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Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter

$219.95

(13)

Item # 778046

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With no pumping and no chemicals required, the Sawyer Complete water purifier system delivers 4 liters of purified drinking water in as little as 15 min.

Features a 0.02-micron hollow fiber membrane purifier that physically removes particles, protozoa, bacteria and viruses while maintaining a high rate of flow
Simply fill the included gray reservoir with unfiltered water, attach the filter and filter hose and let gravity do the rest to fill the included blue reservoir
Once the blue reservoir is full, hang the reservoir from its handle using the included Nite Ize S-Biner loop and fill your water bottle, pots and pans
Or, attach the included drink tube and a bite valve of your choice (sold separately) and use the reservoir as you would any hydration system
All Sawyer water purifiers meet Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations for removal rates
Purifier is fully field maintainable to ensure a fast flow of water; system includes a faucet adapter for thorough back washing from a household faucet
Setup is simple and the system packs easily, weighing in at only 20 oz.
This Sawyer water purifier comes with a Million Gallon Guarantee, essentially eliminating the need to ever have to replace the purifier cartridge
Includes 4 liter gray reservoir, 4 liter blue reservoir, hollow fiber purifier, faucet adapter, purifier tube, drink tube, 90° fitment, S-Biner and instructions

Made in USA.

Item 778046

$43.99

with coupon code ANNV13
May 17-27 Details

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Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter

3.2

(based on 13 reviews)

67%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Lightweight (8)
Good filtration (6)
Maintenance (5)
Easy to clean (4)
Durable (3)

Cons

Best Uses

Car camping (5)
Backcountry (4)
Backpacking (4)
Day trip (4)
Hiking (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Avid adventurer (6), Casual/ recreational (5)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (7)
- What Is Your Gear Style:
- Survivalist / minimalist (4)

Reviewed by 13 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-10

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May

2012

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

A good filter if you know how to use it

By graduate slave

from MN

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to backflush
Easy to Use

Cons

Difficult Setup

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

This is a great filter. I've used it many times with all kinds of water conditions and it has yet to fail on me. The problem comes with the set-up. Most folks assume you can just attach all the tubes and let her go. Not so if you want decent water flow. The trick is to get all of the air out of the lines and filter housing. The easiest way I've found is to hook everything up but the clean reservoir. Flush out all the bubbles from the hose and filter, THEN hook up the hose (full of water) to the clean reservoir. With some practice, you can do this without making a mess or contaminating the tap on the clean bag.

Comment on this review

Mar

2012

(15 of 15 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Far Better than Pumps and Bottles!

By Nate_

from Minnesota

About Me Military/Law Enforcement

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Set Up
Easy to Use
Good Design
Large Water Capacity
Lightweight
No bottle needed

Cons

Best Uses

Backcountry
Below freezing climates
Day Trips
Dry or desert climates
River
Travel
Winter Camping

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

This is a long review, so I apologize in advance. I'm surprised to see some 1-star ratings for this product. I've found it's design and construction to be fantastic. The three most common concerns are (1) the speed at which it filters, (2) its durability, and (3) its weight. I'll give my observations of the same. I did find that the first few times I used it, even after priming it, it took about 45 minutes to filter the whole bag. But, after a breaking it in with a couple cycles at home it filtered a bag in about 25 minutes in the field. Although I usually do prime it, it's not essential and using it a couple days after priming is still fine. It'll take about 10 seconds to fill the bag from the source, another minute to hang the bag, and then the rest is effortless so you can do other things (but more importantly, not spend almost the same amount of time and far more energy pumping water. Relaxing with your pack off after a movement, lying next to a glacial lake is better than pumping water out of it, right?). I've even put the dirty bag on top of my ruck and the clean down lower, and let it filter as I walked. As for durability, I've been pretty hard on mine and it has never leaked. The bags are made of a pretty tough material, the spigot screws on good and snaps securely shut, and neither of the ports has leaked. I've sat on my ruck with the bag up top, let my 65lb ruck drop partially on it, used it as a pillow (blow air in them to reach desired firmness and wrap with a shirt or sweater for added comfort – it's like a water bed/sleep number hybrid), and kept it in between my back and ruck to keep water from freezing in sub-zero temps (also helps to melt the snow used to keep it topped off, since filtering fresh snow isn't really needed), and still no leaks. The filter has a 1-million gallon guarantee and cleaning it is as easy as back flowing a bag every 15 or so uses. So basically, IF it every fails to work, they'll replace it. Consider how often you'd have to replace other filters and what that cost would be. One of the things I like best is that the bag can be used as a camelbak. No reaching (or rather, contorting) around to your mesh side pockets to try and grab a bottle (that probably has water sloshing around in it – wasting space and perhaps adding a soundtrack to your hike). Just route the drink tube down your shoulder strap and you've got plenty of easy water on the go (easy water = drinking water more often, which = better performance). Lying the bag horizontal in the ruck but on top creates water pressure, so water is pushed into your mouth rather than you having to suck it out. Its weight was the next concern. Its weight is only a few ounces more than most pump filters. But, the Sawyer system's listed weight includes the priming tube that you won't bring with to the field (but weighs a couple ounces), and 2 bags that each carry 4 liters of water. So, in order to compare apples to apples, with a pump filter you also have to add the weight of your bottles and water storage bags/jugs (8-liters worth). After you've done that, the Sawyer is probably going to weigh much less and its construction is better than a collapsible plastic jug. Although it says 4-liter system, it's actually 8 liters. I usually filter/fill the clean bag and then refill the dirty as a reserve. Having 8-liters of water is particularly important in dry or desert climates, and makes providing water for a group so much easier and more compact.

