angela687•3d agoMost Upvoted

A stranger on the PCT made me ditch my fancy water filter setup

I was about 10 days into a 30 day section hike on the Pacific Crest Trail last summer. This older guy at a campsite near Crater Lake watched me spend 15 minutes pumping water through my heavy ceramic filter. He just said 'you're carrying a whole kitchen for a drink.' That got me thinking. I switched to a simple Sawyer squeeze and a smartwater bottle the next town stop. Saved almost a pound off my pack right there. Has anyone else had a random hiker change up their whole gear setup with one comment?

2 comments

2 Comments

jesse_green553d ago

That "whole kitchen for a drink" line hits hard. I went from a heavy pump to a squeeze filter after a similar comment and never looked back. Simple setups really do make the miles easier.

terryk283d ago

Heard a story from my buddy Dave last week... he was out with this old MSR pump that took like ten minutes to filter a liter. Some hiker walked by and said "you making espresso back there?" and he almost tossed the whole thing in the creek. @jesse_green55 swapped to a squeeze bag the next day and says his pack feels five pounds lighter now. Funny how one little comment can change your whole setup like that.