Sawyer Products SP128 Mini Water Filtration System, Single, Blue : Camping Water Filters : Sports & Outdoors

If you are looking for a small, light,compact, and most importantly easy way to filter your water, look no further. Sawyer makes an EXCELLENT unit that won’t break the bank.I bought this filter a few months ago[ to add to a survival/camp pack and have since filtered about 40 liters of water through it. This filter cleans anything from questionable garden hose water to murky lake water into perfectly clear and crisp to the taste drinking water. At first, I was skeptical of course. Who would think that you can turn brown, dirty water into clean, perfectly safe water with just such a small, affordable filter? But rest assured, this filter is a powerhouse and continues to go above and beyond.One tip I have for easier and more bulk filtration is to pick up a Platypus Plastic 2L Water Bag (Link below). It’s less than $10 just like the bottle you get with the filter except it allows you to filter 70oz rather than 16oz. I also got a grommet kit from a local craft store and placed 2 grommets in the corner of the bag in the seam. I then ran a 1 foot section of para-cord through the grommets which allowed me to hang the bottle on a tree branch or any other convenient location. This way you can let gravity do the work and continue on with your camp chores. I was able to filter 2 liters of water this way in around 10 minutes.One word of caution: Sawyer claims that you can filter 1,000,000 gallons of water through this filter (you’re probably more likely to lose the filter before you get to that point) regardless, cleaning is a must. It will greatly extend the life and quality of your filter and water. After every filtration session I recommend flushing the filter with clean water using he provided syringe. Don’t be afraid to really shoot the water in there, you’re only helping your filter.All in all this filter was a GREAT buy. I don’t think you can find a better filter, especially one under the $100 mark! http://www.amazon.com/Platypus-Platy-Bottle/dp/B002NZS142

With the craziness of 2020 it became necessary for my wife & me to enhance our self preservation stockpile. And, first on our list was to update our water purification items because without water you can’t survive. The Sawyer SP128 Mini Water Filtration System is an absolute necessity to have if you run into a situation where you aren’t able to obtain treated/purified water. And, when considering the thousands of gallons of water that this can filter, the cost to purchase this is insignificant. I’d also suggest that a few packs of Aquatabs be included with the Sawyer. The long shelf life, fair price, ease of use and convenient size (of the Aquatabs) are perfect for a bug-out bag or simply having a pack in you glove compartment. With these two products you’d be properly prepared in the event of a disaster/emergency.

So first off, let me say I ordered this with my Prime account, and it comes with free 2-day shipping…it got here in 1 day. I immediately took it out in the frontcountry for a day hike with the dog to give it a test in the field.We made it to a nice frozen shoulder of the Rattlesnake Creek in Missoula. The temp was below freezing, i’de say 20-30°F, or somewhere around there. I chipped through an ice shelf on the creek and dunked the bag into the ice cold water. Filling it was easy with the current but I can see some wishing it came with a bigger bag because it doesn’t look like much when the bag is filled. I use a 32oz Platypus bag I have, and carry the included 16oz bag as a backup! Anyway, I screwed the filter onto the bag, tipped it upside down and water came out with a very effortless squeeze. After I got done laughing about how simple this was, I gave my boy Yoshi a drink as well (my English Bulldog). He also took to it well, as he’s a big fan of drinking from water bottles anyway. So yeah, this is a dog friendly design!Also out of curiosity I affixed the straw directly to the filter and drank directly from the creek and it was quite easy to do. The amount of suction required was similar to drinking a milkshake, and the flow rate was surprisingly great. At that point one can either shake the filter free of the water still inside the filter, and/or blow through it providing the same effect. (I should note that if using this in freezing temperatures, to prevent the filter from freezing after use, you will want to keep it on or near your body’s core).When I got home I did the back flush with the syringe twice, and the thing flushed perfectly. This thing was a piece of cake to use, and was exactly what I was looking for to carry in my Heli Pack. I would recommend this filter to anyone!…and for $20, you cannot beat this. Plus you get a bag, straw, and syringe with it. Buy one now!Anyone with questions, feel free to ask/comment. Glad to help.UPDATE: After 18 months of steady use, this thing is still running strong! I have also come up with a cool addition to this water filter…I removed the sticker on the white middle section and I have replaced it with about 5 feet of standard width 1.88″ DUCT TAPE! Using the filter AS the spool for the tape, allowing this filter to be a multi-purpose device. Some people will carry duct tape with them as a emergency repair kit, but we all know duct tape has a million uses, it’s the cousin of paracord practically. Trust me it is cool, with the duct tape wrapped around it multiple times, the tape will eventually be flush with the filter end caps and not look sloppy at all. Plus it’s a cool way to personalize your filter with a color or pattern to match your kit. If your a little picky like me, I didn’t exactly want a “blue” item with my stealth gear. Anyway, this method allows you to carry a decent amount of duct tape spooled around an item you are already carrying, and not taking up ANY extra space than the filter already is using inside your kit.Why not carry some…it might come in handy sometime.

