By Sean Fagan
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Having a cup of tea from my flask between taking photographs and bird-watching (I spotted a peregrine falcon!), (Photo: Sean Fagan - on the north face of Galtee Mor, south Tipperary, Ireland). 

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I’ve been using flasks in the outdoors for years.

There is nothing quite like sipping a hot drink on a cold, damp day on the mountains or in the woods.

Besides providing a nice morale boost, drinking hot liquids during inclement weather helps keep me warm and energised (I often put honey in my tea for extra pep).

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What kind of flask do I use?

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I use stainless steel flasks. The reason why I use a stainless steel flask will become increasingly apparent in the rest of the blog.

For the most part I use a stainless steel flask because of there durability.

There are made to last -as they are made of, well, stainless steel (a pretty tough material!).

I avoid like the plague - plastic flasks – especially glass-lined, plastic flasks.

Even though glass-lined flasks are highly insulating and generally lighter than steel flasks and will keep liquids hot for longer than steel flasks – the glass is prone to shattering if a sudden force is applied (e.g. falling onto hard ground).

I’ve witnessed a friend accidentally drop her large, glass-lined flask before a hike.

The inner glass lining was shattered. It was a warm day and we were about to embark on a long, steep mountain hike...so it was not good news.

There are other compelling reasons as to why I use a stainless steel flask - which I will touch upon later.

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The stainless steel flasks I use are insulated – the main body of the flask has two, thin layers of stainless steel - so there is a pocket of air between the inner and other layer of steel.

Air is a good insulator (although steel is not) and hot liquids within a double layered stainless steel flask can keep hot for the best part of 6-8 hours.

That’s usually plenty of time to keep liquids hot before consumption.

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However, an outdoor rule I generally abide by is to bring items that are multi-use.

And a stainless steel flask is just that…a multi-use item.

I’ve come up with 5 outdoor uses of flasks. It’s certainly not a comprehensive list (I urge you to come up with your own list).

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5 Outdoor Uses of Flasks: 

  1. Keeping Liquids Hot
  2. Keeping Liquids Cold
  3. Cooking
  4. Storing Tinders
  5. Storing Wild, Edible plants (incl. berries and seeds)

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  1. Hot, Sugary Liquids

The most obvious and most popular use of flasks is keeping liquids HOT or more realistically…keeping your tea hot!

And tea is far more than just tea when outdoors.

Drinking hot liquids during cold or damp weather can help keep the body hydrated and warmer – both important factors in staving off the serious outdoor issue of hypothermia.

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One key factor when participating in strenuous outdoor activities such as, for example, hiking mountains in cold weather is that the body requires adequate hydration to keep warm.

Which drives home an essential outdoor truth – adequate hydration is required for both hot and cold conditions.

I also like to include honey in my tea.

I purposely do this because the simple sugars of the honey help keep my blood sugars nicely topped up (low blood sugar can be a contributory factor to hypothermia and other conditions)

In summary - hot, sugary, hydrating fluids can help the body to thermoregulate more effectively during chilly weather.

(*Honey is my choice of simple sugars – you can of course use regular brown or white sugar. I know of some people that use hot, diluted blackcurrent or orange drink – both of which have a high sugar content).

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  1. Keeping Liquids Cold

On warm or hot days it’s nice to drink a cool, refreshing drink – as doing so will maintain a cooler core temperature.

Thankfully, flasks are just as efficient in keeping liquids cool as they are in keeping liquids hot.

Thermoregulation is more efficiently preformed when cool liquids are imbibed during warm/hot ambient temperatures.

This can be important in avoiding heat-related health issues such as heat cramps and heat exhaustion (I've suffered this once, never to be repeated).

 

  1. Cooking

.An unusual but effective use of flasks is making soups and stews.

  • Finely chop up your soup or stew ingredients (e.g. vegetables, meat and other ingredients such as wild edible roots - if available).
  • Place your ingredients into the flask. Add some seasoning.
  • Pour boiling water into the flask until it’s full. Firmly screw on lid.
  • Allow the hot water to thoroughly cook the food over a couple of hours.

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I often do this first thing in the morning before a trip. It’s great – no need to cook a meal over a fire or camping stove – and I have an instant, hot meal.

By the time I stop for lunch my stew or soup is well-cooked, piping hot and bursting with flavours and retained nutrients.

