Review Time! Sawyer 3-way Inline Water Filter

A couple months back I decided I would finally purchase myself a water filter system for those days that I forget water.. Or I decide to go camping where fresh water is not an option.. As in backpacking into some of the 1,000,000+ acres of state forest land that is found here in southeastern Minnesota..

After looking at many different options... MSR.. .Katadyn... Aquamira... I decided to go with the Sawyer 3-way Inline Water Filter.. I chose it based on reviews I found on-line.. And unlike the different pump systems out there that could(and have from reviews) break down.. I went with what seemed simple enough... Connect to hydration pack and sip.. I also liked the idea that this water filter could be used in many different ways.. From a simple straw system where you connect the tubes and dip directly into the water source and sip.. Or gravity system where you can fill up your hydration bladder with water.. and allow it to drip down into another container.. ie: water jug/dish tub/nalgene.. Or it can even be connected to a water faucet if you are in an area where you should not drink tap water..


The filter is good and guaranteed for up to 1,000,000 gallons.. How you would keep track of that is beyond me.. But I imagine it's guaranteed for life by that statement.  It is equipped with a 0.1 micron absolute hollow fiber membrane filter.. Protects you from 99.99999% bacteria and 99.99999% protozoa and cysts... The filter weights in at a whole 3oz.. So it's definitely light enough for the hardcore backpacker..

So Saturday I finally got to test it out as I had forgotten to fill my hydration bladder before heading to the stream to do some fishing.. So I unhooked my platypus and dipped it in the nice cold stream and filled it up and my thirst was instantly quenched... First thing I was impressed with was how easy it was to draw water from my pack with the filter on.. Could barely tell that it was even hooked onto my hydration pack.. The second thing I noticed was how clean tasting the water was.. Even fresh well water has that metallic/earthy taste to it.. This water tasted as filtered and fresh as possible without the nasty chemical/chlorine taste that is added to municipal water sources.. Or from chlorine/iodine tabs.. Even with nymphs and all swimming around in the bag.. It tasted great! And 3 days later.. I'm not sick!  So it obviously does it's job..

I would recommend this to anyone looking into a hydration system as it's simple to use and on the cheaper end at only $50-60.. No maintenance besides maybe having to backwash it as it get's used more or is used in very dirty water.. And the chance of this thing actually "breaking down" seems slim