Sawyer Products SP129 Squeeze Water Filtration System w/Two 32-Oz Squeeze Pouches, Straw, and Hydration Pack Adapter

Why it's worth it

A palm-sized filter rated to 0.1 micron that threads onto the included pouches or a standard bottle. It's the filter most thru-hikers carry, it weighs almost nothing, and it's inexpensive enough to pair with a second gift.

Water is the one thing a hiker can't carry enough of. A filter turns every stream and lake into a refill, which changes both how far they can go and how much weight they start with. The Squeeze does that in a package about the size of a bar of soap. It fits in a hip belt pocket, and most people forget it's there until they need it.

The numbers are almost absurd for something this small. Sawyer rates the filter at 0.1 micron absolute — removing 99.99999% of bacteria and 99.9999% of protozoa — with a rated life of 100,000 gallons. That's more water than most people will drink outdoors in a lifetime. Outdoor Gear Lab's long-running filter comparisons gave it their top value score for exactly that reason.

From our review of 8 gifts for hikers and campers

What we like

• +Water is the one thing a hiker can't carry enough of
• +The numbers are almost absurd for something this small
• +It's also flexible about how it gets used, which helps when you don't know their setup

What to know

• –Flow slows as the filter loads up with silt, and it needs back-flushing to recover
• –The included pouches are the weak link