Hydro Flask Winter Performance Review

Drinking in the light of sunset near the summit of Baldy Peak, Utah.

Perhaps you’re familiar with that climactic scene in virtually every treasure hunt oriented movie, in which the grueling challenges have been surmounted, and the weary treasure hunters excitedly locate the gold pieces? That exact ‘I’ve found it!’ moment occurs every time I drink out of my Hydro Flask in winter conditions. With the official beginning to winter 2010 still 40 days away, I’ve been on 14 early season ski outings already. From these sometimes chilly excursions, I’d like to point out a favorable aspect of the Hydro Flask that hasn’t been heavily promoted.

If you’re aware of this product – a double walled, insulated, stainless steel vessel – then you probably already know that it keeps hots hot for 12 hours and c olds cold for 24 hours. (If you’re not aware, check out hydroflask.com for details)But it also does something else that I find extremely important.

As a backcountry skier and a ski mountaineer, I spend plenty of time in the mountains, often in some pretty biting cold conditions. I like to move fast, both up the mountain and down it. Correspondingly, I don’t want to be sipping hot tea in a tranquil fashion; I want to maintain hydration levels quickly with a few slugs of a cool, but not cold, beverage. While the drink itself changes based on the day, I don’t like to experience that fluid changing temperature throughout the day. My least favorite scenario involves first, my beverage turning into a frozen Slushie, and second, into a block of solid ice. It’s cold in the mountains during winter, and as I work to stay warm, taking a freezing gulp of anything works against me. Worse, of course, is when the fluid I’ve brought along for the day becomes solid – zero hydration equals severely decreased performance. Almost every container I’ve utilized prior to using a Hydro Flask has performed with these less than charming qualities.

I like to have a Hydro Flask within reach no matter where I go on skis..

This far into the backcountry ski season – admittedly, I haven’t had any 15 hour ski days yet this year – I can report that my Hydro Flask performs as I hoped it would. Beverages come out at the temperature I put them in: cool, refreshing, easy to drink in a hurry and keep on moving. And that, aside from a lot of training, is what helps to power me up the mountains.

Cold and grey or bright sunshine, my fluids come out at the temperature that I put them into my Hydro Flask.