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Akula
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PostWed Aug 08, 2012 5:35 pm 
This is a nice light weight system, that works great, in my opinion, but needs a little help. First the water pouches that come with it; they are fragile to say the least. The Platypus flexible water bottle will thread right to it just like the included bags do. They don't weigh much more, and will work just as easy as the Sawyer bags. Next is the outlet valve; honestly, not that user friendly. Take the cap off and screw in a Platypus filter link wilth a hose attached, and easily fill up any water container. You could screw the Platus Drink Tube kit to it as well. Back to the water bottle issue; the Sawyer and Platypus bottles are flat, and water just won't flow into a flat bottle. These both will work when trying to fill at a stream, but just don't work in slow moving or still water. I am finding that most plastic soda and water bottles will also thread into the intake of the filter, if you want to pack one along. Disclaimer. smile.gif. I am not trying to promote Platypus products.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover. -- Mark Twain
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Aug 08, 2012 6:27 pm 
The one I briefly had would take platy bags bot they were cross threaded and in the long run would strip out one or the other frown.gif . He pitch of the threads were different. Platy bags are the same as most water/soda bottles.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Backpacker Joe
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PostWed Aug 08, 2012 6:47 pm 
Does anyone else have this problem? My slightly used filter is very hard to squeeze water through. Even new it was hard to squeeze water through.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Akula
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PostWed Aug 08, 2012 7:38 pm 
Mine was a like that as well, but the more I use it, the easier it is.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover. -- Mark Twain
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reststep
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PostWed Aug 08, 2012 8:40 pm 
Thanks for the tips. I just got one of these filters and that should help. Sawyer has an inline adapter available now also. I wish I had known about it when I was at REI. Link

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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grannyhiker
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PostWed Aug 08, 2012 8:53 pm 
Lots of posts on the BackpackingLight forum state that the new Platy bottles are no longer compatible with the Sawyer Squeeze or with soda bottle caps and that they leak when used with the Sawyer Squeeze. I switched to Evernew bottles 2 years ago because I was forever losing Platypus caps and the Evernew bottle caps are attached to the bottle. I therefore haven't verified this personally. I'll be using an Evernew 2L bottle as the "dirty water" bottle for my Sawyer Squeeze and save the 2L Sawyer bladder as a lightweight extra 2L container for dry days and dry camps. If it's hard to squeeze water through, it may be time to take out that weird syringe and backflush. This again per the BPL forums. Because of my plantar fasciitis (now improving, but I'm being extra cautious), I've only used the Sawyer on test trials in my spare bathroom. Hopefully in a few weeks I can get out and field test!

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 4:37 am 
So for an extra $5 you can convert the defective $60 squeeze into the $35 Walmart version, nice rolleyes.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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HitTheTrail
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 6:02 am 
I also started using a Platy bag but found the threads where not 100% compatible so unfiltered water leaked into the filtered water. To solve the problem of filing the flat bag through a small hole I just cut the bottom out of the Platy bag and rolled it down as I squeezed. But, that sort of backfired on me up at Scatter Lake off the Twisp River. I was filling from the melt stream rushing into the lake from the snow field when the water in the large opening jerked the bag and filter from my hand and sent it floating out into the lake. I watched it floating around for about two hours thinking I was screwed until a wind came up and blew it into shore across the lake. I have since discarded the Platy bag.

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Slugman
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 7:19 am 
I've always used the Platypus bags and never had trouble filing through the small hole. I use my cook pot to scoop the water, check it for floaters, then pour it into the Platy.

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DIYSteve
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 9:01 am 
We just got the Sawyer Squeeze. Not much use yet. (I don't filter water from alpine and subalpine snow melt streams in areas that don't get more than a couple parties per year). The Platypus bladder threads seem compatible, i.e., no leaking. Does the incompatibility arise over time?

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HitTheTrail
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 12:34 pm 
BigSteve wrote:
The Platypus bladder threads seem compatible, i.e., no leaking. Does the incompatibility arise over time?
I didn't notice it until about the third use. I twisted it real tight after that but it didn't seem to make much difference so I started using one of the black bags that came with the unit. It works just fine. And, I don't find it all that flimsy as stated above.

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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 2:27 pm 
My take so far on the Sawyer stock bags is that if you squeeze with reasonable pressure there should not be a problem. If you take the gorilla approach that harder must be better than you may blow out the seal at some point smile.gif The lighter pressure gives me water faster than my Katadyn Hiker so I am perfectly happy with that result.

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 2:43 pm 
With mine the platy bag was clearly at an angle when tightened enough to seal, sure sign of cross thread. The 2 li Sawyer bag broke without any pressure as I had used as a gravity filter.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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DIYSteve
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 3:15 pm 
My Platy-Sawyer connection is definitely not a crossthread. I've tried three Play bottles and the Platy necks seal squarely on the Sawyer filter gasket. Cf., MSR vs. Nalgene thread conflict. Class B fit but works most of the time.

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Akula
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 4:06 pm 
Humm, I am not having any crossthread problems with any of the Platypus products. I just thread them on till they snug up, and they work great for me. I reall like using the link with it. These are just things that are working good for me, and I wanted to share them. Perhaps with continued use, I may develope threading issues.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover. -- Mark Twain
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