[DIYSteve]

Mylar is a really lousy choice of material for the bag.

[Eeyore]

I have been using the filter pretty much all this year and have had good luck with it. Just posted a review at http://aclayjar.blogspot.com/2012/09/sawyer-squeeze-filter-review.html

[Navy salad]

[Opus]

Here's my brief review of the Sawyer Squeeze Filter. I used it on my PCT thru-hike multiple times per day with lots of different water sources. Durability: I never really had a problem with the filter itself. Held up great. Several other thru-hikers with the filter had the thick rubber O-ring on the water-in side fall out though. The bags are not as durable and definitely require more care. I never had a bag puncture the entire trip, even in southern CA where everything is sharp. I went through 5 bags on the hike and all of them failed in the same way. They all began to leak at the neck of the bag, where the mylar joins the plastic. Glue failure I assume. Really annoying but at least it was predictable. The bags are also relatively cheap, $11 for 3 of the 64 oz size. The filter also screws on to SmartWater bottles if you remove the little plastic ring the cap leaves behind. Effectiveness: Never got sick! Lots of other hikers picked up Giardia, I assume drinking from the same sources I did. They usually did not treat their water. Some sources were not that good and contaminated with cow droppings in the area. Still, I felt confident enough in the filter that I rarely double treated the water (Aqua Mira after filtering). Filling: Really easy to fill from small creeks where there is any kind of falling water. Harder to use in very shallow creeks. Annoying to use in lakes without a water scoop. I used the ziploc bag I store the filter in as a water scoop and it worked well. I wasn't really able to get any good prefilter system worked up. When it was really bad I tried to pour through a bandana into the squeeze bag but lost about half the water in the process. Clogging: Clogs much less often than my MSR or Katadyn filters, possibly because the pore-size is larger (0.1 micron vs 0.02). Silty water was a problem in some places, especially around the volcanoes where glacial run off was everywhere. It took noticeably more effort to push water through when it began to clog. I think this also contributed to bag-failure because I had to squeeze so much harder. Probably less of a problem for average backpacking where one can backflush the filter more often. More annoying on a distance hike where one has less access to sinks. Cleaning: Typically I would just filter water, unscrew the filter, and shake any water out. Worked fine. I tried to remember to clean it every town. I don't like the big syringe they include. I built a little coupler with a tornado-tube (those things that connect two soda bottles for kids science stuff) and a few hose washers. I had to shave down the plastic on the tornado tube to make it fit, but it worked great. Whenever possible I would just screw it onto an outdoor faucet and push water back through it for a few minutes. Really easy. I did break the filter in half doing this though when I turned the water up too high, so be careful. I screwed it back together and it seems fine. VS chemical treatment: Really personal preference I'd say. I don't like drinking chemicals if possible, especially when mountain water is so tasty. The filter doesn't weigh much more than Aqua Mira and also removes floaties. You can also drink the water right away, no waiting for chemicals to work. Chemicals have the edge when gathering a lot of water at once though; filtering 6-liters takes awhile. Filtering in bug-country is also annoying. With chemicals you can scoop, throw in the treatment, and run away. Filtering very cold water also makes your hands cold and I had to wear gloves often. Overall, I'd say it's a wash in terms of convenience between the two. I'm very happy with the filter. Ridiculously simple, pretty durable, and effective. I'm going to continue using it.

[Eeyore]

[DIYSteve]

[rossb]

I just got the Sawyer bag system after seeing a friend use it. I compared it with the flow on an inline Seychelle filter and it was impressive. Even though the Seychelle doesn't filter out as much, both flowed at about the same rate. My other system was fairly similar to the new Sawyer system. I had a "dirty" platypus connected to an adapter, then a tube onto the filter. I would just drink directly from the other end of the filter. I never tried squeezing the platypus, but would just lift it and suck (easier than drinking a milkshake). Given the concern with these bags, I'll probably do the same thing and try and baby them. The Sawyer setup is really nice. I like the push cap and cover for the push cap. This means I can fill a dirty bottle, attach the filter, then make sure the cap is closed and covered before carrying up to the top of a (dry) peak. When I am lounging on top I can take it out of my pack and not worry about it leaking or getting the drinking end dirty. To work as a gravity feed (when camping) I used to carry a modified platypus. I poked holes on the outside bottom of the platypus (not where water is held) and then attached some cord. This allowed me to fill the bladder, then turn it upside down and tie to a tree limb (or rock). I am hesitant to do that with these new bags. Has anyone done this? Would this be stupid (given the already valid concerns about the durability of the bags)? The only thing I don't like is the compatibility issue (which many encounter) with Platypus. They should have just come out with the filter and pieces and made it compatible. They were trying to make more money by selling bags, only to have people complain about the quality of the bags. I wonder how many people will return their bags to REI? If a bunch do and REI gets tired of replacing them, they will simply stop selling it. When that happens, you can bet that Sawyer will change their approach.

