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Grayl water filter

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Jan 3, 2015
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Location
Mid coast, Maine
I’m not usually one to write a review, but felt the need to share my experience with this water filter.
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Sorry the actual product is not here because I threw it away already.
I thought this was a good idea but for me it was a big fail. The idea is (and you can look on line for what I mean) you fill one canister then you press down the insert that filters the water into another container with a lid and the filter is the orange thing in the picture stays inside the outer container. I don’t know if that makes sense but as I said you can find it on line.
The package says a 15 second press and the container is filtered. Good for 300 presses or 40 gallons. Way more than I would use on a canoe trip for my needs.
When I bought it the guy at the store said to pre filter the water through a bandanna or something and it will extend the life of the filter, so that is what I did.
Here’s my actual experience. After 10 presses it was really hard and took almost a minute. By the time we were about 18 presses my son was sitting on it for 15~20 minutes to filter the same amount. It’s a good thing I wasn’t particularly worried about the water because we just stopped using it at that point. I tried swishing the filter to see if I could rinse off anything to make the flow better but to no avail.
When I got back home I was watching a YouTube of an influencer that was touting how great it was, so I decided to call the company. I dialed the number on the packaging for customer service and got a recording that they would call me back as soon as they could. I left a polite message and my phone number. A week went by with no response, so I called again. Another week with no response so another call, four times I tried to talk to someone at the company so see if there was something I could have done differently but never got a response.
So that is my experience with this water filter and company.
Has anyone had a better experience?
Needless to say I’m in the market for a new filter system, any recommendations from actual experience?
Jim
 
Sorry for the lousy experience you endured. As for a filter to recommend, I still use the basic Sawyer Squeeze; not the Mini version. I can backwash it easily enough when on a trip and it's held up remarkably well for a product that didn't cost much. My current filter is at least 3 years old. The two things I would caution you about is don't let the filter freeze and be sure to run water through it periodically to keep the interior operating. The one time I forgot to keep the interior moist I had to soak it before I could use it again.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
Jim- I’ve heard similar complaints about that system.

I’ve had good luck with Katadyn BeFree filters. I’ve had one for several years and no issues.

Bob
 
i rigged a sawyer squeeze and a 2 liter cnoc water bag into a gravity fed filter. by far the simplest, lightest, and easiest to use water filter i've ever used, be it solo or in a group.
 
I also use a Sawyer Squeeze and have been happy with it. In addition to the qualities @snapper mentioned (easy to backflush, affordable), I like that it can be used as a gravity filter. And it’s pretty compact—great if you do backpacking in addition to canoe tripping!

Platypus GravityWorks filters are nice too, and were the choice of the summer camp I led canoe trips for after college. I liked the design of the GravityWorks better than that of the Sawyer Squeeze set up as a gravity filter…but it only works as a gravity filter, and it’s more than triple the price of the Sawyer! For my personal use, the Sawyer’s the better choice, but the Platypus was fantastic for running canoe trips with a bunch of kids.

Edit: looks like @gadabyte and I think alike! I use an MSR Dromedary bag for the clean water and like it a lot.
 
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