Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

My sons and I used an earlier version of this last year in the Winds very effectively to filter high mountain lake and stream water. It was easy to use, lightweight, easy to carry, and did not ever clog. This year I bought this version for a backpacking trip off the north rim of the Grand Canyon down to The Dome, in the Fern Glen Canyon and Tuckup Canyon area. I was concerned with possible clogging due to turbid water, but we found so little water that this was not a concern. The water we did find was highly mineralized and alkaline, all dissolved, so no filter can filter that out. The Sawyer system worked easily and effectively to filter large quantities of water. The only problem was that there is lacking a final tube with quick-connectors to connect to the water bladders that it is filling. I am not sure what the expectation was about connecting, but connecting the filter directly to a drinking bladder is not a good solution. I used an old drinking tube with a connector that would fit on the bottom of the filter. But it was missing the final connector, so I had to just feed it into the bladders we were filling. Otherwise a great product.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

After years of using ceramic pumps on our week-end warrior camping trips, this Sawyer gravity system has taken a major camping chore off the list. Simply hook the bag up to a tree or lie it on a rock and let gravity do the work! Very light, fast, and efficient!

Quibbles: could do with a shut-off valve, a carrying bag and a clip to attach to the clean water receptacle. Sawyer customer service says they didn't include these to save on weight.

Also, I was concerned about back-washing in the field if you're using a very turbid water source. For this kit, you'll need to buy a syringe (Sawyer Part SP 154) for $3.99. According to Sawyer, it works very well and is much easier than having to scrub a ceramic filter. Some of the other kits include the syringe.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

Great easy to use filter. Just fill with water and hang or hold to let gravity do its thing. I've used it on several trips over the last 2 years and have not had any clogging issues or slow down in water flow. Some trips I was filtering for 3 adults. Only complaint is that it didn't come with a light mesh stuff sack to hold the pieces. I have one for it now and it's perfect.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

I have used this a few times already and have never had any problems with it. Compared to a pump filter this thing is awesome. The water flows pretty quickly (takes a minute to start up) and is incredibly easy to use. I have never use this filter in murky water, but with the backwash device provided I don't think it would be a problem. As always carry backup purification tablets -- just in case.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

I've used this filter through several national parks in the states and Panama, and love it so far. It doesn't require any pumping (previously used a MSR unit) and the water flow is fast if you really lift it up high. Also great to have a cleanable filter to keep using it over and over again - no wastes and continued investment!

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

The water filter worked fine for the first few trips. On my thrid trip out with this product, I used it as the primary filter for a group of 3, including myself. On the second day of that trip, used this filter to fill three, 2-liter camelbaks in a row from a running stream. The first one filtered fine, the second slowed a little, and the third came out at a drip.When I got back home I used the backflow device but it did not seem to be doing anything. After trying to backflow for an hour, tap water would not come out at all. I called Sawyer multiple times during their advertised business hours and finally someone in their IT department helped me out, after I tried dialing every extension number possible. He left a message with someone and someone other than that actually called me back. He instructed me to just mail in the filter. I mailed in the filter with a detailed description of what was wrong and what happened leading up to the unit becoming non-functional. I recieved the same exact filter back in the mail with no explanation as to why they did not replace it.In summary, this product has not performed for me[...] the 1-million gallon gauruntee was not fulfilled.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

Used on a couple backpacking trips now... it has been great - fills water very quickly (I'd say about 1 liter in about 1 minute); the water bag serves as another water storage container if water sources are sporadic; it's lightweight; 0.1 micron filter. I haven't used it enough or with really dirty water sources to know how it will hold up over time, and it seems a little difficult to clean, dry and store (i.e. getting the bladder and hose to dry out is a pain, and hopefully things don't start growing inside!) For now, I give it a 4; if I had a longer experience, maybe I could give it a 5.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

All the water you want, instead of all the water you are willing to work for.

I was happy with my old MSR pump filter but was unable to locate it this spring - probably got left behind on some beach last fall. I was just going to buy a replacement but saw this and figured in the spirit of gearhead adventure, to give it a try. After all, it is REI, right? If it sucks I will just return it.

So with iodine tablets packed in reserve, I took off to the great outdoors on a backpack.