[grannyhiker]

The incompatibility issue is with the new Platypus, not the old. The older Platy bags with straight sides (as opposed to the new curved sides) work fine with Sawyer; at least mine do (they are getting too brittle to be used as squeeze bags, though). It appears that the problem may be with the redesigned Platypus, not Sawyer. Sawyer works fine with standard soda bottles, too--I've tried both bottles and caps from several different brands of soda and water bottles. As I mentioned earlier, I shifted to Evernew bottles a couple of years ago because I got tired of losing Platy caps. Interesting ideas for use of the Sawyer Squeeze, especially the photos on the second page showing a couple of gravity setups: in the BPL forums.

[rossb]

Thanks Grannyhiker, that makes sense. I'm afraid I didn't do much research before going out and buying the filter. I was pretty happy with my old system, but had just put a hole in my old platypus. When I went to REI to get a new bladder, they were out of the big ones. So, I decided to get the new filter with the three bags. The gravity setup is essentially identical to my old system. In other words, you can punch holes in either a square Platypus or an Evernew bladder. Just put the holes in the corners, attach some cord and you've got a gravity system. It's a shame the round Platypus bladders don't fit as well, since some of them have built in hooks for hanging upside down. Those would work well for a gravity system if the connections were better. All this time I thought it was Sawyer who was moving away from the defacto standard (which, in my mind is Platypus) but it turns out it was Platypus that changed. It makes me wonder what Platypus was thinking. It would be nice if there was more standardization in this area. Not only would it help with connections, but also if you lose a cap (given what everyone has said, I would guess that a soda pop cap would fit on an old Platypus, but not a new one).

[Hulksmash]

Well i blew a seam on a Platy bag this weekend. So it seems even platy bags are not immune to repeated rolling and squeezing.

[DIYSteve]

Yup, Platys will eventually fatigue and crack, but IME they seem to last at least 20 times longer than those POS Sawyer bags.

[Slugman]

I'm sticking with the Sawyer gravity filter with a Platypus bag until they get the bugs worked out of the squeeze filter. I've been using the gravity set up for years now, maybe 5 seasons, with no problem. The water flow is not quite as fast as the squeeze filter, but I also don't have to squeeze it, just hang it up and let the water flow while I do other things. Having the bag hanging in a campsite is the closest thing to having a faucet.

[Hulksmash]

So i'm not entirely sure the bugs will get worked out in the bags. Specially since i just had an alternate bag fail. Now when i say fail i mean start leaking. I have yet to have a bag fail to the point that i have been unable to filter water. The procedure is simple. If the bag is leaking simply have the filter higher than the bag. Any unfiltered water will fall to the ground instead of the water container you might be squirting water into. Obviously transporting water in a leaky bag is not an option.

[rossb]

I made some modifications to make it easier to use the Sawyer Squeeze as a drip filter system. I will continue to use the Sawyer bags until they break. So anyway, here is what I did: 1) Bought a Tornado Tube at Math and Stuff on the top of Maple Leaf. 2) Trimmed it a bit using a hacksaw. This is necessary for the end that connects to the filter. The end that connects to a clean Platypus doesn't need a modification. 3) Put holes in the end of the Sawyer bag, opposite the opening. Obviously, the holes are not in the bladder itself, but in the edges. When the Sawyer bags break, I'll do the same thing with one of my Platypus bags (turning it into a dirty bag). I know I can make the same modification to the Platypus bags since I did that with a different inline filter before I bought the Sawyer Squeeze. 4) Attached some cord to those holes so I can lift the bag from that end. I have some additional cord so I can reach taller branches or rocks. Now, all I have to do is attach a clean Platypus to the other end of the Tornado Tube and let it drip. The Tornado Tube is pretty light, coming in at about a half ounce. Cord is light (mine weighs about a half ounce, but cord weight varies). The whole filter system (including the biggest bag) is about five ounces. Since a bag is part of the system, my total water carrying capacity is bigger than if I just carried a pump filter (or any other type of water system). For example, I could start the day by using the "drink as you go" method. Every time I cross a stream, grab the dirty bag, fill it and then drink through the filter. For this part of the trip I don't carry water. But if I decide to hike to the top of a dry mountain, I can switch gears. If I want a lot of water I can start by dripping water into my Platypus. I would cap that off, then fill the dirty Sawyer bag. At the top of the mountain, I would then have two (big) bottles of water. I rarely need this much water, but it is nice to have that flexibility. All in all, it is a great system. My only concern is that the Tornado Tube might not be food grade plastic. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but the BPA scare made me a little worried about plastics in general. Hopefully Sawyer will start selling adapters like this (and I can toss my Tornado Tube).

[Navy salad]