when it cools wouldn't it then draw out heat from your body? My second thought...em third... second is the weight of the bottle. third is why not pee in it during that, 'I really don't feel like getting up', moment.
when it cools wouldn't it then draw out heat from your body? My second thought...em third... second is the weight of the bottle. third is why not pee in it during that, 'I really don't feel like getting up', moment.
You're on the right track. Here is the issue when it cools off:
When it cools to or below your body temperature, your body is now keeping it warm. In return, the bottle of water is effectively increasing your bodies surface area by it's area minus the area it comes in contact with you (pretty much the surface area of the bottle. This increased surface area is able to give off more heat than your body is alone... But in all honesty this is pretty negligible.
With that said, once the bottle doesn't feel warm any more, ditch it or swap it out for a hot one =)
In my experience the bottle has still been warm to the touch in the morning. This past weekend I was hanging outside and it got down to 4. I rewarmed my bottle at 2am after I got up for a nature call. I normally don't do that but I've never been out in that cold before. I warmed it on the stove from the comfort of the hammock, it was still warm when I got up at 7.
Most people are going to have a bottle anyway so the weight doesn't count. If your going to have a pee bottle the weight of that has nothing to do with the weight of your drinking bottles.
I use this trick anytime I am below the mid 30s (I am a Floridian and can freeze to death at room temperature...). I was out two weeks ago in 22° (my lowest) heated the water at midnight and at 7am it was still quite warm, probably 120°. Then I boiled this water for breakfast which took much less time because the water was warmer than everyone elses blocks of ice.
Finally it served to lighten my load in terms of fuel.
“Indian builds small fire and stays warm, white man builds big fire and stays warm collecting firewood”—unknown
“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea”—Karen Blixen
Was nice and toasty all night long during both nights of this weekends NJ Winter Hang. Low temp was reported at 13F and my bag was nice and warm when I got into it due to the (2) 32 oz bottles of ~200F water I had placed in it 1/2 hour before bed (one in the foot box and one mid-ship). Ahhh lovely!
Not only does this trick warm up your sleeping bag nice and warm, you can also rate your bag. Simply zip up your bag, boil your water, place it into your nalgene, and put it into the center of your bag. Roll the head section of your bag so the top is sealed. After one hour, come back to your bag with a thermometer and take a reading of the temperature of the water inside the nalgene. While not being the most scientifically accurate, this is a good way to compare bags when it comes to thermal efficiency.
One of the reasons we did this in the cold Minnesota winter camping trip was to pre-warm our bags and then keep us warmer at night BUT to also have liquid in the morning to heat water for breakfast. We were guaranteed to have liquid by doing this. Another method was to turn our bottles upside down and stick them into the snow thus an insulator!
So yes....boiling water in the Nalgene. Replace the lid and turn upside down making sure there are no leaks! Then toss it in the bag before you go to bed. I had mine between my legs and at my feet and even pulled it to my belly a couple of times. Warm warm warm!
Then in the morning you have liquid and not a solid! We also had a "peebottle" in the bag with us. Rather than crawling out of the bag, just do your business, replace the lid securely and now you have TWO warm bottles! WARNING...make sure you know which one is which! ha ha ha
I'm a pee bottle expert (self proclaimed lol)
I always use 2 nalgene bottles on trips. It makes it easier to do water management.
One I fill with just boiled water and sometimes I put some warm water in the second one too, otherwise the second one is empty.
Both of these bottles go inside my bag a bit before I crawl in, nothing better than a preheated bed
If both are hot, I have more heat stored inside my bags. If one is empty, nothing is lost, I have the warmth of the other one and a pee bottle ready to go.
When I need to make yellow snow and don't want to get up, I drink from my bottle that will become my pee bottle (it will have a littlebit of warm water , to stay hydrated and warm me up, and then I do my thing in it. So I still have a warm bottle, I hydrated myself AND I now have a 'yellow liquid' bottle
Another thing I have used to supplement the hot water bottle is to drink a liter of hot chocolate before bed. It will keep you warm...but you might have to wake up and fill another bottle with warm water.
TheNumberSix
stay in the hammock to pee .......or get out n' pee... In a HH you could pop your feet out and simply sit there and fill the bottle. In a top loader.... not so easy...(I assume) Lay on your side???? Flip to your stomach and up on your knees???? Give me the mechanics of it. Curious minds want to know. I've noticed enough people mentioning peeing with out "getting out" to know it is not an uncommon thing to do....... but I can't imagine..... help me join the club..... exactly how do you do it!!???
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