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Sawyer Mini Filter and Gravity System.

Old 09-26-21, 04:36 PM
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Sawyer Mini Filter and Gravity System.

A couple times a year a thread starts on water filters. And sometimes some heated debates start, sometimes not. Many filters are mentioned, but little consensus is reached.

I am not trying to create a consensus or solve the world's problems with my discussion here, and I am not trying to convince anyone to change what they use. But I am quite happy with the Sawyer Mini and am sharing my thoughts with you on it after a recent trip backpacking (not bikepacking).

That said, I try to do all of my bike touring in designated campgrounds that offer a clean water source. Thus, my Sawyer is likely to only be used for backpacking, canoeing and kayaking trips. Bike touring where there is a chance that I might have to wild camp, I expect to continue to bring my Steripen and a one ounce bottle of chlorine bleach instead of a filter, as those items are much more compact and are only brought along as contingency since I almost always can rely on a good water source at a campground.

But some bikepackers bring a filter, so I am relaying my recent experience with what I think is a pretty good filter.

This is a pretty good two minute marketing pitch on the Sawyer Mini.

And a good two minute piece on maintenence.

First a bit of background, this is my fifth water filter that I have bought over several decades. And I have also used counting drops of chlorine bleach, iodine tablets, and I have a Steripen UV device.

Two years ago (pre-covid) I was backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) in Northern Minnesota. And my MSR filter was clearly having problems. Every other hiker that I talked to told me that they were using a Sawyer filter. Thus, I bought a Sawyer as soon as I got home. And I had met a few other hikers that were using a gravity system, I pieced together components from various sources to make a gravity system.

Most Sawyer Mini filters are sold with only one threaded end. The model I bought is less common, as it is the Mini but has threaded fittings on both ends and comes with a few extra thread to hose adapters when you buy it. While you could set up a gravity system without threads on both ends, I decided the convenience of being able to unthread the parts when not in use was worth it for a gravity system. I bought my dual thread version at Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P1F13J1/

I bought a pair of two liter size Evernew bladders for my gravity setup.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AQYY5Q/

And bought some tubing from a hardware store.

First photo below shows my complete gravity setup. It takes several minutes to filter two liters, but I can set it up and do other things while gravity is doing the work for me.




Second photo shows the filter threaded to the upper bladder, an adapter (blue) threaded onto the filter outlet to adapt the thread to hose. And attached hose.




Most of my trips, I bring a bucket cut from the bottom two thirds of a vinegar gallon jug (75 grams). The bucket comes in handy for dipping water out of a pond or creek to pour into the bladder. Some bladders have a large opening, but I chose bladders that lack that opening, so something to pour from helps. And a bucket like that also comes in handy for a wide variety of other campsite uses, I was using it before I bought the Sawyer.




In the photo below I am holding the filter at the end of my flip top cap on my water bottle to back flush the filter, use my other hand to squeeze the bottle. Note the arrow points towards the bottle because I am BACK flushing the filter which uses reverse flow to wash out any particulates that entered the filter inlet. This is not a Smartwater bottle, but I got this idea from someone on Youtube that was using a flip top Smartwater bottle and lid for back flushing. I discuss this more in a note below. The syringe can do a more robust job of back flushing, I plan to continue to carry the syringe on trips for when a robust backflush is needed.




I store the filter, bladder and other bits of hardware in a mesh bag. It is large in volume, but quite light in weight. The mesh bag, filter, hose, syringe, two bladders, etc., adds up to 365 grams. That is less than the MSR and the Katadyn Combi which I have used, but more than the Steripen and a few other options. When backpacking I carry the treatment stuff in a side pocket on my backpack.




Misc notes in more detail:

1 - I have to squeeze the upper bladder a bit to get the 0.170 ID - 1/4" OD hose filled with water in my gravity system, since that hose has to be filled for a suction to develop to pull water through the filter. That is not a problem, it is just part of the procedure. Putting the filter below that hose would negate the need to squeeze it to get it started but I wanted to keep as much of my hardware as possible on the clean (filtered) side of the filter as possible. The hose that I used is 0.170" ID and as the water passes down through the hose, the water keeps the tubing full, maintaining the suction. (I also use a few short bigger ID hose pieces to serve as adapters at the hose barbs.) If the tubing is too large in inside diameter, you could have a rivulet of water running down the side of an air filled tube, in which case a suction would never develop. For that reason, if you use a larger diameter hose, the hose likely will need to be used above the filter, not below.

