We tested Sawyer Mini – An incredibly affordable, portable water filter

Sawyer Mini is one of the lightest and most versatile and at the same time reliable water filters you can buy for personal use. The filter removes particles as well as bacteria and protozoa but not viruses. The filter is versatile, can be used in several different ways and at the same time is very reliable. The Sawyer Mini is extremely easy to carry and offers an incredible amount of value for money. If something negative is to be said about this filter, it is about the flow-through ability and how much pressure you need to apply to squeeze dirty water through the filter. Precisely because of the necessary power, the included water bags often break, but there comes the advantage of being able to connect the Sawyer Mini to a PET bottle .

How does Sawyer Mini work

Sawyer uses a hollow fiber technology for this filter. That is, the filter is filled with small, tiny, small hoses in which the water at pressure is pressed through. The hoses are so small that bacteria and protozoa simply cannot get through as they are too large and thus stick to one side of the water filter. Due to this size, other particles also get stuck and the filter reduces the amount of metals and chemicals although they absolutely do not remove it completely, which requires a different technology. The filter also does not remove viruses that are so small in size that they make their way through the small hoses.  However, finding viruses in Nordic waters is unusual, which usually thrives in a warmer environment.

Maintenance

Due to the filter's design, it is natural that sediment sticks to the filter, which clearly affects the filter's flow-through ability. With a clogged filter, you need to apply a higher pressure, usually higher than what the included bags can handle, which quickly leads to leaking or completely broken bags. Therefore, it is a good idea to use the supplied backwash sprayer on an ongoing basis.

The syringe is filled with clean water and pressed against the filter from the side where clean water comes out and then clean water is squeezed through the filter that brings any storages out. This should really be repeated after each use but needed only when the filter starts to become sluggish to use. With that said, always try to purify, as clean water as possible. That is, water without sediment clogging, rather water in motion than stationary.

Lebensdauer

Bei ordnungsgemäßer Verwendung und kontinuierlicher Reinigung sollte dieser Filter in der Lage sein, während seiner Lebensdauer enorm beeindruckende 378.000 Liter zu filtern. Allerdings ist dies nichts, was wir mit Sicherheit bestätigen können, da es sich um Wasser für ein ganzes Leben handelt. Die Reinigung von 1 Liter Wasser mit dem Sawyer Mini dauert etwa eine Minute. Die Zeit kann jedoch je nach verwendeter Flasche und dem Zustand des Filters variieren. Um jedoch zu testen, ob die Lebensdauer wie angegeben ist, müsste der Filter konstant für 262 Tage verwendet werden. Und natürlich sind wir bei Tests unserer Produkte engagiert, aber da ziehen wir tatsächlich die Linie.

Wie lange dauert es, Wasser durch den Sawyer Wasserfilter zu reinigen?

Die Reinigungswirkung ist sofort. Im Gegensatz zu Chemikalien oder UV-Strahlen ist das kontaminierte Wasser trinkbar, sobald es den Filter passiert hat. Der Filter reinigt also einen Liter Wasser pro Minute, was bedeutet, dass 3 Minuten Drücken am Tag den durchschnittlichen Wasserbedarf einer Person zum Trinken deckt, was immer noch wie ein relativ geringer Aufwand erscheint.

Darüber hinaus kann der Filter auf mehr Arten verwendet werden als mit dem mitgelieferten Beutel (und es sollte klargestellt werden, dass der mitgelieferte Beutel tatsächlich irgendwann brechen wird). Der Filter kann auch an ein Hydratationssystem in einem Rucksack oder ein Gravitationssystem angeschlossen werden, was die Filtration erheblich erleichtert. Aber vielleicht am genialsten ist, dass der Sawyer Mini so konstruiert ist, dass er an eine normale PET-Flasche angeschlossen werden kann.

Für diejenigen, die ein wenig um die Welt gereist sind, ist bekannt, dass es leider keinen Mangel an verfügbaren PET-Flaschen gibt, wann immer man eine benötigen könnte. Im unwahrscheinlichen Fall, dass Sie keine verlassene PET-Flasche finden, können Sie auch den mitgelieferten Strohhalm verwenden, der es Ihnen ermöglicht, die kleinsten Pfützen zu nutzen.

Who should use Sawyer Mini

This versatile filter can be used by most people. Perhaps it is most useful on the forest tour where you can not be completely sure that the water is clean and not contaminated by dead animals or droppings but also, of course, for home readiness. It happens, more and more often, that water treatment plants become overloaded due to severe and sudden weather and then contaminated water can come out of the tap. Then Sawyer's water filter will help quickly and efficiently.

So what do we think of the Sawyer Mini?

Overall, the Sawyer Mini gets a high rating. Although there is something to be desired regarding the flow-through ability, the Sawyer Mini offers an incredible amount of value for money, especially here in northern Europe where viruses are uncommon in the water. The ability to purify an incredible 378,000 liters of water through this water filter speaks for itself.  We can unashamedly warmly recommend this water filter to anyone who wants to be a little more sure that they only drink clean water.

Data Sawyer Mini
Weight: 56 gram
Troughput: 1-2 L/ min
Removes: Bacteria, Protozoa, Particels
Size: 10.2 x 7.6 x 20.3 cm
Cost: About 50 Eur
Get the filter here