CamelBak Thermal Control Kit

I planned on using this for a two week backcountry trip in Japan. It seemed like a great idea, but in reality the mouthpiece was either frozen or leaking. After a couple of days of being incredibly thirsty or wet, I went back to using a water bottle.

Got this for my first halfdome hike two years ago to keep my water cool. After reading these reviews looks like I got it for the wrong reason, but it kept the water that was in the tube cool. Still fit my purposes.

OK...when it's hot out and you want cold water, simply fill reservoir 1/2 full and place in freezer overnight with fill cap facing up. Top off with water before you leave and viola!, cold water all day long. In winter I add a disposable heat pack between the reservoir and insulating bag. This keeps the water luke warm, which is much easier on the mouth in cold temps.If it's really cold out, I'll rubber band a heat pack on the tube right by the bite valve so I don't have to clear the tube after every use.

This is a must have for the long days on the slopes. As CamelBak says, hydrate or die!!! One thing, don't leave water in the mouth piece. It will freeze and then you can't get anything out.

blowing the water out of the tube is by far the best way to go. I had problems with freezing even with this kit. on't get me wrong, it helped....blowing the tube clear works every time. If you are lugging a heavy pack on snowshoes in freezing conditions with only frozen water you are not happy.

its keep water cold but leaks a little if the mouthpeace in lower than the bad it drips very little water but love it its 130 out side and water stay cold

Every once in a while I think, oh it won't be so cold, I'll try using the insulated camelbak again.
And no matter how vigilant I am I can't keep the tube from freezing and am then to lazy to dig the bladder out of my pack to drink straight from it.
Nothing wrong with the high tech method of keeping a plastic gatorade bottle inside my jacket.

We all know in the below freezing temperatures it is almost impossible to keep that line from freezing, this will definitely help, but not stop the inevitable. While a bit pricey for something so simple, if you have the extra $15 and want a little help in the winter, get it. Otherwise blowing into the bite valve until the water in the tube is all resting in the Camelbak reservoir, works equally as well..and its free.

I think for what you are getting it is quite expensive. the mouth piece is very large and difficult to thread through the camelbak to get into position. Also difficult to remove the cap with ski gloves on. i found the tubing very long, but then i am very short so that could just be my problem. Overall the insulation does work well if you are out in the cold weather. Its a great idea but over prices for what it is.

The thermal control kit cap piece is too big to fit through CamelBak's (yes, CamelBak) shoulder loops. This makes it impossible to easily remove the bladder/hose from the pack to wash/fill.
Not recommended.

This is to keep the water in your tube from freezing in cold weather, not to keep your water cool in warm weather. You got it bass ackwards man!

Does what it should, my water didn't freeze up, also keeps the first gulp nice and cool in the summer. My only gripe is that the valve cap is so big, it takes me forever to force it through on 2 of my packs. Makes it difficult to easily move my bladder from pack to pack.

I bought the classic pack and noticed that at the base of the mountain I was drinking water and at the summit I was drinking slush. Get this to keep the flow going and to prevent your bite nozzle from icing over.

While I've never used the normal tube, I find every first mouthful hot. Maybe this thing is more suited to cold weather use; i.e. not freezing. Once you clear the tube the ice you filled your pack with before putting in water has the water ice cold all day, while still melting quickly enough to never run out of water. I work in ninety+ weather, so it may be that I'm expecting too much. But for twenty bucks I wish that I had bought a cleaning kit instead.

Product keeps water in the tube as cold as the water in the bladder. First drink is as good as the last!

The most annoying thing about any Camelback is when you are really thirsty and you take that first big gulp of water and... gross! It's luke warm. The Thermal Kit solves all that. It keeps the hot, hot and the cold, cold. The cap on the end also helps keep the mouthpiece clean and free of debris. Everyone who owns a Camelbak should also get the Thermal Kit.

