Camelbak Bladder in Freezer

[Skunkabilly]

Will it be a Bad Thing to fill my Camelbak partially (1/4 or so) with water and toss it in the freezer overnight?

[HBK]

Sounds like a bad idea, but I'm no expert or authority on camelbacks, just on bad ideas.

[UltimaSE]

Just freeze a couple of trays of ice cubes, fill half the bladder with water put the bladder in the fridge, next morning dump the ice in.

UltimaSE

[Prodigalshooter]

Yup, UltimaSE has it right. I've done that for epic mountain bike and road rides in torrid summer weather, it works.

[Peter Gun]

You dont want to put it in the freezer. The bladder does OK but the connector to the hose can crack, so can the hose. I speak from experience when I've tried to use mine skiing in very cold weather. Ice in the water is better. Another trick for long rides or shoots is to add some more insulation between the bladder and your back. Tin foil works OK, those insulating liners for boot soles work great.

[Spark]

Ya, never freeze the reservior if possible. Even the old style ones have fill holes large enough for ice cubes - that should be plenty for you. The new Omega style ones are even larger.

[444]

I froze mine everyday this past week. I didn't have any problems, but who knows if any long term damage was done.
I was talking the Gunsite 250 course. Thursday it was 106 degrees. That makes a long day on the range. You have to have the gun illness bad to do something like that.

[10-Ring]

I just put ice in mine. I'll have ice in the bladder literally for hours w/ no function problems.

[blue86buick]

a friend of mine would frequently freeze his before going rock climbing w/o any problems.

[Erick Gelhaus]

In my experience, there has not been a problem freezing them. It's easiest if after you partially fill it, you lay it flat in the freezer.

[scottgun]

I don't think freezing will really hurt a Camelbak, I use my Camelbak for skiing all the time and it ends up freezing on those very cold days when I wear it on the outside of my jacket.

Your idea of filling it 1/4 full and then in the freezer is a good idea, as the problems with freezing would come from too much water causing it to explode, or the tube freezing and not being able to drink from it.

[Rocko]

Relative got a cambelback knockoff (can't remember the brand) and the documentation that came with it recommended storing the bladder in the freezer to prevent bacteria from growing in the nice, moist, evironment between uses.

Rocko

[OEF_VET]

I've put mine in the freezer before with zero problems.

Frank

[Dr.Rob]

As lonmg as its not totally full it should not be a problem. Remember water expands as it freezes. If your camel is full, it will burst.

[Remander]

I live in a very hot area and have done many centuries and long rides with a Camelback. My MO is to fill it with clean water upon return home and put it in the fridge. (I use the crisper drawer.) Nice and chilled w/o risk of rupture. Done it for years.

If it's gonna be a really long ride, I'll dump a little liquid and replace with ice cubes before I head out. Either way, it stays cool for hours. If I drink it all on the ride, which is normal around here, we stop at a country store and buy a bag of ice and jugs of water to share and refill.

Never tried the freeze method, but never needed to. Never heard a horror story either.