Forum Index > Gear Talk > Tips for using the Sawyer water filter
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 4:30 pm 
i enjoy using my sawyer squeeze...but a hassle to fill so i carry a wide mouth lightweight water bottle to fill the 'bottle'. kind of kills the lightweight idea. but Sandy did find a way to ease the squeeze!
Sandy finally using her head! :D
Sandy finally using her head! biggrin.gif

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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DIYSteve
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 4:42 pm 
Better to have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. IME, Platy, etc. narrow neck bottles are easy to fill from a stream, PITA to fill from a lake. I like Slug's suggestion of using the cook pot -- which will get sanitized when you boil water.

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chesterrc
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 6:40 pm 
I'm hoping that higher quality bags will become readily available as this filter appears to be increasing in popularity. In the mean time, I've been wanting to try a little DIY project to make the Sawyer bags easier to fill. I'd like to try cutting the bottom off the largest Sawyer bag and rig it up to function similarly to a dry bag with a roll top closure, where rolling the bag shut from the new bottom opening down would push water through the filter. That would make the bag a million times easier to fill, but is still a rough idea that certainly does have pitfalls. I plan to purchase a few of the big bags and see if this is a remote possibility.

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 7:02 pm 
The Wal-Mart $36 appears to be the same filter. If You use the Platty zip on the top with a platty filter adapt and and another one on the bottom, could be just a bare tune into a bottle it would work pretty wall as a gravity filter or even light pressure. It would be easy to fill and the filter does not require much pressure. Only problem would be freezing danger which might be a deal killer here.

"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 7:19 pm 
chesterrc wrote:
I'd like to try cutting the bottom off the largest Sawyer bag and rig it up to function similarly to a dry bag with a roll top closure, where rolling the bag shut from the new bottom opening down would push water through the filter.
That is exactly what I did that resulted in me nearly losing my Sawyer in Scatter Lk.(read above). Be sure to hang on to the bag when filling in a fast flowing stream going into a lake.

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 7:31 pm 
Rolling sawyer bags voids the warranty, what little there is. huh.gif INMHO putting a card in the packaging that is not visible until you open it is not a valid waiver (but who is going to litigate over a $3 bag). Nonetheless it seems sleazy to me. I just have no respect for the company, my advice is if you want to try it buy at REI as they respect you. Note, MEC does not even carry the POS.

"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 8:07 pm 
If rolling the bag voids the warranty I am sure cutting the bottom out of the bag would as well.

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chesterrc
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PostThu Aug 09, 2012 11:00 pm 
HitTheTrail wrote:
That is exactly what I did that resulted in me nearly losing my Sawyer in Scatter Lk.(read above).
Ah, I missed that post... or read it and completely forgot, then later thought that the idea was mine originally. doh.gif I have the Katadyn Base Camp filter system and love the theory behind it. There has to be a way, with a little ingenuity, to combine the convenience of filling the Base Camp with the lightweight advantages of the Squeeze. If I void the warranty of the $3.33 bag, I'm okay with that. I have high hopes for the squeeze system and want to find a way to take advantage of what it has to offer. Yes, a system should be fully effective when you purchase it, but that unfortunately isn't the case here. Time for a mild intervention.

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Backpacker Joe
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PostFri Aug 10, 2012 12:15 am 
The damn bag isnt the issue! Pushing water through the bugger is the problem.

"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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Conifers
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PostWed Aug 15, 2012 12:42 pm 
I squeeze it like a bagpipe.

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Hulksmash
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PostWed Aug 15, 2012 12:59 pm 
Blowing through the filter inflating the bag (then remove the filter) seems to help allowing water to enter in still snow melt pools. Obviously it takes a while for the air to bubble out, but it's still faster than pumping.

"Bears couldn't care less about us....we smell bad and don't taste too good. Bugs on the other hand see us as vending machines." - WetDog Albuterol! it's the 11th essential
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tigermn
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PostWed Aug 15, 2012 1:56 pm 
I keep seeing discussions about issues with water filters. I must be missing something here but it seems like a no brainer to just hook up a pump and pump the water into the bottle/bladder with say the MSR Hyperflow. Pop the hose on, put the intake in the stream and pump. Ok so if you had to melt snow you would first have to put/melt it in a plastic baggie or something so you could actually "pump". Unless you have a jello arm and can't pump I don't see why it is worth the hassles that seem to keep coming up with other types of filters. guess I'm used to fixing flat tires on bikes trying to pump 100 lbs of pressure using a small hand pump so pumping water is like nothing. All you have is the hose, and pump. No bags to mess with etc.

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Traildad
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PostWed Aug 15, 2012 2:38 pm 
tigermn wrote:
Unless you have a jello arm and can't pump I don't see why it is worth the hassles that seem to keep coming up with other types of filters. guess I'm used to fixing flat tires on bikes trying to pump 100 lbs of pressure using a small hand pump so pumping water is like nothing. All you have is the hose, and pump. No bags to mess with etc.
But that takes all the fun out of counting how many grams you have eliminated from your packweight smile.gif

Life is short so live it well.
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Backpacker Joe
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PostWed Aug 15, 2012 6:18 pm 
Mine was so difficult to sqeeze water through that in so doing the water leaked from around the seam lower down on the filter head. I took it back to REI and got another one. Ill try that on the next trip.

"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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boot up
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boot up
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PostThu Aug 16, 2012 12:57 pm 
Traildad wrote:
tigermn wrote:
Unless you have a jello arm and can't pump I don't see why it is worth the hassles that seem to keep coming up with other types of filters. guess I'm used to fixing flat tires on bikes trying to pump 100 lbs of pressure using a small hand pump so pumping water is like nothing. All you have is the hose, and pump. No bags to mess with etc.
But that takes all the fun out of counting how many grams you have eliminated from your packweight smile.gif
I think the entire Hyperflow rig is 7 ounces. Which I think is the same as the Sawyer by the time you add all the bags and tubing etc. In fact I think its lighter than the "stock" double bag setup. I would say its a draw, just based on weight. Maybe if you are an ex-cyclist, choose the hyperflow, if you are a hiker with no upper torso ...Sawyer

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