cyccommute 

Back flushing doesn't always work. To be clear, there should have been zero minerals and zero sludge in my filter. It was used once to filter about 3 liters of water at 11,800 feet in a basin that has 13,000 foot peaks around it. The whole area is granitic so that is almost zero dissolved minerals in the water. The water was also extremely clear...no turbidity. There was zero need to back flush the filter when I got home but I didn't it anyway.

The problem was that the next time I used it, it simply didn't work. Granted, I was a bit lower on the next trip...about 10,000 feet but the stream I was filtering from was also very clear. The filter didn't "clog". It just didn't work.

I have since read that flushing it with vinegar following storage is a good idea but when you are at a campsite in the middle of the Colorado mountains and are 40 miles and several hours from any water source that doesn't need filtered, knowing that vinegar might help is pointless. The real problem is that there is no way that you should even have to know that vinegar should work. The filter should be robust enough to work on the second time out of the box.

I've filtered gallons of water with my heavier MSR Sweetwater filter...enough that I had to get a new filter...without a single clog nor has it ever failed. Yes, the Sawyer is wonderfully light but if it doesn't work, it might as well just be a rock that I carry around for good luck.

Miele Man

A water filter that doesn't work when you need it is far worse than an extra rock in a saddle bag. A non-functioning water filter can be life threatening in the wilderness.

Clear running water can be tempting to drink without filtering or boiling but you just don't know what nasties might be living in it. There could be some dead animal lying upstream of the source you're getting water from. even glacial water might have a dead critter in it along the route.

Thank you for posting your water filter problem as that's something everyone should be aware can happen.

Cheers

fietsbob

I hauled a Relatively Heavy Katadyne filter pump around, Ended up using the Classic Middle Ages approach of drinking Beer





'/,

Rowan

Moving on now! Anyone who has something they've acquired that they really like, or despise, or have gone "meh" after using it? Max?

Happy Feet

Part Two of my Blackburn Review...

Blackburn Outpost Series HandleBar Roll

I can't see the price listed online at Blackburn but it sold up here in BC, Canada for $110CAD, same as the frame bag. It appears to be well made with good material and workmanship. I wanted to try this style of bag out as I have seen it many times in vintage era pics of touring bikes back to the 1800's. This of course being, a modern remake of the basic saddle bedroll.

Features:

• Quick release mounting bracket
• Many attachment loop points on dry bag cover
• Comes with double ended drybag and fits common drybags
• Mounts on most handlebars

On the road:

I really wanted to like this set up but came away from my trip feeling very ambivalent towards it. I can't say it did not perform the task at hand but I found it to be a very over engineered complicated piece of equipment for what is, a very simple task. I also don't know if I came out ahead at all on the road space wise (off road may have different demands and thus require a different solution) over using a traditional handlebar bag that it replaced.

What I liked a lot was the double ended drybag. It was convenient to load it in a way that allowed me to access stuff I needed from each end during the day. If one were stuffing it with a tent or sleeping bag however, the double ended bag would be of no real value. The bag also comes with a velcro patch that holds it against the cover system that wraps around it. Handy when fastening it together (like a third hand) and it keeps the bag from sliding around.

What I found meh was the whole attachment system. The plastic handlebar clamp is overly complicated to initially install but that was a one off thing I could get over it. But.. then the system has TWO quick release systems that are nullified by a THIRD retaining strap. Crazy! The first is a twist knob that detaches the cover from the clamp and that actually works well. Ok, that's good. Then the cover that wraps around the bag has two fastex buckles to release the drybag. But all this is defeated by a complicated strap system that you have to bend over to attach beneath the cover to make sure the drybag doesn't fall off or sway too much. From my KISS perspective it fails the test.

The system is also overbuilt for what it does and weighs about 1.14 lb's according to Blackburn, almost all of it in the attachment/cover system as the drybag is quite light. If Blackburn wanted to earn some love they would scrap the multiple loops up front (who attaches a bunch of crap there anyway?) and add a simple zipped pocket to hold a few things. I found I missed that ability from a traditional HB bag.

How does the Blackburn roll compare to other brands? I don't know. It's the second piece of bikepacking equipment I've ever owned. As it is I give the handle bar bag a meh pass as there has to be a simpler, lighter system available. Oddly enough, I am experimenting with it being used as a carradice style bag (not packed as widely of course) by attaching it to the seat post of my light touring bike and I think some of it's design features will be more practical there.

