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  1. #21
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rex Clifton View Post
    I’m gonna get that Micro Squeeze. It’s small enough to leave on a SmartWater bottle and filter directly. You can do this with the Mini but the flow rate sucks.
    I've got a Micro Squeeze on order (should arrive before the end of the week). Any word on what its flow rate is like?

    I'm purchasing the Micro Squeeze because I like using the Sawyer in gravity mode, and the Mini has a fixed oversize output nipple. The Squeeze has a slightly smaller output nipple under the push/pull cap, and the cap can be replaced with the female half of the Inline Hydration Pack Adapter.

    For a brief while, I was interested in the One-Gallon Gravity Water Filtration System, simply because it included a Dual-Threaded Mini (that I've never seen available in anything other than this package).
    Last edited by HooKooDooKu; 11-05-2018 at 17:30.

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu View Post
    I've got a Micro Squeeze on order (should arrive before the end of the week). Any word on what its flow rate is like?

    I'm purchasing the Micro Squeeze because I like using the Sawyer in gravity mode, and the Mini has a fixed oversize output nipple. The Squeeze has a slightly smaller output nipple under the push/pull cap, and the cap can be replaced with the female half of the Inline Hydration Pack Adapter.
    It is my understanding that the flow rate is the same as the regular Squeeze.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  3. #23

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    Are you guys running straight vinegar thru the Sawyer Squeeze or a water/vinegar mixture?If a mixture,what's the ratio?

  4. #24
    Registered User lonehiker's Avatar
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    11-18-2005
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    Cheyenne, WY
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    Sawyer told me to run straight vinegar through it.
    Lonehiker (MRT '22)

  5. #25
    Registered User gbolt's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lonehiker View Post
    Sawyer told me to run straight vinegar through it.
    Told me the same and after soaking and flushing with Vineger it was as good as new! Lasted a whole Thru Hike!
    "gbolt" on the Trail

    I am Third

    We are here to help one another along life's journey. Keep the Faith!

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  6. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllDownhillFromHere View Post
    I imagine you throw away your car when it needs an oil change?
    I worked with girl that traded car in because needed brakes. Wasnt going to put $500 into 3 yr old car, when could put it toward new.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 11-05-2018 at 21:32.

  7. #27

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    Thanks,Everybody,for the vinegar info!

  8. #28

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    Wow! I know this is an old post but I am so happy I stumbled across it.

    I have now had two, count them, two, Sawyer Squeezes that clogged like this on me. Never once were either of them used to filter high iron content water or silty water.

    The first one I used on the Pemi loop in NH. The next year, on my first night on the Beaten Path in Montana I discovered that the filter was clogged almost completely. Fortunately, after several backflushes it was workable but still very bad. At home I backflushed many, many times but was never able to make an improvement in the water flow so I got a new one.

    Used the new filter the next year on a trip and, again, it worked flawlessly. Got home, ran the correct ratio of bleach water through then several rinses with clean water and put it away for the year.
    Fast forward to now. I am about to leave for a backpacking trip on the LHHT in Pennsylvania in three days. After the last fiasco with my Sawyer Squeeze I decided to try it before leaving. Unfortunately, and to my surprise, this one had the same issue.

    After too many backflushes to even count, I was able to get it to trickle water out but only with a very considerable force being applied to the bag. That was obviously not going to be acceptable on a 5-day trip, so... got a new filter.

    I am pretty anal with my gear and the proper care and cleaning after every trip but I figured I was doing something wrong. I live in a city of about 80,000 residents with a very good city water source so I wouldn't have thought it was a mineral / calcium problem but, I must be wrong.
    From now on I will be using a bleach disinfectant rinse, a vinegar rinse, then a distilled water rinse and backflush because I don't want to deal with more clogged filters.

    Thanks a lot for all the questions and possible solutions!


    Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

  9. #29

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    I have switched over to the Hydo Blue Versa Flow filters.I like the size,cost,weight,profile,and color coded ends.The one downside is that the filter does not make a tight enough seal for Smart Water back flushing but it will with an Acqua Fina bottle just fine without unfiltered water getting around the threads like when you do it with a Smart Water bottle.I have seen on YT where Dasanni and standard soda bottles and CNOC water bags make a leak proof seal.

