BendBiker

I was wondering if anyone has experience with the water bttles that are made to keep water cold longer. One is the Polar insulated bottle and the other is the new Maxchill. Are they worth the extra costs? Thanks.

mike

Put ice cubes in your water bottle.

It works better than insulated bottles and you drink the ice-cubes when they melt.

MediaCreations 

I don't know about bottles designed to keep water cool but I do know that ice cubes last all of about 5 minutes on a warm Perth day. Ten minutes and the water's so warm that I needn't have bothered.

I sometimes half fill my bottle and freeze it. When I'm ready to ride I top it up with cold water and it seems to last a lot better. (Still warms up too quickly though.)

beowoulfe

I got one of those bottles for my wife. Works some. You lose overall volume though that could be filled with water. Hers mounts on a Bike E so it's up high in front of her and it sweats and bounces raindrops on her, lol.

It's really no good for a long ride IMHO.

Anastasia

I have a Polar bottle which I like. I put the empty bottle in the freezer overnight (if available) and fill the frozen bottle with water before I leave - it works well, in the summer.

I also use a Camelback Flashflo, and put a few ice cubes in there, and it holds up rather nicely for about 4 hours - then it gets warm - however, I usually empty it by that time.

Hope this helps.

Rich Clark

I have a thermos bottle that fits in a bottle cage. For commuting, or for winter road rides, I put my coffee in it. In the summer I fill it with cold water and ice.

When my first water bottle is empty I refill it from the cold one; the ice is even still frozen.

RichC

bjlaw

In the summer I carry 2 water bottles. Each bottle lasts about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The night before I ride I put one bottle in the refridgerator and 1 bottle in the freezer. By the time I am ready for the second bottle it has thawed out and is very cold. Even if it is still half frozen I will drink from it and the rest will be thawed by the time I need it.

Moose

Using ice cubes or freezing your bottle is fine. But what if it's not thawed yet and you're thirsty? Can there be anything more frustrating than having water and not being able to drink it?

Joe Gardner

A few years ago i had a bottle with a foam cover. The idea was to soak the foam cover in water, and the wind-chill factor would keep the water inside quite a bit colder then the air tempature. It was a waste of $8

Goatbiker

I use the MaxChill bottles, and they work. They function like the desert water bags, where water wicks through the canvas and cools by evaporation. The MaxChill bottles have a foam cover on them and you apply water from the outside and the slow evaporation cools them. They have to be rewetted every 45 minutes or so. I carry four MaxChill bottles with Gatorade, and a bladder of water. I drink from the bladder and use it to wet the bottles. Gatorade is soooo much better cool.

Joe Gardner

Hi Goatbiker, welcome to the forums. What did your max chill bottles cost? I think i may have purchased a cheap copy. I didnt notice any difference then my non-chill bottle.

Goatbiker

Joe,

Sounds like you have the same thing. I bought mine from Nashbar for five dollare each on sale.

In Utah, I imagine that you would have to be wetting them all the time because of the dry air, but the faster the evaporation, the more heat lost.

I can't explain our different results, but I do notice that the Gatorade is much cooler than the water.

OK, here is a thought. when I start with cooler water (morning, etc.), the bottles will stay cool all day if kept damp. If I refill the bottles mid day from the blatter, they take quite a while to have a noticable difference in temp.