As a bonus for early bird viewers, I'll show my DIY version of a cheap but effective handlebar roll system in the next post.

Happy Feet

What does a HB roll system have to do? Hold a bag in place of course. The simplest system would be to just tie t onto the bars with a piece of string but that might impede the riders grip or interfere with braking etc... so some sort of attachment that holds it away from the bars would be nice.

Parts:

Stem
Cut down flat bar
Bar ends
retaining strap (not shown)

You can customized to your hearts content by using different varieties of Steel, Al or CF flat bars and stems, different shaped bar ends and by angling them which ever way you want. You can even use bamboo!

Tourist in MSN

Very nice and good thinking.

Happy Feet

Thanks.
It's not for everyone but it does exactly what the $110 ones did, probably even better because it doesn't weigh a pound, you can put the drybag on and off in seconds and you can put a lot of different stuff there. I will probably fancy these up a bit with a straight Al flat bar when I pull one off a bike.

Here's a pick of an early rendition of the rear carradice idea for the Blackburn:

mstateglfr 

Blackburn outpost ront rack- raging POS. Bought for $90. Creative engineering, poor finish and poor bar spacing. Bought it in Sept of this year and returned it Sept of this year. The worst part is blackburn's complete lack of knowledge of its own product and lack of interest to help.


Jandd extreme front rack- bought it in Sept of this year for $100. Its fantastic. High and low mounting options and a platform to store light bulk. Well finished and easy to use.

mstateglfr 

ROK Straps.

About $10 on amazon. Multiple versions available.
I love these things WAY more than bungees. The buckles are solid, the tightening system stays put, and they lock gear down better than bungees since they can fit the gear better.

Used em on a couple of short tours and a handful of times thru the summer. Work fine still.

mm718

Thanks for the review. These are on my list...

Miele Man

I have to ask. How do you find the bike handling with so much of the gear on the rear well aft of the center of the rear wheel?

Cheers

Happy Feet

Initially it had a wobble that I corrected by putting my food drybag inside the front drybag. It seems with that bit of weight up front things settled down.

DropBarFan

Year-end gear review:

SADDLES:

Finally found a saddle that is comfortable for all-day rides: SQLabs 610 Active, ~$130. Brooks B17 & Swift didn't fit from the start & 3 other plastic saddles hurt after 2 hours. 610 is the most scientifically-designed drop-bar touring saddle IMO. SQLabs makes a wide array of styles & sizes, check 'em out.

PEDALS:

New Crank Brothers DoubleShot pedals another pleasant surprise. DoubleShots have platform on both sides unlike (AFAIK) Shimano SPD/platform pedals so it's easy to pedal away from a stop & clip in when it's safe as in crossing an intersection. Rode a 135 km day just with Teva sandals with no slips or discomfort.


GLOVES:

Bike glove fingers are too short. A previous pair wore out at finger-tip area . New REI Novara Stratos gloves were warm enough in freezing temps but even with XL size (I'm med height) the fingers were a touch too short. Designers don't realize how handlebar forces finger portion up.

Squeezebox

Nashbar panniers are good enough. But the rivets stick out inside, where they can easily tear ziplocks and such.

shelbyfv

Welcome back Squeezy and Merry Christmas!

Squeezebox

Sawyer filters use the same material as dialysis filters. Definately not the same as other backpacking filters. I strongly suggest calling sawyer with any questions such as the vinegar flush. I once asked about long term storage, forgot what she said. The larger filter can be set up as gravity feed and used that way successfully.
Walmart is the easiest place to get them and cheap. Don't give up on Sawyer too quickly.

Rowan

When I click on Reply to Post, I am getting a pop-up over the top for a review of straps by PathLesPedaled.com. This is the first time that my computer has been hijacked like this, and by a promotion by someone who is a member of BFs.

