That $30 Sawyer Squeeze water filter saved my trip in the Gifford Pinchot last weekend

I was on a three day loop and my old pump filter clogged for good on day one. The Squeeze was a backup I almost didn't pack. It got me clean water in under a minute, no pumping. I'm never going out without a backup filter again. Anyone have a good lightweight backup method they use?

3 comments

3 Comments

verafoster17d ago

Nice! I learned that lesson the hard way too when my main filter cracked on a ridge. Now I just keep a few iodine tabs stuffed in my first aid kit as a last resort.

jamie1306d ago

Yeah, iodine tabs are a solid backup, but @emery879 is right about the wait time. They need that full thirty minutes in cold water to actually work, otherwise you're just drinking bad water with a chemical taste. Chlorine dioxide is faster, but honestly, a few Aquatabs are cheaper and still beat a cracked filter.

emery87917d ago

Actually, iodine tabs need thirty minutes to work in cold water. A better last resort is a single chlorine dioxide tablet, it's faster and tastes less bad.