[DAILY DEAL 4/16/15] Sawyer Mini Water Filtration Systems

Today at Sport.Woot, instead of one thing in the daily deal spot, we’re giving you ALL THE SAWYER MINI WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS AND MOAR SAWYER MINI WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS!!

And since it’s a special kinda sale, we thought it needed a special kinda discussion place that you can find here.

Sawyer Mini Water Filtration Systems

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[Preview 1][Preview 2][Preview 3]
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Sawyer Mini Water Filtration Systems
Price: $13.99 - 29.99
Shipping Options:: $5 Standard OR $10 Two-Day OR $20 One-Day
Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Friday, Apr 17 to Monday, Apr 20) + transit
Condition: New

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Previous Similar Sales (May not be exact model)
3/20/2015 - $14.99 - 59.99 - Click To See Discussion (25 comments)

Time to check out the product page and learn about the technology

Anybody know if this, or any other filtration gadget filters salt from seawater?

A desalinization plant, it’s not. But it does filter particles and bacteria out with a filtration pore size of 0.1 microns absolute (the largest filtration pore is 0.1 micron - smaller than what MSR and Katadyn are putting out).

http://pagedownphish.blogspot.com/2015/04/relix-is-giving-away-gd50-chicago.html

Anybody know what the shelf life is like on these? I don’t know how long before I need to filter water. I’d hate to only get 99,999 gallons of water filtered only to have it expire before I got my money’s worth!

Reviews and more at Outdoor Gear Lab

I bought these in a four pack on a previous Woot! and got a chance to use them on a short Appalachian Trail trek a couple of weeks ago.

These get great reviews everywhere I checked online, and worked perfectly for me on my trek. I expect I will lose the sawyer before I ever reach the 100,000 gallon filtering capacity. There was no expiration date or shelf life indicator on the manufacturer’s packaging. So if stored

The only possible issue I saw was that unless you have a moving flow of water (active stream), the included roll up bottle may be a lot more difficult to use (the opening is the same size as a bottle of soda). In my case, I could fill a 32oz nalgene using the sawyer mini and the included 16.9oz bag in a couple of minutes with no physical exertion (it doesn’t take much force to get the water through the filter, and could even be gravity fed). I plan on placing one inline of my drinking tube of a Geigerrigg hydration bag (also a Woot! purchase) to remove the need to transfer from the small Sawyer bag to another container.

I was extremely happy with its ease of use and effectiveness in filtering the water. I would definitely buy it again when needed. They are much cheaper here on Woot! than in my local REI store.

Hey all, we lowered the prices slightly- down $1 on the mini & $4 on the three packs. We’ll be refunding customers who already purchased- you guys should get an email fairly soon.

The filter is great! I have used the filter and pouches on 5-6 extended backpacking trips over the last couple of years and never had any issues with the water.

Two things though…

  1. Before storing the filter, let it dry, and I mean really dry. Probably best to do it vertically, otherwise it will get mold inside.

  2. The pouches/bags are garbage. In those 5-6 trips I’ve taken, every single bag I’ve brought with me has failed. They either developed small holes where there was a crease in the bag, got puncture holes, or in the worst cases developed tears right under the opening, where the “mylar” meets the plastic.

I remember first purchasing the filter at launch-event where the Sawyer Rep told me that their bottles/pouches were stronger than anything else on the market. No way! To this day I have a Platypus Platy Bottle that I already had when I first purchased the Sawyer system and that one has not developed any holes or tears.

So the filter works great! The pouches, no so much. BTW, the same issue is all over the reviews out there. :frowning:

Anyone use these in a gravity filter setup? I’ve read that the Sawyer Mini can develop flow issues faster than some of the other Sawyer filters.

I’ve got a Platypus Big-Zip reservoir I’d like to use as a gravity filter bag/hose, but am not sure about the Sawyer Mini. I love the filter’s stats though price/size/lifespan/etc …

The sawyers are great, but to be fair the MSR Miniworks (can’t speak for katadyn) filter does filter out chemicals from the water which the Sawyer does not. Which is great when my company sends me to cities around the world that notoriously have heavily chemically polluted water from the tap.

That being said, I keep one of these Sawyer filters in my truck, one in my hiking bag, and one in my North Face Terra 65 pack along with my MSR miniworks for long term back country trips. The MSR is much better/faster for when I have to filter water for a group as it allows my to fill up 5-6 Nalgenes in under 10 minutes with little to no effort.

To add on to your informative post:

  1. Yes, the sawyer pouches are garbage. Mine failed and everyone I know that has a sawyer has had a problem with their pouches. Once you get your filter in toss the pouch and get a platy bag or an Evernew hydration pack as their threads fit the sawyer perfectly and the quality of the hydration packs are amazing.

  2. For long term storage after use, prior to letting the filter dry out, dilute about a teaspoon of bleach in a cup of water. Then flush the sawyer with the diluted bleach using the syringe that comes with the filter.

There is no shelf life. Just follow the care instructions.

You’ll be dead long before you drink 100,000 gallons of water. So you’ll just have to settle with not getting your money’s worth my friend. It’s tough, I know.

There is not a hand held filter in existence that can remove salt from water that I’m aware of.

You can use a primitive still to desalinate water. Les Stroud showed us how. Google it.

Amazon offers its Prime members the Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System in Blue, model no. SP128, for $17.92 with free shipping. (Sports Woot offers it for pennies more. Non-members can spend $35 or more to qualify for free shipping; otherwise, shipping costs $5.58.) Aside from the mention below, that’s the lowest total price we could find by $2. It filters up to 100,000 gallons by removing 99.99999% of all bacteria and 99.9999% of all protozoa. It attaches to an included drinking pouch, standard disposable water bottles, or hydration packs.

A close price: CoalburnOutdoor via eBay offers this filtration system for $19.40 with free shipping.

The chemical filtration is from the carbon element in the MSR filter. The Sawyer has smaller pores (0.1 vs 0.2 microns in the MSR).

Ordered 2 Minis and a Squeeze. The UPS man just delivered them. Today. In four days. Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy!

Renews my faith in Woot! after a long, dismal history…