single person pot & pocket cooker review

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siguy

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Aug 26, 2006
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walking around the seasonal area at walmart last time i was there i noticed this little 600 ml stainless steel pot with a basting brush attached. got the brush and the pot for $4 together...not the best deal but not that expensive.

the pot is made from pretty thin gauge steel sheet, so it is light. i don't have my scale handy, but i would guess around 4-6 oz at the most. it is a good size for someone going on a short trip not looking to carry alot of weight or where you will only be cooking a little, maybe just making some ramen noodles or tea.

since i know that a lid makes heating water far more efficient, i decided that i would whip one up for this pot. it took me a while to think of what i could use, but then i remembered some aluminum flashing i had knocking around in the shop...

along come the tin snips and a pair of pliers and i have a super light weight custom fit lid that is totally free! (or really cheap if i had to go and buy the piece of metal)

pictured with my pocket cooker...

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the lid also works with my coffee can billy:
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pocket cooker review:
this is a really neat concept, and i think that it has a ton of potential. the real downfall to the design is that if you don't have decently dry conditions it is difficult to get this started or to keep it going, since it depends on small twigs for fuel. you can split up wood into kindling sized pieces (i found about the size of a pencil or smaller to work best) if you can't find dry kindling.

overall, i think it is pretty cool, but my alcohol stove with a small bottle of fuel is lighter and easier to use (and cools off faster for repacking). of course, my stove can run out of fuel and then it is just a little pile of aluminum until i can get more fuel, whereas the pocket cooker can run forever as long as you have wood.

i think that the pocket cooker is most useful in a longer-term situation where you don't want to worry about carrying fuel. it is also nice to be able to just set a pot or pan right on it, instead of worrying about a pot stand and windscreen.
 
Siguy - looks good. Can you get a shot of the cooker folded up? Also what is the weight on it and how much volume does the cooker take up relative to a small backpacker stove (including canister).
 
I've been eyeing those cookers for awhile, comes with a case, right? Great job on the lid!
 
Thanks for the review siguy...I've been eyeing that pocket cooker; I agree it's probably too heavy throw in the pack, but might be a good addition to the truck kit.

That's a nice little stainless pot too...excellent job on the lid!

ROCK6
 
hey guys, here's the info on the pocket cooker:

21 oz (1lb 5oz)
~6.5 x 3.75 x 7/8" folded

i don't have any other stoves besides a soda can style, but here it is pictured with a 1L nalgene:

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That's a lot more compact than I first thought and I'm sure it's pretty efficient.

ROCK6
 
it's decently efficient, i would say much more efficient than an open fire using the same wood amount. it keeps all of the fire in one spot and also keeps it directly under the pot, which is a good thing.

my only real problems with it are that it can be hard to use unless you have alot of small dry twigs or split kindling, and that you have to wait a long time for it to cool off enough to pack away.
 
Nice pics of the pocket cooker. I have been thinking of picking one up. I have used a Sierra stove and it is great except for the having to feed it from the top, and the reliance on batteries.
 
Those pics were perfect Siguy, thanks. Basically, it looks a tad on the heavy side but at the same time it takes up low volume, which sometimes is more important than the weight of the item itself. Those are also good points about find the right type of fuel and also the requirement of putting out the fire and allowing cool down time. I don't imagine the latter attributes are necessarily too combersome. I.e. if you are in a hurry you can put it out with water and that will also cool it down. I'm going to keep my eye out for one of these things.

I was looking at CDN tire today and they had a bunch of those gel-tab canisters. You know the ones you use with a chaffing dish or your fondue set. Anyhow they had one called 'magic heat' with a little built in stove. According to the advertisement, the canister will last 6 h. Because the canister has a lid, kind of like a pain can lid, you just ram the lid down on the flame to put it out and that also saves your fuel. I thought that might be another alternative. The canisters on there own are pretty tine too. However, I don't think this system will generate nearly as much heat as Siguy's stove above.
 
those little gel alcohol heaters are great for smaller applications...but i've never tried them for heating up something like a pot of water. when i was younger we went to the drive-in theatre alot and my parents brought those along for us to toast marshmallows over since fire wasn't allowed.
 
kgd said:
I was looking at CDN tire today and they had a bunch of those gel-tab canisters. You know the ones you use with a chaffing dish or your fondue set. Anyhow they had one called 'magic heat' with a little built in stove. According to the advertisement, the canister will last 6 h. Because the canister has a lid, kind of like a pain can lid, you just ram the lid down on the flame to put it out and that also saves your fuel. I thought that might be another alternative. The canisters on there own are pretty tine too. However, I don't think this system will generate nearly as much heat as Siguy's stove above.
Click to expand...

I used to use a Sterno stove which used cans of jelled alcohol, IIRC. They worked but you wouldn't want to be in a hurry. :(

BTW, tossing water on the pocket stove to cool it down - couldn't this possibly warp some of the metal preventing you from folding it up properly?

I have a Z-Ztove which burns wood and if you dump out the ashes, etc. when you're through cooking, it usually cools off in the time it takes to eat your food (assuming, of course, that you don't Hoover it down :eek:)

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Looking down inside:

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I think that little folding stove of Siguy's would be just the ticket for most people. Personally, I hate cooking in the woods anymore and would rather boil water in my Guyon and heat up some soup in a cup/ vegetarian chili (freeze dried), etc., and spend the rest of the food prep time for hiking, bushcrafts or just plain lazin' about. But that's just me. :(


Doc
 
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The pocket stove is available from several online survival shops. Campingsurvival is one and bepreparedtosurvive is another.
 
I won that pocket cooker here in a contest and haven't used it yet, but I plan to after I heat treat and temper the knife I made.

Have you found an efficient way to stack the wood or just throw it in there?
 
because the chamber is a bit small, it is hard to stack the wood really well, i just sortof ended up tucking sticks in wherever i could fit them.
 
Interesting thread thank you, I also like the look of that Sterno 50002 mini stove in the amazon link.Anybody have experience with these as well?
 
Thanks siguy. I'll have to pick one of those up.

I have a question and I hope most here don't think I'm less than the wilderness type :p.

Not seeing it in person, how many charcoal briquettes do you think it will hold?

I'm not opposed to using natural branches and wood, but on short day hikes or campsite use, where weight isn't a big issue, I think a few Kingsford MatchLight briquettes would be quick starting and burn for a long time. Weighing only a few ounces It wouldn't be much to take a few along.

Thanks,

Chris
 
rupestris, i would guess 3-5, maybe up to 6 if you packed them a little tighter...

that's a good idea, i hadn't thought of briquetts...
 
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