Author Topic: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?  (Read 9291 times)

beefy

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #15 on: 14:11:45, 19/04/17 »
How about a syringe - i.e. about the same size as a Smartie tube.
No needle of course - just use the plunger to draw up water & squirt it into the pouch straight from the nozzle.
I got a small one from Boots a few years ago and assume you can get the larger sizes too.


Just a thought.


Beefy posted a vid on here a year back which included a handy bit of DIY for these filters - but I can't remember what his modification was. If he sees this he may jump in and 'fill you in' - so to speak   :knuppel2:
not read all the replys but i filter from one small bladder to another small clean one, red for unfiltered, blue for filtered ...  8)
on the fly, that way it filters for you and you always have clean water to drink if you need it
you may have spotted it hanging from my pack on pics/vids


We also have a syringe we use to draw up water from places where the water is more difficult to access with a bladder. We try to get it from running streams if possible but the syringe has been our saviour a few times. We also have wide mouthed bigger bladders too for when we are out camping. Easier to fill from standing water or streams that don't have a big enough drop to use the other bladder.The bladders that came with the filter gave up the ghost pretty quickly, we bought cheapo replacements from Home Bargains, 79p I think.


Yeah what Ape' said ...  ;D
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April

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #16 on: 19:10:06, 19/04/17 »
not read all the replys but i filter from one small bladder to another small clean one, red for unfiltered, blue for filtered ...  8)
on the fly, that way it filters for you and you always have clean water to drink if you need it
you may have spotted it hanging from my pack on pics/vids

As if by magic, here is a pic  :)


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beefy

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #17 on: 19:20:25, 19/04/17 »
As if by magic, here is a pic  :)

thanks Ape' ...  O0
can i borrow ya magic wand i wanna put me lotto on ...  :D
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Steelystan

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #18 on: 22:42:01, 20/07/17 »
Ive used both Sawyer mini and regular on the PCT in 2015 and again for about 500 miles this spring. One of my two flexible bags leaked after being dropped but otherwise they've been ok, except they are a pain to fill if you have no vertical flow to collect from.


The easy fix is get a 1.5 L bottle of smartwater.  The thread is a standard fit (actually nearly all of the narrow type threads are the same) and use it as your dirty bottle.  Hold the thing between your knees and squeeze into the clean bottle through your filter - this will overcome the amusing comedy flow rate of the mini, until you get fed up with, whereupon you will lob it at some passing lorry, and replace with the ordinary size sawyer which flows properly.


Its useful to have a cut off small bottle - say the bottom 3" of a half litre bottle in case you need to scoop from a shallow flow.  And I have often held the opening of a plastic bag flush to a rock when there is a seep running over its surface. Sometimes such seeps can be running at gallons a minute but only 2mm deep over the rock, so there's no other way to collect it.
178/214.

April

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #19 on: 08:59:29, 21/07/17 »
the amusing comedy flow rate of the mini

We have no problems with our mini filter flow rate. Ours filter half a litre in a few minutes? Have you flushed your filter to clean it?
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Steve922

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #20 on: 18:19:34, 17/05/18 »
Since writing the original post in this thread, I've done quite a bit of experimenting with this. I'm settled on carrying two 500ml bottles; one tough coke bottle and one flimsy water bottle. I have been carrying the Sawyer bottle also but still find it very poor to use anywhere. The disadvantage of the two 500ml bottles is pack volume but that doesn't bother me. I carry all my water gear in the top of my pack so its handy whenever I come across some water.
    I make a point of never filling my water bottle from a tap anywhere in order to get used to the way I'll need to do it on a long hike. Can't beat experience!  :-)   So far, I've never been short of water so quite happy with my setup at the mom,ent. I am wondering if finding water might be more problematic when I hit the hills.

Jim Parkin

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #21 on: 22:43:11, 27/05/18 »

Be slightly careful when doing this. You should assume the dirty bag is dirty, all of it, so getting your mouth in contact with the opening to inflate it exposes you to the same nasties you have a filter to keep out...


J
I make a pipe out of my hand hand to inflate it.  I assume my hands are mucky anyway. 

Doddy

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #22 on: 15:32:47, 31/05/18 »
I use the filter and find it good.To aid filling as water scoop I re-use those fairly stiff plastic coffee, pills, other food product bags with sealable tops.

alan de enfield

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #23 on: 16:26:11, 31/05/18 »
I use the filter and find it good.To aid filling as water scoop I re-use those fairly stiff plastic coffee, pills, other food product bags with sealable tops.



I use a child's juice foil 'carton (like a pouch). Cut open the top and it makes an ideal scoop by gently squeezing the sides, only problem is that it is only 200ml, but, if you need water, you'll have to take as long as it takes.


My kit consists of :
Sayer Mini water filter
Platypus Inline carbon filter (to remove 'taste')
2x 500ml Bladders
2x Non-Lubricated condoms
10x Water sterilising tablets
Assorted bits of pipe and connectors for different assembly and filtering methods


It all fits into an 'Airline Courtesy Kit' holder. (the kit with toothpaste, slippers, socks etc)


Total weight 270g.








marmottungsten

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #24 on: 17:06:56, 02/06/18 »

I use a child's juice foil 'carton (like a pouch). Cut open the top and it makes an ideal scoop by gently squeezing the sides, only problem is that it is only 200ml, but, if you need water, you'll have to take as long as it takes.


