How My Sawyer Squeeze Filter Performed on My JMT Thru-Hike

I tested a brand new Sawyer Squeeze on my 17 day thru-hike of the 211 mile John Muir Trail (250 actual miles). The filter was not backwashed during the entire trip.

Filtration Flow Rate

After 17 days of use without backwashing the Sawyer Squeeze, the flow rate dropped from 1.60 liters per minute to 1.45 liters per minute. After backwashing with just 2 liters of clean water using the Sawyer backwashing coupler, the Sawyer Squeeze flow rate was almost completely restored to its new condition (1.59 liters per minute).

Conclusions

So what did I learn?

• The Sawyer Squeeze maintained a good flow rate after 17 days of constant use (1.45 liters per minute).
• The Sawyer Squeeze flow rate decreased about 0.6% per day over the 17 days of use.
• Backwashing the Sawyer Squeeze restored the flow rate to 99.4% (1.59 liters per minute) of the original flow.