Cold water for the whole ride

[mark22]

Here in sunny Qld its starting warm up so I thought Id post my version of having cold water for the entire ride for those not familiar.


Half fill your Hydration pack bladder with your favourite mix

Blow up the bladder through the mouthpiece

Sit it flat in the freezer make sure there is no liquid around the outlet or the filler or in the tube (shouldn't be as you have pushed it all into the bladder)

Take it out of the freezer 5 mins (makes it easy to unscrew the filler) before topping it up with your favourite mix.

This also has the effect of stopping algae and nasties growing in your bladder, I also put a freezer bag over the mouth piece sealed with a elastic band not sure what this does other than make me feel good :dance:
Been doing this for years with no detrimental effect on the bladders .

If you live in TAS or ACT please disregard all this and fill it with hot soup

 

[teK--]

Pretty good idea! I use a half half mix of liquid and ice cubes in real hot summer days it melts over an hour or so into drinkable fluid rather than risk getting stuck with a huge block of ice and no liquid left.

Good for mid-ride topups if u go back to the car for lunch; just fill with ice cubes from esky.

 

[outerlimits]

I like the camel bak bladder as the drying arms help hold the bladder open to fill with 4 trays of ice. Then I just top up with water and the total 3l last for hours.
I use tuppaware ice cube trays as they have a lid and you can stack the trays in the freezer.

 

[ozzybmx]

Ikea plastic beakers. Exact same diameter when frozen full as the camelbak opening. 3 frozen cups and drop them in to the camelbak, then fill with water. Lasts for many hours.

 

[nzhumpy]

I do pretty much the same, half fill the hydrapak an put it in the freezer overnight keeping water away from the hose, then top it up in the morning. I do sometimes worry about the sharp edges of the ice block but it hasn't torn or cut the bladder yet. It also has the benefit of keeping my back pretty cool, the only down side is I usually end up drinking way too much because the water in the hose is warm so I end up with a few good mouthfuls of luke warm stuff before I hit the cold stuff.

 

[The Duckmeister]

I just chuck the whole thing in the freezer; by the time I get out on the ride it's thawed enough to have some liquid available.

 

[Chumbo]

I have a tray that makes extra large ice cubes. they last much longer than normal ones. 100% necessary for me at the moment

 

[mik_git]

Here in sunny Qld its starting warm up

Starting,its always hot there

 

[wavike]

Ikea plastic beakers. Exact same diameter when frozen full as the camelbak opening. 3 frozen cups and drop them in to the camelbak, then fill with water. Lasts for many hours.

+1 but with woolys 300ml plastic containers. My 2l camelback bladder has webbing? down the middle making 3 sided sort off. 1 each side gives a couple of hours of chilly water.

 

[4dabush]

Half filled zip lock sandwich bags freeze into really good large ice blocks that slide into the webbing. Tying 2or 3 together in the freezer keeps them roundish. Tear the bags to release the ice block... Works with ice and mix.

 

[discofrank]

my pack is insulated
makes a huge difference

tip for those who have the warm water in the hose, after you drink blow into the hose to push the water back into the bladder

sure you have suck on it a bit to get the next drink, better than hot water

 

[John U]

How does a large block of ice in your camelbak go when you land on it? I reckon mine filled with liquid has saved me from a few scrapes and bruises when landing on it in the past. The same stacks might've been different with a big block of ice in the bladder.

Wouldn't be too concerned about standard sized ice blocks.

 

[nzhumpy]

tip for those who have the warm water in the hose, after you drink blow into the hose to push the water back into the bladder

sure you have suck on it a bit to get the next drink, better than hot water

That's a good tip, never thought of that.

How does a large block of ice in your camelbak go when you land on it?
... The same stacks might've been different with a big block of ice in the bladder.

I reckon mines helped a few times also, when I put mine in the freezer I lie it flat so the water freezes in a long flat cube, think of it as a back plate.

 

[redbruce]

Chilled water might make you feel better but in terms of rehydration, the opposite occurs.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3762624/

Chucking some iceblocks in might be the best compromise.

 

[eastie]

Was mid-90's when camelbaks became popular for rappel on summer fire crew, and not long after they stopped semi-freezing them. The advice at that time was warm rehydrates way faster. As was said it has a negative impact on re-hydration rate. Also look into cooling fabrics and gadgets out there to cool around the neck, etc.

 

[Minlak]

Chilled water might make you feel better but in terms of rehydration, the opposite occurs.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3762624/

Chucking some iceblocks in might be the best compromise.

Very interesting I also love they have no vested interests unlike so many other studies.

For me however:-

Would be impossible to keep water below 16degs for very long with out the ice. If you are drinking at regular intervals (I drink every 15 minutes) and not when you are thirsty the final drinking at the end of a ride would be close to optimal temperature to rehydrate.

I just wouldn't drink warm water as often or as much as it is to unpleasant to me.

 

[mark22]

How does a large block of ice in your camelbak go when you land on it? I reckon mine filled with liquid has saved me from a few scrapes and bruises when landing on it in the past. The same stacks might've been different with a big block of ice in the bladder.

Wouldn't be too concerned about standard sized ice blocks.

If you half fill it and lay it flat the ice is very thin and would break before your back would... in theory

 

[Pennoir]

Been freezing my camelbak bladder for years, freeze it full as long as there is some air in it for the ice expansion. It works well.

 

[Mr Crudley]

I just wouldn't drink warm water as often or as much as it is to unpleasant to me.

I can understand that although I forget the last time I even bothered with a cold water or frozen backpack. Mosrly due to my disorganisation and I leave the bladder in hanger all of the time so it won't grow furry green algae thingys.

I know that some chinese folks prefer warm water over cold. The thinking is that your body wastes energy warming the water back up to body temperature after it has passed your mouth.

Cold water is nice on hot day although if I'm thristy I really don't give a damn