I'd like a cold beverage by my bedside in the middle of the night.
April 28, 2013 8:13 PM Subscribe
I wake up in the middle of the night thirsty occasionally. I like my beverage cold. I don't want to have to stumble to the kitchen for satisfaction. Is there a single bottle or can cooler that will suit my need? Any recommendations?
I've checked the usual online retailers and while there are some, it's difficult to tell if any are actually good. A dorm sized fridge seems like overkill for what I want. There are wine bottle coolers, but I don't know if that would be suitable. I mostly would like to use a 16 oz screw cap type water bottle, but a 12 oz can cooler might work as well. I really like my drink to be so cold it hurts my teeth, but I suspect the coolers I'm seeing online won't go that far. I could pack a bottle in ice before retiring, but doing that every night plus the ensuing mess might not be worth it. Any suggestions? Thanks!
I've checked the usual online retailers and while there are some, it's difficult to tell if any are actually good. A dorm sized fridge seems like overkill for what I want. There are wine bottle coolers, but I don't know if that would be suitable. I mostly would like to use a 16 oz screw cap type water bottle, but a 12 oz can cooler might work as well. I really like my drink to be so cold it hurts my teeth, but I suspect the coolers I'm seeing online won't go that far. I could pack a bottle in ice before retiring, but doing that every night plus the ensuing mess might not be worth it. Any suggestions? Thanks!
I have one of those dorm-sized fridges in the bedroom and trust me it's not overkill. When you want a nice cold beverage it's perfect. Plus if you have a lot of bottles and cans of something it's nice to store them there without taking up a lot of room in your regular fridge.
posted by bleep at 8:17 PM on April 28, 2013
posted by bleep at 8:17 PM on April 28, 2013
I have this thermos, and it reliably keeps ice frozen/beverages ice cold for several hours.
posted by rainbowbrite at 8:17 PM on April 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by rainbowbrite at 8:17 PM on April 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
I freeze my kids' metal water bottles and put them in insulated sleeve things. They are never completely thawed by the end of the school day. Freeze a bottle in the morning and take it out at dinner so you'll have water in the middle of the night and not a block of ice. Leave enough room for the water to expand. I've split a few metal bottles by overfilling.
posted by artychoke at 8:21 PM on April 28, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by artychoke at 8:21 PM on April 28, 2013 [4 favorites]
Freeze the water, take it out shortly before bed. When you wake up in the middle of the night there will still be ice in the bottle and the liquid will be cold.
posted by Dynex at 8:22 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Dynex at 8:22 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
For iced drinks, I really like these "sippy cups," but, you know, for grownups. The double walls prevent the cup from sweating, and the screw-on lid and straw will protect you from accidentall spillages when you take an errant swipe in the dark. So you could definitely fill a cup like that with a lot of ice and probably have a pretty cold drink for most of the night. They're pretty cheap, so may be worth a shot.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 8:26 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 8:26 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Seconding Thermos!!
I have this one though, not the one above in a comment.
Toss some ice water in there right before bed and see how that does. I LOVE this bottle - it's next to me right now. I also keep it by my bed. (I am very picky about water bottles.)
Mini fridge is an option, however note that they sound like a regular refrigerator (cycle on and off, put out heat from the back, etc.) So if you can't sleep with that, then I would say skip it. If you do want one, try to find a used one on Craigslist or something.
posted by Crystalinne at 8:38 PM on April 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
I have this one though, not the one above in a comment.
Toss some ice water in there right before bed and see how that does. I LOVE this bottle - it's next to me right now. I also keep it by my bed. (I am very picky about water bottles.)