2 - The lower blader can get full of a mix of water and air, and too much air pressure in the lower bladder can cut off the suction from working. Instead you could put the clean water into open topped cooking pot or uncapped bottles. I chose to use a bladder both above and below, thus I have to make sure there is not too much air in the lower bladder.

3 - I looked at some youtube videos on the filter before I bought mine. In one of those videos, someone demonstrated that you could use a Smartwater bottle with the flip top Smartwater lid to do a very fast back flush on the filter instead of using the syringe. I carry water bottles with the same type of lid as Smartwater. I have gotten into the habit of giving my filter a quick backflush after every time after I use the filter, since it takes almost no time at all to do so when you have a bottle right there with a bottle lid that works for that.

4 - When I get home and before I put it in storage, I give the filter a robust backflush with the syringe, using chlorinated water from my community water system. And before a trip I always test my critical components to make sure they work, and I do a robust backflush as part of that before the next trip too.

5 - How long does it take to filter two liters with my gravity system? I do the filtering while doing other things, thus I do not bother timing it. So, I can't answer that question. I set it up and later the water is filtered. The time it takes would vary with how many particulates are in the water, how high the water surface in the upper blader is compared to the bottom of the plastic tubing (hydraulic head difference), how much water has gone through the filter since the most recent backflush, etc. The time is in minutes, not seconds, not hours.

6 - Someone on this forum commented before that his attempt to use the Sawyer filter was a disaster. He bought the filter, tried it at home, and it worked great. He then put the filter in storage, and months later went on a trip where he had very poor flow. In that forum thread, others suggested that his problem was that he did not back flush the filter first. I test every thing that could mess up one of my trips before I go. In my case, I bought the filter, it worked great. The filter then sat on the shelf for 23 months in my home with water in the filter. And during my pre-trip test I had poor gravity flow through it 23 months later while still at home. I then did a robust backflush, and the filter then worked much better.

7 - Do NOT allow your filter to freeze. If you are unsure of how cold it might be overnight, bring your filter into your tent and maybe stick it in a ziplock to put into your sleeping bag with you.

8 - This year when I was backpacking on the SHT, some hikers I met used a Platypus filter, not a Sawyer. I did not inquire how people liked it. But that might be another brand to consider.

9 - I punched four holes in my upper bladder to hang it, I was careful to not put the holes where water would flow out. The bladder with the cord tied to it is always my unfiltered bladder, thus I did not need to label each bladder as filtered or unfiltered. But you do not want to mix up bladders, you could get cross contamination that way if you put your filtered water into a bladder than previously had unfiltered.

There are lots of options for water treatment, just describing what is my new favorite method. I hope this is helpful to others.

I might be out of town for a few weeks in the near future, if you ask questions and do not get a quick response it probably will be because I am on a trip somewhere, and yes I am bringing my Sawyer gravity system on that trip.
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Old 09-26-21, 06:11 PM
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Tourist in MSN: Thanks for the info I have been looking at water treatment and I'm' having difficulty deciding on how far down the rabbit hole with the different things they filter I need to go. I just watched a video on YouTube and in addition to the Sawyer filter the narrator added a homemade carbon filter in line also. I will continue to study this out and hopefully decide on a system.
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Old 09-26-21, 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
A couple times a year a thread starts on water filters. And sometimes some heated debates start, sometimes not. Many filters are mentioned, but little consensus is reached.
Since I’m usually the culprit that starts the heated debates, I’ll chime in.

6 - Someone on this forum commented before that his attempt to use the Sawyer filter was a disaster. He bought the filter, tried it at home, and it worked great. He then put the filter in storage, and months later went on a trip where he had very poor flow. In that forum thread, others suggested that his problem was that he did not back flush the filter first. I test every thing that could mess up one of my trips before I go. In my case, I bought the filter, it worked great. The filter then sat on the shelf for 23 months in my home with water in the filter. And during my pre-trip test I had poor gravity flow through it 23 months later while still at home. I then did a robust backflush, and the filter then worked much better.
You’ve got the story all wrong. I did not test the filter at home. I carried it to a high country lake that sits at about 12,000 feet. I filtered about a liter of water from a crystal clear stream with zero turbidity. At 12,000 feet, the dissolved solids in the water is also nearly zero. I did not back flush the filter before storage because it wasn’t needed. The water I would have backflushed with probably has more dissolved solids than the high country stream does…and Denver’s water doesn’t have much in the way of dissolved solids.

