I know a number of users on the forum use this type of filter either as bundled or as part of a gravity filter system, or both. Myself I use a filter from this kit as part of a gravity system for camp/cooking water and then we use the bottles for personal water consumption.  Our system is that each person has a different colored shock cord attached to the cover for easy bottle identification. Personally I prefer this blue soft sided bottle over the hard Nalgene type as you can squeeze and drink faster when you are really thirsty.

I was walking through the camping aisle at my local WallyWorld and noticed they had the blue Sawyer filter bottle on the shelf for $19.97. It has been a while since our local store even carried this item.  I thought this was quite remarkable as I believe that was around the same price I originally bought my first one for more than 10 years ago.  With rising inflation it is refreshing to find something that has actually gone down in price!  I checked my Amazon purchase history and my earliest purchase of this item there was in 2014 for $36.21.  I have since purchased a couple more in the $30 range and as stated I have purchased it at Walmart before as well.  For comparison, the Mini filter by itself is priced higher than this bottle kit. 

Upon further inspection I noticed this model (SP841) is slightly different from what I already have as it is bundled with the mini filter and the usual flush syringe.  The older model (SP140) had the physically larger filter inside. I'm not sure if the flow differs between the two filters.  The bottle is the same but with different printing/logo.  I brought one home to check out and in comparing the mini filter to one I already had, I found the mini filter included to be a slightly stripped down version, lacking the input cover and the label showing flow direction, but functionally I would expect them to be identical.  The input end can be identified as it has threads to attach to an outdoor faucet or garden hose.   

I don't see this new SP841 model listed on the Sawyer website.  Perhaps it is a model made specifically for Walmart, who knows.   The price is right if it performs as well as the original model.   This item seems to be well stocked at the moment at stores around me according to their website too, another surprising thing in these challenging times.

Bottom left, the mini kit I already had purchased as a backup filter.  Left the new $19.97 filter from Walmart.  Right, one of my older original filter bottles which also came with the flush syringe, not pictured. 



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Quote:

Myself I use a filter from this kit as part of a gravity system for camp/cooking water

I use that Sawyer Mini-Filter as part of my DIY gravity filter system. I like it BUT sometimes it runs slower than I like, despite me keeping in back flushed/ using water free of large particles.

  I bought this item to replace the Sawyer. It filters noticeably faster than the Sawyer. Many reviewers have the Sawyer but were looking for faster flow rate?

I'm redoing my water bottle system. Going to Camel Back 3L style water bladders with an insulated bag which will sit on the top of each of my two big packs.

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Bite tube runs down a shoulder strap. I hate loose items. This way I'll always have water on a portage.
Keep the Sawyer on a squeeze able soft bottle for emergencies.

  New system allows the bite valve on the water bladder to clamp to water filter on the gravity filter.
Works well at home, need a trip to see for sure.

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I see you both use the filter element in a gravity system, as do I.

Some friends of mine were using the blue bottle with the filter attached to filter water - if you do more than barely squeeze the blue bottle, you split the seam, as they found out - researched by them, the max pressure is something ridiculous like 4 p.s.i. !

I saw a couple of guys filtering water in the grand canyon using the sawyer filter atop a cheap plastic water bottle (not the blue envelope thing) - chatting with them, they had had the same poor performance/splitting blue bottle and switched to using a regular store bought disposable water bottle.

kind of a joke when they say that you can filter up to a million gallons of water with the sawyer filter, but I do like them over other systems, and yeah, I do need to backflush it frequently.

So where do you get the water to backflush your filters from? Boiled? Bleached? I have a prefilter and I have no qualms about backflushing it because it's before the actual filter.

I backflush the actual water filter at home before storage.

ST, I am wondering if the mini filter has a slightly slower flow rate than the older, larger style of filters.  One would think the larger filter has a greater surface area and would offer less resistance.  I tried this new bottle and filtered some tap water and the flow seemed similar to what I had experienced with the older model.  At any rate it seems acceptable, though there may be better options as you noted if greater flow rate is desired.

Mad Mat, I have not experienced any issues with the blue bottles in our group.   I wonder if there was a manufacturing issue/bad batch at some point.  I usually do a combined straw suck, squeeze assist while drinking so I am not totally crushing the bottle like a typical Gatorade style sports bottle. 

