lightweight idea for keeping water from freezing while hiking

The SUL light weight thing in the winter. By making smart purchases on your pack and what goes in it you can easily get a a overnight or multiple day pack to like around 15lbs. Pretty dam light if you ask me. I would say 20lbs is more average weight with some food and water.

In winter i myself do not worry about weight so much and that is coming from a guy that likes to travel with no more than 6-8lbs total most of spring summer and fall. to be hones 15-20lbs in winter feels like nothing on my back. Plus that is tent sleep system and all if you are just planning day trip/hikes you dont need a tent, bag, stove blah blah blah and with a good 2lb winter pack you can go sub 10lbs no problem for a day hike.

And if that all does not work for you just keep the bottle next to your body inside a coat. Make sure your coats can hold a bottle though.

OR insulted sleeves are good enough for me and they make em so you can put it on your pack shoulder strap foe easy access.

I have done this in winter with a nalgene collapsible and it works fine. I used a 1 inch nylon strap to make a loop and carried it around my neck and under my jacket.

@Patrick. I'm SUL for 3 season use, and will continue the same principles in the winter to get as (safely) light as possible. I didn't say I was shooting for SUL in the Winter, just looking for ideas from other like-minded individuals. Get over reading into things too much. ;)

@John, that's promising. I was thinking of making it with two straps to balance the weight of the water, but 1 strap may be lighter. I'll play around with the idea. In the end I prob need thicker straps than the 1mm guyline I have. haha.

Stop texting while you're driving Bro! It's not worth it, regardless of how many grams you shave :D …also, isn't that illegal in Conn?

Now back to the drawing board…3L of water, hung by guyline…that's a lot of weight centralized onto a tiny thin line…might be painful no? Also, how do you minimize bounce?

I've had good luck with using 1 bottle tucked in an insulating sleeve, readily accessible on my hipbelt, and my backup bottle inside my pack, tucked against my backpanel where my back keeps it warm enough to prevent freezing.

@Konrad…GF was driving and making me go to Whole Foods (where I snagged bags from produce isle for VBL socks!). No way I could of written all that while driving or would of tried. No worries.

It may be painful. I've never carried 3L of water in one Platy. So lager straps may be needed. Minimizing bounce…good point. That may be a concern. Can't be that expensive to try it out, so I'll have to see how tight the straps can be drawn in order minimize bounce vs. discomfort. Maybe an additional line/webbing around my chest/stomach to further stabilize the load.

I have the platy hose hookup….now that I think of it, I'll have to get some insulation for the hose as well to prevent freezing. When it's 5-10F out…does that hose insulation actually work or does it eventually give up the ghost?

One disadvantage of the Platy's in the winter is being able to pour hot water in them from your pot after melting snow, maybe take a funnel. Also messing with that small cap with gloves or mittens on would be a pain.

I am leery of failure of the top cap connection if it did freeze. I like the Platy's in the summer but went with two of the white colored (lighter) Nalgenes for winter.

There is an article on here by Ryan Jordan about winter water techniques.

Yeah, I generally avoid running a hose hydration system in those conditions. What has worked in the past though, is making sure that I clear the entire length of the hose by blowing back air after I'm done slurping. No water in the hose to freeze. Kind of a PITA and if you forget…well game over. I've pretty much resorted to carrying HDPE nalgenes (lighter than std nalgenes) because their wide mouth opening resists freezing/cracking and they are easy to pour boiling water into when you want to use them as sleeping bag warmers.

Yes, blowing back…oh the techniques we forget from year to year.:p

If I need to go w/ water bottles, I might have to change the puffy jacket/vest I am considering, as it is minimalist and no pockets for bottles.

These bottles might be the way to go, but still chewing on the platy idea:

https://www.40below.com/products_detail.php?ProductID=18

One disadvantage of the Platy's in the winter is being able to pour hot water in them from your pot after melting snow, maybe take a funnel.

Not an issue with everyone. Was MN winter camping with a good acquaintance a few years ago. Watched in wonder as he poured snowmelt from a 2 liter pot into a platy. "No way I'd try that." said I. "I pour liquids for a living." replied he … he's a chemist.

instead of guyline, sew a cuben pocket into the back of your winter hiking jacket.

also, moving water won't freeze, so just keep drinking!
or, a temperature gradient powered water agitator!

If i added a back pocket to a jacket, I'd be locked into wearing that jacket. What if I was overheating and needed to shed layers?

I'm not worried about the water in the carrier freezing, but def. about the hose freezing, will need hose insulation and use the "blow" method Konrad mentions if I go with this solution.