As to storage, 23 months of storage in Wisconsin is a very different environment than a similar time in Colorado. Our humidity, both relative and absolute, is lower than yours. That might have an effect on how much my filter dried out. I am hesitant to leave the filter with water in it for long periods because that invites mildew.

When I did use it again in the field, I had no reason to expect it to not work. I had filtered only a small amount of water previously. I saw no need to test it nor to back flush it nor to do anything other than just use it. I’ve done that with my other filters that aren’t hollow fiber. Nothing I’d read previously suggested otherwise. It appears that Sawyer has changed some of their recommendations over the last 7 years.

Others may want to risk the Sawyer. Many people have used them successfully. But others (a few) have had the same problem.

I still wouldn’t use one, no matter how light or improved they are. I’ll stick with my MSR Sweetwater. It may be heavy but it works without too much maintenance. Something that doesn’t work is far heavier.
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Old 09-26-21, 07:54 PM
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Interesting/useful/helpful comments on the Sawyer. On backpack trips many years back we used iodine, but then eventually switched to First Need and then to Katadyn, which I guess is MSR now. We also now have a Sawyer mini. The First Need/Katadyn/MSR have pumps. If I know we are travelling in areas constantly without treated water, I would still want a pump since I can obtain significantly more water in relatively little time. For 2 people, the pump is worth the extra weight/volume, having copious amounts of water is good.

On some bike tours, it is not clear that treated water is always available. For these tours, when a water filter is unlikely to be used much, we like the Sawyer mini because its weight and volume is less. While gravity filtration is slow (or faster with the squeeze bag), we are ok with once-in-awhile versus using the bad taste of chemical treatments. Our recent tour was in part on Michigan M28 in the UP, near and east of Lake Gogebic. This and other parts of UP are remote, but we found treated water. Still, nice to have a backup other than chemicals.
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Old 09-26-21, 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN

First photo below shows my complete gravity setup. It takes several minutes to filter two liters, but I can set it up and do other things while gravity is doing the work for me.
Excellent post.

Above is the best thing about gravity systems. Let it run while you're doing other things - if you are going to filter a lot of water at once.

I used to use pump filters back in the day. A buddy of mine I used to backpack with used them and we would share the filter for our group outings. When I got my own filter set up I went with a gravity system - the Katadyn 10L system. There are many variations of gravity systems - the Sawyer line being some. No matter what route you go they beat the heck out of pumps. Gravity filtering has transformed my camping experience, no matter what the activity. I don't feel I have any limitations with water with a gravity system - as long as I can access a water source.
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Old 09-26-21, 10:53 PM
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I believe I have found my water filter. MSR Guardia Gravity Purifier. This one also removes pesky viruses. It is only 19 ounces.
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Old 09-27-21, 01:35 AM
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With hollow fiber filters it's best to backflush before the trip to get it wet. Also, when attaching the dirty water bag, squeeze out any air in a non-full bag before attaching. Air in the line may make it not work. I think most backpackers would prefer the Sawyer Squeeze to the Mini for a gravity filter, but it's nice it is working for you.
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Old 09-27-21, 04:22 AM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
Since I’m usually the culprit that starts the heated debates, I’ll chime in.
...
You’ve got the story all wrong. ...
...
I still wouldn’t use one, no matter how light or improved they are. I’ll stick with my MSR Sweetwater. It may be heavy but it works without too much maintenance. Something that doesn’t work is far heavier.
Noted.


Originally Posted by IPassGas
Interesting/useful/helpful comments on the Sawyer. On backpack trips many years back we used iodine, but then eventually switched to First Need and then to Katadyn, which I guess is MSR now. ....
If Katadyn and MSR are the same company now, that is news to me. Katadyn website does not list MSR as one of their brands.
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Old 09-27-21, 05:43 AM
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Nice summary.

I have always managed to backflush with something other than the syringe, which I don't carry and have probably misplaced long ago. The smartwater bottle you mention is one way. Even holding it firmly against a water hose or some faucets works well enough.

Depending on how silty or muddy and how much water you will be filtering choosing between the Mini and the larger model can give a bit less weight vs quicker filtering and less frequent need for back flushing. I usually find the Mini adequate.

