Why the Katadyn BeFree DESTROYS the Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter

MY CODE @ BACKCOUNTRY 2 SAVE 15% -‘DAN15’

🚨FOLLOW ME🚨

💥SUPPORT ME💥

📷MY CAMERA GEAR📷

Best backpacking water filter. How to filter water on trail. What water filter should I get.

[backpacker]

I take care of my Squeeze. I've had mine for eight years, ever since I bought it to replace my klunky old ceramic filter. It was the only filter I used for six of those years. I can't say how many liters for sure, but I'd estimate it at around 2000 liters (roughly 500 gallons). It still has a flow rate like brand new. But I take care of it... I backflush it regularly, I sanitize it before I store it, or after any trail use, and I never let it freeze when it's wet.
Backflushing it is crazy easy. You buy a $5 adapter that fits over the output end and attaches to a sports bottle, and you basically just filter the water backwards. If you want to get crazy, add some lemon juice or citric based non-toxic decalcifier. I do that about once a year with a decalcifier made for coffee machines - filter the decalcifier solution and let it sit for 20 minutes, then backflush a liter of clean water and filter a liter of clean water normally, and it'll be like new. To sanitize it, just add a tablespoon of bleach to a liter of water and filter it.

You're Sawyer is trickling because you haven't given it any love...

[kayakangle]

Been using the sawyer for over a year and I like it. Screws onto a smart water bottle and seems to work fine for me. I'm sure the Katadyn is great but I wouldn't call the sawyer junk.

[tjholcomb]

Thanks for the review! A few years ago, I was working as a wilderness therapy field guide. I started out with the Sawyer Squeeze but got tired of the bags with small openings and leaky seals. I also got tired of the Smart Water bottle that I had to keep squeezing, unscrewing, and squeezing again to use. It was noisy and annoying. One of the leaders had the 1 liter BeFree, and I loved how it worked. So I went out and bought one. First shift out, I got a pinhole in the BeFree bag! Now my water filter was useless and I was in the middle of the woods. (Good thing we had ceramic pump filters with us!) I contacted Katadyn and told them my story, and then sent me a FREE 3 liter bag as a replacement! I loved it! At least for the rest of the season. That's all the filter lasted, and there is no backflush cleaning option. All together, I got maybe a year of use out of the BeFree filter and 4 years out of the Sawyer. Keeping in mind that I was in the field with these filters for two weeks at a time, filtering continuously. Both filters received heavy use. When the time came (this past week) to replace my filter, I chose the Sawyer Mini for $24 out the door because I want more than one year of use. I hope the Mini performs similar to the original Squeeze!

[mr.perfect]

Sawyer for me. Its never let me down and the peace of mind that I can attach it to any bottle is priceless. If it fails, any walmart off trail has one.

[KyleHatesHiking]

I'd like to speak with your manager.

[RugMunchKing]

Katadyn for day hikes or overnights and sawyer for thru hikes or longer trips. Katadyn has less options if bag does fail on you

[CordCrenshaw]

My flow rate has slowed too. I’m about to see a doctor about it.

[apriloutdoors]

My recommended use for the Sawyer bag...fill it with adult beverage of your choice, cap it off, and drop it in your food bag. :)

[UnlikelyHiker]

I’ve had the BeFree for 3 years. It did spring a pin hole leak last year, but a piece of clear gorilla tape fixed that right up. So I’ve been using it for a year like that. Still works fine. 👍🏻👍🏻

[swtsoph]

I love my Sawyer. When it gets slow I just backflush it. Easy.

[ravendon]

Sawyer Products SP128 Mini Water Filtration System, Single, Blue is $18 on Amazon. Even if you throw away the bag, the filter alone is cheaper. This Filter is rated up to 100, 000 gallons.

[ntfd]

Hi Dan,
When you clean your Sawyer, don't use your syringe. Get a double female coupler ($3.99) from Sawyer. Then...
1. Fill 1 liter bottle with warm, not tepid or boiling, but in between.
2. Tap the filter lightly on its side as you squeeze the 1 liter bottle forcefully back through the filter attached to the double female connection.
You will be surprised by how much comes out. Let the filter sit in the warm water once it's warm/wet to furthrer loosen the clogged gunk. Flush with warm water again then try to see how it affected your filters flow rate. Reading this will take you longer than the entire process.
P.S. I only use as a gravity set up for 2 bottles at a time, but at camp I fill a larger platypus with filtered water.
I've been doing this since Sawyer came out. I've used everything since the first pump models. Pills before that.

[jgrantw]

CNOC Sells a 2L and 3L bag that fits the BeFree filter. I have the 2L, and its great!

[RS]

I have a sawyer mini and after 4 yrs it still flows exactly as it did new. I do actual backflow it after each use though. The accompanying syringe really doesn't take up any room. I learn a great deal from your videos.

[AndyOnTheMountain]

On my PCT thru hike I started with the BeFree which was a quick and random move from my tried and true Sawyer Squeeze... I liked it for a week or two then the flow rate gradually slowed down, eventually I got a hole in the bag so it was time to go back to my Sawyer.

I pair my Sawyer Squeeze with the Cnoc 2 liter bag which is used for my dirty water. I then squeeze it into 2 Smart Water bottles. This worked for me for about 2, 000 miles. I also back flow the filter with a squeeze top that comes standard on the smaller Smart Water bottles. I also noticed the majority of other thru hikers used this same system or just put the Squeeze directly on a water bottle.

Too bad Sawyer doesn't sell the filter alone without their garbage water containers. Nice review Dan, but I gotta stick to my Sawyer Squeeze :)

-Andy

[iankellogg]

I know its not as ultralight as the befree but I really like the grayl water bottle. Significantly faster at filtering and I find it does a better job making the water taste better.

[Community-Action]

Just bought a sawyer mini filter for $20 at Walmart. Yes the bag included sucks but you can use smart water and other disposable water bottles with it.

[blanchetsetong]

Love the sawyer squeeze. Used it everywhere. Multi-week treks, urban water supplies in developing countries, filling up from wells, taps, streams, puddles. No problems at all with either flow or bag.

[danielgolite]

Some hikers have chosen to use Sawyers for their AT thru hike and it lasted the entire journey. That says a lot.

[koltrasten]

The BeFree is great as a backup filter in my cars get home bag, I would not use it as a main filter.
The filter quality is just too poor and will break down after a year when my 2 year old Squeeze will keep filtering without problem.
The issue with your Squeeze in this video is that you don't take proper care of it, flush it out after every use and you are golden for a few years.
While the BeFree will deteriorate heavily after a year of use even if you "clean" it as per their instructions.
You might be getting great flow rate after a year but that is because the filter actually wears down so much so that the holes in it gets larger and stops filtering out bacteria etc.
(even a cheap TDS meter will show you this)

Thats why its rated so much lower than the Squeeze.

Both are good for different things and you would do well to have and use both, but side by side and if you only get to chose one of them the Squeeze wins any day of the week.
Longevity and versatility beats a decent silicone bag.