Temperature gradient powered water agitator…hrmm…I'd need a ~real~ engineering degree to make that work. ;p

true, how about on the back of your baselayer then? ;-)

run the hose under your arm?

if your at temperatures where the hose water would freeze quickly enough where regular drinking from it would not keep it thawed, I would imagine you would not be taking the jacket off?

run the hose through your clothes to exit at your neckline?

drink vodka instead?…

Under the arm is interesting idea, provided the clip at the end of the hose is strong enough not to come off during normal hiking duty. (Haven't use a hose in awhile, I remember mine being not so strong).

Steve, you have a 3 liter right? Know where u bought it? The only 3l I see on Caslcase Designs website is a 3l with a folding top (extra weight!) enclosure. :(

Bryce, great idea but the thin guyline will be very uncomfortable. Try a line that is "flatter": take a length of standard 7-strand 550# paracord, cut off the ends, pull out the core then heat seal the ends. It will be a little nicer on your neck.

For a more dedicated setup that's still quite light, use a length of 1/2" nylon webbing (tubular, not flat woven).

You talkin 3L widemouth platy? Nalgene has "soft canteens" at REI i'm lookin at a 48oz one now. They got 64oz too

Apparently I'm misunderstanding what you're lookin for… cant be that easy, + I know youre on it- gear-wise…

Good idea with a "flat" cord. Paracord is cheap enough to test with.

@Jeff, my bad, I wasn't looking in the correct place on their website:
http://cascadedesigns.com/platypus/hydration-systems/category

They have a 3l "hoser" offering. I wouldn't go for the "Insulator" as I wouldn't need the insulated water carrier, just the hose and I've heard of people going to a hardware store to grab hose insulation. But with Steven's idea, may not be needed if I can run it under my arm (provided that's not uncomfy while hiking).

I got my 3L from REI a few years ago, they don’t seem to carry them in store any more though, but they do have it online:
http://www.rei.com/product/767111/platypus-hoser-30l-reservoir-100-fl-oz

Bryce,

This has been a conundrum for me too. Hanging water with a cord is uncomfortable and it just gets in the way. So this is what I do, and not light. Nalgene bottle in an OR insulated carrier, which easily fits into the side pocket of my McHale. If there is snow, then I just carry one liter and melt snow as I need it. If it is cold and little snow or water available, I carry wide mouth Nalgene canteens in my pack. I put then in a trash compactor bag, just in case there is a leak and then wrap my puffy jacket around them. Keeps them from melting. But I am constantly concerned about a leak getting my down jacket wet… hasn't happened yet. Also put my quilt or bag in a trash compactor bag for extra insurance. Not ideal, not the lightest, but it works.

The Nalene wide mouth 96oz (2.88l) is certainly cheap, but can't see a way to suspend that sucker on my back with lack of tie points:

http://store.nalgene.com/Cantene-96oz-p/2595-0096.htm

The Platy 3l Hoser is thinner/longer, not wide mouth (boo) but has top ringlet for a tie point:
http://www.rei.com/product/767111/platypus-hoser-30l-reservoir-100-fl-oz

The platy is 4oz…but that includes the hose. Hrmm…

Nick,

I can understand your concern for keeping things dry. I hope that by carrying the water bottle strapped to my back, it is only in touch with my mid-weight 100wt fleece or Cap 3 or Cap 4 shirt and would only soak through to my base layer if a leak sprang (brrrr!). I wouldn't have it exposed to my puffy down coat as a) I don't tend to wear puffy insulation while hiking and b) if I wore my puffy I'd probably take out a VB Shirt and place my base layer, Cap 3 or cap 4, water bottle, all under the VB shirt, to protect the down puffy from a) my sweat and b) a leaking water bottle.

At least this is the theory thus far. :p

Hi Brice,

I would skip the hanging platy idea and keep it simple. Old school nalgene upside down in an insulated carrier. Ice will form at the top (really the bottom if inverted) where the air meets the water in the bottle. We had three hydration system failures on our last trip and they all involved a hosed system. No pun intended.

Dave

Lot's of strange ideas there. But experience suggests something much easier.

I stick $0 mineral water bottles of water in my pack up against my back. They have never frozen there, even on days of -17 C. And they don't make my back feel cold either.

Cheers

Keep it simple. Works like a charm Roger.

How much volume does your winter pack have Roger? I'm not above the treeline in the winter, so no need for shovels and heavy duty stuff, just Microspikes and snowshoes at worst. I plan on taking my Mariposa in the winter (moved to a GG Murmur in 3 season as the posa was too big). Wondering if carrying water inside the pack would eat up too much space. I agree, the bottles prob wouldn't freeze in that location. Just have to stop and reach into your pack for a drink each time, no?

Another positive would be a single CD tablet would treat a 1l mineral water bottle. Easy measurement there…if you're going to treat.