Customer Reviews:
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 Gotta have one in the winter, November 24, 2007
By Biggie D (Rollinsville, Colorado, USA)
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If you play in the snow and ice...you need one of these. For ~$12 it's hard to pass up. While there is no hydration system that does not have issues of freezing up (I don't care if you keep a nalgene buried deep in your pack surrounded by hot packs - eventually it will freeze up), this is a great first line of defense. I'm on a mountain search and rescue team and got this for winter/avalanche season.
One tip...try blowing the water in the tube back into the reservoir after you drink...keeping the bite valve free of water (and thereby water to freeze) will help a lot.
20 of 20 people found the above review helpful.
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Cold in Summer, not frozen in Winter., September 28, 2009
By bblhed (New England)
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I have this tube kit and I use it year round. It keeps the water liquid in winter, and cooler in summer. An added bonus is that it also protects the tube and bite valve. An added plus is that it is all black so it camouflages the tube a bit if you need or are into that kind of thing.
Someone mentioned that they had problems taking the tube on and off their bladder for cleaning. I used to have that problem too, but I now follow camelbak's instructions and I use hot water whenever I take the tube off or put it on, it is a huge help! Just run hot water over the joint you are trying to disassemble for about a minute and presto it just slides apart.
10 of 10 people found the above review helpful.
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 Not As Advertised, January 1, 2010
By S. Cooley
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This product does freeze up, even when the temps are in the teens and low 20s. Based on their advertising, this shouldn't happen. Since the only way to keep the hose from freezing up is to constantly blow out the hose, you might as well just use the hose that came with the original bladder.
I ski in Colorado, and frequently this thing freezes up. It was money NOT well spent, for sure. The ad states it is for use in extreme winter conditions. I wonder what "extreme" means; certainly, any temperature below 32 degrees is not extreme, yet the hose will freeze in mildly freezing conditions. When skiing, the last thing I want to have to think about is whether I will be able to hydrate when I want to. Just a pitiful product.
5 of 12 people found the above review helpful.
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pain to put on but worth it, March 3, 2010
By Willem Schira (Madison, WI)
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Getting this thing onto my existing bladder was quite the undertaking. After fighting with it for about 30 minutes I finally got it on. Hint: hot water soak the ends of the hose before trying to get it onto the barbs on the bladder.
Well worth the effort though.
4 of 4 people found the above review helpful.
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 Thermal kit review, February 24, 2006
By Johnny Paradise (Omaha , Nebrasksa)
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I added the thermal kit to an existing reservoir to use while sking. The kit worked well at temps from 18 to 33 degrees. No freeze up! Good product.
I think it will also work for summer biking, as I hate that first mouthfull of hot water.
2 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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Keeps liquids cold on those hot days., July 23, 2011
By Scotti
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Like other reviewers have said, it's a pain to get the hose attached to the reservoir. But in my opinion, was worth the hassle.
Have to say that it keeps my liquids cool while I'm out mountain biking. Except the first ounce or so. I'm not too bothered by that but I can see how someone would not be satisfied if in a cold climate and the bite valve froze up.
I think it's a must have for those that don't like the warm water from the tube though.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Great for rallying, December 30, 2010
By Warren Wm Gollop (Barbados)
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I primarily use this to replace the included Camelbak delivery for over my seat in the rally vehicle. In my hot climate, this has worked wonders on keeping the water in the hose cool most of the time, but when in direct sunlight, the black covering does super heat, so hence the loss of one star. Rejects the ambient heat much better than standard. Also tends to stay where I put it over the seatbelt (with supplemental clips) for most of the time, even with all the banging around.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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works well in the Texas heat, August 3, 2010
By sabrina west (texas)
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works well it was a little tough to put on and I made the mistake after summer of taking it off to clean it...it was even harder to put on I had to cut it in half and slide the pieces together. I will probably buy another one and buy an extra tube for winter so I can just leave it on the tube and switch tubes. The little dirt guard on the end I've never used but I have a road bike so I really dont need it.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Got mine for the Summer!, August 19, 2009
By twoyellowlabs (Overland Park, KS USA)
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Two things make this a great add on accessory for the summer: 1) Included is a Big Bite Valve cover. 2) The thermal control works great in the heat.
I use mine primarily for XC MTB riding and picked one up for my new Mule N.V. just in time for a 90+ degree day ride on the River Trail in Lawrence, KS. My drink was nice and cold from the start every time. Compare that to my buddy with his standard issue Camelbak Mule. He had to suck out an entire mouthful and spit it out before he could get to the "cold stuff." Sure he could have blown the "warm stuff" back in and then started, but who wants to do that? The valve cover also managed to keep the dirt and grit off the Bite Valve and not leak all day including the ride to and from in the car.
