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The Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System seems all the rage. My old filter died on the last Peaks walk I did. So I got Philip to get me a Sawyer Squeeze to pick up when I arrived in the US.
It has a hollow fibre filter which is rated to 0.1 microns - the rating you want to remove the bacteria and nasty stuff. It's supposed to last for a million gallons. But somehow I doubt it will be going for that amount of use.
This filter is fast to use (about 2 minutes a litre). Fill up the varied size bags that come with it and squeeze clean water out the other end. With a fast flow rate you can drink straight out of the nozzle. I did this a lot.
This is where it shines for me. In reflection, a soda bottle with it screwed onto the top, then filling up as you go past water and drinking straight through the filter is the way to go. Saving time as you walk. One thing: if you store it in your rucksack, squeeze air through it, flushing the water out - saving it from seeping out into your rucksack.
It can be back-flushed with the large syringe provided (but who is going to take that?) to clean it. Cost wise it was not a lot at around £30. It's light also.
BUT a caution. I used it a lot. Still, I got a water-borne infection. All the best kit won't stop that if you're not careful. Maybe some water ran down onto the nozzle or something. But I got ill. So maybe add a purification tab in to be sure in places like the US. But the main thing is be careful to stop cross contamination.
Either way, it's affordable, performs well and the flow rate is fast. The bags that come are rubbish long term. Use a platy or soda bottle. Make sure you keep unfiltered water from entering your clean water and it is going to be a good investment.
7 comments:
The infection you had may well have been a virus, which the sawyer doesn't filter out because they're too small, or just an upset gut from chemicals in the water...
The only filter/purifier I'd ever use (after trying many) is the Drink Safe Travel Tap - it purifies, so removes EVERYTHING, including agricultural run-off. It's also the only water treatment that proudly boasts that it removes Anthrax - because it's the only one that can. It's cheaper than its competitors, and Giles (the founder of Drink Safe) does an awful lot for charities in the 3rd world, so you can assuage your middle class guilt at the same time! Huzzah!
Now I must find someone elses post to hijack. Ta-ra!
Oh, and the faster water passes through a filter, the more chance there is of something getting through. Even protozoa and bacteria. So there's that...
We're both big fans of our water purifier, after Geoff picked up Giardia some years ago drinking straight from a stream in the Yorkshire Dales, of all places. He was pretty ill for several weeks before they finally tracked down what it was he'd got :)
You're absolutely right though, that you still have to be careful not to let your purified water get contaminated with any drops of the unpurified stuff!
The speed at which you force the water through the filter does have an impact on the effectiveness. I really do not recommend that people squeeze the crap out of this system just to speed up the process, you're adding unnecessary risk.
Jakelunniss is also right in that you don't know for sure that the filter failed to provide you with safe water, you could have simply put your finger to your mouth one time and ingested a virus that had nothing to do with you drinking source of water filtering. Continued use and results will help to verify that, although now you're back in Blighty that might not be as quantifiable.
I've used my Sawer Squeeze for hundreds of gallons already across both sides of the US an have never gotten sick or ill during or after a trip. I take my time and pay careful attention to not cross contaminating the gear. I've never cleaned (back flushed) the filter in the field and like you say, who is going to carry that darn syringe? However I do follow the instructions that came with it and use a small amount of chlorine to back flush and clean the filter before storing it away - who knows what is festering and growing inside that thing when it's not being used.
As you suggested, a few drops of regular chlorine added to the water bag can help tremendously with the smaller stuff that the Sawer won't remove. Hope you recovered quickly from getting sick, that's not fun for anyone. ^BG
Jake when middle class got defined it was bank managers, clergy and well.....Rather decent earning people. To day I wonder who is the middle. I am not.
I had the results recently and had Plesionas Shigelloides. Water borne and Know to link to GI.
So cross contamination is most likely, not a virus. It can happen. I shall look that filter up.
Chrissie the Big G is nasty. Warning to all about UK water that. Better safe than sorry. I normally use tablets. A mix of them and filter is the name of the game I think.
Brian I got the results back as detailed to Jake. UK tests missed it but the US hospital found the source.
Being careful is key. We drank a lot in the heat of Maine. There in was the issue. Cross contamination the reason no doubt. Thanks for the helpful insight on this.
I think you - as a manager in social work - would qualify as middle middle class (seriously). What was it you were saying about disliking excessive categorisation? ;)
Housing manager of a hostel. Not Social Services Jake. So about 18k less than a Social Services team manager I reckon. I wish I was in the middle. If I knew how to get there I would.
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