I was going to post an inquiry to the tin foil thread about where to get extra heavy duty aluminum foil, but then someone mentioned titanium foil. Hmm, interesting, so I looked its pros and cons, and found this on <http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/titanium-foil-windscreen.html>:



The plot thickens!!! Now there is stainless steel foil???

A malleable metallic foil seems like such a basic and useful thing, that I propose to have a separate thread to honor this basic survival tool. (I was also thinking of upgrading from my basic heavy duty aluminum foil anyway.) So let's have a discussion: what kind of foil is best, and where can we get it?

Thus far, I see a few candidates:

1. Heavy duty aluminum foil. Recommended on ETS. You can get this at the bigger supermarkets.

2. Extra heavy duty aluminum foil. It seems available through professional kitchen supply stores at 100 yard lengths or some such industrial length. Costly at that price. I couldn't find a source for just 5 yards.

3. Titanium foil

4. Stainless steel foil

5. Kyptonite foil? Adamantium foil? Taking nominations.

So, does anyone have experience using any of this stuff?

Da Bing

Drat! Foiled again! (sorry, I just had to say that)

I've got some Ti foil, a BackpackingLight Ti windscreen. I'll have to dig it out and look at it. I haven't had it out for a while. The problem with Ti is the expense.

Al foil is cheap and readily available. Seems like the most viable option honestly. You can get various grades all the way up to "crafter's foil" which is the approximate gauge MSR, Primus, etc. use for windscreens for their stoves.

Steel is heavy and is not very flexible. Steel foil tends to be difficult to work with, and it's a great way to cut yourself. It's more like a shim than the flexiness of Al that we're all used to. I don't think steel is a very viable option. I've got a steel windscreen on my MSR Capillary Force Vaporizer stove. It's great as long as you just unroll it and use it as a windscreen, but no way could you make a water tight boiling vessel out of it.

Of course there's always Unobtanium, which is the perfect material for nearly everything.

HJ

There's molybdenum foil, as here:
http://www.elmettechnologies.com/products/Molybdenum/foil.php#calc
http://www.2spi.com/catalog/standards/molybdenum-moly-foil.shtml

at $160 for a 1.3 gram 2"x2" square of 2 mil foil, from the second source, though, gold or platinum foil would be cheaper.

-rafowell

I've been using a Ti windscreen from titaniumgoat.com. Rolls up nicely and is plenty durable. I use clothespins or paperclips to adjust the size. Much better than my home made aluminum windscreens.

I use aluminum drier duct, the rigid kind that's used to go thru walls, not the flimsy accordion duct, with my alcohol stoves and bottle cup. I just wish I could find larger than 4" diameter. 6" would be ideal.

I like that the interlocking seam can be separated so you can re-roll the duct to fit inside a bottle cup or cookset, then it springs back and can be interlocked again, or even spread out to leave one side open to accommodate larger cooksets.

Dryer duct, and taking materials from the US strategic reserve of titanium - what's wrong with turkey basting pan? Its thick, can be cut to any size, and lasts for years. If you don't like your screen you can start over easy enough. And its available at any grocery store for a couple dollars.

I just don't see the need for heavier, lighter or far more expensive alternatives. I've always made my stove wind screens from inexpensive, cut up turkey basting pans.

I use aluminum roof flashing. I don't fold mine, but I guess it can be folded. I usually roll it up and place it inside my stainless cup. I know this doesn't fall under "foil", but it's just an option I thought that I'd throw out there.

Personally, I would rather just carry a pot. It's far sturdier, much more dependable, is useful for lots of things, and it can hold some of your stuff. Granted, it won't fit in an Altoids tin...

Sue

Okay, split the difference between aluminum foil and a bulky, one-piece cup: collapsing aluminum cup

Sue

I know a lot of knifemakers use stainless foil to wrap the blades when they are hardening them. Keeps them from being exposed to oxygen when they are hot which will decarburize the surface of the steel (and just make a mess which takes longer to sand it clean). I personally haven't used it, so I can't comment to the foldability/durability, but it will withstand REALLY high temps, which aluminum foil won't.