Reddit reviews Sawyer Products SP115 Fast Fill Adapters for Hydration Packs

I use a BeFree 1L bag, and this

It's fast, easy, and mostly idiotproof.

Nope, read it correct. The mouth piece has a quick disconnect so you can pop it off. Sawyer sells a kit to make a normal hose have this function so you could do it with any reservoir. But you can take the one pice out the will go into the end of the drinking tube and hook it up to the outlet of your Sawyer with a small piece of tubing. I was about to type out a detailed explanation but the Amazon page has it all in pictures. Or YouTube "Sawyer quick disconnect" and there are videos showing it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EURFBKI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_o8oQCbY7Y92XR

I use a bladder because of the easy access, easy fill, and reusable aspect of the Hydrapak 3L. It comes with a weight penalty of 48g (150g Hydrapak 3L + hose vs. 102g Smartwater 1L [x3]). I'm not concerned with the durability of the bladder. I store it in the side pocket so I don't have to unpack it, and I can easily monitor water levels.

On a similar note, you can add an attachment to your bladder hose to quickly refill it without unpacking your pack as well.

Different strokes for different folks.

You can unscrew the sports cap part of the BeFree and fit the Sawyer adapter on it.

Also, the BeFree screws into Hydrapak Seekers

This. Pick up the Fast Fill Adapter, and you can quickly mod nearly any hydration pack to have quick-connect inline access for your Sawyer.

There are a few reasons:

• They can be a pain in the ass to remove and put back in the badder pouch holder with a full backpack. Though there are solutions to that issue as well.
  
  
• I've had my badder leak on me during a hike. The point where the hose attaches to the bladder wasn't seated right and I lost most of my water. Of course that was an ID10T problem. I didn't know that until I got to my campsite that had no water access. That sucked.
  
  
• I pack all my fears which gets really heavy. One of my fears is a lack of water on a trip so I pack a huge water bladder. The story above didn't help me with that fear. Actually used to pack 2 full water bladders for a hike that followed a river. I'm trying to learn I don't need all of that AND I want to hike faster and with less weight. So trying the Smart Water bottle route.

I use this quick disconnect on the drink tube of my hydration pack to make it easier to fill w/ filtered water:

https://smile.amazon.com/Sawyer-Products-Adapters-Hydration-Packs/dp/B00EURFBKI/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sawyer+quick+disconnect&qid=1554319049&s=gateway&sr=8-1


I have an Osprey pack, but it should work w/ a Camelbak assuming that the tubing diameter is similar.

I have a good eye :)

Apologies for the wall of text, but I tend to ramble on topics that I'm passionate about, hopefully some of the ramble below will help.

Which Inflatable pad do you have, I'm guessing you're a side or stomach sleeper like myself?

I have the Klymit kings static V inflatable pad, I like that it packs really small and it's very light weight, but it's not entirely comfortable for side sleeping or stomach sleeping. I did once camp with my tent on sand and this was comfortable, but on regular dirt it's not.

I then tried the REI camp bed 3.5 self inflating pad. It's a self inflating pad which is a hybrid between a foam and an inflatable. At 3.5" thick, it's incredibly comfortable for side & stomach sleeping, but the drawback is weight (~5lbs) and it does not pack down small, I have to strap it to the outside of my pack.

If you are a similar sleeper like myself, you may want to check out hammock camping. I picked up an ENO double nest for just relaxing around camp or in the back yard at home and found it to be the most comfortable naps I've taken outdoors. While I can't sleep on my stomach, side sleeping is very comfortable and I actually fall asleep on my back which is unheard of. I'm not saying to run out and buy a full hammock camping set up, but maybe at the next REI garage sale, see if there is a really cheap ENO double nest and straps and give it a try in the back yard, you may want to convert afterwards :)


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Headlamps? As in more than one? + a lantern? If I may suggest an alternative / weight savings..... This year I switched over to using a Olight S1 Mini baton because I always hike with a hat and the double clip allows it to slide right on the brim. It's also incredibly light weight and has several light levels. The back cap is also magnetic, so when tent camping, it sticks to the tent poles, for hammock camping I just hang it on the ridge line by the clip. The lowest level is 5 lumens I believe, which is dim but more than enough to see your foot placement on the trail at night. It also has the strobe setting which can come in handy if you find yourself in trouble to disorient an individual or an animal. (your post above mentions the fear of being a solo hiking woman, so this would be a good tool in conjunction with a decent knife). While it doesn't have a red filter, there are tons of youtube videos on how to make your own red filter cap for night vision savings.


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A Camelbak is always a must have for me, I get dehydrated quickly, so I carry the 3L version. I also carry a smart water bottle on the exterior side pocket of my atmos. Reason being is they are significantly lighter than a nalgene or other plastic bottles on the market and they're very very cheap to replace. Also, you can use this bottle for water enhancers such as Mio, crystal light, or a hydration powder, without risking an issue to your Camalbak. I've found having Mio on a trip is a great mental pick me up when it's hot and I'm tired.


I have not used a life straw, but for any overnight or distance trip, a must have for me is my Sawyer filter and 1 squeeze bag. I went with the Sawyer because it will allow me to refill the giant 3L Camelbak with this adapter without digging out the Camelbak, (see the 4th picture down). The squeeze bag is for dirty water only, so I do not have to worry about dirty water contamination with other items. Lastly, with this adapter I don't have to bring the syringe to clean it, this adapter's threads will fit the smart water bottle, or a coke bottle, and allow me to flush out the filter. While I've yet to have to flush it on a trip, it's a good thing to have for after the trip and cleaning things.

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I used to have a few must have items, but recently I've been weeding them out to save weight. Most of them are comfort items and I am the individual who packs with the mindset of "what if this happens.....", so I tend to pack things I rarely use. I really love having a warm meal, so my Jetboil is usually a staple. Since it is a gas burning stove, I could (in a survival situation) use it to boil water or start a fire to keep warm. However, foods can be re-hydrated with cold water, it might take longer and not be as delicious, but it saves the weight of the jetboil and I have the sawyer for clean water anyway, and a small bic lighter is a fraction of the weight, so I've done without it on the last few trips.

I've moved on to the mentality of packing items that are multi-purpose, try to cut out any redundancies to save weight. While I am no where near being considered ultralight, I've started incorporating their ideals into my packing to help out. You may want to check out their subreddit.

My buddy Scott is the one I always go to for questions related to backpacking/ hiking, he's been doing it far longer than I have, and seems to always be ahead on the new gear or techniques. He started a blog recently on his findings and tips/suggestions, it may be worth a look: Hack your pack

Hopefully this ramble helps!

I use a 1.8L Platypus Hoser, since I've found that if I don't use a hydration bladder, I tend not to drink enough water to keep hydrated if it's above about 5C, but I am generally hiking pretty close to water sources and don't need to carry a ton. I've solved the annoying refill issue with the fast fill adapters for my Sawyer filter. Total weight penalty vs a pair of clean SmartWater bottles is on the order of 40g, and I get the benefits of a gravity feed setup when filtering into my bladder. The bladder itself weighs 40g, the tube/mouthpiece/quick disconnects add up to 71g, plus whatever the filter and dirty water container of your choice are. I've stuck with the Sawyer bags (23g for 16oz), because I have them, and if you're gravity feeding instead of squeezing the hell out of them, they're plenty durable.

The only drawback is that a small bit of air works its way into the system with every refill, and you have to deal with that every couple of days to keep a decent usable capacity. I consider it a small price to pay.