I often use my 1 litre flask for this task as it contains a sufficient volume of food to keep myself well fed at mealtime – also, the larger flasks have a wider opening – allowing me to add chunkier food items to my stew/soup (no need to cut up the vegetables and meat into extra fine pieces).

It’s more than possible to use a smaller flask – just chop up the ingredients into smaller sizes (so as to comfortably fit through the flask opening).

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  1. Tinder Store

Being able to store natural tinder in a water-proof, crush-proof container is a great outdoor asset for those of us who want to ignite fires with natural tinders.

It can go a long way in ensuring the next camp fire will be successfully ignited - especially during damp conditions.

I often use my flask for storing tinder when I’m hiking from one campsite to the next. Collecting natural tinder en route to a destination is a great way of planning ahead as an individual will often come across a wider range of natural tinder while travelling on foot.

One of the minor tragedies of outdoor living is arriving at a camp site where there is a conspicuous absence or lack of natural tinders! Best to plan ahead.

*Avoid putting toxic natural tinders in a flask as there can be a risk of poisoning. Also, make sure the flask interior is dry before adding natural tinders.

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  1. Storing Wild, Edible Plants

One of my favourite alternative uses of flasks.

Flasks are airtight, tough containers and are ideal for storing wild food forage such as edible plants. They will prevent edible foliage from wilting through moisture loss. They will also prevent the plants from being crushed.

It’s important that flasks are not used to store wild food that could be toxic as it can contaminate the flask and potentially cause poisoning.

At the risk of stating the obvious don’t carry wild food that you can’t positively identify. IF IN DOUBT LEAVE IT OUT.

Always thoroughly clean your flask after it has been used to store edible plants.

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.Sterilising my Flask

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As regards sterilising my flask – my routine is simple.

If I have been using my flask for alternative uses besides storing hot liquids I do the following…

I pour boiling water into the flask and put the lid on for about 1 minute. Just before I empty the water I loosen the lid and hold the flask upside down - allowing the hot water to pass through and sterilise the threads of the lid.

Occasionally, I finish off the drying process by briefly smoking the flask and lid over my campfire - just to be sure.

I then leave the flask upside down, overnight, so as to drain-dry (often on an upright wooden stake driven into the ground or on my cooking tripod (If I’m using one).

I don’t need to sterilise my flask when I use my flask solely for storing hot liquids (I just drain dry when finished with flask).

But when I use my flask for making soups or stews or for storing tinder or wild edible plants then I make sure to stick to my routine of sterilising my flask (usually at the end of the day).

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Flask Sizes

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I mostly use 3 flask sizes – 500ml, 750ml and 1000ml. I also have a large 1 ½ litre flask, which I rarely use.

I mostly use the 500ml flask as it's compact and light – an important consideration if you are on a self-propelling trip (walking with a rucksack!).

I don’t carry flasks as my primary source of hydration when outdoors – I always carry a large, water bottle as well – usually a 1 or 1.5 litre tough plastic bottle (I like Naglene bottles but I occasionally use metal or plastic military-type bottles).

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Carrying 2 litres of hydrating liquids per day seems to be a good ballpark figure for most of the outdoor activities I do.

However, if I’m in a hot country or it’s a hot day where I live (Ireland) I will easily carry 3-4 litres of water, if not more.

A flask (along with a larger water container) can be helpful in keeping optimally hydrated.

A good tip for keeping a flask hot for longer is to wrap the flask up in some insulating material such as a jumper, or what I prefer – some cheap, yoga or sleeping foam mat material cut to size and wrapped around the flask (kept in place with thick elastic bands). I even occasionally use a stuff sack – not great but retains the heat within the flask for longer.

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Overview

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A flask is somewhat bulky and a little on the heavy side.

It’s simply not essential kit especially when venturing outdoors as lightweight as possible.

But I love them – and will always carry one when practical.

They can certainly add a pleasant dimension to the outdoors and as touched upon in this blog post – they can have multiple outdoor uses.

 

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Related articles on this website:

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*Outdoor Tip:  How do I know if I’m well hydrated when outdoors?

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I use a very simple and reliable method of ensuring I’m well hydrated – my urine.

As long as I’m frequently and copiously urinating a mostly clear (or pale yellow) urine then I know I’m well hydrated. For myself to reach this well-hydrated state when active, I need to be drinking about 2-4 litres of water per day (carrying a flask can help achieve this aim).

A great practise I use for keeping properly hydrated when outdoors is to drink a litre of water upon arising.

This works especially well in hot countries.