I have a Kelly kettle and have used it quite a bit. It is bulky, but works fantastic.

I am not interesting in cooking with it, just boiling water, and it works fine for that.

I`m a big tea drinker, cider drinker, hot cereal eater and occasional mountain house eater... the idea seems great for long-term camping to me! Just a lil more than I'd like to spend.

Much of the typical camping fare is freeze dried or dehydrated and really doesn't require any real cooking. Most of the 'cooking' seem to amount to: pour in boiling water, cover, allow to sit for a time. French press, or <gag> instant, coffee and tea are easy. In a major breakdown of infrastructure boiling water will be a way of treating water.

Then again these specialized devices aren't doing anything you can't do with a conventional pot. The difference would seem to be a matter of efficiency and speed. And what your willing to spend to save time and fuel.

Of course, there is also the 'gee whiz' and cool factor. Which, for some people, may be, on its own, worth the cost.

Cooking, they all have optional cook sets that can go on top to support regular cooking as well. Cost more but you can still cook in a pan.

Seems awfully heavy for what it does. Still, an interesting gadget.

Smaller sizes weigh about a pound or so. What does your water filter, UV pen, stove, fuel and fuel bottle, water bottle and cooking pot weigh?

Edit: Susan, acorn delivered by oaks near you.

We've discussed the drawbacks of these kettles several times on this forum (and the ways to fix that) years ago. But manufacturers aren't listening. They are using the cheapest technology possible only to cut their costs. To recap: it's easy to make the top lid removable. It's easy to add an emergency vapor valve on the lid instead of that pesky cork. It's easy to add a folding spigot near the bottom to make pouring more convenient. Such a "new" design will simply resemble the proven by ages Russian samovar design.



Sure thing it's much easier to weld 4 plain pieces of metal and sell for hundred bucks.

Alex,

I agree it would be an improvement the replace the cork "lid" with a chain-secured, screw-on stainless steel stopper that would allow leakproof water carrying - and perhaps incorporate a pressure release / tea kettle whistle type feature.

Your suggestion to turn the kettles into samovars by adding folding spigots would seem to introduce new problems of packing and transport, as well as vulnerability to damage.

A removable top lid for the fire chamber "volcano" might make transport of items inside the chamber more handy. A second removable lid that opened the top of the water chamber would ease filling, emptying, and cleaning it - and might allow its use for cooking. A lid that incorporated both features seems possible, though might challenge the stability of the overall strength of design.

Have you sent your suggestions to any of the three kettle companies?

I was just trying to remember the name for the pot that works the same way. Sometimes they are used to make Chinese or Mongolian Hot Pot meals.
This is the pot with a fire in the middle just like a Kelly kettle.
Again it is fuel efficient, but awkward to pack.
http://www.wokshop.com/HTML/products/steamers/steam_hp_chinese_brass.html

scafool, IMHO, the packability is second to efficiency. If you can run to the woods with your BOB in case of a major disaster, you will be able to find plenty of wood for cooking in a simple tin can over the open fire. Forget all these high-tech stoves, concentrate on the primitive skills, and pack more usefull things in your BOB. But if you have to stay home, in a city, all the nearby sources of fuel (propane, gas, wood) will became scarce very soon - too many people around.