Brendon wrote:
> Thanks Dot, though I don't plan on running in the snow. Heck, our winter here where I live gets
> only as low as 8deg C, (not sure F).
Anything above 0C (=freezing point of water=32F), you don't need to worry about frozen fluids
The
temperature I referred to was about -15 to -20C.
Though it will
> be good to take snow skiing (2hrs away) in the winter, so I will take your advice and wrap the
> bladder etc.
Let me share what I've learned so far, but obviously don't have the system perfected - although I
guess you've got a few months to ski season yet
My camelbak is already insulated - both the
bladder and tube as well as a rubber cover for mouthpiece - and had run much of the tubing through
my jacket and vest, and the tube still froze
- presumably in the slightly exposed section. The one thing I did differently yesterday that I can
think of was to not drink within 10-15 min. In the future, I'll blow the fluid all the way back in
the bladder, not just out of the mouthpiece.
People use various tricks. Start with hot fluid, if possible. Some wear cb under their shell if cb
is one without much gear and keep tube under jacket. Based on yesterday's experience, I don't think
that's fool proof either in cold enough weather, and I've had trouble in windstorms (very drafty)
when I've tried that with bottles. I have too much gear in my cb, as do many, so use it outside my
jacket (bladder is between gear and my back so is insulated there), but looped the tube through pit
zip in my shell and through armpit of vest (Polarfleece 200). When done drinking, blow fluid back
into bladder, not just out of the mouthpiece (I've just been blowing out of mouthpiece). Without
clearing the tube, the most likely place to freeze is the mouthpiece, then the tube, then the
bladder. Some people put chemical handwarmers near the tube. In really cold weather (-20 to -40F;
-30 to -40C), ya gotta keep drinking to keep the fluid moving.
If you have a hydrolock mouthpiece (I don't on the one I use), I think that inserts inside the tube,
thus restricting flow and perhaps making that a vulnerable point also.
For completeness, if using water bottles, try to use ones with wide nozzles. The sports drinks turn
to slushees and jam in the nozzle. There are insulated water bottles (Polar) and insulated pouches
on waist belts. The one trick I haven't tried with bottles is carry it upside down (be really sure
the top is on tight), so the ice forms away from the nozzle. That's a tip from someone in Fairbanks,
and they get a lot colder up there than we do.
The only local person I've quizzed so far about winter drinking that uses a bottle, just
unscrews the top and drinks the slushee. Everybody else seems to use cb, although that could be
related to skiing.
Something I forgot to mention in earlier post was that dehydration in cold weather can contribute
toward hypothermia and frostbite and why it's important to stay hydrated.
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people" -Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
