Our Sawyer 4L gravity system filter is becoming a real bear to attempt backwashing and filtration times are sloooow.

Our trip starts Friday and I am thinking of purchasing the Platy tomorrow to replace/back up our Sawyer. Excellent reviews seen here, anyway.

Some observations and questions:

1. The Platypus clean bag does not appear to have a spigot for dispensing other than the hose inlet. This makes it much less convenient than the Sawyer for continuous filtration/dispensing without rearranging the bags. Any workarounds folks have found handy?

2. The connection barbs on both systems look very similar. Might I be able to plug the Platypus male connectors to the female connections on the Sawyer bags?

Ive used a sawyer for years, recently got a platypus, I had the same concerns. Its actually not that bad.

To empty the clean back you simply clip the hose clamp, disconnect the hose from the clean side of the filter, put the hose in your water bottle and release the hose clamp. Pretty easy.

Still not as convenient as the sawyer spigot, and it requires that the dirty bag is empty, otherwise it will keep filtering water. Or you can disconnect the quick release from the dirty bag and it will close off the dirty bag.

I hadnt thought of trying to connect the clean hose of the platypus to the sawyer clean bag barbs, but I plan to give it a try later this evening - depending on how quick of an answer you need I can report back.

Thanks, BigBear! Yes, we leave tomorrow morning early. We’ll go through Duluth at around 10 am and TrailFitters is holding a Platy system behind the counter for me.

So if you could check it out and reply tonight, great!

We just got back from Quetico, had my platy 4L with, but i had one of those 5 gallon collapsible jugs, we just dumped straight into that instead of the clean bag. i think a 2.5 gallon would be better, we never needed more than half full on the 5 gallon jug for 8 people.

You could also just replace the filter with the sawyer squeeze for $30-$40 if you're fond of the Sawyer bag system.

cycle003: "You could also just replace the filter with the sawyer squeeze for $30-$40 if you're fond of the Sawyer bag system. "

Yeah, that might be in the cards for the future. Right now, we’re in need of a ready-made solution; my procrastination left me no time for a DIY.

On the brighter side, after running several bags through all afternoon, I got a good backwash. We’ll see if the time comes down to under an hour... :-o

We used a kidney stone strainer to pre-filter the water going into the 'dirty' bag. You would be amazed how much gunk and tiny bugs it catches!

As far as I know, the squeeze will just fit right into system, no DIY except you may have to pull off the hose fittings and just put the hose on the squeeze. At least that's how it worked for me when I replaced a .02 with the squeeze. I also used a mini with the sawyer bag when backpacking. Here's what my squeeze looks like if you remove the drinking cap.

So here's what Ive found - Platypus dirty bag -> Platypus Hose -> filter -> Sawyer clean hose -> sawyer clean bag.

Worked perfectly.

Quick release male end of sawyer hose was pressure fit too tight for me to remove by hand. I cut off the male connector, and pushed the sawyer clean hose onto the barbs on the clean end of the Platypus filter - it fit very tightly.

I havent run any water through it but the only non standard connection is the sawyer clean hose pressed onto the barbs of the clean end of the platypus filter. And based on how much pressure it took to push this hose on, I have full confidence in that connection.

Well done, thanks.

I will probably get the system and use it as sold for this trip. Then work on possible adaptations for future trips. If nothing else, someone in the family will be gifted one or the other system, so no loss.

Final update for tonight: Sawyer system filtered 4L in 25 min. Pretty bad, but might have been fine for the two of us this trip. Certainly no match for our men’s group (8) coming up next month.

Don't lose the black cap that goes on the clean side of the filter. It's useful to prevent the filter from draining & air locking on you.

S-biners work very well for attaching the bags to a length or rope wrapped around a tree.

I used the 4l platypus recently, and it worked great.


A spigot would be nice on the clean bag. I just hung the dirty above the clean in a tree branch, when I wanted to used the clean, unhook the hose from the filter and pour it into whatever you need. Since it's gravity driven, simply hold the end of the hose higher than top of the water level in the bag, and it quits coming out.

The hoses are soft clear plastic that comes off the barb on the filter easily, so backwashing is a piece of cake and takes seconds. My main concern is will those hoses stay flexible, or stiffen up after time like plastic tends to do?

I didn't use a stop watch. I'd guess that it took less than 3-5 minutes to filter 3-4 liters of water.

We've had the Platypus 4L for 7 years now and it works great. The hoses are just as pliable as the day we bought it. To keep the filtering process fast, we back flush it (it takes <10 seconds) after every fill.

I've read recently that a Dawn dish bottle cap will fit on the clean bag but we haven't tried that yet. It can be a bit tricky pouring out of the clean bag when it's full so a bottle cap like that would be really handy.

When more than two of us are on a trip, we also bring along a 4L Platypus water tank and filter the water directly into it. That way we have clean water in the clean water bag as well as the water tank.

The 1oz nalgene bottle that REI sells fits the cap perfectly. I've also read that 20oz pop bottle caps will fit but you should test several to ensure a good fit.

I can attest to the nalgene cap & water-tightness, as I carried my clean bag full to dry camps on a couple backpacking hikes on the Ice Age Trail as well as in the Philmont backcountry.

Yet another example of how this site — and you guys — are the best. Currently having dinner and drinks at Poplar Haus (yum) and prepping for tomorrow’s Lizz Lake entry. Already initiated the new purchase — 4L in under 3 minutes! I’d say we’re good to go. Cheers!

Oh my god, the Platypus is SO worth the investment. Quick, easy, simple and fairly compact. What else could you ask for? There's a reason these things are so popular.

I've been field testing our for the past 4 or 5 years on trips. Can't remember exactly how long, but we've never had a problem, malfunction, or negative thought about this thing.

mirth: "Don't lose the black cap that goes on the clean side of the filter..."

Needless to say, it only took 2 trips to lose that dang little black cap. Actually, I know it came home with me; it just vanished somewhere between the unpacking and the storage after that second trip.

So, I called Platypus (actually, the parent company, Cascade Designs, Inc.), and requested a replacement. The first time, they sent the clean reservoir closure cap. I call again. This time, they sent the shut-off clamp. I call again. Third time's a charm. Although on their parts list it's labelled 'cleanside cap,' nobody in customer service knows what it's actually called down in the warehouse.

So, I figure that, rather than in my pocket, I have to come up with a better way to keep track of this little bugger while running each 4L supply though the system. Ta-dah!.. the lowly rubber band. Duh.

Just thought I'd pull up this old thread to share my 'DIY' accomplishment:

I emailed them and got lucky on my first request with the right part. Believe it or not I successfully held on to the original for 5 years until I lent the system to a friend to take to Philmont. Oh well. Last year's trip I found one in a campsite on Alpine so now I have an extra......

Good idea on the rubber band. I will sometimes just jam it in the holes that the strap on the bags pass through, or just lip it on an S-biner clip. I also like to keep a ziploc in the pouch for the filter to store my closure cap for the clean bag & keep it clean while not in use.

I effectively lost the black cap by putting it in a safe place that I cannot recall. I bought the 4L Platypus because a trip mate insisted on filtering on a recent trip. Great system, simple, effective, fast. However the notation on the "Dirty" bag of "Zip shut to close, invert to test" is terrible advice.

Smart water bottle has a pop cap that works for pouring.