Wasted $40 on a water filter that broke after 3 days on the JMT

I headed out on the John Muir Trail last summer and bought one of those cheap Sawyer knockoffs from a random outdoor store. After 3 days the thing completely clogged up and I couldn't get any water through it. I lost about $40 on that filter plus had to beg other hikers for their spare purification tablets near Thousand Island Lake. Trust me, just get the real Sawyer Squeeze or even a Katadyn BeFree. Has anyone else had a cheap filter fail on them mid trip?

3 comments

3 Comments

juliashah5d ago

Same thing happened to me with a cheap filter near Reds Meadow. Had to boil creek water for two days until I could hitch into Mammoth. The knockoffs just don't handle the sediment in Sierra streams. Real Sawyers have a backflush syringe that saves you when it clogs up. If you're on a tight budget, check the REI used gear section for returned filters. People return them after one trip for stupid reasons and you can get a legit one for half price. Also carry tablets as backup no matter what.

sageadams5d ago

Lost my backup tablets in a river crossing near Tuolumne once. Had to borrow iodine from a German couple.

wendyk564d ago

Did you ever find out later if that iodine was old or anything? I had a similar thing happen over by Agnew Meadows, my buddy's filter cracked and we ended up sharing a single pack of purification tabs with a couple from France. @juliashah's right about the cheap filters, I watched a guy's knockoff explode when he tried to backflush it on the trail. That couple saved our trip but my buddy still jokes about the funky mineral taste.