Kettle

j williams

j williams

Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Messages
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Ok, Anyone use a kettle for backpacking? What are some good ones? Brunton Vapor? GSI? Titanium? Seems like it would work well for the mountain house meals, coffee, etc......

How versitile are they? Can you use them as a stew pot too, or is it a PITA to cook in one?

Thanks!!!!
 
I have the one from GSI. It works great, is cheap and weighs nothing. However, while buying it seemed like it would be cool, I don't use it much. About the only times I've used it was when I was specifically and only wanting to heat water over a fire while car camping. The problem with using it for hiking is that you have to carry the water in a separate container, but if you use a Guyot you have your water and an apparatus for boiling it in the same package. I guess hiking with a snow base would be another exception where the kettle would be better since it is lighter then a Guyot and boils quicker.

So - IMO, worth adding to your gear collection for certain occasions, but I can't really see any reason to buy one more expensive then the GSI...
 
I have used the ones that actually look like a kettle, but they're not as versatile as a pot as you can't easily cook in them. I use the MSR Titan Kettle, which is titanium, has a pour spout and can also be used as a regular pot for cooking in. It's usually all I bring on solo trips and it's great for dehydrated meals, cocoa, etc.
 
kage said:
I have used the ones that actually look like a kettle, but they're not as versatile as a pot as you can't easily cook in them. I use the MSR Titan Kettle, which is titanium, has a pour spout and can also be used as a regular pot for cooking in. It's usually all I bring on solo trips and it's great for dehydrated meals, cocoa, etc.
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I use the Titan Kettle as well. If it had a bail, it would be the perfect solo kettle for me.

SANY0021-2.jpg
 
I have the GSI kettle, and I love it. I carry a White Box alcohol stove in it (with windscreen and other small accessories.) It's perfect for freeze dried and freezer bag cooking. It low wide stance allows for quick heating and efficient use of fuel.
 
PITA for real cooking as in putting together an stew or cooking meat from an kill.

I have the MSR Titan and it's good as an large cup for hot drinks, hot cereal, or maybe oatmeal. Thats about it.

For real cooking I have and love my Zebra pot/kettle. Mine is the larger one and is great outside and at home for cooking. The small TI kettles are best if you are going solo and have oatmeal or food that requires only water to add for an meal. They are not intended as real cooking utensils and burn your food very easily if not attended to.

My romance with small, light, kettles has fizzled out. They are what they are and they do fill a purpose as in heating up prepared foods, not makeing meals.
 
j williams said:
Ok, Anyone use a kettle for backpacking? What are some good ones? Brunton Vapor? GSI? Titanium? Seems like it would work well for the mountain house meals, coffee, etc......

How versitile are they? Can you use them as a stew pot too, or is it a PITA to cook in one?

Thanks!!!!
Click to expand...

I've used a simple alu Trangia one for a few years. I've no reason to upgrade it. I could cook in it but it would be hard work. I've boiled eggs in it a few times but nothing more. I tend not to do that because it defeats the purpose it has for me - as much as I can leverage it I want my water to taste / smell like it comes from a domestic tap. I like that the kettle fits neatly inside a Trangia pot and I don't believe titanium would afford me any advantage whatsoever 'cos I don't do those forums with the buying bragging rights thing so much. When this one eventually dies I'll likely just slot in a new one.
 
j williams said:
Ok, Anyone use a kettle for backpacking? What are some good ones? Brunton Vapor? GSI? Titanium? Seems like it would work well for the mountain house meals, coffee, etc......

How versitile are they? Can you use them as a stew pot too, or is it a PITA to cook in one?

Thanks!!!!
Click to expand...

I have a kettle and find it good for boiling water - it can hold enough water for 2 cups of coffee/tea/hot chocolate/Milo. I can boil 2 cups worth in 2 or 3 minutes with my gas canister stove.

Personally I would rather use a normal pot for stew and a fry pan for frying - the right tool for the job. The kettle works much better for hot drinks with the spout for easy pouring. When camping in cold weather the easy making of hot drinks makes it worthwhile for me to have the kettle - I have my Milo & raw sugar mixed up in a container and I have my titanium mug, I pour some water into the kettle, sit it on my camp stove and light it up - mmmm, nice hot cup of Milo! I take a bottle of milk and keep it out of the sun - seems fine for 2 or 3 days. The milk may not be so good in hot weather, but I only have cold water in hot weather and hot drinks in winter - so it isn't an issue for me.

My kettle looks like this: http://www.kathmandu.co.nz//60876/Camping-Kettle.html except it is not black. I got mine as a pot, frypan & kettle set for NZ$40 - cheap, but it works just fine.
 
I have the small Primus as well and they work great for what they are, mine just doesn't get used much unless we're car camping. After trimming down the backpacking kit, it's not a needed item and less versatile for what we do. If all your meals and drinks were instant, it would do fine. The shape would be a PITA if you needed to clean it out after cooking a meal in it.

I really like that Titan Kettle and agree that having a bail added would make it ideal. The larger lid/opening helps to clean, cook in it or refill with water.

I do like the broader base of the Primus/GSI kettle; it makes it much more stable on the smaller stoves.

ROCK6
 
baldtaco-II said:
I've used a simple alu Trangia one for a few years. I've no reason to upgrade it. I could cook in it but it would be hard work. I've boiled eggs in it a few times but nothing more. I tend not to do that because it defeats the purpose it has for me - as much as I can leverage it I want my water to taste / smell like it comes from a domestic tap. I like that the kettle fits neatly inside a Trangia pot and I don't believe titanium would afford me any advantage whatsoever 'cos I don't do those forums with the buying bragging rights thing so much. When this one eventually dies I'll likely just slot in a new one.
Click to expand...

I use the 27-series trangia and really like it as well. The sauce pan, frying pan, kettle combination is a very versatile one and the upper/lower burners stand/cover really improve the efficiency of the stove. Its a perfect cookware set-up for a couple of days.

When I'm just going for a day hike then I usually use a basic little burner cover and snow peak solist as these all nest with my water bottle into a water bottle holder.

For that titan kettle (which looks like a pot to me), just wrap a piece of snare wire around the rim, then use another piece of wire under that as a bail. I do the same with my snow peak pot. Works great and the wire can be folded out of the way to keep the nesting capacity.
 
I have a GSI Hialute and a 12cm Zebra pot. Both are outstanding.
However I get more use out of my GSI kettle than anything else. You can see me using in my youtube videos.
 
oldpinecricker said:
PITA for real cooking as in putting together an stew or cooking meat from an kill.

I have the MSR Titan and it's good as an large cup for hot drinks, hot cereal, or maybe oatmeal. Thats about it.

For real cooking I have and love my Zebra pot/kettle. Mine is the larger one and is great outside and at home for cooking. The small TI kettles are best if you are going solo and have oatmeal or food that requires only water to add for an meal. They are not intended as real cooking utensils and burn your food very easily if not attended to.

My romance with small, light, kettles has fizzled out. They are what they are and they do fill a purpose as in heating up prepared foods, not makeing meals.
Click to expand...

The Zebra's are too heavy for my liking. You could try an Open Country 2Qt non-stick pot for $11 bucks. I have the non-coated 2 qt pot for cold-weather solos, or if accompanied in warmer weather:

http://www.opencountrycampware.com/...83/product_037536dfffab/session_cb13ff638092/
 
Thanks for all the info guys, really appriciate it. :thumbup:

I should mention, I have the 12cm Zebra pot, and love it.

Im thinking kettle for the trips with the wifey. When its just me, usually its the Guyot/GSI cup that sees the action. Or the Zebra pot....
 
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