Can bladder-packs with sippy-tubes be kept unfrozen?

Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

The bottle upside down on hotpack sounds great but I'm interested in
the bladder approach, too.

--JP

Considered carrying bladder and tube inside jacket? You could use one
of the company ID holders with the pull out string to attach the tube
to a jacket or vest front. CamelBak has tube covers, but they don't
stop freezing at the feed end, especially much under 20F. I prefer the
Nalgene bladders and REI Novara, but they would still require getting
a tube cover from CamelBak, which would fit too tight to come off.

"Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com)" wrote:

Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

The bottle upside down on hotpack sounds great but I'm interested in
the bladder approach, too.

--JP

On Jan 17, 7:49*am, "Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com)"
wrote:
Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

The bottle upside down on hotpack sounds great but I'm interested in
the bladder approach, too.

--JP

I've had fairly good luck with the Camelbak with the insulated tube as
long as I keep it inside a layer or so and remember to blow the water
back into the bladder after I drink. Also, putting hot water in
initially helps for a while.

bw

On Jan 17, 9:49*am, "Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com)"
wrote:
Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

The bottle upside down on hotpack sounds great but I'm interested in
the bladder approach, too.

--JP

I've struggled mightily with this. No the camelbak thermal tube does
not prevent freezing it slightly lowers the freezing point. I may just
forget it when race temps are below a certain point, like maybe 20f.
Much colder and it freezes quickly. Last year I'd begun to experiment
with adding dispoable heat packs to the camelback. I taped them to the
bottom of the bladder at the hose. Once you fully tape those things,
they dont get the 02 they need and shut right down. When you rip them
its like gravel inside & all over the place. I might try to use less
tape on the heat pack. I also put some heat packs on the hose near the
mouthpiece. Still a work in progress. I did have some sucess with it,
but it's tricky stuff. For training, it works fine to just slow down &
drink. If you do that frequently enough the tap doesnt freeze. During
a race you get busy going uphill or downhill or catching up and during
these higher speed descents, or longer durations, once the tap shuts
off it's usually done for the day. Plus you can get distracted trying
to thaw it en route.

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008, Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com) wrote:

Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?


I often use a Camelbak when skiing, skating or kicksledding. I
usually put the bladder inside my outer layer of clothing. The water in
the bag usually warms ups considerably during the tour. But the
temperature inside the bladder isn't the problem, it's the temperature at
the end of the tube and the drinking valve. I try to keep as much of the
tube as possible covered by clothing. And blow back the water after
taking a drink. If I forget to keep it covered or blow back, I sometimes
get freezing in the valve. Another idea is to take small sips frequently,
rather than a few big slurps.

I haven't tried foam insulation yet. I've
seen pictures of people with really thick foam insulation

A quick look around and I found this:
http://www.skridsko.net/skridskonet/...v.asp?ID=25518

The guy on the right has what look like water pipe foam insulation on the
drinking tube.

--

David Dermott , Wolfville Ridge, Nova Scotia, Canada
Ice 2008: http://www.dermott.ca/ice08/icefotos.html

I

The best approach I have found so far is to first start with hot water
in the bladder. Insulate the drink tube with thick foam insulation.
Use electrical tape and tape a hand warmer heat pack to the end of
drink tube just before the valve. This is where the tube usually
freezes. And finally and most importantly drink often.

On Jan 17, 9:49*am, "Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com)"
wrote:
Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

The bottle upside down on hotpack sounds great but I'm interested in
the bladder approach, too.

--JP

My best experience has been to extend the tube up, purge air in via
the bite valve (emptying the tube into the bladder) and releasing the
valve. It takes an extra second but there will be no water (or very
little) left in the tube to freeze.

I too have had both success and miserable failure in very cold
conditions with a Camelback and the insulated hose, starting with hot
liquid. I put it under a layer of clothing if that is practical. They
key thing seems to be blowing the liquid back out of the tube, and
frequent sipping. A couple of times I have forgotten about drinking
for the first half-hour of a race, and found it already frozen - very
irritating to be carrying a useless bag of warm water on my back and
still having to suffer wet gloves from using the feed station.

In article ,
Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com) wrote:
Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

No, it just delays the inevitable if you're out long enough. They
only thing I've found that works is the BCA Stash packs where the
tube is encased in a special zipper pocket in the shoulder strap.

_ Booker C. Bense

Originally Posted by Booker Bense

In article ,
Jeff Potter (of OutYourBackdoor.com) wrote:
Is there an easy way to do this?

A common way of routing tube from pack into clothing where it can hide
and stay warm til needed. ?

I see that some bladder-packs with sippy-tubes are sold with foam
insulation. Does this work?

I have experimented a lot with the camelPak in very cold conditions.

I have removed the insulation so I can see the color liquid. Because if any liquid remains in the tube after blowing it back, it freezes quickly.
This is more important than anything the insulation might offer.

Keeping it within clothing and close to your body works okay.
But with ski racing you don't want to be digging with gloves and poles on.
I have glued a piece of velcroe to the black nozzle cover and another piece to a shoulder strap near my neck on the Camelpak.
Having the nozzle near my neck helps keep it warm.
I can grab it easy, uncap the black nozzle cover an stick the line in my mouth and squeeze. After awhile or on an easy downhill, I'll blow the line clear and cap it, and raise the line up and then stick it to the velcroe.
I usually try to take a long drink before the race start, so I don't have to mess with it for 10k or more during the frantic early stages of a race.

For the Mora Vasa race which was like 20 or 30 below windchills, I did take a large hand warmer that had a sticky side and stuck it to inner clothing on my lower back area. This helps keep the lower bladder where the hose is connected warm!

It is not foolproof, but I have never had an issue with racing and freeze ups.

I have had more issues with cold weather training, where I tend to not focus as much with keeping the line clear. Hope this helps!
MT