Mini fridge is an option, however note that they sound like a regular refrigerator (cycle on and off, put out heat from the back, etc.) So if you can't sleep with that, then I would say skip it. If you do want one, try to find a used one on Craigslist or something.
posted by Crystalinne at 8:38 PM on April 28, 2013 [2 favorites]
You've seen these single-beverage coolers, right? I have no idea if this even works well (the reviews say it does I guess), and you'd need an adapter to plug into an outlet, but it's not a bad idea. Unfortunately out of stock now but I'm sure they'll get them back in stock as I've seen them for several years on thinkgeek.com.
posted by belau at 8:51 PM on April 28, 2013
posted by belau at 8:51 PM on April 28, 2013
When my wife was pregnant, she wanted to be able to have a cold beverage if she woke up without having to go downstairs in the middle of the night. We bought her this six can Coca-Cola mini-fridge, which also happens to be a good size for holding four standard sized water bottles. We found it on sale for cheap at Target. Amazon has this plain mini mini fridge for $39.95.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:54 PM on April 28, 2013
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:54 PM on April 28, 2013
My husband takes one of those tall steel Thermos brand Thermoses to work everyday full of water and ice cubes. When he comes home 12 hours later, there's often still unmelted ice in there.
Fridges are, as mentioned above, loud turning on and off (we still have a minifridge in the bedroom, a throwback to when we were just roommates and the bedroom was my husband's "roommate room" set up, and it wakes me up sometimes). And seem like overkill for just a cold bedside glass of water.
posted by ifjuly at 9:05 PM on April 28, 2013
Fridges are, as mentioned above, loud turning on and off (we still have a minifridge in the bedroom, a throwback to when we were just roommates and the bedroom was my husband's "roommate room" set up, and it wakes me up sometimes). And seem like overkill for just a cold bedside glass of water.
posted by ifjuly at 9:05 PM on April 28, 2013
Could you set up something like the (low tech) way of chilling wine? Keep a sealed beverage sitting in a bowl of icewater?
If that's impractical, I had that minifridge DirtyOldTown links, in my college dorm room. It was great for a six-pack of soda. I don't recall it making noise at all.
posted by Sara C. at 9:12 PM on April 28, 2013
If that's impractical, I had that minifridge DirtyOldTown links, in my college dorm room. It was great for a six-pack of soda. I don't recall it making noise at all.
posted by Sara C. at 9:12 PM on April 28, 2013
Get one of these with a lid: Silipint
They're amazing at staying insulated.
Or if you want the ultimate in overkill (or have a habit of drinking liquid nitrogen), a Stein of Science would fit the bill. Way more expensive than you'd likely want, and way more insulating than you'd generally need. But. You won't find anything better.
posted by CrystalDave at 9:36 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
They're amazing at staying insulated.
Or if you want the ultimate in overkill (or have a habit of drinking liquid nitrogen), a Stein of Science would fit the bill. Way more expensive than you'd likely want, and way more insulating than you'd generally need. But. You won't find anything better.
posted by CrystalDave at 9:36 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have one of these Bubba Mugs. I fill it with water and ice in the morning and take it to work. By the end of the day I usually still have ice chips in there, so it's really good at keeping things cold. I have the 34 oz. size, but they come in a smaller 20 oz. size too.
posted by katyggls at 9:47 PM on April 28, 2013
posted by katyggls at 9:47 PM on April 28, 2013
Are you by any chance single?
One man I know snagged his ideal girl because she was so impressed that after their first night consummating the relationship, he was able to pull cold bottles of expensive water out of a mini fridge in his bedroom to share.
I doubt this is as sexy if your bedroom looks like a dorm room, but in the right setting, it is hella cool!
posted by SockyMcSockyPants at 9:49 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
One man I know snagged his ideal girl because she was so impressed that after their first night consummating the relationship, he was able to pull cold bottles of expensive water out of a mini fridge in his bedroom to share.
I doubt this is as sexy if your bedroom looks like a dorm room, but in the right setting, it is hella cool!
posted by SockyMcSockyPants at 9:49 PM on April 28, 2013 [1 favorite]
The sugar-alcohol xylitol has a weird menthol-y cooling effect in the mouth, and has the bonus of being good for your teeth (esp. at night, when you're not eating anything). You could mix a spoon of it into your glass of water.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 9:57 PM on April 28, 2013
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 9:57 PM on April 28, 2013
Is the location you're sleeping anywhere near a concrete foundation? Here in the northeast U.S. I find that placing a drink in an aluminum flask so that it's sitting directly on basement concrete will keep it noticeably cooler than the indoor air temperature.
posted by XMLicious at 10:36 PM on April 28, 2013
posted by XMLicious at 10:36 PM on April 28, 2013
I have one of these. You can also get a tumbler (handle-less) version. There really isn't anything easier than push-button convenience, even in the middle of the night. Push the button again and it's leak-proof, even if you knock it over.