I use my camelbak (2006 Mayhem model)for mountain biking trips in south-central Texas (Blackhawk Hydrastorm for hiking/backpacking). This kit replaced the un-insulated hose that was standard on the Camelbak when I got it. The heavy rubber end cap was cumbersome to use and bulky (distracting to have that hitting your helmet/face on jumps or rapid technical decents) so it has been removed. The neoprene like insulation doesn't do as good of a job keeping the fluid in the line cool as the Blackhawk Hydrastorm system does, but is an improvement over the uninsulated tube. This one probably works best in cold climates rather than the 105 degree summer heat of south Texas.

Recommended, but does not work miracles!!

This is a waste of money and time. I saw no benefit with installing this. Water froze in the tube and in the bite valve in mild temps even when blowing the water out after drinking. You also loose the on/off valve with this product.

The thermal tube works great for keeping the tube flexible in cold conditions. There are 2 options for keeping the tube from freezing in cold conditions: either drink frequently, every 10 minutes, OR blow the water out of the tube after you take a drink. Tested at 8,400 - 10,000 feet, at 9 degrees Farenheit.

Well, if I could remember to blow the water out of the tube every time I took a sip then I think the Thermal Kit would have worked well. For that matter, if I remembered to blow the water everytime I wouldn't have needed the Thermal Kit. The tube froze so I am not sure to what temp. this thing is rated. Maybe they should have a little chart that shows the water going from liquid to ice and where the kit stops working?

I bought this as an unbottle, as my old 70 ounce reservoir constantly left a nasty plastic taste. I bought into the marketing hype of the new gear in hopes that they told the truth. Well, perhaps the reservoir itself doesn't emit any plastic taste, but I think this tube kit does. I need to swap the tube with the uninsulated tube to find out for sure. But, besides this, the tube came undone from the reservoir (I had it pushed as far as it could go, just like the stock tube). Thankfully this happened in the house after my outing. But, I was not pleased to get a sudden burst of water everywhere. And, as far as its insulation qualities...while it probably did help some, every sip I took started out with a nice rush of warm/hot water. And, the rubber/plastic cap was very cumbersome to use. As mentioned earlier, it will not fit through CamelBak's shoulder "loops". You would have to feed the tube through the loop first, then attach it to the reservoir, then fill it. That's not convenient if you like to freeze some water overnight first. For me, it's not worth the $16. Use that money towards a cleaning kit.

I was at Alta on Friday where the top temp was 6 and the tube froze solid while outside on my back (using old 70oz bladder which remained liquid throughout the day). At some temp (probably around low teens), you have to put the tube inside your clothing which begs the question, why buy this thing at all.

Can't get the bite valve to fit back on the tubing if the rubber cover is on it. It will fit without the cover, but the whole point I got this was to keep the valve and tube from freezing.

I just got this Thermal Control Kit, and I am stoked with the results! I have had no problems with my water freezing up in the very cold temperatures, as long as I blow the water back into the CamelBak bladder when I am done drinking. As long as you remember to do this, you'll be good to go!

Bought it for winter xcountry ski tour- and it worked just as it said. The other folks with me were struggling with frozen water in their tubes and nalgenes, and minus one little slurp of half frozen water, it flowed perfectly. I highly recommend it.

If your bag doesn't have an insulated sleeve then one of these thermal control kits work great. My older bag wasn't very camelbak compatible so I used this with pretty good results as long as I was taking frequent sips.

I bought this after my original tube froze up on a couple of winter camp outs. It was such a pain to get the ice out of the tube. I haven't had a freeze up since I bought it. A little tip. For overnight, tuck the mouthpiece down in the bladder sleeve and zip it tight. This further reduces freeze ups. Also in answer to the other reviews, if you open the cap and feed the cap and mouthpiece separately you can get this through most anything you need to.

Worked well for most of the day, but when the temp. got in the teens the water froze in the tubing and I was unable to hydrate until I went inside to warm up.

halfway thru an intense hike the bite valve came apart and water everywhere,mostly on me not a great thing when its 40 degrees. I survived the hydration bottle didnt. will look for other type.