Water filter setup/?gravity vemo video??? Sawyer?

[petedelisio]

I’m mostly interested in any of your sawyer setups and with gravity but open to all and any. Love video explanations for various hookups for something like this but…………. Maybe what are the most used thruhike setups and what you think should be used …
I’ve mostly squated on the side of hills with the hiker pur(katadadidadin)… but am open minded to others like the b free or what you think is most advantageous. I’m keeping weights and cost in mind.
I’ll save my pitcher filter for another thread.

Videos from YouTube etc. greatly appreciated

[Deadeye]

I've been using the BeFree with the .6 liter bottle/bag. I usually carry a 20 ounce smart water bottle in a side pocket and a 16 ounce bottle in the shoulder strap pocket. That's plenty of water for most hiking, and I have a 2L platypus bladder for longer hauls or dry camps.

The BeFree is just so fast, easy, and compact that I don't bother with a gravity setup. By the time you can hang a gravity system, you can squeeze out a liter of water and be on your way.

[Odd Man Out]

I use the Versaflow filter by Hydroblu. It is essentially the same as a Sawyer Squeeze, but it is threaded on both ends. You screw an empty back for clean water on one side. Screw a full bag of dirty water on the other side. Hang it from a tree. To back flush, you take the dirty water bag off and squeeze the clean bag to force a bit of water backwards through the filter. No adapter, hoses, accessories needed.

[perrymk]

I use a 3 liter cnoc bag and a Sawyer filter. Most cnoc bags I see are 2 liter; I prefer the 3 liter. I tied a small piece of cord to the end of my cnoc bag so it can be easily looped around a nail or stubby branch for gravity filtering. I attach a smal piece of tubing to the filter. Often, I just find a place to sit, place my water bottle on the ground between my feet, and lay the cnoc over my leg/lap and allow it to gravity fill the water bottle. Very convenient, little fuss. I also keep a lightweight sierra cup to use as a scoop at shallow water sources.

[justhike]

I use a 3-liter CNOC and a sawyer filter as well. I rarely do any 'squeezing'; almost always gravity hang.
A shoelace/cord attached to the CNOC slide-closure so it can hang; and a blue coupling ring (Sawyer SP150 coupling) permanently attached to the OUT end of the Sawyer to attach directly to a LIFE WTR (or SmartWater) bottle (prefer the LIFE WTR right now because they are stiffer). The IN end of the Sawyer attaches directly to the CNOC. I do not use the 'drinking' cap that usually comes with the Sawyer.

My typical is: fill the CNOC, find a place to hang it (lower is better, as long as there is adequate room for filter-bottle combo to hang beneath when attached). Attach the Sawyer to an empty water bottle via the blue coupling ring (OUT-flow) side. While holding bottle/Sawyer combo between legs, lift up the bottom of the CNOC so screw cap is up high enough for water to not gush out when you remove it (! this is where hanging the CNOC low-ish is advantageous! so you're not trying to do this above your head). Remove the CNOC cap, and attach Sawyer/bottle combo (the bottle will be somewhat vertical, but upside-down, as you are attaching it). Once the filter is securely attached to the CNOC, let the filter/bottle hang beneath and voila, gravity flow. (make sure bottle is not screwed too tightly into the coupling ring - air needs to be able to escape while the bottle fills or you will have no flow!)

If I am filling more than one bottle, I will usually just have the next bottle ready, remove one, cap it or set it down if there's a flat spot, and get the next screwed onto the filter coupling, wasting a bit of water as it continues to flow. Bottles usually fill pretty quickly, but I can be doing other things during that time - eating a snack, drinking a liter, just taking a break.

When I'm done, I separate the filter from the CNOC; drain any water remaining in the CNOC; shake the filter to remove excess water; roll the filter up inside the CNOC, sometimes wrap a small piece of towel around it - protects pack from those pokey edges of the CNOC slider and absorbs any moisture (same bit of towel i use to dry condensation in my tent in the morning), and into outer pocket of my pack.

My bottles never carry dirty water. I usually carry three 700ml (~24oz) bottles, one in a shoulder holder. I find the 1-liter bottles to be too big/unwieldy for me. I don't always carry all 3 full, but probably tend to carry more than many hikers. I would rather not have to stop frequently to filter, so will tend to fill up when I do stop.

