Water Filters

I use a sawyer mini. I have literally no idea what the reasoning behind those massive, delicate pump filters is when you have options like the mini. It's super lightweight, super inexpensive, and takes up almost no space in your pack. Plus the water bags are super useful. You can take multiple with you because they weigh practically nothing, and if you're going through a dry area you can fill them all up and filter the water as you need it.

I know I sound like a sawyer shill right now but I really just have no idea why people would continue buying those ungainly pump filters when the sawyer mini exists. The only flaw I can think of is that it's hard to fill the bags up, but I just use a cup to scoop water and pour it in, no problem.

>>760305
Everyone will say sawyer mini. They are cheap and effective i will give them that. And i do have one in my truck as a backup. But I use a first need. They are fairly expensive and heavy but they filter down to the smallest particles that any portable filter can.

How are those platypus gravity filters?

>>760328
I take my kids /out/ . With a party of 4 or 5 the amount of water I need justifies a pump filter.

>>760348
>smallest particles
paranoid much? Or do you just live in a toxic waste dump of a country?

>>761527
the wonders of fracking and unregulated heavy metal dumping in the country side

>>760889
Used one on my most recent backpacking trip. Seemed to work very well, although the filter was a friend's and not mine. Bags are lightweight and durable, and you can fill the 4L bag and carry it if you are going through an area with no water source. The filter got a bit clogged with sediment after a few uses, but after back flushing, it worked good as new again

Pick between a Sawyer Mini(great first pump), a platypus pump(gravity fed can do like 5 gallons). These two + solar purification is great for long term.

I've got a Katadyn pump. Don't recall the model offhand, but it has never let me down. It's even got a ceramic pre-filter to keep sediment out of the proper filter if you're stuck with a less than optimal source.

Good flow rate, good taste, and filters out anything not viral.

>>761531

Thanks anon

>>760305

Quick question

If you filter the water, do you have to boil it after?

>>761815
No.

>>761823

Good to know, thanks!

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>>760889
I use one and I am pretty happy with it. It works fast , has no moving parts and I do not need to work a pump or something.

>>760348
>>760889

The sawyer mini also accepts tubing. So if you have a hydration bladder lying around or buy a cheap one you can put the end of the tube in the sawyer and you have your gravitational filter. It's cheaper than the platypus

Surprised no one is talking abt time to filter and effort. Took a self-support kayak trip down Grand Canyon and all of our filters froze. Had to use t shirts for sediment and bleach. When your exaugsted pump filters are a pain if your eating food that requires water. Gravity fed seems nice if you can find a good spot to hang. If it's not going to freeze I liked the sawyer squeeze method. Bleach is the easiest.

>>760305
I use that one, because I already have it and it lasts a long fucking time. Also screws onto my osprey hydration pack.

>>761558
>>760305
I've had a Katadyn Hiker for at least 6 years. Early on I broke the nipple that the outlet hose connects to from just pulling on it at an angle. I called Katadyn looking to buy parts and they sent me a whole new housing for free! I love it when a company stand behind their product, even though it was totally my drunk self's fault.

Recently I filtered 3 gallons in a reasonable amount of time (I didn't time it, but didn't get tired, bored or eaten by a bear). I'd recommend this filter with that silt pre-filter thingy too.

>>762466
>Gravity fed seems nice if you can find a good spot to hang
you do not even need to hang them, it works if you put one container on top of a rock and the other a couple feet below, gravity will do the rest. Thats what I love about the platypus, because I am a lazy sod.
Wasn't aware the sawyer mini was able to do the same, anyone got pics of their gravity setup?

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>>762586
Here, in fact you can just use the sawyer bags, they have punctureable corners in the top end especially designed for it. Also what >>762586
says might work, but remember the hydrostatic pressure gets bigger when the height difference is bigger. This means with a longer tube and height difference you will have to wait less and less backflushing is required.

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>>762678
Sorry for the angled picture.
Here you can see how you can just slip the tubing over the receiving end of the filter

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>>762681
And here is the self made screw cap i made using a standard pet bottle screw cap (any coca cola or water bottle) wich the sawyer bags accept, thus the filter itself also accept these bottles. Just twist a whole out with a knife, a tiny bit smaller then the tube, so the tube has to be pushed trough and stays in place, and reinforce with superglue

If you have a tube this project costs you nothing and takes about 5 minutes of your time.

