Bought a $50 water filter for the PCT and it clogged on day 2 near Mount Whitney

I figured a budget Sawyer knockoff would save me cash on the Pacific Crest Trail, but after filtering from a silty creek just south of Lone Pine it was completely blocked. Had to use iodine tablets the rest of that stretch up to Crabtree Meadow, which tasted awful. Anybody else have a cheap filter fail on them mid-route?

3 comments

3 Comments

bailey.jennifer5d agoTop Commenter

Oh boy, you just reminded me of my own cheap filter disaster on the John Muir Trail a few years back. Bought a no-name brand off Amazon for half the price of a proper one, and it clogged within the first hour of use near a muddy creek in Yosemite. Ended up boiling all my water for three days straight, which was a real pain after a long hike. Made me feel like quite the penny-pincher, realizing I'd rather drink iodine-flavored water than admit my gear gamble failed. At least you had tablets handy - I had to borrow some from a nice couple from Oregon who took pity on me. Now I just stick with the basic Sawyer Squeeze, even if it costs more upfront, because nothing ruins a beautiful trail day like a clogged filter and bad tasting water.

abby_morgan185d ago

Disagree, my cheap filter lasted through the whole PCT with just a backflush now and then...

morganmartinez4d ago

What kind of water sources did you run into on the PCT? Were you mostly pulling from clear lakes and fast creeks, or did you hit silty stuff like we got in the Sierras last year? My cheap filter would backflush fine with clean water but the moment it saw glacial flour it just gave up.