    I use a product called One Step,made for home brewers to clean their bottles and lines,to treat my bags,bottles,and filter.So far no problems but I ALWAYS test the filter before departure plus I carry a brand new unused one at 1.9 oz in my pack just in case the primary filter were to clog.

    The first water filter I ever owned was about 20 years ago,a MSR ceramic filter,and I think the whole thing weighed in a little over two pounds so I laugh out loud carrying two filters at 1.9 oz each.A friend of mine had a very unpleasant trip when his Sawyer mini plugged up on trail and did not respond to his best efforts to back flush.Filter worked at such a trickle that it was essentially worthless...........
    Last edited by Five Tango; 09-12-2020 at 13:22.

  10. #30

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    Interesting to know about that OneStep product. I may look into that.

    Funny... I also owned one of those MSR ceramic filters; it was so heavy and bulky. I'm glad I finally upgraded to better technology.

    Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

  11. #31
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    I've started cleaning my Sawyer at home first with a back flush of distilled water, then let some vinegar sit in it for a while, then backflush again with distilled water.
    But at the start of my last trip, I still felt the filter was flowing at sub-par. So I'm now going to try to go the other way... after the flush routine, I'm filling it with distilled water and then storing it in a ziplok bag to the water won't evaporate.

  12. #32

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    Here's a YOutube video from Sawyer with their recommended cleaning procedure.
    https://youtu.be/0KeLHMUfEtY?t=139

  13. #33
    Registered User ldsailor's Avatar
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    My Sawyer filter clogs up every year even though I follow the storage instructions precisely. The first time this happened, I didn't discover the problem until I was on the trail and went to filter my first water. Since then, I have come up with a way to unclog it and have it come back to at least 90% flow when filtering. I soak it vinegar for a couple of hours and backflush it. Then i soak it in a mixture of bleach and hot water (not too hot) for a couple of hours. I backflush it and the filter is good to go. Be sure to squeeze the vinegar into the filter and the same with the bleach before you let the filter soak.
    Trail Name - Slapshot
    "One step at a time."
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  14. #34

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    Thank you for the reminder - I went and checked mine - all good.
    Going on a section hike next month.

  15. #35
    Registered User
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    Chattanooga, Tennessee
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    My Sawyer Mini is not quite outside my circle of trust. But checking it before each trip is now (unfortunately) part of my routine, as I no longer trust it if unchecked.

  16. #36
    Registered User ChrisMek's Avatar
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    I'm glad I read this post! I'm leaving for a section hike in 3 days. I tried my Sawyer Squeeze and could only get a trickle through it! I just bought a new one.
    Trail Name: Gadget
    Completed:
    NJ - 2016
    NY- 2017
    CT - 2018
    PA, DWG to Pt Clinton - 2019
    NJ (Again) - 2020

    Planned:
    PA, Pt Clinton to Duncannon - 2021
    PA, Duncannon to Pen-Mar - 2022

  17. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisMek View Post
    I'm glad I read this post! I'm leaving for a section hike in 3 days. I tried my Sawyer Squeeze and could only get a trickle through it! I just bought a new one.
    After not checking and having a clogged squeeze on the trail, and then next time having a slow squeeze after doing the vinegar, hot water and all that stuff, I just buy a new one before each trip now also. Out of all the money I spend getting to the trail and everything else involved in a section hike, I figure what's another 30 bucks once or twice a year to not have to worry about it.

  18. #38
    1000+ miles down, 1000+ miles to go
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    St. Paul, MN
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deacon View Post
    Here's a YOutube video from Sawyer with their recommended cleaning procedure.
    https://youtu.be/0KeLHMUfEtY?t=139


    That link took me to a Bigfoot filter comparison video. Try this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeLHMUfEtY
    "When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute.
    But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute--and it's longer than any hour.
    That's relativity." --Albert Einstein--

  19. #39
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Yeah... two things that make the Sawyer really nice is that a whole replacement doesn't cost that much, and WalMart even carries them... making them very accessible.

  20. #40

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    One reason I switched over to Hydro Blue Versa Flow was there are no gaskets required.I actually found a Sawyer gasket on the trail once and remember thinking "somebody is going to be unhappy with their filter now."

    I still carry a spare gasket in my kit bag for a Sawyer in the event someone should ever need one as most of my hiking partners are still invested in their Sawyers.

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