And as for keeping things cool...I've had a half-water, half-ice mixture in that thing and there was still ice clinking twelve hours later.
posted by Zelos at 10:45 PM on April 28, 2013
And as for keeping things cool...I've had a half-water, half-ice mixture in that thing and there was still ice clinking twelve hours later.
posted by Zelos at 10:45 PM on April 28, 2013
Fill a water bottle about half way up then freeze it lying on its side. Right before bed, fill it up then rest of the way with water. The large block of ice will keep it cold for a long time and because you froze it on its side, the water is still drinkable.
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:58 PM on April 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:58 PM on April 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
This doesn't answer your question, but if your nighttime thirst is new or increasing, or is accompanied by more frequent urination, it might be a symptom of diabetes or kidney disease.
posted by orthogonality at 1:23 AM on April 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by orthogonality at 1:23 AM on April 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
I have a Kleen Kanteen insulated thermos and it is cold enough that there's still ice in it in the morning. Since it's insulated it doesn't sweat, so it won't ruin your furniture.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 5:52 AM on April 29, 2013
posted by PorcineWithMe at 5:52 AM on April 29, 2013
I'll put my vote in for Hydroflasks.
I've never seen anything that matches their insulating capability without being much bulkier as well. They're thin-walled enough that it's not immediately obvious that they're insulated. Reviews here are pretty positive.
posted by jeffjon at 8:07 AM on April 29, 2013
I've never seen anything that matches their insulating capability without being much bulkier as well. They're thin-walled enough that it's not immediately obvious that they're insulated. Reviews here are pretty positive.
posted by jeffjon at 8:07 AM on April 29, 2013
I used to have a miniature desktop fridge similar to this, although it was a while ago so they didn't have USB powered fridges like this yet.
Nowadays I just keep a bunch of little bottled waters in the freezer, and keep one by the bed if I want a cold drink handy. But now that I'm looking at this thing on Amazon, I'm tempted to get one!
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 9:18 AM on April 29, 2013
Nowadays I just keep a bunch of little bottled waters in the freezer, and keep one by the bed if I want a cold drink handy. But now that I'm looking at this thing on Amazon, I'm tempted to get one!
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 9:18 AM on April 29, 2013
I freeze half a bottle of water. Then before I go to bed I fill it the rest of the way with cold water.
posted by Splunge at 12:15 PM on April 29, 2013
posted by Splunge at 12:15 PM on April 29, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions. I've opted for the Thermos Crystalinne linked to. I like the form factor, and had forgotten that thermos containers have evolved since I had one in my Jetson's lunchbox.
I like the ideas of freezing bottles etc, which I do for car trips and hiking etc. But I think I like the idea of a small cooler so that I could have it stocked and not have to think about it every night at bedtime. I will try the thermos container for a while, and perhaps consider a dorm type fridge as these ideal solution.
For the record:
1) I am single, and so the handy fancy water in a fridge as indicated above could be my smooth move.
2) I do sleep in the basement (my own, not my Mother's), and so could try the metal container on the floor trick indicated above.
3) I have considered the health concerns of being thirsty in the morning, and am keeping an eye on things. I think partly it is because I have become a snorer in my dotage, and wake with a dried throat.
posted by Fortnight Bender at 8:13 PM on April 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
I like the ideas of freezing bottles etc, which I do for car trips and hiking etc. But I think I like the idea of a small cooler so that I could have it stocked and not have to think about it every night at bedtime. I will try the thermos container for a while, and perhaps consider a dorm type fridge as these ideal solution.
For the record:
1) I am single, and so the handy fancy water in a fridge as indicated above could be my smooth move.
2) I do sleep in the basement (my own, not my Mother's), and so could try the metal container on the floor trick indicated above.
3) I have considered the health concerns of being thirsty in the morning, and am keeping an eye on things. I think partly it is because I have become a snorer in my dotage, and wake with a dried throat.
posted by Fortnight Bender at 8:13 PM on April 29, 2013 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by arnicae at 8:16 PM on April 28, 2013