The Sawyer Mini Filter is really small (fits in a bag about the size of a pair of socks), and the whole kit weighs only 60 grams (2 oz). The filter can be used in several ways, but the simplest is to screw the filter unit straight onto the top of an ordinary plastic water bottle. The Sawyer Mini is super simple to use: 1. Fill bottle with dirty water 2. Screw on filter 3. Drink clean water, straight from the bottle..!
Clean water is so important. Water borne bacteria can cause diarrhea, dehydration and serious illness. These are not things that enhance a traveler’s life.
A lot of places I go, I don’t have access to clean tap water. If I’m camping, I often get water from streams and rivers, which may be tainted by animal faeces. In many countries I travel in, like Thailand, Laos and Indonesia, even if there is a tap handy I can’t rely on the water being drinkable.
I’m not wild about buying bottled water. First of all, it’s an extra expense I don’t need, and secondly, the plastic bottles are an ecological issue.
For me, the solution to the clean water problem is having some sort of purification system.
Until recently I have been carrying an electronic water purifier, called a SteriPen. It was really effective and reasonably compact, and I have been pretty happy with it. But now, I’ve found an even better water purification solution.
It’s a compact, personal water filter. It’s made by an American company called Sawyer, and it is awesome.
The Sawyer Mini Filter is really small (fits in a bag about the size of a pair of socks), and the whole kit weighs only 60 grams (2 oz).
The filter can be used in several ways, but the simplest is to screw the filter unit straight onto the top of an ordinary plastic water bottle.
The Sawyer Mini is super simple to use:
1. Fill bottle with dirty water
2. Screw on filter
3. Drink clean water, straight from the bottle!
It doesn’t get any simpler than that, right?
You just fill your bottle, screw the filter onto it, and walk away, drinking.
The filter has a tight fitting cap too, so you can stash your full bottle in your bag.
(Above: my Sawyer Mini Filter fitted to my many-times-reused water bottle. On the left is the plastic water pouch that comes with the filter kit. It’s OK, but it’s a bit small – the bottle works better for me. BTW: People always ask why my bottle looks so mangled. It’s because when it’s empty I crush it flat, which saves space inside my bag.)
If you want to fill a bottle with clean water to use later, it takes about 100 seconds to squeeze a litre of water through the filter. Or, if you have plenty of time, you can use the Sawyer Mini to set up a simple gravity feed system. Just hang the filter upside-down above your water flask.
The Mini Filter is much cheaper than most water purification systems. Hiking.com.au have them for AU$59.95.
It’s a once-only buy. The nano-fibre inside the Sawyer Mini never needs to be replaced. Sawyer claim it can make 100,000 gallons of drinkable water. That’s more than 370,000 litres!
If the filter starts to get a bit slow from sediment buildup, you just flush it backwards, with the syringe provided in the kit, and it’s good to go again.
(Above: the Mini Filter kit: filter; water pouch; straw; and syringe, for cleaning.)
(Below: my water filter is essential for those urgent re-hydration situations… like most sunday mornings.)
Update 2015-11-19: I’ve been using this filter for months now, and it is living up to it’s hype! Works great and easy to flush clean.
Update 2016-03-30: A year on, and still working as well as the day I got it. This is an impressive filter.
I’m also happy to say that Hiking.com.au, who sell Sawyer Mini Filters in Australia, are now affiliate sponsors of Raw Safari. I have bought several items from Hiking.com.au myself, including two pairs of boots, and I was a really happy customer. Their prices are competitive, and delivery was swift.
If you are looking for an awesome water filter, head over to Hiking.com.au, and check out the Sawyer Mini’s full specs. If you buy the filter through the links to our sponsor on this page, you’ll be supporting Raw Safari as well! Thank you.
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