringe with clean water, place the end on the out flow of the filter, hold it all with both hands, place the plunger against my chest and very forcefully pull the entire kit towards me while pointing the filter away from others. This produces a very powerful flush that has never failed to greatly increase the flow the next time I use the filter.
pafarmboy
09-30-2016, 20:34
Katadyn BeFree.
https://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review (https://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kj6KpiCWwo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kj6KpiCWwo)
Katadyn BeFree.
https://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review (https://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kj6KpiCWwo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kj6KpiCWwo)
When you're comparing filters, the the porosity of the element is everything. It's the basis for comparing everything else. How can you do a comparison if you don't know the porosity of the Katahdin and how do you know how clean the water is from the Katadin?
pafarmboy
10-01-2016, 11:42
When you're comparing filters, the the porosity of the element is everything. It's the basis for comparing everything else. How can you do a comparison if you don't know the porosity of the Katahdin and how do you know how clean the water is from the Katadin?
From first link:The 0.1-micron “EZ-Clean hollow-fiber filter” will remove any nasties found in backcountry waters in North America, including Cryptosporidium, Giardia, E-Coli and Salmonella. The filter won’t remove viruses, which are smaller than .1 microns, so if you’re planning to travel somewhere virus contamination is a concern, look elsewhere for a water purifier.
Here's the specs: https://www.katadyn.com/downloads/katadyn/factsheets/filters/factsheet_befree_usa_en.pdf (https://www.katadyn.com/downloads/katadyn/factsheets/filters/factsheet_befree_usa_en.pdf)
I honestly don't know if the sawyer mini removes viruses the BeFree doesn't. The OP seemed most concerned about flow rate.
Tipi Walter
10-01-2016, 12:01
It must be remembered (and I don't think anyone has mentioned it) that many water sources are seeps whereby you have to make a small pit for the muddy water to pool and settle and this makes getting silt free water difficult with Sawyer type filers. Pump filters when placed appropriately can pump up clean water from these tiny pools without stirring up sediment. Gathering water for a Sawyer with a cup or whatever stirs up alot of silt. You can drink this silt if you use chemicals like iodine but who wants to live on iodine for hundreds of days out of the year?
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2016-Trips-171/21-Days-on-Warriors-Passage/i-DTM3xfB/0/XL/P1000288-XL.jpg
This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Pic taken on the BMT atop Sugar Mt at a little spring. (Green leaf is placed under filter nozzle to keep silt out from bottom of pool.) This problem is accented during a drought of course. The pump allows you to retrieve silt-free water by careful pumping without disturbing the mud.
My sister bought a pack of 5 Sawyer Minis. Weirdly, they didn't all flow at the same rate. One barely dribbled and wasn't really functional.
I used a mini for a year and went back to Aqua Mira.
My sister bought a pack of 5 Sawyer Minis. Weirdly, they didn't all flow at the same rate. One barely dribbled and wasn't really functional.
I used a mini for a year and went back to Aqua Mira.
That could explain why I hated mine and other people seem very satisfied. It took -way- too long at water stops and drove me crazy. Went running back to AquaMira after that.
In July I used a Sawyer mini for the first time for 13 days in Maine. I used it inline, and I can't tell you how much time it saved using it inline instead of squeezing. I could quickly stop and fill my bladder and just keep going with very minimal time spent. However, I did not carry the Sawyer backflush syringe. I used a Sweetwater bottle with pull top cap to backflush. However, I could not get enough water pressure from the Sweetwater bottle to properly backflush the Sayer Mini. As such, flow was slow but barely acceptable. I found that many hiker boxes had Sawyer backflush syringes. These did the job much more effectively than the Sweetwater bottle. When I got home I back flushed the Sawyer mini about 10 times in my white kitchen sink with the Sawyer syringe. The water was clear during the back flushes. I had remembered watching a YouTube video where the person banged a Sawyer Squeeze against something to help loosen debris inside the filter before back flushing. As such, I tied banging my Sawyer mini against the edge of my kitchen sink after 10 regular backflushing with a syringe. You would not believe the amount of brown crap that came out of that filter after the banging. It took at least 10 more backflushings with banging of the filter between every flush to get the brown crap out of the mini. You could really see the brown crap in the white sink. So the key here is to bang the Sawyers against something to loosen up the debris inside them before back flushing. Good luck. Go inline, you will never look back.
forget the Mini. I had the same problem with it.
get the Sawyer Squeeze. It's all I use now, good flow, easy to backflush.
So the key here is to bang the Sawyers against something to loosen up the debris inside them before back flushing.
I'd be worried about damaging the fibers
PaulWorksHard
10-04-2016, 21:23
I used a mini - sawyer in - line with a 2 liter platypus. Never sat around squeezing. I preferred this option. On a really hot day when you are going through 5-6 liters, people squeezing probably have to spend at least 30-60 minutes squeezing.
I am a backpack hunter, doing frequent fly in and hike in trips relying on my Sawyer mini. I have always used the Sawyer mini. I find it does what I need it to do. Never been sick.
Here is my mods they work great.
Items needed.
Sawyer mini and included squeeze bag.
Camel back line,
Camel back on off.
Paracord
I cut the top of the Sawyer bag off and ran some paracord to hang it.
Hook the Sawyer up to the bag.
Camel back line to Sawyer
I drilled a hole in the Sawyer bag lid to fit the on off switch. I found it was a pain to have the hose always falling out of the bottle.
That's it.