One recommendation is to use the kit as is vs. taking the thermal cover off the new tube and adding it to the existing one already attached to your pack. Not sure what made me think it would be easier than following the directions, but it is doable if you prefer a tad shorter drink tube. I'm also considering the Filter Adapter Kit only for the convenience of having a quick connect as taking the tube on and off the bladder for cleaning is a royal pain.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Does Not Work for Winter Weather, February 9, 2011
By Jeff Hohensee (Boulder)
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We tried a "thermal control kit" @ 25°F. The bite valve froze. We tried putting the bite valve inside a coat. The line was also frozen. We asked some experienced skiers. They told us it was a nice idea that doesn't work. Don't purchase them if your intended use is cold weather. Darn.
1 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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Insulation is Needed, December 16, 2009
By Danno119
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Purchasing the Thermal Kit helps keep all of my water at the same temp, no more warm water in the tube after first use. Worth the money if used in both hot and cold weather. Prevents water from freezing if used in cold weather, like winters in Wisconsin. Protective bit valve is nice to have and keeps dirt out of valve.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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works pretty good, I think, October 24, 2008
By thirteens (Dallas, TX USA)
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I purchased this for my camelback when I went snowboarding. Im going to say it worked fine, the water always seemed not to cool that I got a brain freeze. I used it during the summer months camping and hiking, and I noticed that the water that was in the hose was always nice and cool but once you got passed that, the water in the bladder was warmer. I have it, so it stays on my bag at all times.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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 Works but..., July 30, 2010
By K. Wolber (MD, USA)
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I bought this product to use in the summer to keep my water cool and it did a good job. The problem I had that I wanted to caution others about is a design issue. I didn't like the cover that goes over the bite valve. It is much larger than I imagined and was less convenient than the normal valve design (I understand the reason for it, just saying I don't care for it). Because it's less convenient, I found that I was drinking much less frequently than I normally would and was concerned that I was more likely to become dehydrated. This may not be an issue for others, but it's one I had and hadn't considered before buying.
1 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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A must have for your Camelback, February 20, 2007
By Tom
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This was a replacement for my non insulated drinking hose. Good quality as expected from Camelback and easy installation. I have a 90 degree valve on mine instead of the standard bite valve, which necessitated cutting the protective black cover to fit around the valve stem...seems to work pretty well.
1 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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 Get the Antitode and Big Bite Cover, August 30, 2011
By David Yarber
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So, get the Antitode Insulated (with or without Director - your choice) and Big Bite Valve Cover. I bought this item for 2 reasons and I bought it because it was cheaper (about $10 cheaper than the Antitode and Big Bite Valve Cover). The 2 reasons I bought this item are I play a lot of soccer and:
a) I play on a new-age turf field with the tire-chip shred and when I drink out of the bite valve and lay it on the field, it gets covered in shredded tires - the same is also true for dirt, when I play on grass.
b) I live in Hawaii and I play in the sun. When I lay my camelbak down, even if I hide the tube in the shade, the water in the tube gets very hot, so my first drink is hot water. I wanted the insulation to prevent this.
Here are my critiques of this product (in order of importance):
1) When the product arrived and I took it out of the packaging, I opened the bite valve cover and the bite valve fell out. It was hard to get the bite valve back into the cover and it never really fit tightly. I thought about using epoxy or super glue to hold it in the bite valve cover, but this would create cleaning issues and I wouldn't want to drink water that passed through chemicals. I never actually drank water through the bite valve (because I am returning the item), but it seemed like the bite valve would pop loose under the pressure - the last thing I want while playing or on a hike is my bite valve popping loose and hitting the ground.
2) The bite valve cover is HUGE! The picture doesn't do it justice - it is 3" long, 2.75" wide (including the plastic connector), and 1" thick - it looks like this thing could survive a direct shot from a nuclear weapon - the practical implication being that it will not fit through my Deuter 28 AC day-pack (although it will fit through my North Face 75 L hiking pack). The plastic connector is hard, which is good for durability, but expands the bite valve's width.
3) The insulating fabric does not cover the drinking end of the tube - the picture shows the insulating ending at the bite valve cover - however, the item I received has about a 2" gap between the end of the insulation and the bite valve - I've tried sliding the insulation up the tube, but it is very tight and sticks - this exposes 2" of the tube to sunlight - there is another 6" exposed at the back-end - it wouldn't bother me if the exposed area was at the back-end and this unit would be shaded in my backpack, but it won't fit into the backpack due to the size of the bite valve (the bite valve won't fit through the opening at the top of the pack).
