I tested the Platypus Quickdraw and was shocked! | Two Minute Tuesday

Today we’re going to look at the quickdraw water filter from platypus.
This my first look at the quickdraw filter from platypus. I opted for the filter and reservoir combo which cost me $48 dollars US. On the outside of the box, you’ll see a couple of claims that we’ll need to test. Claim one is that the that the filter weighs 3.3 oz and claim two is that it can filter 3 litters of water a minute.
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Music:
In video: epidemicsound.com

[@MightyMidgey]

I purchased one of these filters seperately to use with other setups and it works spectacularly. It has been one of the most reliable filters I own in the course of the past year. I hope the warranty department gets back to you and replaces the filter for ya!

[@SignalOutdoors]

It seems like a great filter when it's working right. Still waiting to hear from the warranty department. 😏

[@chuckychuck]

Naw its junk,, keep waiting, they never replaced my rejected filter, I just ran over it and threw it in the trash, that was 2 yrs ago. I'm just sticking with Sawyer.

[@TylerDebnam]

Have one, works amazing. Tried to buy a second one and had 7 units fail in a row. First 4 failed the integrity check right out of the box. My question is; how many people might not perform the integrity check and get giardia? Super scary. The last 3 failed because they didn't let ANY water through. Maybe 2mL per minute, not the claimed 3L. No exaggeration. I love my working QuickDraw, I just wish I could find a working second one.

[@joshuamoyer8755]

Once I broke in my filter with about 3 liters of water it filters faster than any other filters I’ve used. I’ve owned two and a few of my friends have owned them as well, all the samples that I have seen/used have required the “break-in” period. May not be the problem with yours but a break-in period wasn’t mentioned so it might be a possible solution to your problem with your sample.

[@SignalOutdoors]

Thanks for the comment. You're correct in that this filter does in fact require a break in. I wish they would mention that in the manual as they just say run a liter of water through the filter before a trip. I've run 10 liters of water through mine and it did speed up but mine is still much slower than the advertised flow rate.

[@cal1103]

You need to flush the water through the filter a few times to properly soak it, then the flow rate speeds up. Had mine a year no problems at all great filter.

[@SignalOutdoors]

I left mine to dry out for a few weeks and then tried again. I ran 6 liters of water through mine this morning and it sped up to 2 mins per liter over the 7 mins I showed in my video. I'll do an update video. ✌️

[@brownround9446]

Just used this filter on a 4 day trip and was super impressed with this thing! Mine was terribly slow at first too. Maybe flow more water through to prime your filter. Your clean water flow looks super slow compared to the performance I've seen. And give us an update ! This is a sweet product for a great price and would hate for people to miss out

[@SignalOutdoors]

The feedback on these seems to be mixed. I have yet to get a response back from support on the issues with mine. If I soak mine for 24 hours it seems to improve a little but still doesn't perform at the advertised rate. I've been waiting to hear back from support before creating an update video. I'm happy to hear yours is working well though. The filter does have some great features. ✌️

[@manny4707]

@@SignalOutdoorsI know this video is a year old but they recommend 1-4L of water to ensure proper wet out, if you only completed the wet out once with 1L that may explain the extremely low flow rate!

[@RiverBankViking]

Hello Signal Outdoors. I have a question to you about the Platypus Quickdraw. I'm interessted in buying one of these for the first time to mod it. Is it possible to remove the fibers in it (easly)? I never had one in my hand before. I wanna fill it with natural cotton and active coal (from a aquarium shop) by myself insead of the fibers which come with it. The natural cotton and active coal are 100% compostable and so I could change the filling in the outdoors without harming nature. Also i'm saving waste because I think that way I could use on Platypus for many years. And because I have a fresh filling before every trip I don't have to bother for a moldy filter. What do you think of my idea? Do you think it's possible you remove the fibers, or are those glued in? And if so, are those removeable anyways? Thanks for your video, thumb up. And I hope for a response to my question. Best regards from Germany, River Bank Viking

[@gabe5661]

I bought this filter for my honeymoon in Yosemite and we didn’t discover until we were out there how slow the filer was. It slowed us down a lot but the trip was great. We’re doing the JMT so I’ll need to figure out a solution.

[@Zack_rk]

What a bummer. I’ve purchased two of these filters, both work for me amazingly. I’d say I can get about a liter in about 20 seconds it filters so fast. I hope they get back to you soon!

[@Y2J3469]

This was a 2021 defective model. This is well known and Cascade Designs put a recall out on this for a warranty claim. I can show you a 2022 production model and it is super fast (much faster than a Sawyer) and is the exact opposite of what you show in this video.

[@SignalOutdoors]

Yeah, I hear ya. I wonder if the packaging reflects its production date? I just snagged mine off a store shelf. I emailed support month and months. They never responded and left me on the hook. Not too cool in my opinion especially if they know they have a ton of defective products out in store shelves.

[@BackpackingwithBuckley]

Freaking perfect. I have one but haven't used it yet! These are awesome Aaron. I'm just ashamed it's too late for me. I'll let ya know if mine sucks too!

[@SignalOutdoors]

Lol maybe you'll get lucky. I have seen others get some impressive flow rates with that filter but I'd check it out before heading out with it.

