Yes we have tried this and used it camping.You will notice maybe 1/3 more suction required at first.Give it two days of use and you will not even notice it.The filters really are high flow.
The Sawyers use the exact same filter technology as a kidney dialysis filter(in short that is pretty much what they are).For around 30 dollars you can pick up one of the bottles at wally world and give it a try.
We have quite a few filters.The Sawyers have out performed every other filter by a land slide.
1.The Vario is very costly,requires a ton of work,and is only good for 500 gallons.
2.The emergency straws are cheap,but require more draw than I like and are not made for more than a few days of use.
3.The MSR Sweetwater micro has the same drawbacks as the Vario,though it is less work to use.The filter replacement is even more than a Vario though.
4.The Monolithic is great for a base area.I just can not see packing something that fragile around(pure ceramic filter),and it requires the use of 2 5 gallon buckets to use.
None of the above filters(other than the Monolithic)last more than roughly 500 gallons.Replacement filters are around 1/2 the price of the original units.Though portable,none are what I would call small.If you clog the filter with very dirty water,the filter is useless.
The Sawyer is good for 1 million gallons.It does require around 1 minute of maintenance every 500 gallons of clear water or 50-100 gallons of very dirty water(back flushing).BUT if you do manage to clog it(I have)a simple squeeze ball of clean water to back flush it and your back in business.It is small.Roughly 1.5-2 inches around 4 inches long.In my opinion the Sawyer is the absolute best solution to having a portable ability to filter water.
If someone does have a better more reliable way to filter thousands of gallons of water I am all ears though.The Sawyer is just the best I have found through trial and error.
Last edited:
