Water bottle uses friction to melt snow suitable for drinking

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One danger when mountaineering or participating in back-country snow sports is running out of water. It may seem odd to run out of water when surrounded by snow, but eating snow actually promotes dehydration and hypothermia. Most adventurers rely on small gas stoves to melt snow. Now there is a way to melt snow without the use of finite resources. The H2 Snow is an alpine survival tool that melts snow into drinking water using human power. It has an unlimited melting capacity.

The H2 Snow was developed by RMIT design student Tim Lutton. It is a one litre drinking bottle that uses friction to melt the snow. Inside the bottle is a sealed copper tube fitted with silicone blades, in addition to, a specially-designed scoop to fill the bottle with snow. Once full, you can then insert the scoop into the bottom of the bottle, which becomes a handle. Operated by hand the user turns the scoop/handle to rotate the blades. This then creates heat through friction, which melts the snow. The H2 Snow can convert 200 grams of snow into 100 millilitres of water if operated gently for 20 minutes.

The H2 Snow joins other sports and survival innovations covered by Springwise. This includes sports gear that helps users survive an avalanche and a squeezable titanium water bottle. However, according to Lutton, the H2 Snow is the world’s first purpose-built snow melting tool that operates without a reliance on finite resources. “Where the sun can disappear for days and fuel sources deplete, H2 Snow is a simple solution that works again and again.”

Takeaway: The H2 Snow was recently named a James Dyson Award National Runner Up. Lutton plans to increase the efficiency of the bottle and generate foot-powered prototypes. The market for survival tools is growing rapidly to include increasing numbers of preppers and survivalists. Is there also a market for a device that melts snow with only human power?

Website: www.rmit.edu.au
Contact: www.rmit.edu.au/contact

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