Water Filters: Squeeze vs Pump vs Gravity

[bignslow]

I had seen this article on Facebook or somewhere you may find useful : http://www.hawaiigirladventures.com/2014/06/diy-inline-water-filter.html It is a "how to" article with step by step instructions and photos.

Thanks, that is useful to understand the setup. Where I continue to remain curious is in how much resistance it adds while drinking from the hydration system.

 

[VTskier]

I had seen this article on Facebook or somewhere you may find useful : http://www.hawaiigirladventures.com/2014/06/diy-inline-water-filter.html It is a "how to" article with step by step instructions and photos.

Not sure why she would filter the water going into the bladder and then have the filter inline. Kind of makes twice the work. I have a couple of old bladders and I'll just use one of those for this setup. That way if I want to use a bladder setup for just a short hike or bike, I'll have a clean unit for that without the filter and a dedicated "dirty" bladder for an inline setup.

 

[Maineman]

I used a Sawyer Squeeze on my thruhikes as a gravity feed setup and it worked incredibly well.

I carry a 70oz platypus bag with a string attatched to the end points. I will the bag with raw water, hang it from a tree or even my pack and let it drip directly into my two empty gatorade bottles. The bag will last indefinitely this way vs squeezing and it is PLENTY fast, plus it's totally hands free.

As an added bonus, I can carry raw water in the bag if I need more than two bottles worth for dry stretches.

As a side note, I loves my Katadyn pump filter and defended it's virtures for years but there is no valid argument for it any longer. As far as the "field serviceability" argument- a spare cartridge costs more AND weighs more than a Sawyer filter, if you are than concerned, carry two!

There is nothing like sitting back watching gravity pump FOR you vs awkwardly squatting on a moss covered rock trying to keep a way too heavy nalgene from falling over

 

[jniehof]

The Sawyer filter screws on to lots of bottles, including almost all standard plastic soft drink bottles up to 2L. Evernew bags makes a line of bags that are Sawyer compatible too: http://www.evernewamerica.com/overview-1-1-1-1-1/

Holy smoke, AGG actually has them in stock again! *smoke rises from credit card*

 

[hikerbrian]

I had a Katadyn Hiker for, I dunno, 20 yrs (got it when it was Pur). I've replaced the filter a few times. Last spring I decided it was probably time again, but I noticed that the Sawyer Squeeze was about the same price as just replacing the filter cartridge on the Katadyn. So I decided to give it a try.

Short story: I like it and don't plan to bring my Katadyn Hiker with me anytime soon.

The setup is easier and faster and the filtration is at least as fast, maybe faster. And the whole thing weighs less and takes up less space. I'm converted for now. As long as it lasts at least a few years, it's as economical and probably more earth-friendly than replacing the Katadyn filter cartridge periodically.

 

[DayTrip]

I had a Katadyn Hiker for, I dunno, 20 yrs (got it when it was Pur). I've replaced the filter a few times. Last spring I decided it was probably time again, but I noticed that the Sawyer Squeeze was about the same price as just replacing the filter cartridge on the Katadyn. So I decided to give it a try.

Short story: I like it and don't plan to bring my Katadyn Hiker with me anytime soon.

The setup is easier and faster and the filtration is at least as fast, maybe faster. And the whole thing weighs less and takes up less space. I'm converted for now. As long as it lasts at least a few years, it's as economical and probably more earth-friendly than replacing the Katadyn filter cartridge periodically.

I wound up ordering the Katadyn. I haven't done a detailed time trial but my first impression was that it is a bit faster than my Sawyer. The big difference for me is being able to drop the intake valve right in the water source and starting to filter immediately versus the time filling up the Sawyer bag to start filtering. That can be annoying depending on depth of water source and how fast it is moving. I'm not sure what it is about those bags but they don't seem to like filling up well. I think the big advantage will be in the "getting ready to filter" time between the two and the ability to use much lower water sources with the Katadyn, which is one of the main reason I went that route. The simplicity of the Sawyer is pretty hard to beat though. In comparison the Katadyn feels like a bit of a contraption.

 

[bignslow]

I had a Katadyn Hiker for, I dunno, 20 yrs (got it when it was Pur). I've replaced the filter a few times. Last spring I decided it was probably time again, but I noticed that the Sawyer Squeeze was about the same price as just replacing the filter cartridge on the Katadyn. So I decided to give it a try.

Short story: I like it and don't plan to bring my Katadyn Hiker with me anytime soon.

The setup is easier and faster and the filtration is at least as fast, maybe faster. And the whole thing weighs less and takes up less space. I'm converted for now. As long as it lasts at least a few years, it's as economical and probably more earth-friendly than replacing the Katadyn filter cartridge periodically.

Are you using the sawyer with a squeeze bag, or are you using it in-line with hydration?

Somewhat related: one trick I've used to get water out of shallow water sources (or trickles coming out of rocks), is to use a normal gallon zip-lock bag to collect the water, then you filter out of that.

 

[hikerbrian]

I wound up ordering the Katadyn. I haven't done a detailed time trial but my first impression was that it is a bit faster than my Sawyer. The big difference for me is being able to drop the intake valve right in the water source and starting to filter immediately versus the time filling up the Sawyer bag to start filtering. That can be annoying depending on depth of water source and how fast it is moving. I'm not sure what it is about those bags but they don't seem to like filling up well. I think the big advantage will be in the "getting ready to filter" time between the two and the ability to use much lower water sources with the Katadyn, which is one of the main reason I went that route. The simplicity of the Sawyer is pretty hard to beat though. In comparison the Katadyn feels like a bit of a contraption.

