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I like to ride with a hydration pack when I mountain bike in the winter since all sorts of nasty stuff gets tossed up at my bottles. However, I've had issues with the tube or valve getting clogged due to the water inside freezing during rides in the low 20s. It's really hard to deal with this issue while you're out in the woods.

Is there anything I can do to prevent this from freezing so quickly?

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3  
Alcohol is a pretty good antifreeze. ;) – Daniel R Hicks Mar 6 at 22:55

3 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

I see snowboarders with an insulating cover over the tube. If that doesn't provide enough insulation, I've worn my pack under my jacket leaving the entire pack, tube and bite valve covered and insulated.

Here is a 3 foot Hydration Pack Insulated Drink Tube Cover on amazon for $7 US

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What's the deal with the rads.stackoverflow redirect link? – jimirings Mar 7 at 0:03
No idea, I put in direct link to amazon, maybe StackOverflow is detecting and adjusting for the affiliate referral. – Glenn Gervais Mar 7 at 0:27
@KevinReid Cool! Thanks! – jimirings Mar 7 at 2:13
up vote 7 down vote

The trick is to blow the water back up the tube and into the reservoir right after you take a drink. This will keep your tube and bite valve from freezing. This works well even at well below freezing temperatures when skiing.

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Between blowing into the tube when done, wearing the pack under your coat and getting an insulated tube cover, you should be set. – Chef Flambe Mar 11 at 23:23
up vote 5 down vote

The tube has a lot of surface area and not a lot of volume, so it's going to lose heat quickly compared to the reservoir. In addition to insulating the tube mentioned by Glenn Gervais you can start with hot water in the reservoir and frequently drink a little bit to keep reheating the tube. This Nordic skiing article discusses this technique in more detail.

You could also try a Nordic skiing water bottle holder like the one in this (5 part!) article. I've noticed while skiing that a horizontal bottle seems stay ice free at the valve longer. In a vertical holder, turning the bottle upside down also helps.

I've never tried this, but you might also try to keep the water in the reservoir warm by attaching a chemical hand/foot warmer to the outside of the bag. Test it first to check that it won't damage the plastic bag, though I wouldn't expect something made to keep near your skin would get hot enough. Don't put it in the bag though. If it leaks it's probably dangerous to your health.

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I used the warm (not hot) water and frequent drinks when mountain climbing, with a insulation cover to extend time between drinks, with great success. Most chemical warmers are Sodium acetate - which is used as a food additive, and has a melting point of 55C - so it won't hurt the drink bladder – mattnz Mar 7 at 3:18

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