The million gallons claim is just a marketing gimmick as far as I am concerned.  The filter will work until it doesn't, that's it, of course it will depend on water conditions.  The older box I pictured below claimed only up to 500 gallons.  Later I think they switched to up to a million gallons and now the current package states up to 100,000 gallons.   ::) 

db, When I use the filter in my DIY gravity setup, usually the filter clogs to the point of just being painfully slow.  I still have some flow and enough clean water in my filtered container to perform a back flush.  I could use boiled water or water from one of our individual bottles if I had to.  Sometimes I find the need to flush the filter daily, especially during a June trip when there is a lot of pollen in the water.  Two or three syringes worth of water backflushing and I'm usually back in business. 

Quote:

Sometimes I find the need to flush the filter daily, especially during a June trip when there is a lot of pollen in the water.

  I use this little trick to catch big particles/pollen
BEFORE I put the water in my gravity filter bag.

  Get some of those Granny Knee high nylon stockings.
Pull one over your pot/pan/water bottle as you fill from lake.

It will cut down on the junk that ends up clogging your filter. I guess you could call it my DIY pre-filter.

I cut the foot part off and use it as a coffee filter.
Put ground coffee in sock, tie simple overhand knot and put in coffee pot and add water. I burn the coffee grounds in the fire-pit. The DIY filter I hang on branch to dry and it's good to go.

I usually try to take my water from the cleanest locations possible to reduce debris. 

That's a really good idea using stockings as a pre-filter.  It may however require some explanation to the wife as to why I am packing women's stockings for my camping trip...... ;D 
"No really honey, this guy I met on the internet said they work great...."

Personally I'm not a coffee drinker so I will likely just continue to backflush more often.  Great idea though.

arnesr wrote on Apr 28^th, 2022 at 10:25pm:

I usually try to take my water from the cleanest locations possible to reduce debris.  That's a really good idea using stockings as a pre-filter.  It may however require some explanation to the wife as to why I am packing women's stockings for my camping trip...... ;D  "No really honey, this guy I met on the internet said they work great...." Personally I'm not a coffee drinker so I will likely just continue to backflush more often.  Great idea though.

  That's why you buy Granny Knee High stockings!
  If your wife sees those she'll feel SORRY for you ;) ;D ;D

They're called L'Eggs and you can get them at CVS. Watch the eyebrows raise on the young woman at the cash register as you plunk those down.  ;D ;D ;D

I was more worried about the looks I might get from granny shopping at the store.  Not that there is anything wrong with a grown man purchasing granny stockings.  Thanks for the CVS source tip, there are some open 24 hours, so one could go late at night to avoid peak shopping.  :)

The comments interest me about backflushing.  I have been of the opinion that the danger of ingesting "nasties" is not a question of do you prevent all of them but can you keep their numbers below a certain threshold.  I think of what I might get in my system by swimming in water that is "reasonable" but not up to drinking quality.  I suspect most of us do not think twice about taking a swim, certainly we are exposing ourselves to nasties when we do that.

With that in mind, what is the issue with backflushing using water that is "swimmable" (for those especially concern, a minimal forward flush with "debugged" water could be added)?  Just asking the question, for those more expert in these matters than I.

You bring up a valid point.  I am no expert, but I simply do what I can to prevent spending my precious camping time being sick.  Some roll the dice and don't filter at all as that has worked for them. 

For me it is just a matter of convenience.  I start my trip with a clean filter, so when my filter clogs I have clean water readily available.  My DIY filter is setup around camp and not down by the water, so it's more convenient to just grab a cup, pour some clean water and fill the syringe right there and perform the backflush. 

FWIW, I never filtered. Just get your water away from shore. Giardia bugs settle to the bottom of the lake. Never got the bug. Also, don’t draw from current areas as they keep the bug stirred up. No fuss. 8-)

My practice & experience is identical to Old Salt's.

(Egads!  Surely that's reason enough to cause me to rethink things! ;D)

Seriously, though, ArneS makes a valid point about putting your trip at risk.  I would never advocate for someone to follow my practice.  Possibly I'm just lazy but, for whatever reason, it has been risk I've been willing to take (filling my water bladder in larger, deeper bodies of water, in lightly travelled areas, a few hundred feet from the shoreline).

