A Winter Water Challenge

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

BTW, people do make drill bits specifically for ice.  My 2 cents

 

They are availabe in 1/2 inch diameter, 21 inches long

[Roger Caffin]

Wood Auger, ebay, $16 (NOS I think).

My longest is 1/2″ x 18″, brand unknown. Well polished sides from drilling many bolt holes for decking. A lot of my older ones with a square carpenters brace fitting are by Alfrid of Sheffield, England.

Now all you need is a UL carpenters brace!

Cheers

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

I’d rather wait for it to snow…..melt the snow or chip the ice.

[Ken Larson]

A lot of folks here in Michigan use the device below to make their way through twelve or more inches of ice…..

[Chris Stearns]

On thought is to find or follow where elk, moose, deer go for their water supply. Let nature be your guide

[Ryan Jordan]

Deer and elk in northern latitudes get most of their water by eating the green (newest growth) needle buds of evergreens in the winter. They eat a little snow but rely on foods as their primary water source when liquid water isn’t available due to cold temps.

[Pierre B]

Why make it simple when you can make it complicated. I believe the best solution would be to use a simple ax. This would make it possible to make a hole where there is water under the ice in sufficient quantity or to break pieces of ice where there is only ice. It will surely also be useful for planting a few stakes in the frozen ground or for preparing a campfire. Up to you

[Roger Caffin]

Have you ever used an axe on solid ice?
A good way of getting an axe through your leg.
A strong tendency to ricochet off the ice.

Cheers

[GR]

Not really light weight, but I wonder if something like this can be used:

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/jiffy-ice-scout-auger-system

It weights 1.6 lbs. much higher than regular auger (only 2.5″ that’s why), but could be used to get water from lakes/streams/ponds that are frozen as well. Still heavy, but lighter than some of the ideas in the thread. Would also require a lightweight handle of some kind to turn it (so will add to the 1.6lbs)

 

 

[Eric Blumensaadt]

With that auto parts store gas siphon ya might need to REALLY shake & pump it dry after use to keep it unfrozen for the next time.

BTW. maybe a LONG ice screw?  Or weld a long masonry bit to a crank handle?

[Roger Caffin]

Seems to me that we are talking about TWO different situations here.

* One is ice fishing when you have to make a large hole through 12″ ice. Well, good luck with that, but it is not relevant to backpacking. It does not apply to Australian conditions either!

* The other is getting water from under 1″ of ice supported by rock in a frozen creek. Well, that is what Ryan was trying to solve. I do like the ice screw as a minimalist solution, although the ice drill seems pretty good too, and might be cheaper (being more mass-market).

Cheers

[Author]

Posts