I like the 3-liter CNOC because there are sometimes very long walks DOWN to water sources, and I can get more volume at one time without having to carry pack or other bottles, or filter at the water source if I'd prefer not to do that. I have used partial volume of the CNOC to carry dirty water on particularly long, dry sections. It depends a lot on how fast a hiker you are, so while this isn't a frequent need on the AT, I like to have the extra carry volume available.

I carry a small piece (~6-7") of silicone straw to create my own 'piped' stream where flow is very low.

[Odd Man Out]

I'll add that an advantage of a closed system (clean and dirty water bags both attached to the filter) is that the gravity system can be left unattended. It will automatically stop when the bottom bag is full or the top bag is empty. With an open system, you have to watch it so excess water doesn't spill out when the clean container is full. Also note that in closed systems you must use flexible bags with the air squeezed out of the clean bag. Bottles won't work because air pressure will stop for flow of water after just a few oz of water goes through.

[HankIV]

I do what Justhike does. Except I use leaf instead of a straw.

[JollyRoger70]

Justhike, do you get air pressure issues hooking a rigid(ish) bottle to the filter and the CNOC? I’ve been using a 2L Evernew bag that I force all of the air out of, to connect to my 2L CNOC and Sawyer filter. Or if I’m using the BeFree, I have a 3L CNOC threaded for it, and filter into a Hydrapak 3L bag with some adapters and a hose. Either way, I’ve been making sure the clean-water bag starts out as empty as possible.


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[Odd Man Out]

If you have a closed system, your clean water bag must be flexible and free of air. Otherwise it will not continue to flow. In other words, if you have a 2 L receiver with one L of air, you will collect 1 L of water and then it will stop because your bag will be full (1 L water + 1 L air = 2 L). Also if your dirty water container is not flexible, it will not flow, unless it is an open system that allows air in on the dirty side and out on the clean side.

[justhike]

As Odd Man Out said, mine is an 'open' system, but, as I said,
As long as the water bottle isn't screwed tightly into the coupling ring, air can escape from the bottle as it fills. Yes, it needs to be attended to stop the flow/fill process, but if its left (sometimes we get distracted!) it will simply overflow out through that same space that lets the air out. A waste of good filtered water, but not a tragedy unless you have to hike a half mile down to the water source again!

[LoneStranger]

Used a Platy Big Zip (3L) for dirty bag and a Platy Hoser (3L) as clean bag for many years now. I use the hoses that come with the bags to connect a full sized Sawyer in the middle. Tried using a cnoc bag last year because the old BZ needed to be replaced. The new bag was half the weight, but not as well designed or functional with lots more cussing required so I may go back to a BZ this year.

I carry the hoses in separate zip bags to avoid cross contamination and put a cap on the filter before storing. Process is to fill the dirty bag, hook hose to clean bag, putting cap into bag hose came from, hook filter to hose putting cap into bag filter came from, connect hose to dirty bag to prime the hose so I don't have to wait for air to be pushed through the filter, connect hose to filter hanging bag from tree or shelter to get as much drop as possible.

One problem I have found with this setup is that the siphon becomes strong enough to pull air into the connection between the filter and the clean hose at times. Tiny little bubbles, but they can add up to enough extra volume that the clean bag is over inflated. It won't pop, but it will get stressed which can lead to failure later. When clean or dirty bags fail, which they have over the thousands of miles I have used this system, I rely on a gallon zip bag from my resupply until it can be replaced.

[HooKooDooKu]

I use a Sawyer Micro Squeeze and an Evernew Bladder for dirt water.
For the clean water side, I use a Platypus Hoser... but I've replaced the stiff hose with a three foot section of food grade silicon tubing. The hose is connected to the Micro Squeeze via the female half of a Sawyer inline adapter. I've also added a loop of string to the bottom of the Evernew bladder, using a hole punch in the margins of the bladder so that the dirty water bladder could be hung for gravity feed.

[Wheezy]

My favorite for a while has been the BeFree with a 1L bag. I also carry the HydroPak 3L seeker for when i need to carry more water. The BeFree fits the mouth of it as well should the 1L rupture.

I've also used the HydroBlu VersaFlow and prefer the flow of it to the Sawyer.

[TheAri]

The be free is really popular, I still opt for an Msr in-line and the option to use a dirty platypus 3L bag to gravity filter though