Comment on this review

Nov

2011

(6 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Never worked

By MJM

from Lancaster, PA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Hard to Clean
Never worked
Poor Customer Service

Best Uses

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

Filter wouldn't work. I tried backflowing and still nothing. Returned to Sawyer. They sent it back and said it was fine. They said it is often set up wrong. I sent them pictures and they confirmed it was set up correctly. I was getting about 1 teaspoon per minute. They eventually stopped returning my emails.

Comment on this review

Sep

2011

(6 of 9 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Poor customer service

By lionel106

from New England

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

Filter housing arrived defective, Just by looking at the filter I could see the top of the housing was not assembled properly. After sending the filter back to Sawyer, the same filter was returned to me. Sawyer stated the filter must have been damaged by the customer due to over pressurization, Sawyer would not replace it. This is a company with poor quality control who will blame problems on the consumer.

Comment on this review

Aug

2011

5.0

Works great

By Llamabb

from Oregon

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy To Set Up
Easy to Use
Good Design
Lightweight

Cons

Bulky

Best Uses

Backcountry

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

We have owned many different water filters. This has worked great for us. Water is filtered while camp is being set up. It goes pretty fast. Much easier than pumping any other kind of filter such as MSR, First Need, etc. We tried them all. So far we used this for a two week wilderness pack trip in the Sierras and a few weekenders in the Cascades. Ample for two. Worked okay for four people although we had to keep it going constantly while in camp since it was hot and we were all extra thirsty. Cleans easily too. We are about to take off on another two week pack trip. Now we will get to see how durable the unit is over time.

Comment on this review

Apr

2011

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

I liked mine until I used it..

By Junyeon

from Kansas City

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Good filtration

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

I thought I liked it a lot until the FIRST try. The plastic connector from the dirty water container had a small crack in it and dirty water started seeping out. I never took it camping. I never used it before. Out of the box, it was useless. [...] It's going back.

Comment on this review

Mar

2011

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Great concept, but not quite perfect

By Achtung

from Orlando, FL

About Me Military/Law Enforcement

See all my reviews

Pros

Compact
Durable
Lightweight

Cons

Narrow Mouth
Slow Flow

Best Uses

Backcountry
Travel

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

The filter itself is outstanding, but the bag setup needs a little refinement. For some reason the clear tube never fills with water and the flow is SLOW. The filter was primed and flowed fine under pressure from the faucet adapter, but it seems like the exit to the tube from the gray bag to the filter isn't quite large enough. Time to fill the blue bag took about an hour.

It should also have the ability to easily add another filter after the first one for use in removing chemicals such as an activated charcoal filter.

Also, it seems a bit silly not to include a bite valve, but to include a drinking tube. For a $200 plus dollar filter this doesn't make sense.

The whole kit seems to be durable and it is very compact and lightweight. For a base camp operation, use the bucket system from Sawyer.

Comment on this review

Aug

2010

(8 of 13 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Great Idea but poorly executed

By birchdaniel

from Miami,FL

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to pump
Good filtration
Lightweight

Cons

Filtered Water Bag Leaks

Best Uses

Backpacking
Car Camping

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

The first one REI sent me had a leak on the filtered water bag cap, REI return policy is great and they sent me a replacement. It had the exact same leak. It is a great idea, just wish Sawyer had better quality control.

Comment on this review

Aug

2010

(5 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Good if you have the time

By yosemitesam

from Yosemite, CA

About Me Avid Adventurer

See all my reviews

Pros

Good filtration
Good for base camp
Low maintenance

Cons

Moderately slow

Best Uses

Backpacking
Base camp filter
Car Camping

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

I am an avid hiker/camper and have been to many places to hike/BP for over 35 years and have used the First Need XL among several others including the MSR (Sweet water, gravity flow) with good results. I purchased the Sawyer Purifier believing it would PURIFY in one easy step without much expended energy. I was right but 1 important fact became apparent when using it at home; primed correctly this purifier produces a slow rate of filtration. Excellent for car camping or base camp filtration when time is nat an issue but not suffecient for on the fly filtration needs. For the first two examples I would give it 5 stars (car camping and base camp needs). However, for the backpacker that needs a filtration unit that is quick and easy I would recommend the First Need XL to meet all your needs without the use of the additions drops to kill virus (ie the MSR units). The weight difference is minimal and the flexibility of the First Need XL better suits most backpackers.

Comment on this review

May

2010

(8 of 15 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Not as Advertised

By AZ-1

from Seattle, WA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to clean
Lightweight
Low maintenance

Cons

Very Slow Filtration

Best Uses

Backpacking
Day trip
Hiking

Comments about Sawyer Complete Water Purifier System - 4 Liter:

After doing my research I found what I thought to be a good water filtration system. I cringed at the price tag, but hoped that it would be worth it. Everything I read about the Sawyer water purifier systems was good. However after I followed the instructions, primed the filter and tried to filter water. I was very disappointed. It took over two hours to process 4 liters of water. I lost my mind! I tried to re-prime the filter thinking I didn't perform this process correctly. I then tried to filter another 4 liters. I was so disappointed with my second attempt that I immediately wrote to company for support.