Good morning! Today we’re going to have a quick chat about not dying due to bad water. TL:DR; buy a Sawyer Squeeze at a minimum. They are available at every Walmart in the camping section for under $50. It filters out everything. Buy several, one for each person.
The Squeeze by itself will last a lifetime provided you maintain it by
1, backflushing every so often with clean water (don’t toss the syringe!)
2, don’t let it freeze (keep it next to your body in cold weather)
3, don’t let it get contaminated.
The Squeeze by itself is fairly bare bones. It comes with a water pouch, cleaning stuff, and adapters. This allows you to expand your capabilities, however, by creating gravity filter systems with something like the MSR Dromedary bladder (10L shown, my choice)
By having a few tough bladders, you can fill these quickly at a water source, clear the DANGER area ASAP, then go and filter your water at your leisure. Predators know prey comes to water, you do not want to hang out on the X for longer than you need, especially in daylight.
Sawyer does have their own gravity system but it comes with their Mini filter. The Squeeze is superior, buy it and bladders instead. CLEARLY MARK YOUR BAGS “CLEAN” and “DIRTY” and don’t mix them up or you may DIE.
Amazon link to the Sawyer Squeeze: https://www.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-SP129-Filtration-Squeezable/dp/B00B1OSU4W?crid=DJ8OK4RAZKKB&keywords=sawyer+squeeze+water+filter&qid=1699657857&sprefix=sawyer+squ%2Caps%2C88&sr=8-5&linkCode=ll1&tag=&linkId=5ead052e812e7799be2883f56c831c78&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
LouisvilleGun 