Sawyer Mini Review

Sawyer Mini Review

Well this is something that I am very excited about and also very scared. Obviously at this point in writing I have yet to use the Sawyer Mini, so I'm excited to find out how good it will work (if at all), and I also feel rather sick knowing I must find some nasty body of disease infested water and chugging down on it like it's the first pint of the night.

Well before I do that, lets talk to you about this item and hope that when my review is done, I wont be in hospital with the plague.

In the box there is the Sawyer Mini Filter(obviously), a 16oz water pouch, a cleaning plunger(syringe) and drinking straw. It doesn't stop any chemicals or pesticides (so don't use it near farms or in an urban environment), but it removes 99.99999% of bacteria and protozoa. It filters up to 100,000 gallons from fresh water (I guess salt water would still be salty but it could also just be the chemical and pesticide thing), and among its uses, apparently its 'ideal for' hunting and fishing. Not sure about you guys but I don't often try to kill fish and dear by sucking on them through a straw, although I've never actually tried, so who knows.

So it's called a mini and it's not so big that I'd notice it in my kit and it could fit in a pocket easily enough. It's rather useful in a sense that it can be attached to multiple devices such as in line on your hydration bladder, attached to a bottle or with the pouch that's supplied with it, though I dare say you can just shove one end in a puddle and suck away. It can filter up to 100,000 gallons of water which, if my internet does not lie to me, is about 85,000 gallons more than the average person consumes in a lifetime. So really you should only ever need to buy one and it could work for up to 6 people, providing it is kept clean. The way it filters water means that it always retains some left over water in the filter, so if you are in a cold environment keep it near your body so that it doesn't freeze.

Well I think I've dragged out this as much as possible(sorry for that) and I guess I'm going out to find a scummy pond full of bugs. I don't feel so good.

Ok, I found a nasty little pocket of filth up on a mountain near me. I wandered around for half an hour before I filled the pouch up. You can see by the picture that it was rather cold (all the ice around the tree) as it had been snowing a bit the day before. I didn't hang around to get a good picture of me slurping freezing water on top of a mountain and you can just about make out the red coat of one of my mates ditching me to get to the camp and start the fire. I wandered around for a few minutes trying to convince myself that I could just say it worked, and nobody would be any the wiser, but then I wouldn't know how good this little device could have been, and deep down inside I'd despise myself. I manned up and attached the straw, took a deep breath, then started slurping like it was the end of a Slush Puppie (yes there was brain freeze). I readied myself to vomit and had my mates number at hand in case I was too pathetic to walk home and required some air support. To my utter delight it tasted fine, no weird taste or cloudy liquid, just clean water. Cold water, but clean. I was very impressed and quickly caught up to the boys so I could make a cup of tea.

The next day I discovered I had serious man flu, but so did my daughter (who must therefore be a man), and since she didn't drink any of the water, it was just a coincidence. Honestly though this was a surprisingly effective little device and seriously cheap. I wish I had one in my pack a lot sooner. It's small enough that I can fit it in my first aid kit or EDC pouch and just leave it there for 20 years knowing that when the time comes, it's ready. And by then, hopefully, they will have cured man flu.

I got mine from here at a very good price:

https://www.prepperssupplies.co.uk/collections/water/products/mini-water-filtration-system

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