Cyccommute's issues with it seem to suggest that a quick check that it isn't clogged works before taking one that has been in storage on a trip might be in order. That seems like a better solution than giving up on them to me. The Sawyer Squeeze and Mini type filters and their ilk have enough advantages that my MSR Sweetwater is unlikely to ever see use again. The MSR is rated at only 400 gallons and the new element costs as much as two new Sawyer mini filters that supposedly will filter up to 100,000 gallons each..

I have never experienced the problem with the clogging after storage, but if it is something that backflushing with a waterbottle won't remedy (is it?). The mini is cheap enough that if I was worried about that I'd have a new spare on hand and if my used one wasn't working when I was ready to head out I'd grab the new one.

Cyccommute"won't risk" them, but I don't really see a risk. Just check the filter before you head out. I have only ever heard of the problem he mentions in a long term dried out filter. Just checking before you go would rule out that risk. I suspect it is a pretty rare issue any way and a new filter is what $20? At 2 ounces you could even carry a new spare.

I guess to me the real question comes down to how common or rare was the failure Cyccommute experienced and is it something that can be avoided by simply checking before any trip where the filter has been in storage long enough to completely dry out. Or is that even required? Required in some climates?

I have never had a problem with my hollow fiber filters and have been pretty lax in their care and feeding. Basically I just use them and bring them home, take them out of the ziplock bag, and put them on the shelf until the next trip. I have even forgotten to take one out of the ziplock for months, probably a big no no and had no obvious issues. I did run some water/bleach solution through it both directions to flush it out before use that time.

Last edited by staehpj1; 09-27-21 at 06:33 AM.
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Old 09-27-21, 07:22 AM
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Thanks for the detailed usage description and photos. May get one at some point so this will be a good reference.
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Old 09-27-21, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
Cyccommute's issues with it seem to suggest that a quick check that it isn't clogged works before taking one that has been in storage on a trip might be in order. That seems like a better solution than giving up on them to me. The Sawyer Squeeze and Mini type filters and their ilk have enough advantages that my MSR Sweetwater is unlikely to ever see use again. The MSR is rated at only 400 gallons and the new element costs as much as two new Sawyer mini filters that supposedly will filter up to 100,000 gallons each.
The problem I experienced with the Sawyer was long ago when the filters were first introduced. There was nothing to indicate that the filter couldn’t just be used over and over again without any maintenance and, after filtering such a small amount of water, should I have expected any kind of problem nor should I have needed to test it. It was essentially a brand new filter.

As to capacity, if the filter fails in the field, it doesn’t matter how many gallons of water the filter might be able to filter. Mine failed after a liter (or 1/4 of a gallon) of water. My MSR might have a lower capacity…400 gallons of water is still a whole lot of water…but it works every time I have used it. It’s also a bit faster than a new Sawyer Squeeze. It’s a whole lot faster than a Sawyer Squeeze that isn’t working. It took 12 hours to get a couple of liters of water out of the failed Sawyer.

Cyccommute"won't risk" them, but I don't really see a risk. Just check the filter before you head out. I have only ever heard of the problem he mentions in a long term dried out filter. Just checking before you go would rule out that risk. I suspect it is a pretty rare issue any way and a new filter is what $20? At 2 ounces you could even carry a new spare.
Monday morning quarterbacking is great, isn’t it? If I were to use one of these (in my opinion) worthless devices, I’d check it 16 ways from Sunday before heading out. But, again, it’s not something I would have expected from a filter that had only filtered 0.0003% of its supposed capacity. Everyone keeps missing that point. It was a new filter. My MSR sits for years without use and pumps water like a champ. I don’t usually like to get burned and then go back and retry the product. Once burned is enough.

As to carrying a second one, why? Again, you are missing the point that it was new, used a single time for what was essentially a drop of water and I expected it to work as if it were new.

I guess to me the real question comes down to how common or rare was the failure Cyccommute experienced and is it something that can be avoided by simply checking before any trip where the filter has been in storage long enough to completely dry out. Or is that even required? Required in some climates?
It’s far less rare than you think. A Google search of “Sawyer Squeeze flow issues” give over 13 million hits. Post after post of the same issue I experienced from all over the world.