DropBarFan

@ Rowan, sorry to hear about the adware thing, nothing deliberate on my part, be assured. I did look at that website (BTW I think it's spelled LessPedaled) but it looked legit & anyway thought the forum software would block bad cookies/scripts or whatever. I ran 2 diff spyware scans & reg AV scan & cleared browser cache/cookies.

cyccommute 

While hollow fiber filters may be like dialysis filters the difference is that you don't reuse nor store dialysis filters after then initial use. Hollow fiber filters have other applications where they are reused but they aren't dried between uses. Reusing them and allowing them to dry between uses is something that you often do with a backpacking filter that is used only a few times per year...if that.

I've had this discussion before about the Sawyer filter and was told that I should have known how to treat them following storage but there is nothing in the Sawyer literature warning you that they can clog on long term storage. As I said above my other filters have never needed any special treatment following months (or even years) of storage. Why would I suspect any problem from these filters without prior knowledge? Why would I have called Sawyer at all until there was a problem and, considering that problem didn't show up until I was 7 or 8 hours and about 40 miles away from the trailhead over an 11,000 foot pass with no cellphone reception and without anything that could work to rectify the problem, what could they have done for me anyway?

I'm not the only person to have had this issue, by the way, as illustrated by the fact that there is a way to "fix (but not really)" the problem. I agree that these filters aren't like other backpack filters. The other filters are more robust and more reliable.

Squeezebox

You sound seriously pissed off. I've heard the small sawyer has a slower flow rate, that's why I have the larger one to do gravity feed. If you have a problem with a product call the company who makes it. A pretty simple idea. Beats carrying around the chip on your shoulder. They were helpful and courteous to me. IIRC they said flush, let dry, store. So what's the problem you seem to have?

cyccommute 

Kind of comes with being stranded without water...or at least with water that is only obtained through great difficulty...in the middle of the Colorado Rockies for 3 days.

This wasn't just a "slower flow rate". It took, roughly, 2 hours of squeezing the bag to filter a quart of water. I finally got enough water for my trip by filling the bag, placing a 40 lb rock on it and leaving it to drip (slowly) overnight.

I'm not against simple ideas...hollow fiber filters aren't really all that "simple"...but only if they work properly. I'm also not willing to try a product, or even a competing product but the same principle, if it's based on the same "simple" idea that left me high and dry.

Yes, Sawyer says in their product literature to "flush, let dry and store" which is exactly what I did after the first use. Only after I got back from the trip did I find out that this is not the best course of action when it comes to long term storage. If Sawyer had warned me in their literature that the filter needs to be handled differently after long term storage, I would have treated it differently. But they didn't and their product failed when I needed it. That's the problem that I have.

I'm not happy about their product and I won't suggest it to anyone but that's "carrying around [a] chip on [my] shoulder". I'm warning people that this product can fail you when you don't want it to fail. I consider that a public service if nothing else.

Tourist in MSN

If the concern is solely biological, boil it.

I usually carry a one oz bottle with a flip top spout with chlorine bleach in it too. But, generally used boiling instead of chlorine.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production...a816f15003.pdf

sexy cyclist

I really like this knife for bike touring and camping. Its called the Spyderco Ark.

It weighs less than an ounce including the sheath, and the coolest thing about it is that its made out of a rust proof nitrogen based steel. Holds an edge better than titanium knives do, that's for sure.

I use mine for opening stubborn packages and basic food prep. Its pretty handy. The blade on my multitool leaves a lot to be desired.



They run around 60$.

cyccommute 

The concern is always biological. Filters that you carry can only deal with biological hazards. They are mostly useless against chemical hazards...of which Colorado has many.

But the problem with "boiling" the water is that I was on a bikepacking trip with minimal resources. I needed fuel for cooking and had little reserve for treating water.

There are also two problems with boiling water for biological treatment. First is the volume. I use a 100 ounce Camelbak for drinking water but I only carry a pot that can boil a quart (32 oz) at a time. That would require at least 3 batches of water to boil and fill.

The other, larger problem, is fuel. At sea level, water needs to be brought to a boil for 1 minute. Above 6500 feet, the water needs to be boiled for 3 minutes. That's because the temperature of boiling is less than 200°F at that altitude. But if you go higher...like I was...I would say that you need to double that time or more. At 10,500 to 11,000 feet, the boiling point is around 190°F. I would need enough fuel to boil 3 batches of water for 6 minutes per day. That's why I carry a filter.

I'll just carry something other than a Sawyer or any hollow fiber filter in the future.