Nice. Nothing wrong with trying out the alternative and deciding for yourself which you like best, at least for small ticket items like this. That's what I did, after all. FWIW, I always have a mug with me on my backpacks (to drink coffee and soup out of), so in the rare instances when I can't just fill the Sawyer bag from a small waterfall, I use my mug to fill the bag.

I do have fond memories - very fond memories - of backpacks I've done with my wife when we've used the Katadyn to filter water, though. For several years, we were backpacking together so much that we fell into a system of filtering water where we each had a role and didn't even need to speak a word. I'd get the bag containing the filter out and hand her the inlet hose; she'd hold the 'acorn' end while I secured the other end to the filter. At the same time, she'd get a Nalgene held between her knees. Once it was all ready (15 seconds, max), she'd hold the outlet hose away from the bottles for the first few pumps, then fill bottles continuously, moving the hose between bottles, screwing them shut, all without me stopping the flow. 4 L would take like 6 min, start to finish. It was kind of an amazing little dance, actually. We got into similar routines with breaking down camp, getting the stove set up, etc. etc. Fond memories. Now if these looney kids would just get a little bit older!!!

Bignslow: squeeze bag. But I think going inline with a hydration bladder would work great too, provided you could get the proper connections.

 

[DayTrip]

Nice. Nothing wrong with trying out the alternative and deciding for yourself which you like best, at least for small ticket items like this. That's what I did, after all. FWIW, I always have a mug with me on my backpacks (to drink coffee and soup out of), so in the rare instances when I can't just fill the Sawyer bag from a small waterfall, I use my mug to fill the bag.

I do have fond memories - very fond memories - of backpacks I've done with my wife when we've used the Katadyn to filter water, though. For several years, we were backpacking together so much that we fell into a system of filtering water where we each had a role and didn't even need to speak a word. I'd get the bag containing the filter out and hand her the inlet hose; she'd hold the 'acorn' end while I secured the other end to the filter. At the same time, she'd get a Nalgene held between her knees. Once it was all ready (15 seconds, max), she'd hold the outlet hose away from the bottles for the first few pumps, then fill bottles continuously, moving the hose between bottles, screwing them shut, all without me stopping the flow. 4 L would take like 6 min, start to finish. It was kind of an amazing little dance, actually. We got into similar routines with breaking down camp, getting the stove set up, etc. etc. Fond memories. Now if these looney kids would just get a little bit older!!!

Bignslow: squeeze bag. But I think going inline with a hydration bladder would work great too, provided you could get the proper connections.

There is nothing like that feeling when you "have a system down" and efficiently move through a bunch of tasks out in the woods. After four years of serious hiking and screwing around with all kinds of clothes and gear I feel like I'm finally getting to that point where on most of my hikes I feel somewhat like that seasoned veteran I used to run into with envy and admiration. Now if I could just get a little better tolerating the cold so I'm not the idiot in a Gore Tex shell when people are out and about in t-shirts.

 

[bignslow]

Thanks, that is useful to understand the setup. Where I continue to remain curious is in how much resistance it adds while drinking from the hydration system.

Purchased one of the sawyer inline models and played with it for the first time today (at home), drinking through it in the "straw" configuration (out of a glass of tap water) has about the same resistance as drinking a milkshake (McDonalds thickness, not a homemade with actual ice cream like Stewart's). Planning to play around with it inline with a hydration pack to see how it performs soon.

 

[egilbe]

The secret to a gravity feed system is to use a long hose and let gravity do the work. The greater the distance between dirty and clean bags, the faster the system marks. I found the mini to be too slow and prefer the squeeze.

 

[bignslow]

Purchased one of the sawyer inline models and played with it for the first time today (at home), drinking through it in the "straw" configuration (out of a glass of tap water) has about the same resistance as drinking a milkshake (McDonalds thickness, not a homemade with actual ice cream like Stewart's). Planning to play around with it inline with a hydration pack to see how it performs soon.

The scientist in me couldn't let this qualitative data suffice, so I picked up a vacuum gauge and built a test setup. With a camelbak bladder and their "big bite" valve, 5 cm/Hg of vacuum was required to drink water. With the filter in-line it required 10 cm/Hg to drink.

The test setup looked like this:

Bladder --> Hose (or filter) --> T-fitting with vacuum gauge --> bite valve.

We also tested our Katahdin Hiker Pro vs a squeeze bag configuration of the sawyer mini filter (64 oz squeeze bag) in a 1 liter "Filter-off". Overall, these seemed to have roughly the same performance in optimal conditions (e.g. standing in my kitchen, filtering at waist height).

As of today, I think we're more likely to use it in the squeeze configuration, pumping into a clean bladder rather than filling the bladder with unfiltered water.

 

[jniehof]

The scientist in me couldn't let this qualitative data suffice, so I picked up a vacuum gauge and built a test setup. With a camelbak bladder and their "big bite" valve, 5 cm/Hg of vacuum was required to drink water. With the filter in-line it required 10 cm/Hg to drink.

What about the milkshake?

 

[bignslow]

What about the milkshake?

*shudder* I have a hard enough time keeping the bladder and hoses clean with just water, I can't even imagine trying to clean out milkshake residue