So I’m about to go on a hiking trip…in the summer heat. I’ll use Frio packs for my insulin, test strips, etc. The directions say they need to have air circulating to work. Will they work if I put them in a day pack? Or do they need to be more out in the open than that?
Your Frio is not supposed to be in an air-tight or water-proof part of your pack. When I hike, I leave the zipper half open for the compartment where my Frio is. I also carry my pump in a Frio when it is very hot and I know that the pump will be in direct sunlight. The pump stays incredibly cool regardless of the temperature. So I suspect you could also attach the Frio somewhere on the exterior of your pack with a carabiner clip and in a net bag if your Frio doesn’t have a belt clip. I don’t normally worry about my meter and test strips and keep them in their case attached to my belt. I’ve never had problems with them but the max temp I’ve dealt with is about 90 degrees (but hot Arizona sun and no shade.)
1 Like
My backpack has a side pocket for water bottles and such. It zips open to become a net pouch - perfect for a Frio. Have a great trip!
I spent five months travelling around South East Asia a few years ago and used the Frio packs. I never found a problem with having them in my pack, though I made sure that they were not stuffed in surrounded by other things. Be ware if they’re in your pack though not to forget and leave the pack in the sun.
I made that mistake on one occasion, foolishly left my frio packs in my bag, my bag was placed on top of a bus and the trip took about 12 hours.
If you have any areas within the pack though that have more ventilation, I’d suggest you put the frio packs in there.
1 Like
I don’t mean to drift this item, @Donman90, but how difficult was it to get out of that situation? Cooked insulin while so far from home and maybe in a remote area?
When I’m backpacking I always split my insulin 50/50 between my large pack and my day pack, so I still had half my stuff with me on the bus. I don’t actually recall the insulin in the pack ontop of the bus really being affected that much, there may have been a slight change in how much I needed to give with it, but I was backpacking and my diet and activity were so far out of what I normally would have had it was nearly impossible for me to say if any unexpected blood glucose were because of that, or if it was just because I had dosed incorrectly, exercised too much or many other factors.
1 Like