While taking breaks during an adventurous hike, we all want something cold and soothing to satisfy the thirst down in our throats. So we all do plan well and carry along with us some refreshing cold drinks. However, in the end, we all have to face disappointment as all the coldness of the refreshing drinks disappear by that time. You get to enjoy nothing but just drink a hot fizzing solution that seems tasteless and increases your thirst instead of making it die down.
It is impossible for keeping the drinks cold as you brought them out from the fridge, but you can try out some ways to ensure that your favorite drinks stay cold for a long time. Hence, we are here with this article that will be enlightening you about how to keep drinks cold in a backpack? We all know in how dire need hikers get into at the end of the day for getting an internal boost of energy. So check out the ways listed down below for enjoying hiking without suffering because of thirst.
How You Can Keep Drinks Cold in Backpack:
Providing insulation:
- For keeping your drinks cold, you will need to provide them a source of that gives of coldness. And the obvious thing that gives out cold is ice. Now, you can use an ice chest for keeping your drink close to ice or a thermos. Get one of these two things from any store to keep your drinks cold for a long time. But remember that the thermos or the ice chest should be travel size so you don’t put too much load on your backpack.
- The next option that you can go for is to get backpacks that have special pockets designed in them. The function of these pockets is to keep the drinks insulated. A further better explanation will be, the insulated pocket ensures that hot drinks stay hot and cold drinks stay cold.
Keeping away from the sunlight:
Ensure that you keep drinks that you want to stay cold away from the reach of sunlight. Even if you have kept your drinks inside an insulated cooler, sunlight will cause an effect and reduce the time the drinks could have stayed cold.
Getting the right backpack cooler:
To keep your drinks cold for a long time, you need to get the right type of cooler. And for that, you need to know about what to look for in a backpack cooler. For keeping temperatures of your favorite refreshing col drink properly there is one best material that does the best job in providing insulation.
The material is polystyrene that is also known as Styrofoam. It is used in the coolers of the large mill industry. It can be transformed into a foam-like structure using steam so that the material expands.
Polystyrene has amazing functions. Which is why it is used in a cooler. It has the capability of being resistant against moisture, it is lightweight, easy to give shape, and does not have a huge manufacturing cost. Hence, whenever you plan to get a backpack cooler, inspect if the cooler consists of polystyrene or not.
Preparing your drinks:
Ensure that you prepare your drinks by keeping them in a freezer from two nights before the day you are willing to go on a hike. This is the solution you need if you don’t have the time to get a thermos or an ice chest.
Then right at the moment when you are setting off from your home to go to the hiking spot, wrap the bottle with a plastic bag. And then keep the plastic bag further wrapped up within your sleeping bag, woolen cloth, or anything that does the function of insulation. The plastic bag will prevent any sort of moisture from transferring.
So ensure that your plastic bag is not leaking because you don’t want your important things like clothes, warm blankets or sleeping bag to get wet as it can ruin a lot of things that you have planned.
Some tricks to apply:
- When you fill the cooler with ice, add some salt as well. Salt and ice together do a chemical reaction that boosts up the cooling reaction. This happens because salt has the capability of lowering freezing point making the ice very cold and ensuring all the drinks inside the cooler to stay cold for an extended period.
- Keep all the cold drinks and water bottles packed and very close to each other. Make sure that there is no space in between to ensure less contact of warm air with the drinks. Less contact happens as the surface area exposed to the air gets reduced.
- Take help from nature for keeping your drinks cold by doing some research. If the place where you will be going on a hike has any lake, stream, or any cold water source present, you can take some water from there in a container and place your cold drinks inside.
- After researching your hiking location if you find out that there is a small town or a local store present, then don’t carry way too many cold drinks with you. carry the amount that will keep you going till that store.
And then once, you reach the store buy some drinks and keep them inside the cooler you have. Dispose of the cans that you drank previously, properly. Doing this ensures that you don’t carry a lot of load in your backpack and you will not exert yourself way too much. If you don’t exert yourself too much you will no longer sweat out much and you will feel less thirsty for having something cold.
Final verdicts:
To sum up, we hope that we have solved your problems and you will no longer feel down during your hiking trip after getting to know how to keep drinks cold in a backpack. You will get that shot of energy and refreshment within yourself as all the ways that we have listed above will work out and your drinks will stay cold for a very long period. No more facing disappointments and your thirst will be quenched if you follow the ways with care and religiously.
We ensure to enlighten you about every possible way just in case one does not seem to be working for you. Just a small tip that we would like to recommend is to keep yourself hydrated by keeping on drinking water during the entire trip. So that even if the amount of coldness of the drink that you carry lessens you will not be affected much.
Max, a passionate lumberjack and outdoors enthusiast, loves fishing, camping, and hunting. He has extensive experience in the great outdoors and is eager to join Outdoor Fun Mag to share his adventures and knowledge. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, Max promises to bring laughter, learning, and an unforgettable outdoor experience.