That $40 water filter almost got me sick in the Sierra Nevada

Tbh I cheaped out on a knockoff Sawyer filter from Amazon before my 5 day trip up near Bishop. First day the flow was fine, but by day 3 it was basically clogged and barely dripped. Ended up having to boil creek water for the rest of the trip, which cost me an extra hour each night just for dinner. Anyone else had a budget filter fail mid-route like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_carter5114d ago

...and that's exactly why I tell people to avoid those knockoffs like the plague. I made the same mistake with a generic brand before a trip in the Desolation Wilderness. Day two the o-ring cracked and I was drinking mud water. The real trick is just get a legit Sawyer Mini or a Platypus Quickdraw and then backflush it every night with the syringe. It adds like 2 minutes to your routine but saves you from boiling water for dinner. Even the cheap ones can work if you treat them right but they're way more prone to failing when you need them most.

davis.mia14d ago

Same thing happened to me with a knockoff Squeeze a few summers back. Noticed the o-ring was already getting soft before I even left, but figured it'd hold. By the third morning it was trickling like a faucet with low pressure. Best thing I've found is to bring a spare o-ring and a little silicone grease in your repair kit, even for the name brands. Gives you something to swap out if the seal starts to go, and it's cheap insurance against boiling for an hour.