New Sawyer MINI Filter and FREE GIVEAWAY!

Check out my latest gear review of this new product and the FREE GIVEAWAY!

Sawyer MINI Filter and GIVEAWAY

I just bought my sawyer squeeze

I could have saved an entire ounce with this!

Or not: depending on how you feel about backflushing, it may be about even.

If you add a Tornado Tube to your Squeeze, you can leave the syringe behind - I haven't weighed it other than to put the Tube in one hand and the syringe in the other, but the syringe feels heavier. With the tube, you can securely screw a bottle on both ends of the filter, and backflush by turning it upside down and squeezing the clean bottle to force water backward through the filter. So, you may save an ounce or two by adding the tube and leaving the syringe at home.

With the Mini, you can't attach a bottle to the clean end, so (unless you're willing to hope the thing won't clog in the field) you have to pack along the syringe - and the Mini plus syringe feels about the same weight at the Squeeze with Tube but no syringe.

Now that we've totally overanalyzed that...

My thinking too was you could use a bottle or bladder to back flush. Shouldn't be needed for shorter trips. A thru hike, yes. I keep just about pull the trigger on getting one, but think I will try to hold off until Spring or more reviews or maybe another upgrade.
Duane

I've used the Squeeze for about a year now, with no problems. I really like it. I got a Mini (ooooh, shiny...), but it seems like it would be most useful spliced into a "hoser" system; so far, I don't see anything else about the Mini that would make it inherently better than the Squeeze, including weight.

The Squeeze is a great filter, though. And, no problems with the Sawyer bags, either.

Thanks glenn, i'll have to look into that

That MINI looks like a good option. Of course, they are selling the "old", extremely heavy 3 oz, full size Squeeze at Walmart for $29.

My largest bag developed a zillion pinholes - a death that the Sawyers of a number of fellow hikers have observed. Always test before you go out with it.

I think I may have used the Sawyer *maybe* a dozen times, overall. I vastly prefer my gravity filter, or my Hiker Pro.

I fully agree with the "test before you go" advice - I usually fill all the bottles I'm taking the night before I go, and leave them standing in a bowl so I can check for leaks the next morning.

I know there was an issue with the earlier version of the Sawyer bags (the ones that came out with the first release of the filter.) They supposedly fixed it with this year's models. I never had any problem with the originals (but only used them a couple of times), but I ordered a set of the new ones this year and, so far, no issues with them, either (maybe 4 weekend uses, so far.) For what it's worth, I also grabbed a few of the Evernew bottles, just in case, so at the first sign of trouble...