How To Keep Camelbak From Freezing

Camelbaks and pretty much all bladders are a huge problem in the winter, especially on extended hikes. The hose freezes and the bladder becomes unusable. While convenient in the summer, hydration packs in common cold weather condition accept a lot of disadvantages. But, there are a few tricks you can practise to prevent your hydration pack from freezing.

Then, how exercise yous how to keep a hydration pack from freezing? The best way to foreclose a hydration pack from freezing is not to employ one. Just, if you are using one, insulating the hose, blowing air back into the tube, keeping the pack close to your trunk, and using warm h2o will all assistance prevent hydration packs from freezing.

How to Forbid Your Hydration Pack from Freezing

Hither are some tips from preventing hose freeze-ups when hiking:

• Purchase an insulated tube encompass (available on Amazon) Of course, these don't make your hydration hose freeze-proof, they do assistance. They also help keep your h2o cool in the summer, so you lot can use it year round.
• Insulate the float itself. Yous tin create homemade drink cozy out of fleece.
• Start with hot water (non boiling) to prolong the fourth dimension it takes to freeze.
• Sip often. Not having h2o sit too long in the hose will prevent freezing.
• Blow water dorsum into the bladder after each sip. The less water that stays within the tube, the less chance it has of freezing.
• Keep the float covered at all times, preferably close to your body. You can fifty-fifty tuck information technology inside your shirt or sleeve.
• Wrap a heat warmer in a sock and place it against the bladder.

Some people say adding carbohydrate, electrolytes, or even 4.5oz of vodka volition help foreclose freezing. I oasis't tried this method and while it sounds nice, I doubtfulness information technology will have any significant effect. To make this method upshot, you probably need to add a lot to the water, which will only make you more than thirsty.

But really, the real solution to preventing your bladder from freezing is not using a float at all to avert the problem altogether. I've even heard stories of entire bladders freezing, where hikers cut their bladders to remove the 2lbs of solid blocks of water ice!

Even if you can manage to foreclose your bladder and hose from freezing, it's extra steps and maintenance and take a chance that I would rather not bargain with. There are a lot more variables and risk when winter hiking, and carrying a hydration pack in cold weather simply adds more complexity.

If you're going on a day hike and know the temperature isn't going to get as well cold, and so y'all're probably going to be fine. It's all most personal preference and risk direction.

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Why I Stopped Using Hydration Packs

I stopped using hydration packs in general, except on 24-hour interval hikes in the summer. I find them to have a lot of disadvantages over h2o bottles.

Why I don't think hydration packs are a expert idea:

• They can freeze
• Are harder to refill
• Are more prone to damage (rips, punctures, and leaks)
• Take upwardly room in your pack
• Are harder to clean
• Tin can get funky and sense of taste bad
• And you can't tell how much water is left

And if y'all're doing whatever serious hiking, the hazard is not worth it. It's ever better to bring a h2o bottle anyways. When you're carrying two water bottles, yous're always going to take a backup. Plus, when you're not using your float sleeve in your pack, it'south a squeamish way to store other items. My snow saw fits really overnice my pack's float compartment and doesn't move around.

H2o bottles only offer a lot more advantages over hydration packs. They are easier to fill up, exit more space in the pack, and are just more than reliable. It's always a good idea to comport a water bottle along with a hydration pack equally a backup. Wide mouth bottles are easiest to deal with and have a lot less bug.

One trick to keeping water bottles from freezing is to keep them upside down. This will forbid whatever water within the threads from freezing. Oh yeah, wrap it in a cozy or add together a few socks around it to keep it warm.

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Insulated and Heated Hydration Packs

To exist fair, there is some fancy equipment on the market that does assistance accept care of this whole cold weather freezing problem. Of form, if temperatures are cold enough, just then much can help.

HydroHeater

1 solution I came across online is the HydroHeater by a company chosen Arctic Innovations. I haven't used this myself but plant it pretty interesting. It's basically an insulated hydration pack with a heating element that runs downwards the hose. It'south powered by a battery, keeping your h2o warm down to -40F, which is really cool.

I thing I don't similar the idea of is using battery power to stay warm, unless I take a fill-in. Relying on a tiny bombardment is too risky for me.

Geigerrig Tube

Another solution which helps and is fairly simple is using the Geigerrig Tube. The Geigerrig Tube is a holster that attaches to your pack using velcro straps. It keeps your hose and bite valve out of the cold and air current. It has an inside pocket to add a oestrus warmer, which is pretty neat, and it works with pretty much any hydration pack. You lot can check it out on Amazon.

What Should I Exercise If My Hydration Pack Freezes?

Okay, so yous're hiking, it's cold, and your bladder or hose freezes. What do y'all do?

• The almost common culprit of freeze-ups is the mouthpiece freezing. This is the role that is most exposed. This is unremarkably an easy fix past putting the mouthpiece inside your shirt and letting your body heat thaw the ice. You lot should put every bit much of the hose inside your dress in case other parts are frozen too.
• Some other method for thawing the hose is putting it back inside the pack with a heat warmer. Keep it tucked in right next to the float. The warmer h2o from the blader will assist thaw the water ice.

Some hydration packs come with removable tubes and mouthpieces, such equally the war machine class CamelBaks. If yous have such a pack, you take a much better chance at thawing the ice in the hose. Here's what you can practise:

1. Flip the hydration pack upside down and remove the hose and bite valve. The idea is to not leak water everywhere when you do this.
2. Put the hose and bit valve somewhere close to your torso (inside shirt pocket for instance) and wait until it thaws.

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What You Demand to Know

If you're doing whatever serious hiking, you should make sure you lot're prepared. Information technology'due south notwithstanding fairly easy to get dehydrated in the winter due to the dry air. If you want to bring a hydration pack in the common cold, check the atmospheric condition and know what you are getting into. Know how to proceed your hose and float warm and how to fix it if it does freeze. I always preach testing your gear beforehand. And at the very least, bring a h2o bottle and be prepared in example anything does become wrong.

Source: https://packyourtent.com/prevent-hydration-pack-freezing/

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