I bought this use on an international trip to help us cut down having to use/buy an obscene amount of plastic bottles on a 2 week international trip with undrinkable water. Our friends had told us not to buy it, as it’s “more for camping” and I’m glad we didn’t listen to them. We did our research and found it is indeed, not “just for camping”.. it filters out any bacteria, parasites, fecal matter, and any other unwholesome things no one can/should drink. It will easily last well over one trip with no need to bring back up filters. We couldn’t fully get away from drinking bottled water- when you’re on an 8 hour tour with no water refilling stations and it’s 95 degrees in the blaring sun, you kinda have to drink the ones they hand you… but this helped us DRASTICALLY reduce our plastic waste. And at about $1 per 500ml per bottle, with a water drinking goal of about 2-3L per day, for 14 days, it probably saved us a ton of money as well.It’s super easy to use. I do recommend trying it out before your trip to get the hang of it, but it’s super easy. You fill the pouch with tap water, wipe it down to prevent contaminating drips, screw on the filter straw, and gently squeeze it into any container. We had a reusable water bottle, but also refilled a leftover plastic bottle for brushing teeth, and filled our hotel electric kettle with it for coffee and tea. I was super paranoid about doing it wrong, because of the risk of accidentally dying and all, but it worked! We’re not dead or sick!There were times we were in places where the water (Koh Rong in particular) still had a heavy iron flavor after filtering, so we decided, on flavor factor alone, not to drink it. But that water was still useful to brush our teeth with, and other uses like that. We didn’t end up needing the backflusher, as the water was probably not too sediment heavy, but it was nice to have it if we needed it. The whole setup was pretty compact, which is another nice feature when you’re trying to live for 2 weeks out of a carry on backpack. I put the filter, bag, straw, and backflusher into a pouch and it fit pretty easily into our bags.I’d say this was one of the most essential travel things we brought with us, and even if you’re iffy about the water quality after filtration, at the very least it was nice to have some extra water around for hygiene. I highly recommend this as a travel essential going anywhere with non-potable tap water.

Without getting into a big long review on how it works I’ll instead focus on the fact that it does. On a recent motorcycle adventure ride with a few buddies I decided this would be a good time to try this out. We wouldn’t be more than a few hours from a town the whole trip so if I didn’t work I could just buy bottled water like I always do. I don’t like things on my back when riding so I never wear hydration packs but instead take bottled water. But this time I decided to only take this filtration unit and fill up when we came across a stream or water feature. WOW! I was able to drink cold mountain water right from a stream or water fall without the worry of getting sick. I used it at least 10 times and it provided me delicious natural water at every stop. Not once did it disappoint. And now I have one in all 3 cars and both motorcycles, you just never know when you might need something like this. Knowing I can get water practically from any source and have safe drinking water is a huge relief. Don’t hesitate and buy one.