Hydration on the Hill

[Kiwi]

I like my fluids on the hill but have never used a camel bak or similar. I have seen Japanese skiers using the Salomon waist belt with bottle on the hip at a 45 degree angle like a "Hydro 45". I have also considered the Ultimate Direction products developed primarily for runners like the "PD Adventure vest" possibly leaving the bottles off or moving them to the back of the vest. I like the idea of light weight, low bulk ie minimalist approach to hydration. I think you would need to wear a jacket of the vest if it was cold.

Has anyone got experience with these product or similiar?

[dan.boisvert]

I found a water bladder to be a nuisance for skiing. Some part of it was always freezing up, no matter how careful I was to blow air back into it to clear the drinking tube. For backcountry skiing, I use a 1 liter bottle that gets wrapped in my puffy layer while skinning up, and sometimes also carry a Thermos with something warm. For resort skiing, I drink water in the morning, gatorade at lunch, and beer in the evening. That regimen seems to keep me quite sufficiently hydrated.

[Kiwi]

I have wondered if a bladder would be nuisance I might try a soft silicon bottle in a jacket or a bottle on the hip like the Japanese. Thanks

[DougD]

I used to wear a Camelback. It was uncomfortable on chairlifts and the tube often froze, as Dan noted.

If I want to carry water I now use a Dakine Heli Pro backpack. The integral bladder is designed to rest flat against your back, so I don't look like Quasimodo and it doesnt feel like sitting against a large salami. The hose runs inside a shoulder strap, which zips closed when youre not drinking. Not perfectly freeze proof, but close. They make the Heli in several sizes, so you can pack as much or as little as you like.

Of course skiing at many resorts with a pack just looks pretentious. In the Northeast I generally follow Dan's plan. At resorts out West, particularly high and sunny ones (e.g., Taos), constant hydration is more necessary. The Heli Pro is useful in those situations.

[theorist]

I like constant hydration, even for resort skiing. I've not tried a bladder because I like to drink something with sugar in it (my usual is half tea, half coconut water), and it's my understanding that, with a bladder, anything but water is hard to clean. I also don't like wearing a backpack when skiing -- I don't like the feel of it around my shoulders. My preference, then, is to use a large bicycle water bottle carried in a minimalist hip pack. I find the large Camelbak bottles work well, don't leak, and have less plastic taste than most. The nice thing about the hip pack is that it can also carry goggles, energy bars, a neck gaiter, and even a minimalist vest (e.g., Patagonia nano puff). I just swing it around to the front each time I get on the chairlift.

I'm wearing it in my profile pic -- if you look closely you can see it, in blue, peeking out from behind my left hip.

The one problem you may have is finding one that is large but otherwise of minimalist construction (two compartments, no rigid sections). Many of the newer ones are overbuilt, with too much structure, which might make them too cumbersome for skiing.

[Max_501]

I rarely bring water while resort skiing because its so easy to jump into a lodge and grab a drink when needed.

But, when I absolutely must have water on the hill I use something like this and keep in a jacket pocket -

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/platypus/ ... le/product

[go_large_or_go_home]

Get a slim profile camelbak (or equivelant) and where it UNDER your ski jacket...i guarantee it will not freeze and you can even wear a small day pack over the top..bladders worn anywhere outside your jacket are useless - cumbersome and prone to freezing.

Pre-pmts i used to sweat loads, so i needed constant hydration. Now, i am lucky to break into a sweat, so i do what max recommended.

[JBurke]

I use a small, cheap, bottled water bottle and take a drink every time I go up the lift. I don't use a brand that might hurt if I fell on it (like Dasani is too rigid and would hurt). They don't leak, don't freeze, can be refilled with whatever, and easily fit in an interior or exterior pocket of my shell.

[Icanski]

I have a BCA stash pack. The newer ones like the stash 20 have a hydraction sleeve. My older BCA stash is very low volume, close to the back version which has a bladder in it and the tube goes down the strap with an insulated sleeve. The sleeve doesn't freeze. Here in Ontario, they freak about people wearing anything on their backs, so you have to take it off every time you get on the lift; but if it's cold and a long day, having a sip on the lifts feels so much better. I forget that I need to stay hydrated out on the hill, and it makes a big difference to my energy level, and warmth; it's refreshing.
This little pack has room for a probe, shovel, extra mitts and perhaps a down vest or jacket if compressed well.
But for resort skiing, it's' great to carry extra socks, mitts, glasses, water and a sandwich, etc.
Having water with you is nice.

[Max_501]

But for resort skiing, it's' great to carry extra socks, mitts, glasses, water and a sandwich, etc.

When does the need arise for extra socks and mitts when skiing in bounds?

[Kiwi]

Thanks everyone, for my first step I am going to try stuffing a couple of soft bottles in my jacket pockets and refilling as needed

[François]

For me it usually goes like this. I decide not to bring water because I can stop at the lodge for a drink. 3 hours later at the top of the hill, "I'm really really thirsty; I'll have to take a water break." 3 hours and a bit later at the bottom of the hill I go straight onto the lift, and remember after getting on the lift, "I was supposed to stop for water." Sometimes, this goes on until they tell me the lift is closed. Sometimes I remember and come in for a change of fluids.