Sawyer Squeeze End Caps

One of my frustrations with the Sawyer Squeeze is that they aren’t shipped with caps that close both ends, such as the ones on the Platypus QuickDraw. Light Up Outdoors has solved the problem with its Sawyer Squeeze End Caps. This is one of those inexpensive products that make you wonder why it hasn’t existed before.

The Cross Contamination Problem

In the past, to avoid cross contamination when transporting a Squeeze, there would need to be cap on the output. That wasn’t a big deal when using it only for squeezing. It now ships with a cap. The cap it comes with doesn’t solve the problem if the Squeeze is used as a gravity system. It doesn’t fit the Sawyer Products SP150 Coupling part. That makes it a pain to transport, because the coupling part has to come off and get stored in a separate plastic bag. Then the cap has to go on the Squeeze.

Even if not using the Sawyer Squeeze as a gravity filter, when it got below freezing storing it in the sleeping bag involved putting it in a plastic bag with the coupling part removed and the cap added. Still that would cause the bag to fill up with dirty water that leaked out of the input side of the filter.

The Fix With Sawyer Squeeze End Caps

Light Up Outdoor’s Sawyer Squeeze End Caps are 3D printed parts that come in multiple colors. They fit perfectly into the input side of the Squeeze and also into the coupling part. The top of the cap has a hole to add a loop of cord if you want to attach the cap to the filter.

To make my gravity filter, I used an orange CNOC Outdoors 3L Vecto Water Container as the dirty water side and a blue one for the clean side. That coordinated with the coupling part, which was blue. I bought an end cap in blue and orange to keep my color theme consistent.

Now with the new end caps, I have caps that completely eliminate having to deal with plastic bags and each cap weighs only 5.5 grams (0.2 ounces). They run $5 a pop. While not related to filtering if you decide to buy the end caps, pick up a map measuring coin as well (and someone get me one, too). It looks really handy.

Final Thoughts

I really appreciate that Lighten Up Outdoors solved this problem. To me, if you use a Sawyer Squeeze as a squeeze filter or a gravity filter, then the end caps are a no brainer.