Pro tip: I bought a $120 water filter for the Lost Coast Trail and it saved my trip

I was about a day into the hike and my old pump filter clogged up for good. I had to use my backup, a Sawyer Squeeze I bought just before leaving. It was super easy to fill up from the creeks and took maybe two minutes to get a full liter. I would have been in a real bind without it. What's your go-to backup piece of gear for a long route?

4 comments

4 Comments

keith16417d ago

Sawyer Squeeze is the way to go for a backup... I've been in the same spot with a clogged pump filter and that thing saved me on the JMT a few years back. The key is to get the dirty water bag and a clean one, then backflush it every couple days to keep it flowing. Also, if you're really paranoid about a total filter failure, pack a small bottle of Aquamira drops as a dead-simple third option. Those weigh almost nothing and you don't have to worry about them freezing or cracking like a filter. Just make sure you know how long they take to work at different water temps or you'll be sitting there thirsty.

charlieh742mo ago

Backup gear just adds weight and gives you an excuse to not maintain your main stuff properly. If your filter fails that's on you for not testing it before a long trip.

rowanw912mo ago

My backup is a packet of iodine tablets from like 2015. They probably taste terrible but hey, at least I won't die of thirst, just bad decisions.

angela7282mo ago

Check the expiration date on those tablets because they do go bad. Charlieh74 has a point about testing your main gear, but a real backup means knowing it actually works. Old iodine that just makes weird-tasting water isn't much of a plan.