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

Review Time! Wonderfurl Furled Leaders

So ok.. This may be a little biased.. Wonderfurl are the ONLY furled leaders I have ever tried using.. But.. When something works so well.. Is it really necessary to try another brand??  A couple months back I started asking people what their thoughts were on Furled Leaders and got two answers.. Either it was "I've never tried them" or it was "I don't like them"... Both of which answers came with little to no explanation.. So I was stuck with having to truly just go ahead and buy a couple and see what I personally thought about them.

I am quite glad I decided to check ebay and come across an auction for a "Wonderfurl" Furled Leader.. I liked the concept of only really having to replace 1-3ft of tippet instead of replacing a whole leader here and there... I also heard that furled leaders help turn flies over easier..  Overall I am really impressed with these leaders.. they are very limp and do not kink at all.. have NO MEMORY.. which other leaders when I was done for the day.. Instead of taking the leader off. I just wound it up into the reel... which would leave me with a coiled leader the next time I was out(even with higher quality Umpqua and Rio leaders).. The furled leaders would come out limp and straight.. I have never had a single wind knot in the leader.. They definitely do help turn over a fly much easier than your standard tapered leader.. As if I was suddenly gifted with Jedi Mind Tricks I could place a fly anywhere I wanted to.. and these guys last.. I am still using the very first Wonderfurl leader I bought.. And it's not looking like it needs to be replaced any time soon.

They make a couple different types of leaders in a multitude of colors for all your fishing needs.. The Mono floats very high when dry flying.. and lays down on the water in a very delicate manner and sinks at about the same speed as your normal run of the mill mono tapered leader.... The Flouro sinks like a rock.. great for getting down and down quick... They both come with 2 options of connections.. 1st is with an extender section.. which is just one strand of equally matched line with a loop at the end to tie your tippet to.. the 2nd is a tiny metal ring for which to attach tippet.. The 2nd type I have yet to use but do have one on the way to test out.. I imagine the ring would add a flash that trout may not care for.. But I could see this being fine for warm water species...

Overall I will be continuing to buy Wonderfurl leaders as I find them to be the cream of the crop when it comes to a very top notch leader.. Like I said.. It may be biased.. But until I feel I need to try something else.. Or they go out of business.. Why fix what's not broke? or Why change that that does not need changing?  For as low as $5 w/ Free Shipping.. Or Buy It Now for $10-14 w/ Free Shipping.. It cannot be beat.. I have bought them on a bid for as low as $5.. and I have also bought a few for $10-14.. Definitely worth every penny.. If you're looking for a leader that'll not disappoint.. Check them out HERE

***As a note I own several of these leaders in all sizes from as small as 4.75#(pannies and small streams) all the way up to a 30#(carp/northern/big bass) and they all equally perform excellent.. Also in case you were wondering I have used these successfully with Thingamabobber strike indicators.. When the indicator is removed after a cast or two any resemblance of a kink from the indicator is gone