4). The insulation is black. Of all the colors to retard heat retention, black is the worst. Another user posted about this, saying that sunlight heats up the black insulation. Since I'm sending this back, I never used it, but any color is better than black.
I ordered the Camlebak Big Bite Valve Cover (separate order) and it arrived today (I have 2 Camelbaks) and it fits very well on my Rogue (my other unit is a 100 oz.- the unit for which I ordered this tube) - the Big Bite Valve Cover fits over the Bite Valve - you remove the Bite Valve, slide on the Cover, and push the Bite Valve cover onto it's original fitting - the cover acts as a collar between the on/off valve and bite valve - the unit above has you push the Bite Valve into the cover (not over the male receptor), so it isn't as tight of a fit and I believe it would fall off (my 1st point). I ordered the Antitode Insulated Tube Director plus another Big Bite Bite Valve Cover for my 100 oz - I got the Director version of the tube insulator because the tube will most likely no longer fit in my backpack's clip, due to the increased width - therefore, the Director will keep it in place.
When my Antitode Insulated Tube Director and Big Bite Valve Cover arrive (probably in 2 weeks since I live in Hawaii), I'll write another review under that item. If I don't post another review, you can assume that it is all good. If you have any questions/comments, please reply to this review (I have e mail notification on). I have a question for other users of this product - Do you have a problem with the bite valve falling out?
Ironically, I had no problems getting the tube onto my 100 oz Camelbak - a little push and it slid right on (I didn't even use hot water) - this was the most commonly complained about feature of this unit, but the size of the bite valve cover and the possibility of the bite valve falling off were my two biggest concerns.
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it works, better than nothing, May 3, 2011
By Josh (US)
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I absolutely hate being on a hike and my first drink of water is hot. This helps a little, it still gets warm but its better than nothing. If you get it wet, it works a little better. If I am where I can get ice I put ice in my camelback, keep this thermal tube sleeve wet, and drink often so it don't have time to get warm. I guess untill they come out with a refrigerated camelbak and tube this is better than the alternative of having to spit out the first couple drinks of water.
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Works great, but hard to get on, September 18, 2010
By D. Clewley
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This replacement part works well once it is on. The trick is getting it on. The hose is a very tight fit and was very difficult to get over the retaining bulb connector on the bladder.
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Keeps your water from freezing!, April 9, 2008
By premiere purchaser of random.. (New Britain, CT USA)
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Attaching this to my Camelbak was easy, but removing the old one first wasn't. I didn't want to have to cut the old one to remove it, but that's what I ended up having to do.
It definitely keeps the water in the tube from freezing as quickly. I skied one season with the original tube and I was always breaking the ice and trying to thaw the tube out between runs. This year, I used the insulated tube and it definitely takes longer for the water to freeze in there. The water will still freeze... just not as quickly.
The only negative thing is that water kind of collects in the cap when you're not drinking from it and it drips out when you open it to drink from it.
Word of advice: Feed the tube through the hold down straps in your shoulder straps BEFORE you attach it. The nozzle and cap DO NOT fit easily through those.
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Thermal Control for Camelbak tube - not, January 19, 2012
By Marcy G. Steinberg (Sand Lake, NY USA)
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I was very disappointed. The first time I used it hiking last week in 20 degree weather and it didn't keep the water from freezing in my tube. Don't waste your money like I did.
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It works!, October 28, 2011
By David Kinney
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Bought this to replace original and decided to get thermal as it will be used for Boy Scout BlueNose. Will try to update this after camping trip in February. So far so good.
Only issue is that it is a little difficult to put on.
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Keeps my water cool, March 31, 2012
By Juan Sotelo
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After fighiting with this damn thing just to install it, it works just fine. Keeps my water cool.
Little FYI how to install it: ( I got this off a review from here just broke it down better )
Get a cup of water
Put it on the microwave for 1 to 2min
Dip the straw into the hot water and leave it for about 20-40 sec.
Now slide into the bag but fast dont let it cool down
You should be able to install it in less than a min.
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It works!, October 28, 2011
By Scoutmaster Dave (Isle of Long, NY)
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Bought this to replace original and decided to get thermal as it will be used for Boy Scout BlueNose. Will try to update this after camping trip in February. So far so good.
Only issue is that it is a little difficult to put on.
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