Sawyer Squeeze Review

The Squeeze is among our favorites for its unmatched versatility, reliability, and excellent rate of flow. While it doesn't protect from heavy metals or viruses, it'll keep you safe on trips into the backcountry throughout North America. Its lightweight nature and packability make it perfect for long and light backpacking trips. It takes questionable and smelly water and transforms it into delicious and refreshing. Take it with you on your next trip, either as a backup emergency system for large groups or as your personal carry system.

Performance Comparison

Water Quality

Are you scared of contracting beaver fever? Have no fear; the Squeeze will keep you clear. This tiny filtration system is loaded with a certified 0.1-micron absolute filtration system that can eliminate bacteria, E. coli, protozoa, and cysts from your drinking water. When used properly, the Squeeze should be sufficient in water sources all around North America.

We used this filter primarily while running and hiking in Colorado and Northern Ontario in Canada. Both are areas where we don't have to worry about contracting viruses in the water. After over 50 miles of foot travel in these environments, we were kept hydrated and healthy, even when taking water from questionable, turbid, and flowing water sources.

Since waterborne viruses are not a problem in North America, this filtration system is ideal for this continent! However, it is not a purification system, so it can't remove heavy metals or waterborne viruses, which might be a problem in countries where water quality is not regulated. So, if you are traveling internationally or where viruses and heavy metal contamination are a problem, we couldn't recommend this system.

It's grand for everything else and trips around the United States. It removes microplastics and works well for camping, hiking, backpacking, and trail running. Using the Squeeze improves water quality, turning dirty, contaminated, smelly water into pristine, drinkable water that tastes good.

Durability and Maintenance

Reliability is critical when taking a system deep into the backcountry as your only means of water filtration. It is what keeps you healthy to truly explore the outdoors. The Squeeze is a system that has a few flaws, but when managed properly, it can provide that reliability that is needed with any exceptional water filtration system. We love that one filter is projected to filter 3,780,000 gallons of water.

Let's start with the system's durability flaws. The filter itself is constructed of a durable composite that'll easily hold up to falls and drops. It has many pieces to the system that need to be carried with it. It comes with an extra O-ring. While we didn't personally experience this problem, many online users have complained that this O-ring was not sealing correctly after a few weeks on thru-trails. As a result, we'd recommend carrying the backup provided in case this happens to you.

The second durability issue that we personally experienced several times is the squeeze bags breaking. The squeeze bags are used to collect water, then screw onto the Squeeze filter. You firmly squeeze the bags, pushing the collected dirty water through the system to flow into your hydration bladder or water bottle. We like using this system in this way because the flow rate while drinking isn't compromised. Alternatively, you can carry the squeeze bag with dirty water and drink right through the filter.

In either case, be aware of the bags breaking. The bags are made of plastic that is pretty impervious to punctures and can be thrown around in a backpack. Where they fail is at the welded seams. In most cases, when we experienced a bag break, it was when we were squeezing really hard. So don't be surprised when this happens. For long thru-hikes, we still trust this system, but make sure to bring a few extra bags. Another GREAT alternative is to carry a classic plastic water bottle with you. These bottles are compatible with the threads of the Squeeze filtration system and provide a much more durable “squeeze” bag option.

So, those are the durability issues. Maintenance is another consideration to take into account. This system comes with a syringe that is used to push dirty water back through the system. If you are traveling in areas with silty or heavily contaminated water, the flow rate of the filter will be compromised after a few uses. The syringe needs to be carried (with all its component parts) so that you can backflush the system each time you use it. This doesn't take long; simply load it onto the end and push air through the system to clean it up. Voila…an easy-to-maintain system. Of all the Sawyer systems out there, this is the most durable and the easiest to maintain. While it seems like a lot, maintenance and durability issues are super easy to mitigate, especially when you know the failure points before buying this product. All filters require at least some maintenance and care.

Treatment Time

Treatment time varies depending on how you use the Squeeze. There are a couple of different ways to collect and filter water, which adds to the versatility of this awesome system. Of all the Sawyer products we've tested, including the Micro and the Mini, treatment time and the flow rate are better and, quite frankly, pretty impressive.

