My water filter gave out 6 miles into the Smokies last month

I was hiking the Gregory Bald Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and stopped to refill at a stream around mile 6. My Sawyer Squeeze had been working fine for maybe 20 trips before that, but the bag split right at the seam when I tried to squeeze. Water went everywhere and I had no backup. I ended up boiling creek water in my titanium pot for the next two days, which took forever and tasted like campfire ash. The worst part was waiting 20 minutes for it to cool before I could drink. Anyone else have a filter fail on them mid-trip and have to switch to boiling water?

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logansullivan10h ago

Oh man, that's brutal! I've never had a bag split on me like that but I always worry about it. Now I'm curious, how long did it take you to actually boil enough water to stay hydrated for two days? Because I feel like I'd just never catch up and be constantly thirsty.