Camelbak - drying?

[Catrin]

the other thing you can do is partially fill it with water, and lay it on its side in the freezer. Now you don't need to worry about anything growing in it and when you top it off you have icy water the entire time.

This doesn't cause problems with the tubing? This is probably a silly question since it has been working for you

[TriMom217]

I've never had a problem with it on the tube and to tell the truth, I don't even know if it's ever frozen in there. I'd imagine it would thaw out pretty fast since the tube is thin.

We have 3 different bladders that get rotated in and out of the freezer. We only have one drying insert so that's what led us to putting them in the freezer.

[withm]

Once it gets hot, I keep my Camelbak bladder about 2/3 full in the freezer all the time. Fill with water, blow air into it to keep the top of the bladder from sticking to the ice. When ready to ride, top it off water, throw it into the harness and off you go. Since you put water in you will not have to wait for it to thaw. Might be frozen in the tube when you first take it from the freezer but it will thaw in a couple minutes so that is not an issue.

When you take a drink from the tube, be sure to blow air back into the tube - which pushes the water in the tube back into the bladder. This keeps you from getting the dreaded mouthful of warm water when you go to take your next drink.

Since I started using this "system" I am still able to have COLD water 3 hours into a ride in the hot summer. About the only thing I really can't stand is drinking lukewarm water. Ever. Ugh!

[Catrin]

Thanks for all of the wonderful tips! It looks like my Camelbak has be my "hydration system" for at least my flat-bar road bike, and probably for my LHT. Now I just have to figure out how to get the bladder out of the pack

I like the idea of the ice being able to do double-duty as a back cooler