I've never tried the Sigg, but the stainless Kleen Kanteen ones are fine if you half fill them and freeze them. Just remember to cap them AFTER they are frozen. Same with the old USGI aluminum canteens.

Thanks IR, and thanks to everyone else for the suggestions. I'll put the Kleen Kanteen on the list of things to try, it's steel as opposed to aluminum so probably behaves differently. I also picked up 4 Wenger equivalents to the Sigg bottles fairly cheap on good ol' ebay, so I can sacrifice 1 or 2 without feeling too badly.

Put the polyethylene (Nalgene) quart bottle through a couple of freeze/thaw cycle, filled and capped before freezing (yes, the "wrong" way to do it). Bulges at its weakest point, the middle, when frozen as expected. Didn't split, but its ability to "give" most likely degrades with age, so I didn't expect to learn anything more by cycling it some more.

Just to recap: Ideally, I'd like a container that can just stay in a vehicle holding water year round and be heated in the winter to get some liquid out of it. Year round, in the glorious upper midwest, means one has to expect temps that can range from -25 deg. F to +100 deg. F. The "leave it in the vehicle" part means that "properly" filling and freezing water in any kind of container is not an option, it's going to be subjected to freeze/thaw cycles all on it's own. It could be, say, 20 deg. F overnight and 40 deg. F the next day. I really like IRs idea of keeping it under the hood, which means that liquid water will be available some percentage of the time, but this also would seem to make necessary the use of a metal container as plastic would melt; and residual engine heat is only going to keep it warm for so long, so were back to the freeze/thaw cycling again.

Soooo... Again. I'll be experimenting this winter (aluminum, steel, full, half-full, etc.). IR says this can be done and, dammit, he's never lied to me in the past! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Thanks again to all.

-Meat

Well, I was thinking you'd just put it under the hood to thaw as needed. I wouldn't store it there, no way. Otherwise, you've got to worry about a much wider range of tempuratures, and a lot of stuff getting on it that I just wouldn't put my lips on. Not to mention one good pot hole and you just fired a water bottle through the radiator and took out the fan and who knows what else.

Whether one stores it in the cab and puts it under the hood to thaw or just keeps it under the hood, I think the conditions that the container's sujected to are pretty much the same. I was really thinking about doing this just for the winter, going back to the 4 quart bottles in the cab for the warmer temps.

As for the flying bottle syndrome: not if one makes a secure enough bracket.

I don't think the under-hood environment is as nasty as one might think. After all, your cooling, brake, exhaust, oil, etc. systems are all supposed to be closed. In PerfectWorld, the casual observer stuffed under the hood would notice (besides being darned uncomfortable): air being sucked into the engine, heat, a lot of noise. Also, I'm pretty sure that metal bottles have much less of a tendency to absorb chemicals than plastics.

Some years ago, there were a couple of books out about cooking food on your engine block (while driving). Usually, the food was just wrapped in foil and placed in the appropriate spot for the desired temp (top of the exhaust header, between the air cleaner and intake manifold, whatever).

By the by, I went back the reusablebags.com FAQ (link in previous post) to see what they had to say about freezing a KleenKanteen stainless bottle. They say it's not recommended, but can be done.

I freely admit I drive an imperfect car- it's old enough to drive itself. And has the health issues to prove it. :P

And actually, I would think that it would get quite a bit warmer over the long term under the hood. I've lifted the lid in the rain and had the drops hissing and sizzling when they hit stuff- I haven't fried yet in the driver's seat. Arm has gotten sunburned a few times, but thats it.

Sure it's warmer under the hood. That's why we want to put the bottle there. If you're thinking it's too warm, well, water at , say 150 deg. F, is pretty much the same as water at 70 deg. F. It only becomes hornery at 212 deg. F. It's a matter of placement under the hood. Your plastic windshield wiper fluid bottle doesn't melt, does it? Why? Because its located far enough away from the sizzling bits. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Several years ago, I split a Sigg aluminum bottle. I partially filled it, left the cap off, and placed it at an angle in the freezer, so that when the water froze, it would not exert pressure all the way around the bottle. I thought doing so would prevent a split. I was wrong. The local store where I bought it sent it back to Sigg for me, & they replaced it.

Now, plastic bottles, on the other hand...I've used Nalgene polypro & Lexan bottles both, freezing & thawing with no problems. The plastic bottles that water comes in (such as Aqua Fina) withstand a lot of freeze/thaw cycles. We keep a couple of 1 liter bottles filled, capped, & frozen solid in our big freezer. They're used as extra ice packs that double as cold drinking water when they thaw.

I typically leave several in my truck, year round. The worst thing that's happened to any of them is that the frozen AF bottles are slightly swollen, & won't return to their original contours. They also have the advantage of being "free" (sort of...if you're buying bottled water anyway, reuse the bottles!), and easy to replace when necessary.

David

Zebra stainless steel lunch box - official zebra site

You may be able to email them to see if there are any importers in your area.

At a sporting store in Paris, I saw these boxes yesterday.
But even if it is called a "popote" (meaning a mess tin), on the box itself, the label warns against using it over a flame .....

Hi,

it seems to be some confusion around the boxes used for the last models of survival kits by BCB in the UK...

Just to clarify; these boxes are indeed modern Japanese lunch (bento) boxes. Have a look at this link;

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/bento/box.html

The exact country of origin still remains unknown however:-)

Kind regards from the Artic:-)

Bjarte