Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN

I leave in a couple days for a backpacking trip (yes, backpacking, not bikepacking), bringing my Sawyer for the first time. Tested it a couple days ago in the sink, did not want to flow so I did a robust backflush and it now provides good flow. I tested it in the sink when I bought it almost two years ago, so it had some water in it in storage over almost two years.
The issue the OP had was flavor, not filterable microbes or particulates. Thus a filter would not work on that.

I will be using Evernew brand bladders.