Another explanation: perhaps our (alleged) minds (OS's & mine) have been subtly & irreversibly altered/transformed by all that Canadian Shield water we've consumed over the years.  And everyone knows, as "Quetico Zombies", we must drink more....

Jimbo  8-)

My experience is identical to Jimbo’s? Yikes! ;D ;) I suspect that we are not alone in our practice. I never considered that this was putting our trips at risk. I see it as a function of understanding the nature of the bug and where it is safe or unsafe to collect water. Heck, there’s risk in most everything we do on canoe trips. ;) If you’re risk adverse, the wilderness will keep you on high alert.

Old Salt wrote on May 2^nd, 2022 at 12:18pm:

My experience is identical to Jimbo’s? Yikes! ;D ;) I suspect that we are not alone in our practice. I never considered that this was putting our trips at risk. I see it as a function of understanding the nature of the bug and where it is safe or unsafe to collect water. Heck, there’s risk in most everything we do on canoe trips. ;) If you’re risk adverse, the wilderness will keep you on high alert.

I agree with this to an extent (especially about the wilderness keeping you on alert).  However, if I was on a permit that included several other folks AND, IF at least one of the others was afraid that by ME getting sick I would be jeopardizing the trip for everyone on the permit (by my travel limitations or by me getting sick enough that I had to be carried out of the park, etc.), I'm sure I would take a filter.  In fact, I almost always DO bring a filter along.  When I am on my own, though, I only really ever use a filter when I think there's a real chance of a problem (swamps, small shallow lakes, lots of creek/stream travel, or water otherwise compromised).

The way I see it, somehow primitive man (up until the last century) got by on water not nearly as clean as what you typically find in Quetico and further north. By exercising a degree of caution, I've been fortunate enough to get by, too.  Yes, I understand there has been some pollution even up there and yes, the microscopic bugs in my gut (my personal biome) may be a bit different than those of primitive man (making me more vulnerable).  Nevertheless, I'm in my fourth decade of not experiencing water contamination issues I am aware of.  I acknowledge that some of my paddling partners will take exception to that statement, point to certain behavioral aberrations of mine, and strenuously argue otherwise, however.  C'est la vie....

I will certainly never scoff at anyone who exercises their prerogative for more cautious water processing practices than mine.  Also, I'll always abide by permit party preferences re: risk management (of any sort) rather than make others worry or put anyone else's vacation at risk.  That's called "teamwork."

Of course, from time to time, this may explain why I sometimes grab a park permit for a "party of 1", and elect to join up with other parties only later during my trip.  My personal time; my personal choice, and I'm not really sharing my risk with others.

Drink up!

Later,

Jimbo   8-)

Probably not putting your trip at risk as the incubation period for giardia is usually over a week.

I generally dip and drink pulling water from well off shore. In recent years I've picked up a gravity filter for travel with folks that insisted on treatment and now that I have it I'll use it. Though again I pull from mid lake.

When I'm out on a big deep lake, I drink right from it and never had any issues.

Since I'm always solo, and duct tape won't fix what bad water can bring, I use a filter because I get water from the shore wherever I camp.

  My immune system is pretty strong but I don't discount getting sick, so I have that gravity filter.

Like almost everything you encounter on a wilderness trip, you have to do what makes the most sense to you.

I've had my share of injuries BUT having the trots for days would be worse than all of them.  :'( :P

Not scoffing at anyone. Each should manage risk as they see fit. I used to carry iodine tablets and would use them if in a situation where water seemed questionable. I don’t recall it being an issue on any of the trips I have been on.  8-) We all manage risks differently. Those who want to filter should do so. It gives slower guys like me a chance to take a break. ;) 8-)

Over the years I've learned to filter the water I freeze to keep steak cool for the first few days. I filter it because the chlorine smell is horrendous if I don't. Plus it's a way to test the filter.

My kid says that the water from Q tastes great! I suspect it's the lack of chlorine. In any case, I've always had to adulterate it with with something to make it palatable to me.

There is no better tasting water in the world than the stuff that came out of a garden hose where I grew up. We even had a dedicated faucet in the kitchen that bypassed the softener. That was good too.  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]