My water filter gave out halfway up the Teton Crest Trail last month

It was a Sawyer Squeeze that had been totally fine for maybe 200 miles, but the flow just stopped dead near Marion Lake. I had to boil everything for two days, which was a huge pain and used way more fuel. What's a good backup filter method that doesn't weigh a ton?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_knight4d ago

Man, that sounds rough. My buddy had his Sawyer Mini freeze up on a trip in the Wind Rivers, total brick. He ended up carrying a tiny dropper bottle of bleach as a backup after that, just a few drops per liter. It's basically no weight at all and it'll get you out of a real bind. Not as nice as filtered water, but way better than boiling everything.

rivera.susan4d ago

Oh wow, that's a really smart backup plan. @angela_knight, did your friend say how long the bleach lasted before it lost its strength? I've heard that can be a problem. It seems like such a simple fix for a failed filter, especially in the cold. Makes me rethink my own kit for winter trips.