Filter Life

[stormin norman]

I have an old Pure filter that I think has not been used. Do you think the filter element is still good and how long do they last without ever being used? Thanks

[HooKooDooKu]

Given that a Sawyer Mini can be had at WalMart for $20+tax, I don't see any point in using an older questionable filter unless it has some distinct advantage over the Sawyer for your given situation.

[OCDave]

Consider contacting the manufacturer. They will have performed durability and longevity testing prior to bringing the product to market. This internal intelligence might not be available anywhere else.

[Traveler]

According to a quick look at Pur information, if the filter has been used (even if lightly) and then left alone for a long time, they recommend changing it out for a new one. Hookoodooku's suggestion is good, for $20 you are away from the issue and have confidence in the filtration.

[Tipi Walter]

. . . for $20 you are away from the issue and have confidence in the filtration.

$20?? My old PUR Hiker filter cartridge costs around $45 to $49 per pop. See---


http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Hiker-.../dp/B0007U0134

[Starchild]

$20?? My old PUR Hiker filter cartridge costs around $45 to $49 per pop. See---


http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Hiker-.../dp/B0007U0134

You cut off this from your quoting:

Hookoodooku's suggestion is good,

The suggestion was to buy the Sawyer for $20, instead of replacing the filter element in his current filter.

[Tuckahoe]

Given that a Sawyer Mini can be had at WalMart for $20+tax, I don't see any point in using an older questionable filter...

Hookoodooku's suggestion is good, for $20 you are away from the issue and have confidence in the filtration.

$20?? My old PUR Hiker filter cartridge costs around $45 to $49 per pop. See---


http://www.amazon.com/Katadyn-Hiker-.../dp/B0007U0134

Yup, $20 for a Sawyer...

[stormin norman]

Thanks for the help. I have contacted the manufacturer and am still waiting for a reply. I have thrown out the old filter element and will probably put in the replacement filter element that is still in the plastic wrap.

[Tipi Walter]

You cut off this from your quoting:



The suggestion was to buy the Sawyer for $20, instead of replacing the filter element in his current filter.

Problem with the Sawyer is it won't suck up tiny puddles, dug hole mud seeps and other very low water sources. The PUR/Katadyn does so easily with the pump. It's hard otherwise to get water out of these trickle holes.
Here's a tiny spring in Unicoi Gap on the BMT.


Here's a seep on the BMT on Yellow Creek Mountain near Fontana. The big leaf keeps the pre-filter off of the mud as I usually have to dig out a small pit and let it settle.


Here's the water source on Bob Mountain and the olde PUR sucks it up fairly silt free.


This is a seep on the upper Flats Mt trail in TN.


This is a seep in Naked Ground Gap near Hangover Mt.


Here's my buddy Patman getting water at the spring on Big Frog Mt---and using his Sawyer.

[HooKooDooKu]

Problem with the Sawyer is it won't suck up tiny puddles, dug hole mud seeps and other very low water sources. The PUR/Katadyn does so easily with the pump. It's hard otherwise to get water out of these trickle holes.

That's why I originally hesitated when I was first introduced to the Sawyer Squeeze. I had always used a SweetWater pump filter, and there have been a few times in GSMNP where all I had for a water source during a dry spell was one of these trickling puddles.

Once the Sawyer Mini came out, I decided to give it a try (because of its low cost). I must admit it is a bit of a pain if you don't have "falling water" to make it easy to fill a dirty water bag. I've even had problems when the water source was a 10' wide creek (2" deep with almost no perceptible flow). But I've so far never been in a situation where the Sawyer was useless (difficult, occasionally).

In my mind, the big downfall of the Sawyer (and many other filters as well) is that they are not freeze safe. You MUST make sure the water in the Sawyer never gets a chance to freeze (and once used, you can NEVER get all the water out). So if the filter ever freezes, it becomes worthless... even worst is that you'll have no way to know if the filter has been compromised. This is why I still have my SweetWater filter. I take it if I'm going on a hike where temperatures below freezing might be encountered.

[mPalozzola01]

Yeah but the sawyer is so small .. cap it and sleep with it ... wrap it inside your clothes that are bundled in ur pillow ... it's hardly a large problem just need to pay attention to where it is

Sent from my SM-G900T1 using Tapatalk

[Jake2c]

Any filter can have problems. I don't like the pump, you have to stay at the source and if there are lots of people that can take a while either waiting for a turn or holding other people up. Probably not a big deal but a fact of life. With the squeeze you can step off to the side and filter the water while someone else fills up. I have gotten water from very small sources before, if you have to, you just dig a little depression but I have never had to do that on the parts of the AT I have been on, or in Ca where I used to camp out. I have on more then one instance had to use a little cup to scoop up water. Have not yet run into the spot that I could not get water from. For my thru hike though I am thinking of using a life straw gravity filter, the Mission.

[12trysomething]

If you are having trouble filling the Sawyer bag in standing water this may help. https://youtu.be/9pGfi4kg9xk

[Deacon]

Good tip. The only caveat I would add is that normally the spring "pit" isn't deep enough to push a bag down to fill the bag, otherwise you disturb the bottom and work up the dirt into a cloud.

I carry a small scoop to skim the water off the top of the spring.