Tall metal water canteens?

steve-in-kville

steve-in-kville

Joined
Dec 25, 2001
Messages
1,139
I am looking for those taller water canteens that I see folks boil water in over a fire. They have a bail handle on them. I don't know what they are called or what brand they may be. I am putting together a weekend backpacking kit, some traditional gear, some ultra-light & modern gear and that type of water canteen looks useful for when an open flame is available.

Many thanks in advance!
 
I don't think you can buy one with a bail already installed - you have to make the bail yourself. I recommend a stainless steel water bottle rather than aluminum - Klean Kanteen or whatever. You can make the bail out of picture hanging wire.
 
Consider lite kettle. One meant for backpacking and camping. Best thing for boiling water.

Only reason I won't get one is because I have a rule that I must be able to eat and drink directly from what I boil water in, and a kettle would mean another piece of gear weighing me down and taking volume in my pack.
 
For the canteen shape vs just a water bottle shape, the three I'd suggest is an old stainless USGI rig, a Pathfinder canteen set, or the Heavy Cover canteen set. The USGI and Pathfinder rigs are stainless steel. The Pathfinder is the larger and more heavy duty of the two, but also doesn't fit inside some standard canteen pouches. The Heavy Cover set is titanium and does fit all standard canteen pouches. I've gone to the Heavy Cover set and really like it. While expensive, it's well built and the gauge of Ti used is thicker than most ultralight Ti stuff that is flexy and flimsy feeling. It's the ideal blend of weight, durability, and versatility for me. Given that water and a knife are my primary tools that I take on EVERY trip outside, I don't mind spending money on them and building my kit around my water and knife. I've used my Ti canteen set for well over a year almost daily and have no complaints.
 
gdpolk said:
Fo The Heavy Cover set is titanium...
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Titanium is terrible to cook in. It's big draw is among untralighters, but the properties (thermal conductivity) that makes it so great for supersonic aircraft skin (an ability to resist incredible heat) makes it for poor cooking where you want the heat from the external source to make it efficiently to the internal food/water you are trying to heat. You'll need so much more fuel to boil water in titanium over the course of a trip, your will most likely have to carry more fuel weight than the weight saved by having titanium cookware. I not want to boil water in a titanium container regardless of the fuel/heat source I was using. Just ain't worth it.
 
leghog said:
Titanium is terrible to cook in.
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I find this forum very interesting.... for many years I've done day hikes and hung around the backpacking "ultra-lite" forums. Overnight trips on an 8 pound pack? How can that even be fun?! I'd rather take my time and be comfortable in camp than burn my through a trail and be miserable.
 
steve-in-kville said:
I find this forum very interesting.... for many years I've done day hikes and hung around the backpacking "ultra-lite" forums. Overnight trips on an 8 pound pack? How can that even be fun?! I'd rather take my time and be comfortable in camp than burn my through a trail and be miserable.
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Lightening the load can actually make for more fun. It can be quite liberating too. You might be surprised how much you can lighten your load with no negative effect on comfort.
 
I have much to learn for you folks, thats for sure. And here I thought you guys were all about batoning in this form!!

Silly me.
 
Battoning is primarily what we're about. As for the cooking w water bottles not all are made for it. Some have coatings on the inside. Good idea to read up on it before getting one. Some Klean Canteens are good for heating. The fish spreader is an easy way to hang it over a fire.
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I use a "cousin" to the stainless Zebra billy can. It has a built in flat strap bail and a press-fit lid. No complaints whether used for water boiling or for full on cooking. Plus it is just big enough to hold a fuel canister and micro stove if I go that route instead of using my Emberlit stove.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am looking at mil-surp stuff at the moment, as it appears it would serve my needs at a reasonable price.
 
Nalgene Guyot is the bottle I've been using for some time- put my own bail on it

heat up water for coffee or soup, melt snow, etc- pretty handy

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