Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review

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After using this product on my 11-day, 160-mile trip, I feel like it’s time to do a quick Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review. Usually, I like to get 30 days on a product before reviewing it, but in this case it’s based on technology from Sawyer that I’m comfortable in providing my full thoughts. I’ve used both the Sawyer Squeeze and Mini before. This water filter bottle uses the Mini.

Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Description

Here’s what Sawyer says about the product: At just 4.5 ounces in weight, this durable BPA FREE water bottle can deliver clean water as fast as you can drink it. Use the included filter with the bottle, on a hydration pack, or as an ultra light filter option. This new 34oz bottle has the Mini filter inside instead of the Squeeze filter.

My Impressions

Sawyer Water Bottle Filter review in the BWCA — Keeping the bottle upright at all time to avoid potential cross contamination was a management duty.

I’ve found that this water bottle works for specific needs. If you just need a bottle to filter water and you aren’t counting on it to provide water for meals or other purposes, it works well. This might be just what you need. But, if you are counting on it to provide filtered water for a second water bottle or other purposes, you’re going to want to just get a Squeeze or Mini.

What I found was that even trying to squeeze a half cup of water out for cold cereal that it was difficult. Sometimes dirty water would spray out of the pressure relief valve which is near the straw. If anything, the valve needs to be moved to prevent any cross contamination. The entire trip I wondered if somehow that valve had contaminated the straw. To prevent this, I kept the bottle upright as much as possible. It was more management of a piece of gear than I like.

To clean the filter, you have to backwash it. I was a little puzzled about how to do this. In the end, I kept a straw on my syringe and then removed the drinking straw and replaced it with the straw-equipped syringe and backwashed it that way. It worked fine, but was an extra step that isn’t needed when cleaning a Mini or Squeeze.

I got the Sawyer Water Bottle Filter because I was going to be bushwhacking through dense forest on a 160-mile, 10-day trip, and I didn’t want to risk a Saywer Squeeze attached to a top of a water bottle getting lost during the bushwhacking. The bottle worked fine for my purpose, but I’ll be using the Squeeze or a Mini for regular trips instead of this. Because the top of this bottle fits on a regular bike bottle, I’m now using it for a different purpose. I bring this along if I’m on a longer bike ride and expect to need more water. I ride on remote gravel roads with lots of easy-to-access water. It’s nice not to have to carry the extra water weight.

Bottom Line

Overall, if you have a specific need for a bottle then this will work. Personally, I’ll be using a Mini or Squeeze. That’s my Sawyer Water Filter Bottle Review.