Hydration Hardware

[Mr Liberty]

What do you use to attach filters to bladders/bottles/etc.?

I'm looking at getting the Sawyer Mini, and I'd like to be able to attach it to my Source bladder, my Vapur Eclipse collapsible bottle, and a Nalgene (though I can just let it drip into the nalgene since I'd use it as a gravity filter in that case).

[HooKooDooKu]

The Sawyer Mini uses "standard bottle screw threads"... what ever that means... but at the very least it means that it won't work with Platypus screw threads... Platypus decided to make their screw threads at a different pitch angle than everyone else.

What I use for a "source bladder" or "dirty water bladder" is the Evernew water carry. Basically the same thing as a Platypus, but they use "standard bottle screw threads". So that I can hang the system for gravity filtering, I punch some holes in the edge of the Evernew and placed a piece of string thru it.

For collecting the clean water, got a Platypus Hoser and removed the bite valve. The hose can slight onto the nipple of the Sawyer Mini, at least enough to hold it in place if you don't put much stress on it. The other thing I did was to replace the thick (hard to coil for storage) hose with surgical hose. It takes some effort to get the hose over the hose barb that screws onto the Platypus. If you're having too much problem, use some water-based "personal lubricant" (a trick I learned from an irrigation forum).

[Maui Rhino]

I've found that Source and Camelbak hoses are very close in diameter. Any hose hardware, such as quick-disconnects will be interchangeable. One of my favorites is Source's UTA. The Universal Tube Adapter comes with a QD, and a rubberized fitting that fits over any standard sized water bottle. It lets you refill your bladder without removing it from your pack. All you do put the fitting on the water bottle, remove your mouthpiece and hook the bottle up in its place. Turn the bottle upside down, and the water will flow into your bladder. It has a one-way valve to release air as the bladder fills, and the bottle empties. My son says it looks like I'm giving my pack an IV.

I use the full size Sawyer, which I loosely screw onto a 1L bottle using a homemade Tornado Tube....a female-to-female adapter made by epoxying two bottle caps together and drilling a hole in the middle. I filter water into the 1L and then refill my bladder using the UTA. This way, my bladder always has potable water in it and cleaning is less an issue. The other "hardware" in my system is a pair of cut up 1L water bottles. One is cut just below the cone at the top for a dirty water scoop, and the other is cut just above the bottom so that the top becomes a large funnel that screws right to the dirty water inlet of my Sawyer. The two cut-up bottles nest together, and everything fits inside: the Sawyer, back washing plunger, Tornado Tube, and UTA. I'm not sure just how different the Sawyer Mini fittings are from the full size Sawyer, but this should give you some ideas.

[Mr Liberty]

I've found that Source and Camelbak hoses are very close in diameter. Any hose hardware, such as quick-disconnects will be interchangeable. One of my favorites is Source's UTA. The Universal Tube Adapter comes with a QD, and a rubberized fitting that fits over any standard sized water bottle. It lets you refill your bladder without removing it from your pack. All you do put the fitting on the water bottle, remove your mouthpiece and hook the bottle up in its place. Turn the bottle upside down, and the water will flow into your bladder. It has a one-way valve to release air as the bladder fills, and the bottle empties. My son says it looks like I'm giving my pack an IV.

I use the full size Sawyer, which I loosely screw onto a 1L bottle using a homemade Tornado Tube....a female-to-female adapter made by epoxying two bottle caps together and drilling a hole in the middle. I filter water into the 1L and then refill my bladder using the UTA. This way, my bladder always has potable water in it and cleaning is less an issue. The other "hardware" in my system is a pair of cut up 1L water bottles. One is cut just below the cone at the top for a dirty water scoop, and the other is cut just above the bottom so that the top becomes a large funnel that screws right to the dirty water inlet of my Sawyer. The two cut-up bottles nest together, and everything fits inside: the Sawyer, back washing plunger, Tornado Tube, and UTA. I'm not sure just how different the Sawyer Mini fittings are from the full size Sawyer, but this should give you some ideas.

Thank you, this has given my some ideas for sure. I did a little more research and found this thread in the AR-15 forums over at ar15.com, and it has a good summary of the differences between many major brands of hydration equipment as far as hoses and connectors go. One post in the thread also linked to this page, where you can buy generic hydration pack connectors (fits with Camelbak, Source, Osprey, at least) directly, for much cheaper than the name brands. I'll be having some fun drawing up plans with these

[Mr Liberty]

Thank you, this has given my some ideas for sure. I did a little more research and found this thread in the AR-15 forums over at ar15.com, and it has a good summary of the differences between many major brands of hydration equipment as far as hoses and connectors go. One post in the thread also linked to this page, where you can buy generic hydration pack connectors (fits with Camelbak, Source, Osprey, at least) directly, for much cheaper than the name brands. I'll be having some fun drawing up plans with these

Forgot to mention, make sure to get the shutoff version, which closes automatically when disconnected, so you don't accidentally spill/leak water everywhere

[bemental]

I'm a fan (and user myself) of the Sawyer 2L dirty/clean bag all-in-one-system. Since you're already thinking of carrying a dirty bag/camelback anyway, you might want to check it out.

https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-2...tion-system-2/

[Wyoming]

Since it would seem from your post that you are trying to cut weight (ie using the Sawyer over a more capable filter in terms of throughput) I thought it might be good to remind you that your choice of water containers mentioned is oriented towards the heavy side and there is lots of room for improvement there.

Nalgene and your Vapur Eclipse are heavy items. The best water bottle by far is a rinsed out Gatoraide or PowerAid bottle. They weigh about 1/3 of a Nalgene and are basically indestructible. Throw away the drinking tube and just use a straight Platypus bladder and you save a bunch of weight as well - plus you don't get all the cleaning issues to deal with.

My personal opinion on the Sawyer (especially the mini) is that for most hiking situations they are not the best choice. This decision is made on where you are going to hike of course. On the AT I have never carried a filter and used AquiMira or Sweetwater chemicals when I thought it might be needed (some never used anything - I don't recommend this but they seemed to do fine). Where I hike mostly now - Arizona - a Sawyer does not work all that well because the filtering requirements are often so demanding a Sawyer won't work. It is sometimes required to take water from dirt stock ponds which have cattle pooping in them or from very dirty stagnant pools found in creek beds. The filtering requirements sort of exceed what a Sawyer is good for.

A third type of consideration is the time it takes to filter your water. If you are trying to cover significant daily distance, and conditions - hot/dry - are such that you will need 5-10 liters of water a day, the time it takes to filter that water is very significant. A Sawyer takes far to much time for my patience. I carry a small pump filter and accept the higher weight (made up a bit by using the very light water containers mentioned above) in order to be able to filter lots of water fast. Who wants to spend an hour a day filtering water? I think the trade off falls towards the pump filter.

YMMV of course.

[tiptoe]

I've been using an old ULA gravity filter, no longer sold, to filter water into a Powerade bottle. I took a duplicate bottle cap and drilled a hole in it to fit the water tube for a fairly stable filtering setup. I know you are using a different filter, but this solution might give you some ideas.