110g
I use a cup to pour water from a puddle into the bag. Filters it. http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160925/5bad1412f1a8cdc2ebdc4e534eefa114.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160925/cb2257aa2e6c8c8f4d04653002c4ce49.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160925/44ac80f210fbe53509c54c214109c42d.jpg
I usually hunt when it's too cold for camel backs, but when it is warm I swap out the camel back line with the on off switch to line that has the quick disconnect for my camel back. Basically the same weight.
I used a mini - sawyer in - line with a 2 liter platypus. Never sat around squeezing. I preferred this option. On a really hot day when you are going through 5-6 liters, people squeezing probably have to spend at least 30-60 minutes squeezing.
With a squeeze, probably spend 10 minutes filtering that much water.
I have a Kataadn Pro Hiker. I haven't used it yet. I used a Lifestraw on the few weekend trips I have taken and now I also have AM drops and Khatadn BeFree bottle as well. Any feedback on the Khatadn ProHiker? Not really hi-jacking the thread, as I suppose if reviews are favorable, it would be an alternative to the Sawyer Mini, which is what the OP asked.
I have heard mixed reviews about the hiker pro. My buddy has one, but never brings it cause it's too heavy. He just brings his Sawyer mini.
I have also heard the hiker breaks easy due to it being a ceramic filter.
Just Tom
10-06-2016, 09:57
Katadyn BeFree.
https://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review (https://gearjunkie.com/katadyn-befree-water-filter-review)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kj6KpiCWwo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kj6KpiCWwo)
I used one for a three day trip in Mass up to Greylock. It is small enough to scoop in some pretty small, low water sources. Fact sheet download from Katadyn states it is a .1 micron filter, so it should be as effective as the Sawyer filters.
I didn't drink from mine, but instead would drink from a water bottle. When reaching a water source, I would squeeze the water stored in the BeFree into my bottle to top it off from what I had already drank, scoop new dirty water into the BeFree, and move on. Repeat at each water source as needed. At camp I did squeeze and refill into an extra platy bottle for camp use.
I use a Sawyer Squeeze at camp, and MSR Aqua Tabs (or other military grade aqua tabs) while hiking. I don't like stopping too long at water sources unless I get lucky and it's time for lunch. I put 100 miles on the Sawyer Mini and wasn't happy with the flow rate.
I have a Kataadn Pro Hiker. I haven't used it yet. I used a Lifestraw on the few weekend trips I have taken and now I also have AM drops and Khatadn BeFree bottle as well. Any feedback on the Khatadn ProHiker? Not really hi-jacking the thread, as I suppose if reviews are favorable, it would be an alternative to the Sawyer Mini, which is what the OP asked.
The katadyn hiker pro was awesome back in the day, 10 years ago it was my absolute favorite filter. However it's been left behind by the new generation of filters.
Tipi Walter
10-09-2016, 19:44
I have heard mixed reviews about the hiker pro. My buddy has one, but never brings it cause it's too heavy. He just brings his Sawyer mini.
I have also heard the hiker breaks easy due to it being a ceramic filter.
It does not have a ceramic filter---you must be thinking of the Katadyn mini etc.
https://www.katadyn.com/website/var/tmp/image-thumbnails/0/2143/thumb__product/
[email protected]
The Hiker cartridge is a paper filter.
Like I said, the Sawyer models cannot pull water up from seep pools and nowadays with the drought seep pools is about all we're getting save for the major creeks we encounter.
I will agree on this: The Hiker filter has an engineering flaw which results in broken pump handles. The plastic weld on the pump handle breaks with ease due to shoddy design. It can be fixed with a screw thru the handle and down into the pump shaft.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpack-2015-Trips-161/On-Rocky-Flats/i-2XtqWvq/0/XL/PUR%20CRAP%20001-XL.jpg
Still drought conditions with all the rain?
AfterParty
10-09-2016, 20:34
I have the platypus gravity works and it its fast flowing and simple to use. Granted it could be hard to get water out of puddles.
Packeagle
10-09-2016, 22:06
Place a mini inline with a camelback. Just drink on the go and can use as gravity feed in camp.
Wise Old Owl
10-09-2016, 23:42
Possibly IMO the best thread at WB.
Can we make this a STICKY?
The Hiker cartridge is a paper filter.
Which made it super cool back in the day, lighter and easier to pump than it's ceramic competitors.
Like I said, the Sawyer models cannot pull water up from seep pools and nowadays with the drought seep pools is about all we're getting save for the major creeks we encounter.
There was a drought my year. In NJ/NY having a scoop was good *shrug* thru hiking without a pump filter worked fine, it's what most people do.
Time Zone
10-15-2016, 10:08
Still drought conditions with all the rain?
depends on where you are. In SE TN, where I am (and not far from Tipi Walter I would guess), we are in the worst drought category. Most of the rest of the state is in one category of drought or another. So we didn't get rain from the hurricane.
36557
Traveler
10-15-2016, 16:55
The katadyn hiker pro was awesome back in the day, 10 years ago it was my absolute favorite filter. However it's been left behind by the new generation of filters.
It really depends on how many people you are filtering water for. I have used a Katadyn hiker pro for years, though I now use it when there will be two or more people water has to be filtered for. Time savings and convenience make the difference there. I have never suffered broken handles or any parts as some have, but I use gentle, smooth motions with the pump structure which may make the difference. That said, if I am alone these days, I use the Sawyer mini and keep it near the body when its cold outside.