Finally, I post this about the Sawyer every time I see someone talking about them as a warning to others. Yes, if you are going to use one, test it before you go out…preferably several times and several days before you plan on leaving. That way you have time to go out and get a replacement. Squeezing a bag with enough pressure to get a few drops per minute out of a Sawyer filter is extremely painful. After 2 hours of cramping hands, I finally figured out that I could use a very large rock to do the same.
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Old 09-27-21, 11:47 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
...
I have never experienced the problem with the clogging after storage, but if it is something that backflushing with a waterbottle won't remedy (is it?). ...
All I can say is that in my case, a robust backflow cured mine of having not-great flow after I took it out of storage. By "robust" backflush, I filled the syringe and then used as much force on the syringe as I could muster by holding the syringe against the side of the sink for a couple of backflushes. Used municipal water which is chlorinated.

But in use when camping, I just do quick backflushes of maybe a half cup of water after each batch of water is filtered. With the water bottle method, you can't get as much pressure on it with finger squeezing as you can with a syringe, thus my quick backflushes were pretty weak in comparison to my syringe backflushes. But my quick backflushes still reached crystal clear water after only a few ounces went through.

And as I noted above, I plan to do a robust backflush before and after every trip, so I am not going to worry about it.
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Old 09-27-21, 02:10 PM
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Originally Posted by BikeLite
With hollow fiber filters it's best to backflush before the trip to get it wet. Also, when attaching the dirty water bag, squeeze out any air in a non-full bag before attaching. Air in the line may make it not work. I think most backpackers would prefer the Sawyer Squeeze to the Mini for a gravity filter, but it's nice it is working for you.
Good point about getting it wet before trip. I have been using the Sawyer Squeeze for about 5yrs as a gravity filter with a CNOC water bag for dirty water. I tried the mini but found it too slow for gravity applications.
Also after trip I back flush with warm water about 5-10 times.
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Old 09-27-21, 03:15 PM
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Originally Posted by biker222
...I have been using the Sawyer Squeeze for about 5yrs as a gravity filter with a CNOC water bag for dirty water. ....
Looks like a good bladder. Thanks for posting.
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Old 09-27-21, 03:48 PM
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Originally Posted by biker222
Good point about getting it wet before trip. I have been using the Sawyer Squeeze for about 5yrs as a gravity filter with a CNOC water bag for dirty water. I tried the mini but found it too slow for gravity applications.
Also after trip I back flush with warm water about 5-10 times.
FWIW, after reading Cyccommutes comments again it occurred to me to run the searh he suggested "Sawyer mini flow issues" vs "Sawyer Squeeze flow issues" and the bigger Squeeze fared a good bit better. Not only were there a fraction of the number of hits, but way fewer were for issues that sounded like the one he experienced. Read into that whatever you choose, but maybe consider the bigger model if you want more flow or more reliability and don't mind an extra ounce or so. I have had good luck with both.
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Old 09-27-21, 06:56 PM
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I changed my mind again after some more reading and research on YouTube.

1: The Sawyer Squeeze attached to a CNOC VECTO 3L Water Container, 28mm dirty bag. This setup can be used as a gravity or squeeze bag.

2: I am also going to use the Sawyer FAST FILL ADAPTERS FOR HYDRATION PACKS. so I can setup different fill options.

3: I can also use the fast fill adapters to use the GravityWorks Carbon Element for ugly smelly lake water. The fast fill adaptors will allow easy on off for the carbon element for use when I need it and out of the way for back flushing.

4: I also want some kind of liquid or dissolving pills to kill viruses but haven't decided on what will be best.

FWIW, after reading Cyccommutes comments again it occurred to me to run the searh he suggested "Sawyer mini flow issues" vs "Sawyer Squeeze flow issues" and the bigger Squeeze fared a good bit better. Not only were there a fraction of the number of hits, but way fewer were for issues that sounded like the one he experienced. Read into that whatever you choose, but maybe consider the bigger model if you want more flow or more reliability and don't mind an extra ounce or so. I have had good luck with both.
I read some negative reports about the smaller Sawyer filters also. So I have chosen the Squeeze and the dirty bag. This selection of a system from several manufactures appears to be a better choice. In a month or so when I have all this stuff together I will try to report back on how it works. There is a camp ground not far from me that lists there water as non palatable. Nice high prices in the dessert to camp and non palatable water. Go Figure
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Old 09-27-21, 07:21 PM
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Originally Posted by Rick
I changed my mind again ...
...
4: I also want some kind of liquid or dissolving pills to kill viruses but haven't decided on what will be best.
...
There is a camp ground not far from me that lists there water as non palatable. Nice high prices in the dessert to camp and non palatable water. Go Figure
This says two drops of chlorine bleach per liter. I double that if in doubt. Use fresh bleach. That does not limit it to viruses, but it would certainly cover viruses after you already filtered it.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/fi...r_sept2017.pdf

I carry a one ounce bottle of chlorine bleach for water treatment as my backup in case filter or Steri pen fails. Chemical treatment involves a delay, generally half an hour.

