Sawyer
Sawyer Squeeze Filter with Cnoc Premium 2 L Bladder
- Protection: 8/10 What it removes from water, and how well that is proved.
- Flow rate: 5/10 How fast clean water comes through when it is new. Real flow drops as it clogs: see Ease of use.
- Weight: 6/10 How much it adds to your pack.
- Ease of use: 8/10 Filling, squeezing or pumping effort, how fast it clogs in peaty or silty water, and how easy it is to clean.
Backpacking trips of a few days where one or two people share a filter
- Type
- Squeeze
- Removes viruses
- No
- Flow
- Not published
- Weight
- 167 g
- Pore size
- 0.1 µm
- Rated life
- 378541 L
Where to buy
Sawyer Europe £99.95 In stock. Sawyer's UK and Europe shop. Delivery cost is shown at checkout.
View at shop: Sawyer EuropePrices checked 8 Nov 2026 on each shop's own page; shops can change them. We earn no commission on these links; shops are listed by price. More
Our ratings (out of 10)
1 to 10, compared with the whole market. Each says what it's based on. How we score
Protection
From maker's figures 8/10What it removes from water, and how well that is proved. 8: Clearly better than most.
0.1 µm hollow-fibre membrane. Sawyer claims 99.99999% of bacteria and 99.9999% of protozoa; the page for this kit names no standard, but Sawyer publishes an independent laboratory report on the Squeeze filter (Biological Consulting Services, ISO 17025 accredited, 11 February 2023) in which three filters met the NSF P231 requirements for bacteria (more than 99.999999%) and cysts (more than 99.9994%). The method gives a 4 to bacteria and protozoa removal 'tested to a named standard or in a published lab report', so that report earns the 4 for the filter in this kit. OutdoorGearLab's own SGS Labs result (99.9% of bacteria and protozoa) agrees. Sawyer makes no virus claim (OutdoorGearLab's lab found up to 78.6% of viruses removed, which is not enough to rely on): not a 5.
Flow rate
Estimate from maker's specs: filter type (no flow rate published) 5/10How fast clean water comes through when it is new. Real flow drops as it clogs: see Ease of use. 5: Does the job. Average for wild-camping gear.
Estimate from maker's specs
Weight
From maker's figures 6/10How much it adds to your pack. 6: A bit better than average.
167 g for filter and 2 L bladder (Sawyer's page; Better Trail lists the same weight, and Ultralight Outdoor Gear itemises filter 71 g plus bladder 94 g = 165 g), in the 150–299 g band. Sawyer Europe's page shows 258 g, a boxed shipping weight that would be the same band. The backflush plunger is extra.
Ease of use
From reviews 8/10Filling, squeezing or pumping effort, how fast it clogs in peaty or silty water, and how easy it is to clean. 8: Clearly better than most.
Five sources like it: the wide-mouth Cnoc bladder fills in one scoop, squeezes easily, hangs for gravity filtering and backflushes through a coupling (SectionHiker, Better Trail 4.5/5, Adventure Alan, Matt Kessler). It loses a point for the syringe routine, silty-water clogging (Better Trail's Colorado River test) and a spout that is awkward to drink from. OutdoorGearLab gives the Squeeze 8/10 for ease of use. Better Trail and SectionHiker tested this exact kit; Adventure Alan and Matt Kessler tested the same filter with the Cnoc Vecto 2 L, which is the same bladder.
In short
Good for
- Backpacking trips of a few days where one or two people share a filter
- Gravity filtering a litre or two into a pot or bottle
- Long walks where filter life matters more than weight
- Filtering into other bottles rather than drinking directly
Strengths
- Rated to 378,541 L, a very long rated life
- Wide-mouth 2 L Cnoc bladder fills in one scoop and is far tougher than the old Sawyer pouches
- Squeeze, gravity or in line, with a coupling to backflush through a bottle
- Backflushing restores flow and the filter shrugs off knocks
- 167 g in total
Weaknesses
- Heavier than a BeFree (76 g) or a Mini kit (97 g)
- Sawyer publishes no flow rate; reviewers say up to 1.7 L/min and slower in silty water
- Backflushing needs the syringe or the coupling and clean water
- Awkward to drink from directly; best used to fill another bottle
- Does not remove viruses reliably (OutdoorGearLab's lab found up to 78.6%); the page for this kit names no standard, and Sawyer's independent report is for the filter alone
- Not safe after freezing: Sawyer says to replace a filter you think froze, with no warranty
- No replacement cartridge; the bottom gasket can fall out
Sources
We haven't tested this ourselves. Every score comes from these specs, tests and reviews.
ShowHide sources (7)
- Sawyer: Squeeze Water Filtration System + Cnoc Premium 2 Liter Bladder
- SectionHiker: Review of the Sawyer Squeeze Water Filtration System with CNOC Premium 2-Liter Bladder (Sawyer donated the filter)
- Better Trail: Sawyer Squeeze + Cnoc 2L Bladder Review (this kit, four trips)
- Adventure Alan: Sawyer Squeeze x Cnoc Collab Review (Squeeze + Vecto 2L)
- Matt Kessler - Revelo (YouTube): Sawyer Squeeze + CNOC Vecto Review (27 days in the backcountry)
- OutdoorGearLab: Sawyer Squeeze Review (filter with its new larger bag)
- Biological Consulting Services for Sawyer: Squeeze microbial filtration efficacy testing (NSF P231), report dated 11 February 2023