Favorite water bottle to prevent frozen water?

Yeah I think the minor weight penalty is worth it, I use a hydroflask year round and being able to have either 110 f water or 33 f water is amazing and well worth the weight penalty.

thanks all! plan on doing a few freezer tests and can post the results here shortly

Not "mountaineering" but winter mountain hiking (Northeast Winter 115, ADK46, White48, etc...) was the insulated OR/Eastern Mountain Sports bottle coozy on my pack strap wtih 1L of room-temp tap water (that stayed liquid in all but the coldest temps) and then inside the pack was a 2nd nalgene filled with boiling water morning-of-hike and then placed in a mitten and wrapped in my puffy coat. That 2nd bottle would usually be luke-warm well into the afternoon. I was generally out for 8 hour days in temps as low as upper single digits (but really preferred to be in the teens as a lower limit). 

One other pro-tip related to cold-weather nalgene drinking. Put a silicone straw in your bottle, it'll squish down when you put the lid on. Two benefits:

1. Way easier to drink/chug without spilling water

2. Helps give you something to break through thin ice if needed to get access to your partially frozen water

Be careful where you put the hot bottle in your pack, I once thought I was being clever by putting it right against my back, but that extra amount of heat made my body overheat surprisingly quick and I had to re-pack my bag.

I'm surprised OR has discontinued their water bottle coozy. The reason that they're $92 online is because those are the "Military" ones. If you keep an eye out, you can find the military ones on surplus every now and again, I think I got 5 for $60 shipped a few years ago.

Nalgene makes an insulated sleeve for their 1L (32oz) bottles that works fine and is reasonably priced.  My parter and I used these on Denali with no issues and it's been good in the winter for more local climbing as well.

https://nalgene.com/product/32oz-sleeve-insulated-gray/

I've also used the classic 40-Below sleeves (mainly the 0.5L size) and they are effective as well, although a big clunky.  But they are simple and robust and not too procey.

For less weight-sensitive missions (like ice cragging), it's hard to beat a Hydroflask-style insulated bottle.

Cem Puhaloglu wrote:

I personally use spare thick socks around my bottles and that seems to do the job, but I do not have to much experience with extreme conditions so I'm not sure if it would be enough for your use.

A bot with bottles. Makes sense.

Bug Boy, Im curious if your mission involves rappelling the broadway ledge?

I carry a thermos of boiling water. The thermos is heavy, but I can add snow to every cup of water and still have it be warm, giving a bonus of about 30% beyond the thermos capacity, helping to make up for the weight of the thermos. Plus, boiling hot water to sip if I get chilled. 

Bug Boy wrote:

yeah those do seem pretty expensive and bulky compared to metal ones.

There actually much lighter and not bulky at all. I only have experience with the Nalgene brand one but I’d take 3 of them before a single steel walled bottle.

mp doesn’t work right on my cellphone for some reason but here’s a link if your interested 

https://nalgene.com/product/32oz-sleeve-insulated-gray/attribute_pa_color=blue

32 capacity oz hydroflask =16.8 oz dry weight

32 oz nalgene+insulated nalgene sleeve =11.05 oz dry weight 

32 oz nalgene+homemade sleeve= 8 oz (roughly)

In my crude freezer test I started with near boiling water in a 24 ounce hydroflask and 24 ounces of water in my 1 liter nalgene with homemade insulated cover. After 11.5 hours in the freezer at around 0F . Both bottles still had liquid water. The nalgene started to form ice inside and the threads of the hydroflask began to freeze and it was very difficult to unscrew but the water inside was still fully liquid though very cold and obviously near freezing. Not really sure if this is very helpful but imo it does prove that the hydro flasks are not significantly better than an insulated nalgene at keeping water from freezing.

I like the test. Thanks for doing it.

I offer my own anecdotal data and suggest everyone does their own testing to find their own happiness point. 

My 2022 generation 1.5L Stanley keeps boiling liquid hot hot all day and if I have enough left over for day 2 it's still warmer than luke warm and I don't need to reboil it.

Using boiling water in a nalgene in 40below neoprene sleeve I've had ice start to form at the end of the day. 8 to 12 hours probably. Similar to your freezer test.

I have a 20oz Zojirushi thermos (pre 2020?) And it loses it's hot capacity around 8 hours and is luke warm by 12. I believe over the years the thermos has degraded. It used to be near boiling for 20 hours like the Stanley. 

In the name of UL, has anyone tried just using regular soft plastic (disposable or platypus) bottles, but keeping them close to your body at all times?

I've normally used a 1L nalgene or a thermos in winter, but when space is at a premium, I hate having water bottles that take up space when empty.

Bug Boy wrote:

32 oz nalgene+homemade sleeve= 8 oz (roughly)

What is the homemade sleeve made out of?

Ellen S wrote:

What is the homemade sleeve made out of?

It looks like the aluminized bubble wrap and duct tape that I recommended upthread

Ellen S wrote:

In the name of UL, has anyone tried just using regular soft plastic (disposable or platypus) bottles, but keeping them close to your body at all times?

I've normally used a 1L nalgene or a thermos in winter, but when space is at a premium, I hate having water bottles that take up space when empty.

As I already wrote I keep half a liter 10 cents Walmart inverted bottles in my spare mittens.
It's the lightest possible solution, because I use the lightest bottle without any purpose made insulation.

Ellen S wrote:

In the name of UL, has anyone tried just using regular soft plastic (disposable or platypus) bottles, but keeping them close to your body at all times?

I've normally used a 1L nalgene or a thermos in winter, but when space is at a premium, I hate having water bottles that take up space when empty.

Yup that was my earlier suggestion. A stow 500 ml fits in my vest chest pocket.

I picked up a “trail series” hydro flask on clearance the other day. Its noticeably lighter than the regular model. They claim 25%. There were a bunch on clearance with a little ding on an edge. I guess the steel is much thinner on these.