The first and most popular way to treat water is by collecting the water in the provided bags and squeezing it through the filter. In this form of filtration, we measured the flow rate by filling up one of the provided bags and squeezing one liter of water through the filter. After three tests, we learned that this larger filtration system filters one liter of water in approximately 40 seconds! This is super fast in comparison to the time it takes the smaller Sawyer products and hand pumps out there. As a result, treatment time in Squeeze mode is pretty awesome. Easy and fast for on-trail practicality.

Another way to filter water is through direct consumption. One can use the straw, attach it to the bottom of the filter with the blue attachment cap, and then drink the water through the filter via the straw. You can use the pouch or a regular water bottle to collect the water alternatively. Screw the filter onto the pouch and drink right through it. While the flow rate isn't as fast as drinking without a filter on your bottle, this provides immediate filtration of water. Either way, the Squeeze offers a fantastic treatment time that makes it easy to filter water, especially if the time to treat is important to you.

Weight and Packability

This system is quite packable for backpacking and hiking adventures. We used it as a backup group filter while backpacking three days into the Gunnison Gorge in Colorado. It doesn't weigh much, and all the components fit into all the nooks and crannies of your backpack.

There is a choice associated with what parts you bring with you on your adventures. The Squeeze comes equipped with a mesh bag, a filter, an extra O-ring, a syringe for backflushing, a straw, a straw adapter, and a few extra bags. On a regular backpacking trip, we'd recommend bringing all the parts, including the extras. You can omit the straw if you know you won't use it. Altogether, all parts of the system are about the size of a big salami sandwich when loaded into the mesh bag. Given the durability issues of the bags, we'd recommend bringing a plastic water bottle in addition to a bag or two on longer adventures. Altogether, this weighs about 5.7 oz.

The filter itself is bigger than the other Sawyer filters tested. It fits nicely into any kind of pack, whether it's a running vest or a backpacking bag. We typically stored it in the lid of the pack to easily access it on longer trips. Overall, we conclude that it is a lightweight and packable system designed for all types of recreation. Hiking, fishing, and backpacking are just a few uses that are ideal for this system.

Ease of Set Up

Set up is relatively easy with this filter. If you're looking for immediate filtration, attach the straw and suck up the water from your source of choice. Alternatively, fill up your bag, attach the filter, and squeeze it into your drinking vessel of choice.

Water access for this system requires you to be close to the source. Unlike a hand pump where you can stick a hose into the water from a high bank, you need to be able to either get your face close to the source for immediate filtration or you have to put the bag of water into the source for collection.

We found that flowing water sources are the easiest to collect from, followed by lakes and ponds. Shallow, non-flowing sources are a little difficult to collect from using the bag system as you need to be able to scoop it up from the source. In this case, you could use the straw to sip at it if needed.

Overall, the setup is pretty straightforward. It typically took us about thirty seconds to set up for both squeeze and immediate filtration. We view this system as simple and easy to use.

Ease of Filtration

The filtration rate on the trail is pretty amazing. Simply set up your system by collecting some water and then squeezing it through the filter. The filtration process, when using the bag system, takes a little bit of patience and a firm grip. Other than that, it's pretty darn easy.

This filtration system has a large surface area that enables a consistent and fast flow, making getting water easy. Drinking right through it provides a sufficient drink in just seconds. During our squeeze filtration tests, it only took about 40 seconds to filter one liter of water, which is significantly faster than other Sawyer products that are smaller without the advantage of a higher surface area.

When filtering, it's important to find a place with level ground to put your vessel so it doesn't tip over. When the terrain is uneven, we put a bottle between our knees. Overall, filtration is easy and doesn't require too much effort, especially when you're drinking right from the filter itself.

Should You Buy the Sawyer Squeeze?

This system comes with many components, including three different squeeze bags, adaptors for in-line filtration to hydration bladders, a straw, backup parts, and a syringe. Sawyer projects this filter to last for 3,780,000 gallons of water filtered, which is a pretty incredible value overall. It's important to note that over time, these bags will need to be replaced. After years of testing and many filtered liters of clean water, our testers deem the Sawyer Squeeze well worth the price, especially when considering the amazing versatility of this personal water filtration system.

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