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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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.

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.

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......  
"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.

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.