Hi,

I bought this filter for a backpacking trip last summer and used it again for the first time this year. After only two trips, the bags sprung leaks near the the top. Apparently, this problem has been encountered by many people.

For those who have experienced this problem, what did you do? buy new bags, call Sawyer and complain (some did this and seemed to get nowhere), toss the filter and switch to Aquamira drops?

Thanks,

rhz

there's no warranty on the bags themselves and they started putting cards in the packages saying this. they're cheap, i would just deal with the loss and get a platypus bag or something similar to substitute.

I have heard that these http://www.evernewamerica.com/EBY205208.htm work perfectly and are much more durable.

You can pick up 3 of the 2L bags from REI for $10. This way the threads will match.

James is right, the Evernew bladders match the thread on the Sawyer Squeeze filter perfectly. This is what I use and they are much tougher. You could also just buy more Sawyer bags. As discussed elsewhere before, the Platypus bladder threads do not reliably match the Sawyer Squeeze filter.

Did you push on it really hard to get water to flow through filter?

Maybe better to apply only gentle pressure?

I've used mine on one trip without problem but was fairly gentle because I have heard of failures

I tried Platypus on previous trip, but the threads aren't quite the same. It sort of works, but water leaks a little and tends to run down into the treated water container.

Hi,

Thanks for the evernew bag suggestions. I'll try that. I've generally been gentle with the sawyer bags, but I felt on this past trip that the filter flow was low--probably should have back-flushed it at home beforehand. The first bag leaked instantly with minimal pressure and the second eventually leaked probably after a bit more pressure, but nothing too extreme.

Thanks again,

rhz

"...the bags sprung leaks near the the top..."

Around the cap block, at the seams, in the middle?

Thanks

where the plastic bag meets the white screw-top plastic piece.

Not sure how the Sawyer Squeeze fittings are done, but I bought a 3-way inline Sawyer, cut my hydration bladder hose, and inserted the filter. The bladder works as both a squeeze for cooking water and as a normal hydration pack. As always, treat everything with care and it should last. That may not be true with the materials in the squeeze bags, but flexible bladders don't get the same kind of pin-point stresses as mylar or equivalent bags.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=65867

"where the plastic bag meets the white screw-top plastic piece."

Same place mine leaked last year. Sawyer was not real friendly about it, nor did they want to take any responsibility for their fragile bags.

Get the Evernew, or carry a bunch of Sawyer bladders.

Not good news, but good to know.

Thanks.

Is there a site that has the Evernew bags in stock? Mine have been on backorder for at least a month now.

Ebay has some 600ml ones.

"where the plastic bag meets the white screw-top plastic piece."

This reminds me of Big Agnes Clearview pad failures at the valve block before they rounded the edges. On the first edition pads the corners were going through the PU when your rolled them up and stuffed them.

I can envision a similar scenario with the Squeeze. I think the approach is to roll and squeeze, or do a two-handed squeeze, and always avoid squeezing the bag around the valve block. Don't mash the bag to get out the last few drops.

I've had two of my Sawyer bags start leaking in the same areas, and I've been babying the second one. The first didn't last very long, it started leaking on the second trip out. The second that started leaking lasted quite a bit longer, but not in absolute terms all that much use (unfortunately).

I thought that one reason that the first one failed was that once you attach the filter to the bag, it acts like a very convenient handle. When the bag's empty that's fine, but when it's full, there's enough weight in it to stress those joints. Whether or not that theory is valid I don't know, but even being careful to only hold the bag by its corners when full, it still started leaking around that joint.

I'm going to look for some of the Evernew bags when I get back from this weekend's trip.

John,

here is a link to all of the places that sell the Evernew products

http://www.evernewamerica.com/shoplist.htm

Another data point. My Squeeze bag leaked after ~15 liters.

I spoke with the Evernew rep by phone a few weeks ago asking when they would have them available again in the states and he told me that Gossamer Gear would have them shortly. I noticed today that they are back in stock on Gossamer Gear's website. I bought a couple to go with my Sawyer Squeeze Filter to replace the stock Sawyer bladders that have gotten such a bad rap.

I switched from Platypus bottles to Evernew a couple of years ago because I was forever losing the Platy lids. Evernew has a plastic "thong" attaching the caps to the bottle, so I no longer have to carry extra caps. I'm really glad I made the change, because the newer Platypus bottles, whose threads were formerly compatible with soda bottle lids (which I could use as extra caps) and other fairly standard items, are now no longer compatible--including with the Sawyer filter. If Cascade Designs thought this a good marketing ploy, I beg to differ--they have lost me as a water bottle customer and I will no longer recommend Platypus, which used to be one of my staples. I also bought two 0.9L Evernew bottles to replace the bladders (essentially the mylar kind used in wine boxes) in my dog's Ruffwear pack. The Evernew bottles are much easier to fill and clean and the pair are 6 oz. lighter than the wine box bladders. There's no way my aging dog could carry a gallon of water anyway!

What I plan to do with my Sawyer Squeeze filter is to use one of my 2L Evernew bottles as the "dirty" bottle (marking a large "X" on both sides with a Sharpie) but take along the 2L Sawyer bottle as an extra water container, since it's lighter. It would appear (from home testing with the 1 L bottle) that the Sawyer bottle will work just fine for occasional use if I'm not squeezing it. Actually, it held up just fine for squeezing in my at home tests, but it does seem quite fragile for such continued stress.

Back in May I was able to get 2L Evernew bladders from Trail Designs. I got the 0.9 L size from a place up in Washington called the Great Outdoors Depot. The latter were out of the 2L size. It seems that Evernew's production was severely curtailed by the 2011 earthquake/tsunami.

Now that Evernew pots and pans are once again arriving from Japan, I assume the water bladders are available as well.

Edited by hikinggranny on 08/07/2012 20:17:23 MDT.