Sawyer Mini Water Filter - Is It Worth It?

I have to be honest, I was skeptical of this filter after seeing so many videos and mentions of it on other YouTube videos. I didn't think that something like this would become my go to filter. The cost, ease of use, and in field service is what makes this filter stand out above all the others.

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[Ben-hbmy]

Love this filter, have actually drank from a stinking animal watering hole in the bush in Malawi and the water was fine, even tasted good!!

[BriarJumper]

great review. BTW don't let it freeze or membrane will crack and it won't filter properly. The larger sawyer filter flows quicker and is good to take for more than one person as you can share it. Also you should add a charcoal filter as sawyer doesn't catch chemicals like pesticides etc.

[TheFivepoint]

Used mine on hike to Comanche Lake in the Sangre De Cristo mountains. Filtered the lake water into Smart bottle, crystal clear and tasted like bottled water. I agree, a liter bag is better than the bag that comes with it. Very happy with the Sawyer.

[trevorpark]

Hey mate, might make life easier to just fill up the smart water bottle into the water source and screw the Sawyer mini onto the bottle and drink straight from it! :)

[oldtimerlee]

Good review! I like the Sawyer Mini, too. Have them in our grab/go & vehicle get-home bags. Along with the Squeeze with the 5 gal bucket kit for base camp, home (as applicable).
Tip: To make filling the bag easier, especially when water is in a pool, as shown, cut a disposable water bottle in half. Use a flame to slightly melt the cut edge of the bottom half. This will smooth any burrs from cutting. Then, use this as a dipper to fill the bag. When done, fold up the bottle and stow away. Weighs almost nothing & takes little space. Hope this helps, a bit.

[WillNGo]

I've decided to go with the Sawyer. but not the Mini, and to get another Platypus 3L bag and a couple of tube quick releases. The Sawyer was also recommended by REI. I think the small opaque bags, with the small openings aren't the best way to collect water. I'll use my old Platypus for this. It has a large opening with a slider to seal it. It's been 100% reliable. With the quick release adapters I can connect the Sawyer to it and drink from the mouthpiece attached to the other side, or I can connect it through the Sawyer to my new 3L bag. The 'dirty' Platypus bag is clear, so light can help kill bacteria, it opens up so I can flush it, use a brush on the inside and leave it open to fully dry out. I don't know if I'll always hike with both bags.
Reading Amazon reviews about other large water bags, many are criticized for leaking and being unreliable. Maybe this is why Sawyer doesn't offer these bags. Two more things. First, I have no idea what any of the materials are made out of, so if they're the same as Nalgene... than I'm being inconsistent. And Second, I had a water filter/treatment failure this past spring, and paid for it repeatedly for about a day and a half, so I'm very leery of making another mistake. What's worse is I'm not sure what went wrong. Thanks again for your video.

[EDCAdventures]

Just took mine on a trip with me as well. Works well for such a small package. Wish the flow was a bit better but I'm still happy with it.

[ginofoogle]

this filter does not remove any chemicals or metals out of the water tho.. so carefull about using this in a stream that has any mines or factories in the area..

[knowthyself]

i just bought two, thanks for the review

[RViscara]

I just used mine last weekend and it was impressive. Only downside I would say is the Sawyer bag bottle. Trying to hold it upside down to drain clean water into a bottle is a bit floppy and needs two hands which leaves you with no hands to hold the clean water bottle below it that is starting off empty. Meaning you keep knocking the empty bottle over. They need to make the Sawyer bottle with a hole mount to be able to hang the Sawyer bottle from a tree and place a bottle under the filter.

[Oldsparkey]

Check out the Evernew Water Carriers to use with the mini in place of the stock bags which come with it. I like the 1.500 ml ones. Look around on the web since they can be purchased locally ( here in the USA ) and not from the manufacture in Japan. I got mine from CampSaver.

[xtevetyler]

i love my sawyer and live with it in my hand, it goes everywhere i do, not one drop of water passes my lips unless it has been filtered, how the hell i lived without the thing in the past, i use it in the house the mountains the forests, i cannot fault the thing and its so cheap and convenient

[MorkusReX]

Thanks!
Why didn't you just fill the bottle and attached the filter to the bottle?

[Devil]

If you carry a smart water bottle with the sport top on it, you can drop the bag and the syringe.

[a.s.]

what breed is your dog? he's so gorjuice

[jameswilsin]

I have a pump one it works great hose stays in the water and i can fill a gallon jug in 45 seconds

[chitji]

What if the bag breaks? Would you be able to screw a normal bottle on it?

[JSAdventure]

bought one after watching your review!!

[WillNGo]

I've had the MSR Pump handle, okay but always a hassle. I can see no reason that they cannot figure out how to make the water intake float below the surface, with some way to control the hose to keep it in a general position. It's like they made the thing having no idea how it might be used. Making it float just below the surface should be dead simple. So long as you have any part above the surface, the buoyancy of the below the surface part can be exactly designed to a specific depth. Another name for this method is called a boat.
I just bought one of these and I'm looking for work flow options. Using the Smart Water bottle for back flushing is a good tip.
btw the Smart Water Bottle? I use them too. But keep in mind when any of these bottles get a bit worn, bent, crunched, they start leaching plastic. Not a critical consideration but good to be aware of. (I looked at all the Nalgene bottles I could find and none of them were made of any recommended 'safest' plastic. I think I'd choose a newish Smart Water bottle over a Nalgene. Doesn't mean you're going to die if you use one.... and keep in mind up until about 10 years ago epoxy was considered food safe and best coating for children's items like wooden cribs. The Resin part of epoxy is 90% BPA. I use water bags, like for the camel, this one, and stainless steel.

[EmuMan]

Do you have a link to the smart water bottle?