How to Keep a Hydration Bladder From Freezing on Winter Runs
Quick answer: On a cold run the drinking tube is the weak point, so protect the tube. Use an insulated tube with a bite valve cover, sip often, and after every sip blow the water back into the bladder so nothing is left in the tube to freeze. In very cold weather, switch to soft flasks or bottles carried inside your layers, and take a vacuum-insulated bottle with a warm drink as a backup.
Why the tube is the problem
REI's cold-weather hiking advice puts it plainly: if you use a hydration reservoir, you need to keep the drink tube from freezing, or you will be left with no way to reach your water. CamelBak says the same about its own reservoirs: at cold enough temperatures the water in the tube can freeze and make it impossible to drink from the pack. In a running vest the bladder sits against your back while the tube runs over your shoulder, out in the air. That is the part to protect.
Set up the bladder for the cold
- Insulate the tube and cover the valve. CamelBak's winter advice is a thermal kit: a sleeve over the hose and a cover over the bite valve. REI lists insulated sip tubes, insulated reservoirs and bite valve covers as winter add-ons, and notes they add a little bulk and weight.
- Know what your own bladder has. The LECAMO 2L hydration bladder comes with an insulated drinking tube and a dust cover on the bite valve. The dust cover is there to keep dirt off, not to insulate, and we have not tested the tube at any specific temperature. Treat the insulation as one layer of protection and keep the habits below.
While you run
- Sip often. REI's advice is to sip often so the water does not sit still long enough to freeze solid.
- Blow the water back after every sip. Both REI and CamelBak recommend blowing back into the reservoir after drinking so the tube stays empty. An empty tube has nothing in it to freeze.
When it is too cold for a bladder
REI notes that in very cold temperatures you may need to give up the reservoir and use bottles, because the chance of the drink tube freezing is too high. On a vest that means soft flasks or bottles, carried where they stay warmer.
- Carry them inside, not outside. REI's advice is to keep bottles in your pack rather than in exterior pockets. On a vest, the front flask pockets are the exterior pockets and the back compartment is the inside of the pack.
- Take a warm backup. REI suggests a vacuum-insulated bottle of hot tea or hot chocolate to sip when you stop, which also gives you something to drink if everything else freezes.
Keep drinking anyway
REI points out that when it is cold you may be less inclined to stop for food and water. Plan your stops and drink at them.
Cold-run hydration checklist
- Insulated tube, valve cover
- Sip often, blow back
- Backup flasks, carried inside
- Vacuum bottle, warm drink
- Planned drink stops
Sources: REI, Cold-Weather Hiking Tips; REI, Hydration Packs: How to Choose; CamelBak, Winter Camping Tips; CamelBak, Reservoirs FAQ.