Frequently Asked Questions

What is the MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle?

The MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle is a top quality, 24 oz. bottle fitted with a sponge like, super absorbent shell.  Just get the shell wet and it has the amazing ability to cool your drink as much as 30° below the temperature of the surrounding air.  The exterior shell was especially designed to absorb enough water to provide several hours of cooling.

The MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle chills your drink by evaporative cooling.  What is evaporative cooling?  If you've ever gotten out of a swimming pool when the wind is blowing, you have experienced evaporative cooling.  Centuries ago man figured out that if the outside of a container could be kept moist, the inside of the container could be kept cool.  Water bags and clay wine carafes are examples of this technology.  Unfortunately for the modern cyclist neither of these are suitable for the rigors of bicycle travel.  Hence the invention of the MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle.

Actual road tests have shown that MaxChill will give you a cool drink for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

No,  as long as the foam inside the shell is wet the cooling power will work.  The fabric layer outside the shell may actually feel dry to the touch after about 20 to 30 minutes.  However, as long as you thoroughly saturate the shell before use, the foam inside the shell should absorb enough water to to keep your drink cool for 1 1/2 to 2 hours (that's the real test).

No, we have tested MaxChill on all sorts of dusty and dry mountain bike trails and have never had a problem with dust sticking to the shell.  The reason is that the fabric layer outside of the shell tends to dry out in 20 to 30 minutes.  The foam inside the shell, however, will stay wet for 1 1/2 to 2 hours giving you a refreshing, cool drink for that amount of time.

Evaporative cooling is possible because of the large amount of energy that is required to turn water into vapor.  This energy, called the latent heat of vaporization, will be taken from whatever the water is in contact with when it evaporates.  In the case of the MaxChill bottle the water is in contact with the foam as it evaporates and thus as heat is taken from the foam its temperature will drop.  The following websites provide additional information on evaporative cooling.
• USA Today's Interactive webpage discussing latent heat (Cool Graphics).
• Port-A-Cool's "What is Evaporative Cooling?" and "History of the Evaporative Cooling Phenomenon".

Just fill the MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle with your favorite beverage and saturate the shell by gently squeezing it under water.  Then stick it in your bottle cage and go.  As you ride, the water in the shell will slowly evaporate thus chilling the liquid inside the bottle.

The MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle will always keep your drink cooler than a standard plastic bottle but it works best when the relative humidity is below 70%.  The good news is that as the temperature rises humidity decreases.  In fact, for every 20^oF rise in temperature the relative humidity is cut in half.  So if at 6 AM in the morning the temperature of the air was 70^oF and the relative humidity was 100% and the temperature rose to 90^oF by noon, the relative humidity would be 50%.  So, no matter where you live, as the temperature increases MaxChill's cooling power also increases.

The MaxChill^TM shell has a colorful top quality nylon laminant that is made of  the same athletic grade fabric that is used for football jerseys.  We use topicality materials because we know you demand it.

Yes, you can freeze the MaxChill before an activity but you probably don't have to.  For most activities evaporation of the water in the shell should keep your beverage cool so you don't have to remember to freeze anything.  This is because using evaporative cooling is 750% more effective than melting ice (i.e., It takes 2500 Joules of energy to evaporate 1 gram of water but only 333 Joules to melt 1 gram of ice).  Still, there are those activities which require Maximum Power Cooling (e.g., a several hour cycling ride in the Arizona desert).  When you need Maximum Power Cooling just add ice or freeze water in the bottle before the activity.  This maximizes the time MaxChill can keep your drink cool because you take advantage of the latent heat of fusion and the latent heat of vaporization.

Sure, just remember not to saturate the shell if you're worried about your water freezing.  When the shell is dry it acts as an excellent insulator.

Camelbak's are great for carrying large amounts of water on long rides but are not well suited for sports drinks.  They are difficult to fill and even more difficult to clean (Click here to see what could be growing in your camelbak if it isn't properly cleaned).  The MaxChill^TM Sports Bottle, on the other hand, has a wide mouth top for easy filling and cleaning.  In addition, you don't need to add ice with the MaxChill^TM sports bottle so your sports drink will never get "watered down".

MaxChill^TM can be easily cleaned with soap and water.  You can also put MaxChill in the dishwasher, shell and all.  Just put it on the top rack away from the drying element.  The non-foaming nature of dishwasher soap allows it to penetrate the shell for a thorough cleaning.  You can also take the MaxChill^TM shell off and throw it in the washing machine.  If you do, remember that it is easier to take the shell on and off when it is wet.

MaxChill is trademark of EvCool Ltd. Littleton, CO
©1998 EvCool Ltd. All rights reserved. Patent Pending.