http://www.rei.com/product/837889/sawyer-inline-adapter-water-filter-connections

Awesome! Can be used like a three-way in-line now.

Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't this require extra precautions to make sure you use separate sets of dirty and clean reservoirs and tubes? Since the Sawyer Squeeze system doesn't clean the water till the filter, there'd be bugs in the reservoir and pre-filter tube, and so if you put clean water into this reservoir and tube, and drank without the filter, you'd be sucking up those bugs (potentially).

Wow....begs the question, why even bother to sell the older version when they could include these in the standard kit for the Squeeze Filter.

This seems like the best of both worlds....gravity filter in camp and squeeze bottle on the trail.

Thanks for sharing this.

-Tony

Kier,

You are correct, however....for anyone who is used to an inline filter or gravity filter setup, this is no big deal.

With either setup as an inline or gravity filter, you always need to aware of your clean and dirty lines and bags.

-Tony

While on the REI site to look at the newly offered adapters for the Sawyer Squeeze, I noticed that Platypus makes an inline carbon element if you would like to improve the taste of your treated water. Not a concern for me, but I recall seing quite a few threads discussing MYOG opitions for inline carbon setups and this offering from Playtpus seems to bring it to the masses for the low low price of $12.95. The weight of the element is listed at a reasonable 1.16 ounces.

Edited by FeetFirst on 03/20/2012 15:12:27 MDT.

Alex:

Katadyn has something similar. Great in concept, but it is one more thing to connect to the line...

Ben, I agree and it's just one of the reasons I don't bother with such. I used CLO2 tabs for two years, but after seeing Tony Wong's Sawyer setup here, I decided to give it a try. I've used that setup for the past two seasons and have been totally satisfied with it. I did just place an order (REI 20% off) for the Sawyer Squeeze to drop a couple of ounces of hydration tubing since I don't utilize a hydration system; I prefer to just use my bottles especially since my new (old) pack has great ergonomics when accessing water bottles from the side pockets, which is a first for me. Anyways, cool products that I'm sure some will use, but not for me. However, as a new dad, I'm rethinking some of my systems to be up to snuff for the little guy.

Edited by FeetFirst on 03/21/2012 01:01:39 MDT.

Glad to see that my User Gear Review here has helped others use the Sawyer Filter.

I am really excited to see the evolution of the Sawyer filter...in particular, I think that the Squeeze filter might be able to produce more filtered water than the inline filter version with it larger input and out put.

Does anyone own both of them and have they noticed a significantly faster rate of flow with the newer Squeeze Filter?

I really wish that BPL would come out with a report/article of Gravity Filters as I think that they are becoming more popular.

-Tony

One my last hike, we had both an inline system with the Sawyer filter, and the squeeze version. The filter is actually the same in each version - just the connections have been changed.

The squeeze filter was much faster, I think because of the pressure you could bring to bear. However, the squeeze bag developed a leak within three days which dribble dirty water into the clean water bottle.

If I use the squeeze system again, I'll pack extra bags (more weight), or use Platys or regular plastic water bottles or something other than the Sawyer squeeze bags!

Stephen,

Thanks for the feedback on your experience.

Last Aug, I did the JMT and altered my old "black" cartridge Sawyer inline filter to work with two Platypus bags as a squeeze bag setups...dirty to clean 1 L bags.

Worked well, but I had to apply a good amount of force.

I am thinking that the input and output parts of the Squeeze filter are much bigger than the small 1/2" or 1/4" nipples on the inline filter and therefore would has a faster flow rate.

Thus reducing the amount of pressure that would be needed to push the dirty water through faster.

Worked well on my trip, but doing for two people left my hands cold from being wet and having to squeeze hard, rolling the bottom of the bag up to create pressure.

-Tony

Stephen, Was the cause of the leak obvious? Was it caused by pressure? If so, I presume the leak was at a seam, which may be field repairable with some duct tape? Regardless, I do wish the squeeze bottles provided were more adequate for the task. If I recall correctly, the thread pitch on Platys don't match well with the Sawyer's inlet which causes leaks. Is this correct?

The leak was a the joint of the seam and the plastic throat piece. Sawyer said it was obvious I had been "wringing" the bag (I had not - I had to squeeze one-handed - darn tough to "wring" something one-handed!) The seam had folded at that joint, and the leak developed there.

Yes, I hear that the Platy thread didn't quite match the Sawyer thread either. I have not tried that personally.

Good explanation of better flow in the squeeze version of the Sawyer filter!

I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but the water bladders made by Evernew match the Sawyer Squeeze filters perfectly (AntiGravity Gear and Gossamer Gear sell them). I primarily use a 1.5L Evernew bladder to filter with my Sawyer Squeeze and carry one of the weak Sawyer bags as a backup or for extra in-camp water. The Evernew bladders are pretty similar to Platys in terms of robustness.

Thanks, John. Exactly what I was looking for.

Good observation. Do they make something similar to the Platypus Big Zip? Getting dirty water into one of those narrow mouthed bladders still looks like a headache.

No, I don't think Evernew makes one like that (although that would be pretty nice). I carry a 0.5 L water bottle that I use to fill up my Evernew and Sawyer bladdders. It works pretty quickly, is a lot less painful than trying to fill up the bladders directly from the water, it allows me to fill up the bladders completely, and it gives me extra capacity if I need it. IMO, it's a lot easier to filter water with the Sawyer Squeeze using the Evernew bladders - they're a lot less flimsy.

I just got a 2L Evernew bladder yesterday. Weight is 1.45 oz.

You can also take an old platypus and cut it diagonally, removing a portion of the top to make a large open-top "scoop." The diagonal cut leaves a nice small edge to pour from.

A Smart Water bottle with the top cut off makes a good scoop and you can store the filter inside.

I just received the new Sawyer hose fittings. They open up all kinds of possibilities for in-line and gravity feed setups, as well as using other reservoirs on either end.

Does anyone make a lightweight water pump that could be used with filters like the sawyer? I like my gravity filter setup but sometimes it would be an advantage to have a small pump to carry as well so that I could pump from a stream if needed.

Heath:

I once separated the filter element of my MSR Sweetwater Filter -- and connected the pump mechanism itself to an inline filter instead. It worked pretty well, actually. But I found myself using the filter in its native inline mode pretty much all the time (I disliked pumping) -- and sold the MSR.

A picture says a thousand words. I can't find a photo showing just the pump mechanism of the MSR, but here is one for the First Need Purifier -- to give you an idea. As you can see, the filter element is easily separated, leaving just the pump mechanism -- which you can connect with tubing, with an inline filter spliced in alone the intake:



Having illustrated the above possibilities, I think most all of us who opt for in-line or gravity filters do so for the simplicity. Rigging / carrying a pump mechanism will add back bulk, weight, and fuss.

Edited by ben2world on 03/24/2012 15:12:24 MDT.