Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System

Sawyer is the king of water filtration on the go for a reason. These last a long time and can filter a ton of water. Don't waste your time with other brands. I will be buying these for a long, long time.(Check out the gravity bags to take it to the next level)

Worked flawlessly. Excellent product especially for the price. Thank you Sawyer!

Disappointed there were no instructions at all just a bag of filters and plungers.

I got this for potential emergency purposes and so I can't fully review it as I haven't needed to use it, but I feel really good having it on hand in case I need it. I felt really good choosing this brand and this product due to overall fantastic reviews, and the price was really reasonable, too. I researched features ahead of time and learned how it works, and it seemed like it would be very easy to use, especially if you learn how to use a plastic bottle with it instead of having to rely on the seemingly crummy pouch that it comes with that is reportedly prone to leakage and breakage.

I'm far from an experienced long range hiker or backpacker. I'm fairly comfortable out in the woods, do about 8-9 miles a day in about 2 hours, and have common sense, but I am not a backwoodswoman (unfortunately). A conveniently-sized filter has been on my "that'd be cool" list for years, and while planning a mountain day hike with my sister I went for it with the Sawyer Mini. This was a 2,500' elevation gain hike that was expected to clock in around 9 miles round-trip, trail reports said the average run time was about 4h 45m. No problem.I'm one of those who needs to hydrate excessively- I routinely go through about 2 liters of fluid on a 9 mile route. My hydration pack takes 2 liters, so I figured I probably wouldn't even need the filter but the trip made a good excuse. I even tossed in a lightweight disposable 28 oz bottled water before leaving our car, thinking "No way is that filter getting used!"Man am I glad I had the Sawyer. My hiking partner is not anywhere near as active as I am, which resulted in hours longer on the trail than expected, and surprise, the route clocked in closer to 15 miles than 9. So we were out there, including a break at the spectacular turn around location, for about 10 hours. The Sawyer performed beautifully. I didn't have to stress about trying to conserve water, which was a real relief on the way back, now knowing how long the route actually was and how fast my partner and I were likely to move. The available watersources were mountain streams on a *heavily* trafficked trail (it was like a traffic jam in sections), so the water looked, smelled, and felt clean and cold already, but I sure wouldn't have risked drinking it unfiltered (as we saw several other groups doing- just say no to unfiltered water folks, seriously, not worth it).Okay, the actual review stuff: I'm ashamed to admit I'd never actually used a filter before, though I've seen other people do so. I'm also *not* kinesthetically intelligent. But the Sawyer mini is super easy to understand and use, lightweight, and doesn't have a lot of tiny parts or really much you can do to screw up. I did a test run when it was delivered, found it easy and obvious, and left the flushing syringe in the cabin because we were on a day hike. On the trail it was 100% slick. The included 16 oz bag for untreated water is a little small, and can be challenging to fill in still water, but performed well despite those limitations. As mentioned, the water was already very clear- no visible particulates, and I was able to filter about 1.5 liters in around 8 minutes, including the water-gathering. I assume that dirtier water with more particulates would filter slower- for the water I was filtering, the flow rate was just as fast as my tap water test run, and it was easy to speed up with some gentle pressure on the bag. I should note that I found an actual water bottle *much* easier to filter into than my hydration pack bladder with its floppy body and wide mouth (the last minute extra tossed-in bottled water was useful on two fronts!), so I'd highly recommend carrying a lightweight bottle for filtering into even if you intend to eventually drink it out of an in-line system. The filter, straw, and backflow syringe fit easily into a clean ipsy-type zip case and were light and easy to pack and carry. I will invest in some screw covers or other capping solution so as to avoid water leakage in the future after use, but this wasn't a big deal for me. I'll likely also toss in some alcohol wipes for future trips to ensure clean surfaces after the parts have been jumbled together. Overall, while I imagine that folks who actually are backwoodspeople have better, higher-volume/higher-flow filtering systems and solutions, I'm 100% satisfied with my little Sawyer mini and its totally accessible price point and feel confident it will perform when needed.

Easy to use and a must have for those long survival hikes.

I bought this water filter for a backpacking trip and absolutely love it! I used it to fill up my water reservoir, and I drink directly from it since it screws on perfectly to a 1l smart water bottle. It can also be used directly from a source of water just like a life straw, it weighs very little o it’s perfect for me! Will Definetely buy from sawyer again!

Always reliable and love how small it is. Good waterfowl after a couple uses and filters your dirty water nicely!