>>760348
> they filter down to the smallest particles that any portable filter can.
I can't find a portable First need filter rated better than 0.4 micron
The sawyer mini is 0.1 micron
The MSR Guardian is 0.02 micron

It appears you've been misinformed.

>>762678
>>762681
>>762684
Thanks mate, really cool setup!

>>763487
No problem

I still want to add that actually you don't even need the screw cap. You can just screw the squeeze bag on the recieving end of the filter, and slide the tube over the other end of the filter which also accepts tubing. So the setup is bag-filter-tube. If you hang it it will start dripping through the tube but there won't be much hydrostatic pressure (only the height of the bag itself), but when you squeeze the bag untill the air is out of the tube and the tube is filled with water the hydrostatic pressure will suck it out of the filter and the water will run out as fast as with the setup i posted pictures off. Although for convenience i made the screwcap, the only thing you really need is a piece of tube.

>>763507

Going Camping for 4 days, we're bringing these. Nice to know they're good

>>762678
No doubt it'll work, but it looks a bit finicky, so far I prefer the purpose built gravity filter from platy.

>>760305
>Also I've been looking at the gravity powered ones where it just drains through a filter.

You can do this with a Sawyer mini, you just screw a water bottle onto either end and use it like an hourglass. You will need to drill a hole in the neck of the receiving bottle and one in the bottom of the bottle above it for displaced air.

>I know I sound like a sawyer shill right now but I really just have no idea why people would continue buying those ungainly pump filters when the sawyer mini exists

Everybody who owns one becomes a shill. It's just a really solid filter for what you pay.

>>761522
>I take my kids /out/ . With a party of 4 or 5 the amount of water I need justifies a pump filter.

You can just buy one sawyer for each person and probably still spend less than you would on a single pump filter

>>761815
You probably should. Filtering gets rid of "large" organic material, but probably won't get bacteria and shit. If you CAN boil, and it's not a huge inconvenience, do so.

>>760305
Y'all niggas doin' it wrong. I've a long-haired hound that I shit upon. I smear my shit onto his coat with a stick. He smells divine... woof woof

>>765004
>but probably won't get bacteria and shit.
Are you the special kind of stupid? Those filters specifically filter "bacteria and shit"

>>760328
>>760348

Doesn't the Sawyer squeeze do exactly the same thing but faster?

>>760305

The benefits as far as I can gather is that they filter instantly, most have 0.02 micron filters which also take out viruses (sawyers are 0.01) and they're good for large groups of people.

However unless you're leading an expedition I don't think the price really justifies getting one.

But whatever you do, DON'T buy a lifestraw. They don't screw on to bottles and can't be rigged as gravity filters, which the sawyers can. I have one and it is a shit single-use meme. Sure, they actually work but you get a lot more bang for your buck with a Sawyer.

>>765004
He's not using a bandana to filter it anon. Filters on the market take care of everything but viruses depending on the brand.
>>760305
Knowing the water quality where you are going should dictate the style of water purification. My go to is always chemical purification. 3drops of bleach per liter of water. 20-30 min wait time depending on how cold the water is.

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>2016
>buying expensive gravity filters
>not making your own

instead of those damn sawyer squeezy bags I use a Platypus Big zip for my dirty water. you can open the fucker up and fill it fast as fuck

>>765051
not necessarily viruses, though

>>765051
>>766280
Yeah meant viruses, sorry

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>>766294
Just had the same experience with the sawyer mini squeeze bags and had the same thought about the platypus big zip. I am glad to see it is a good combo! I will def do this now. Do you use the setup as a hydration pack when walking and a gravity bag at camp? Is that some sort of quick connect after the sawyer mini, do you have another tube with a bite valve?

>>766201
Sure, but personally I've never been in a rush filtering water. Even though the difference in size and weight is minimal, I don't see the purpose in buying a larger, heavier (albeit marginally) filter just so I can filter a little faster.

With the mini, from start to finish, I can fill my nalgene in less than 5 minutes. That's getting it out of my pack, filling the bag, screwing the bag on, and filtering. Unless I'm in some sort of race I don't see the need for the squeeze.