Initially excited by product reviews and then by actually weighing and including the Sawywer Squeeze Water Filter system in my ultralight gear, I was disappointed and alarmed to see untreated water dripping and squirting directly into the newly treated water.  My hiking companions wouldn’t drink any on my filtered water saying, “your water isn’t clean.  I’d rather pump mine.”

This was the first time I’d ever carried and tried my new Sawyer Filter system.  I noticed it squirting out of two different pinholes mid-bag on the first squeeze and then saw a steady stream flowing between the nylon filler top and the bag.  Good thing we had other filters and Aqua Mira on the same trip.  The sparse weight and convenience to quickly filtering water doesn’t do any good if you still get tainted water into the filtered water.  I’ve written Sawyer and sent photos of the two separate problems with my 1 liter squeeze bag and not heard a word from the company.  A search online shows that other purchasers have had leak problems as well.  Most the forum responses suggest using other manufactures bags. Here is a link to other fails (http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=65866). If that’s the case, then paying for the system and 3 included bags in the first place for $49.95 seems like a rip-off.  Sure you can buy replacement bags but those will probably leak too since they are exactly the same.  And if you need another companies bags why should we pay for 3 Sawyer bags in the first place.  Why risk taking a system that will leak and drip bad water into good water?