My kit consists of :
Sayer Mini water filter
Platypus Inline carbon filter (to remove 'taste')
2x 500ml Bladders
2x Non-Lubricated condoms
10x Water sterilising tablets
Assorted bits of pipe and connectors for different assembly and filtering methods


It all fits into an 'Airline Courtesy Kit' holder. (the kit with toothpaste, slippers, socks etc)


Total weight 270g.


Again with the heavy kit Alan!   :) 
I have a Sawyer Mini too...One of it's main advantages over something like a Katadyn Mini Water Filter is its ultralight weight (Just 38g)...But by putting all that extra kit together, in a heavy carry case, to make the Sawyer Mini easier to use, has actually made it heavier than a Katadyn! (226g vs 270g).  I now use an MSR Trailshot...It is a cross between a Katadyn and a Sawyer Mini...Like the Katadyn, it has a hand pump and a suction tube, so you can pump water crouching down in relative comfort, rather than kneeling uncomfortably in the mud on a river bank trying to fill your Sawyer mini dirty water pouch, and like the Sawyer Mini, it's relatively lightweight (142g), 84g lighter than a Katadyn and almost half the weight of your Sawyer Mini kit!  It is small enough to stick in a pocket, so you can quickly access it when you find a suitable source of water, fill your water bottle in no time and be quickly on your way.  A Katadyn costs £115 at ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk but on Amazon a Sawyer Mini costs £22 and the MSR Trailshot costs £36, not much more than the Sawyer Mini.  Your Sawyer Mini kit will have probably cost more than that.   ;)

 

alan de enfield

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #25 on: 17:26:39, 02/06/18 »

Again with the heavy kit Alan!   :) 
I have a Sawyer Mini too...One of it's main advantages over something like a Katadyn Mini Water Filter is its ultralight weight (Just 38g)...But by putting all that extra kit together, in a heavy carry case, to make the Sawyer Mini easier to use, has actually made it heavier than a Katadyn! (226g vs 270g).  I now use an MSR Trailshot...It is a cross between a Katadyn and a Sawyer Mini...Like the Katadyn, it has a hand pump and a suction tube, so you can pump water crouching down in relative comfort, rather than kneeling uncomfortably in the mud on a river bank trying to fill your Sawyer mini dirty water pouch, and like the Sawyer Mini, it's relatively lightweight (142g), 84g lighter than a Katadyn and almost half the weight of your Sawyer Mini kit!  It is small enough to stick in a pocket, so you can quickly access it when you find a suitable source of water, fill your water bottle in no time and be quickly on your way.  A Katadyn costs £115 at ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk but on Amazon a Sawyer Mini costs £22 and the MSR Trailshot costs £36, not much more than the Sawyer Mini.  Your Sawyer Mini kit will have probably cost more than that. ;)






Agreed the kit is heavier than just the 'mini', but it contains so much more, particularly the platypus inline carbon filter that removes all 'taste' in the water -  yes I could throw the kit into a self-seal bag and save another 100g but I am comfortable with my pack weight at the moment.


I guess the Trailshot is so quick and easy to use is that the pore size of the filter is twice that of either the Sawyer or the 'Pureasy 2000' at 0.2 micron instead of 0.1 micron


I also have one of these :



 Technical Data 'Pureasy 2000'

 Size of ceramic membrane's aperture: 0.1 micron
 Output: Approx. 0.3 l/min (10 oz. per minute)
 Capacity: 2,000 liters (530 gallons)
 Weight: Approx. 88g (3 oz.)
 Dimensions: 13.8×5.7×2.8cm
 Material: ABS plastic, Ceramic, Nano-metal clusters media (NMC)
 
« Last Edit: 17:35:44, 02/06/18 by alan de enfield »

marmottungsten

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #26 on: 17:31:40, 02/06/18 »

Agreed the kit is heavier than just the 'mini', but it contains so much more, yes I could throw the kit into a self-seal bag and save another 100g but I am comfortable with my pack weight at the moment.



I also have one of these :



 Technical Data:

 Size of ceramic membrane's aperture: 0.1 micron
 Output: Approx. 0.3 l/min (10 oz. per minute)
 Capacity: 2,000 liters (530 gallons)
 Weight: Approx. 88g (3 oz.)
 Dimensions: 13.8×5.7×2.8cm
 Material: ABS plastic, Ceramic, Nano-metal clusters media (NMC)


Loving it!...Is is army surplus?


April

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #28 on: 17:46:04, 02/06/18 »
I now use an MSR Trailshot...

I am a fan of MSR gear but I wouldn't want to use the Trailshot to filter the 3l of water needed when we wild camp. We have a 100ml syringe that cost 80p. We use this on the very odd occasion when we cant find a high enough drop to fill the bladders. We gravity filter our water while we put our tent up, no effort required.
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Steve922

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Re: Anyone use a Sawyer Mini Water Filter ?
« Reply #29 on: 18:18:48, 02/06/18 »
Alan, what's your impression of that PureEasy pump thingy? Have you used it in anger yet? It looks worth a punt but though I'd ask your impression first.

 

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