The Canadian winter can be brutal on reeds. Where I live, we usually get a week or two each year of intense cold (-40 C and worse) and that’s not exceptional. When it’s cold like that, the relative humidity can get very low (10% or less).
Does anyone have any suggestions for preparing/packing reeds so they won’t die in extreme the cold/dry winter air?
Wait until spring PJ. Not worth the risk. It has only been down to around - 20 C in Toronto at the worst, so balmy by comparison.
This winter I’ve been fairly disciplined about keeping the pipes in the basement. Down there I have only one central heat vent, so I’m led to believe it is more humid than upstairs. The D set is sounding great. C chanter OK, but C drones very cranky.
Good topic, as I too live and pipe in the frozen wastes of the Great Dry North.
It’s not clear to me if a well-made reed will actually crack from winter shipping. If it is securely packaged I think it should be ok (?). I’d be curious to hear if this is an issue. I assume it comes down to physics (poor packaging) more than anything else.
I continue to gig, even in this weather (it was 1degree F last time I went out with the pipes). Mind you, the pipes are not at their best. But playable. I wonder if the formation of ice crystals in a humidified reed contributes to splitting (?). I don’t humidify my pipes, generally, and they live in an unheated room (ave. 55 degrees F and 20-30%rh).
Still, every time I take the pipes out in this kind of weather I wonder if I’m dodging a bullet. After all, WWPJD?
It’s not so much that reeds crack, but rather that they lose their form and rigidity.
In my mind, the binding of the reed is an important step in its making: there has to be a certain amount of tension in the tails of the cane. Put the reed in the mail where it will go from room temperature to an unheated warehouse/delivery truck and probably spend a few hours in a mailbox, there will be contraction of both the cane and staple, as well as loss of humidity from the cane. This, I suspect, changes the tension on the tails and causes the reed to collapse.
I agree that the best course is to keep the pipes/reeds indoors at a constant temperature and humidity. But if you have to ship reeds/pipes, has anyone come up with a method to minimize the risks?
Would anyone of a scientific bent oop North be willing to run a field trial? Make some reeds that are at least basically playable, put them in a box, and put them in the garage or better yet, a storage shed for a week?
I could manage this. Next bitter cold snap. Today doesn’t count as it is a balmy 20F up here on the mammoth steppe.
Hey, it’s 20 here, too! No furs today.
It would be a really cool analysis. (Pardon the pun. … Wait, don’t. 
)
I have a couple of dispensable reeds I’ll put out in the feed shed next time temps and humidity drop again here, maybe to 20 average and 30% RH. I’ll play them first and make a few notes, track humidity and temp for a week, and then compare them to “before.” It won’t be Canada or Minnesota cold, but it will be Midwest cold.
Oooh, I feel so … analytical.
I’ve had emergency reeds sent to me in the middle of the Winter before with snow and all. After removing them from the packaging and leaving them alone at room-temperature normal humidity for a few hours (or overnight), they were just fine.
Is the issue here about shipping reeds? Have you considered a stout, air-tight container shipped in a well-padded box?
I’ve seen plastic containers in sporting goods stores that are for locking up wallets, cell phones, etc. to keep them dry and safe for hiking, biking, camping, water-sports, etc. They are quite stout looking and have an O-ring for the seal, usually with a clamp/latch to seal the container.
I’d think that’d be good for point to point shipping - make the reed hold its breath while in route.
…see if this link works.
FWIW, it’s not necessarily just an extreme-cold thing. I took my set back to Ireland years ago, and found that the reed had died in transit. I took it as carry-on, so temperature was probably OK, but the dry air on the plane just seemed to suck the life out of it, I suspect much in the manner that PJ described in an earlier post on this thread. Got a new reed, been back a few times since, without issue, so it’s partly the luck of the draw, methinks.
On reflection, maybe something airtight, a tupperware-like boxes might be worth investigating (with the rubber gasket and the locking ears on four sides). If it’s more the humidity than the temperature that affected things, it might do the trick. There’s your next experiment Cathy!
I’m in the far east of Russia alot these days and I have found that using Pelican cases that come with the rubber O ring in the seal and a instrument humidifier can keep reeds playable when it gets to -45C. As long as the cases are not left outside for longer than 2 hours at a time you should be fine. airtight sealed cases seem to be the key. Thats what works for me
Now that’s some useful info in conditions I (please God) will never be able to replicate - thanks! 
I wonder, however, about moisture and freezing over longer periods of time … i.e., if a humidified reed is hanging out in a warehouse at 20 degrees or so for some days, might the moisture freeze and cause trouble there? Would it be better to ship dry?
Aha!! Vacuum sealing – we’ll have us some cane jerky!
Indeed. When water freezes, it expands.
Beware, and airtight container will not necessarily help and may make things worse. It’s RELATIVE humidity that does most of the damage, and that is very temperature sensitive. A reed packed at 30%RH indoors at 18C in an airtight container will get very wet if chilled to zero C.
I just received a chanter from Joe Kennedy last week. I told him I was concerned about shipping the reeds because the temps were so low ( 0 degrees f at night), he said they should be fine. He was right. The chanter and reeds played perfect with very little adjustment, and continue to play well. FYI.
A couple of months ago I bought a chanter from a chap in England and so of course he shipped it here to the U.S. via air mail. The reed was playing fine in England but would barely make a sound here, the lips were almost closed. I adjusted the bridle a little, but what helped the most was to just let the chanter sit out in the room that I play in for about a month. Once it was fully acclimatized it played much better! Just my own experience.
Bill, your making me think about humidity, which is a good thing. As you say, a reed in an air tight container that is cooled in transit will get wet because the air in the container can’t hold its moisture. So how about minimising the air space?
Also, is cane affected by absolute humidity rather than relative humidity? To this end I just ordered a wet bulb hygrometer to measure absolute humidity.
Sean
I don’t know that differences in weather can be avoided too much. Just make a darn good reed and ship it.