The term is potable water, not palatable when it comes to water supplies. I have tasted some water that was not very palatable, but it was potable.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potable

Keep in mind that viruses are rarely an issue in the wild, that is more of an issue where human wastes may have contaminated the water. That said, in karst topography you can have problems in areas that appear to be pristine that are not necessarily so. And that includes springs in karst areas.
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Old 09-28-21, 07:54 AM
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
FWIW, after reading Cyccommutes comments again it occurred to me to run the searh he suggested "Sawyer mini flow issues" vs "Sawyer Squeeze flow issues" and the bigger Squeeze fared a good bit better. Not only were there a fraction of the number of hits, but way fewer were for issues that sounded like the one he experienced. Read into that whatever you choose, but maybe consider the bigger model if you want more flow or more reliability and don't mind an extra ounce or so. I have had good luck with both.
I didn’t suggest searching for Sawyer Mini. I suggested searching for Sawyer “Squeeze”. And my results using both terms and even limiting with quotation marks give 13 million hits for the Squeeze vs 7.5 million hits for the Mini. Looking through the results (not all of them obviously), I read several post like this one and this entire thread that detail exactly my experience. Many in that thread make the assumption that it was operator error but I’m not convinced. Given the small amount of water I filtered and the source of water that has very low dissolved solids…a quarter mile or less from the stream source and the lake that feeds the stream being in granite…I’m not quick to blame the water.
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Old 09-28-21, 08:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Rick
There is a camp ground not far from me that lists there water as non palatable. Nice high prices in the dessert to camp and non palatable water. Go Figure
You might want to check into why the water isn't potable. If there're old mines in the area, it's possible the water contains heavy metals or other inorganic "nasties" at dangerous levels. Standard filters won't do anything to make that kind of contaminated water safe to drink.
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Old 09-28-21, 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
You might want to check into why the water isn't potable. If there're old mines in the area, it's possible the water contains heavy metals or other inorganic "nasties" at dangerous levels. Standard filters won't do anything to make that kind of contaminated water safe to drink.
High nitrates are another common trigger. Growing problem in my state.
https://www.wpr.org/report-finds-wis...-getting-worse

My comment in a previous post on springs in karst areas that you might think is prestine but might not be potable, I was thinking nitrate when I wrote that.
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Old 09-28-21, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
High nitrates are another common trigger. Growing problem in my state.
https://www.wpr.org/report-finds-wis...-getting-worse

My comment in a previous post on springs in karst areas that you might think is prestine but might not be potable, I was thinking nitrate when I wrote that.
Various places I've been had contaminants like mercury, sulfuric acid, uranium, cyanide, lead, (excess) fluoride, perfluorocarbons. Funny how if you go far enough downstream those are dilute enough that it's "safe" to drink.
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Old 09-28-21, 02:22 PM
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
Various places I've been had contaminants like mercury, sulfuric acid, uranium, cyanide, lead, (excess) fluoride, perfluorocarbons. Funny how if you go far enough downstream those are dilute enough that it's "safe" to drink.
Metals and sulfur form complexes and tend to precipitate. Mercury binds to silicates or biologically alkylates and vaporizes. So yes, dilution downstream. Perfluorocarbons are not very reactive, this and their greenhouse potency makes them an atmospheric problem, but their harm in animals/us through water uptake is as yet unknown.
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Old 09-28-21, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by pdlamb
Various places I've been had contaminants like mercury, sulfuric acid, uranium, cyanide, lead, (excess) fluoride, perfluorocarbons. Funny how if you go far enough downstream those are dilute enough that it's "safe" to drink.
It gets into probabilities of death from ingestion of a compound over X number of years, largely based on assumed continuous constant exposure. So, dilution can lower a probability of death enough to "pass". Usually but not always it is based on cancer risk. It gets complicated.
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Old 09-29-21, 01:44 AM
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the solution to pollution is dilution is the saying in some locales like grand canyon river trips.
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Old 09-29-21, 07:47 PM
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Does anybody use a
with there Sawyer water filter.
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