Bottom line - this is a piece of gear I keep. I love it so much I am trying to find justifications for buying other Sawyer filter models - fellow gear addicts will recognize these symptoms.

This filter is so easy to use and so fast compared with every pump filter I have ever used that I cannot see going back to those bad old days.

My son lost the cap for the bag on the very first combat fill, but even with not being able to pressurize the system it filled a liter bottle in about a minute and all I had to do was hold the bottle.

Before, when I was using a pump filter I would always get new water and boil it for cooking just so I wouldn't use up that precious filter-pumped water. This filter makes it so easy to have clean water that I used filtered water for coffee, oatmeal, rehydrate - every cooking use.

This filter is as light as any system except perhaps some of the Steripens, but I don't have to worry about batteries or electronics in the wilderness. In fact, because I can use filtered water for my cooking now and I don't need to take water all the way to the boiling point my guess is that my fuel usage will go down significantly, resulting in a net weight advantage for a longer trip. I had a small stuff sack to put everything in - it doesn't come with one (hint to you Sawyer - something in a nice mesh) and it packs down quite nicely.

Another advantage over pumps that didn't even occur to me until I used this filter is that after you fill all your water bottles, you can fill the bag and bring it back to camp - 2 more liters available at any time.

As it is, this is a great piece of gear, but just in case Sawyer is listening - some improvements I could suggest - I would like to have a removeable mesh screen that could keep bigger chunks out of the bag - removeable so that you can clean the inside if you need. Also, I would like to have the lid permanently attached to the bag so it doesn't get accidently dropped into a fast flowing river while the bag is being filled.

One caveat - I have used this filter on one trip, where my source water was a nice, clear mountain stream - I hope the honeymoon continues when I need to use it with more challenging water.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

Love this water filter; this coming from someone who's used the MSR Sweetwater system since the mid-90's. I really like the Sweetwater, and think it's a durable, compact & reliable design, but I like even more that I don't have to baby-sit (squish-squish) this unit when I'm filtering my water.

You can either clip the water bag to the paracord you use to hang your bear can, or just bungee it to a tree; anything that positions it about chest-high works great. Drop the tube into your receptacle & then go do something else for a few minutes, when you get back, your water is waiting.

As for being less-suitable for trips where you're going to be on the move, I disagree somewhat. You're typically going to make a quick stop at some point during the day, to grab a snack out of your pack; if you can stop where there's a water source nearby, you can have 2 liters done in about 10 minutes. If you've ever had one of the Brita pitchers at home, it's about the same deal as one of those. I've never found the wait to be an inconvenience, as I can busy myself with something else while my water filters.

Specs-wise, it's a .1 micron hollow-fiber filter, so it comes in at half the aperture size of the Sweetwater, and 1/3 of the Katadyn Hiker Pro, but filter replacement is practically non-existent; they guarantee the cartridge up to a million gallons. Swimming pool, anyone?

My one gripe about the system is that it is an assemblage of tubes & fittings & the sack you use to collect your water to be treated, and it's a little awkward, even though it is lightweight. I found that the easiest way to keep all the parts wrangled was to use a small stuff-sack for it (it doesn't come with one); on the plus side, the whole assemblage is flexible, so you can work it in between oddments in your pack. As mentioned above, I highly recommend keeping a 2-foot bungee cord with it, because it makes it a cinch to just hang it off a tree trunk when you're filtering. My other thing on a wish-list would be that they'd put a mesh screen on the opening where you fill the bag, just to keep it from ingesting larger silt or leaves, which can clog up the outlet at the bottom, and can be a pain to get out of the bag.

Comments about Sawyer Water Filter System - 2 Liter:

I bought this based on good reviews last year, and tested it at home using water from my rain-water collection pond - green buggy water. The filter quickly provided over a liter of crystal clear, good tasting water. I cleaned it up, and put it away for use later.

We took it with us to the Grand Canyon for use on the Hermit Trail. When we got to the Hermit Creek campsite, we pulled it out, filled it up...and the water just dripped out of it. Barely a liter in an hour. Luckily our neighbors had a working Katadyn pump, otherwise we'd still be there waiting for the Sawyer.

It would appear you need to backflush this thing after every use. I'm disappointed that just one use filtering a single liter caused it to clog up.