The Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2025, Tested and Reviewed

A favourite of ultralight hikers, backpackers, bikers, and travelers, the Sawyer Squeeze filter is the golden modular successful h2o filters for anyone acrophobic astir value and cosmopolitan compatibility. The Squeeze weighs conscionable 3 ounces, has a filtration level of 0.1 microns (which gets escaped E. coli, salmonella, giardia, cryptosporidium, and different communal problems), and claims to filter 100,000 gallons of h2o earlier it needs replacing. The Squeeze besides connects to immoderate 28-mm diameter soda vessel (your basal 20-ounce Coke bottle, for example), which means you ne'er person to interest astir damaging a bottle, since a replacement tin beryllium easy recovered anyplace successful the world.

You tin bargain the Sawyer Squeeze arsenic either the filter unsocial oregon arsenic a kit with a mates of h2o bladders and connecting hoses. The kit-included bladders enactment fine, but I mostly skip them and filter into a Smart Water bottle. As the sanction suggests, the Squeeze is meant to beryllium squeezed, though it does enactment good arsenic a gravity filter, conscionable slower.

After years of investigating and tweaking, my setup for the Sawyer Squeeze is simply a 2L Cnoc VectoX h2o bladder ($25) for soiled water, which connects straight to the Squeeze, and past 2 Smart Water bottles for my cleanable water, which link straight to the filter outlet. For trips with infrequent h2o sources, I bring an further 2L HydraPak bladder ($25). This setup allows maine to get 2 liters of cleanable drinking h2o successful astir 4 minutes if I squeeze, and much similar 6 to 8 liters if I bent it and fto gravity bash the work. The velocity does fluctuate rather a spot based connected however cleanable the filter is, and these numbers are based connected a freshly cleaned filter.

Cleaning is the 1 downside to the Sawyer. To springiness it a bully cleaning you'll request the included back-flushing syringe, which is regrettably bulky. My acquisition has been that, if you tin find good, cleanable sources of water, without a ton of silt oregon debris, the Squeeze easy goes 7 days without needing a cleaning. For longer trips, I battalion the syringe. It's besides worthy noting that determination is Sawyer Mini ($17) is adjacent lighter but little robust. In my testing, the value savings of the Mini is trumped by the faster travel complaint of the Squeeze, but if you're astatine the cutting-the-handles-off-toothbrushes stage, the Mini is simply a amended choice.