[@BohemianAdventurers]

Hey there Aaron nice work on this one! Well done, needless to say this won’t be a product I’ll be using or recommending. Thanks for posting the review!

[@SignalOutdoors]

Thanks for watching! Hopefully we can get out camping soon. 🏕️🌲

[@ArcticNatureExperiences]

No wonder you were shocked - that is quite a wide discrepancy between claimed and actual performance! That also makes me wonder if the filtration is at the advertised level; which is the main reason for getting a filter? Any thoughts on that? Regards,

[@SignalOutdoors]

Thanks for watching. One feature I didn't mention that I liked about this filter is you can perform an integrity check of the fibers. You filter half a liter of water and then invert the system so the filter is pointing towards the sky. Then force air through the filter. If you see bubbles the filter is bad. I did that with this filter and didn't see any bubbles so I would assume it's safe to use it's just really really slow some reason. ✌️

[@kyfisher3662]

i got the filter, it had mould in it, looked like it had been used before even though i got it new, contacted them and had to use up my warranty to get it looked at, after a bit of back and forth i had them pay for the postage to send it back, today i just received it back in the mail, looks to be the same used product but they have replaced the filter tubes getting rid of the mould. so now i have paid full price to get a used filter, waste my time with emails/post and no longer have warranty on it. and only now have a working filter 2months after originally purchasing it. not satisfied with Platypus as a company and wont be getting any of there products in the future.

[@SignalOutdoors]

Dang sorry to hear that. 😏 I'm actually surprised you were able to get in touch with them. They have yet to respond to my warranty request.

[@kyfisher3662]

@@SignalOutdoors best of luck with what there response is to you!!!

[@idhatemet00]

you probably bought it on amazon...

[@kyfisher3662]

@@idhatemet00 i got it from a local camping store...

[@MeetMeOutside]

Interesting, I just purchased this same set up about a month ago, but I haven’t used it at all yet, still in the box. Guess I will definitely try it out before my next trip ! Now I’m really curious. Cheers

[@SignalOutdoors]

Thanks for watching. I'd be interested to hear what kind of flow rates you're getting. ✌️

[@MeetMeOutside]

@@SignalOutdoors I will let you know ! Cheers

[@alexwbanks70]

Did you let the filter soak for a while? That is a important step.

[@SignalOutdoors]

Yep, I prepped it per the instructions.

[@cptcheshire1890]

Great job, good info., not so great product. I’m happy to have seen this in case me or anyone I know was interested in buying the product.

[@SignalOutdoors]

Thanks for watching. I would have been ok with the faulty product if they could replace it quickly but making the customer wait 12 weeks for just a response is horrible. ✌️

[@thebootbowhunting7413]

I have had 4 of these. 2 originals and 2 warranty replacements. None of them have worked anywhere near advertised. I junked the 2 warranty replacements and went to a befree. This is one of the worst outdoor gear products of all time.

[@SignalOutdoors]

I've switched to the befree as well.

[@EatCarbs]

Dang... seven minutes! I think I'd rather stick to the Sawyer mini. Thanks for the video brother

[@SignalOutdoors]

I have seen others get impressive flow rates with this but I think they produced a large batch of bad filters. I'll do a follow up video down the road. Thanks for watching. 🏕️🌲

[@alexwbanks70]

Never stick with the Sawyer Mini. Get the regular Squeeze! Common Sense Camper would even tell you that. ;-)

[@HikeCamp]

Nice concept but I won't be buying one... 😜 Great 2 min. review but all I needed to know... Thanks Signal.

[@SignalOutdoors]

Thanks for watching Max. Yep, I'm less than thrilled with the product and would steer clear if I were you. 🏕️🌲

[@glynnjennison2112]

Any news yet? I've just been testing mine out, and is exactly the same issue 😡

[@SignalOutdoors]

I still haven't received a response from Platypus about my warranty claim. Try running 1 litter of water through the filter, close it up and leave it sit overnight. I found that mine sped up a little if I do that but mine still isn't flowing at the advertised rate.

[@glynnjennison2112]

@@SignalOutdoors thanks for advice. Will give it a go

[@maritimegirl3612]

Just got mine today. Super disappointed. Slower than molasses

[@SignalOutdoors]

Bummer, sorry to hear that. 😏 Try running a few litters through it. The first liter might be slow but it should be fine after that. If it's still slow it's defective.

[@jamesb7563]

@@SignalOutdoors So now you have run more water through it has the speed increased? If so is it closer to the 3L p/m stat?

[@Ontrail82]

Lmao clearly they sell a very high volume of defective gear 😂😂😂

[@SignalOutdoors]

🤣 I have no idea why they would say that.

[@Ontrail82]

@@SignalOutdoors right? That’s so weird lol

[@robpelton]

Well, wtf. Lol

[@SignalOutdoors]

Lol my thoughts exactly!

[@brettstock3284]

Lol terrible video didn’t even do any more trials

[@SignalOutdoors]

No trials needed, broke is broke. I've tried soaking the filter overnight and the results were still way slower than advertised. Support never did get back to me.