I am looking for a better cooking/water boiling "cup" for my small BOB. It can't be much bigger than a porcelin/Enamel Cup from Wal-Mart (the blue ones). I have one of these, I used my Esbit stove w/ it and it worked fine but i was just wandering what you guys use.

Rusty:

Compared to what some of these guys & gals haul, I am probably underequiped in many areas.

For cooking I have stainless steel Sierra cups with wire handles which nest into each other very nicely for my smaller pack. The shape is weird compared to "regular" cups because they flare up and out instead of being straight sided. At 49 cents each at my local Goodwill store, you can't beat them for compactness except possibly having one of those "telescoping" cups and I don't know if you can heat anything in them without leaking the contents. In my bigger pack, I have Sierra cups and a stainless steel cup about the size of your blue one. I also have three small light gage stainless steel pots that I have sheared the handles off of so they nest into each other and a steel pan gripper that I use to move them if they are hot.

Bountyhunter

I am most likly covered in the area, because a cup is a cup right. It's not like it is a flashlight where a Surefire is needed! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

A.B. 'Banjo' Patterson wrote a song that wound up Oz's national Anthem. " Once was a swagman camped by a billibong---" I have an old coffee can with a bale made from heavy gauge wire and a matched set of smaller cans. Im working on the tureen and finger bowls for formal dinners

For a kit that size I use cup much like the one you describe. In the old days coffee cans and soup cans were a good idea but beware that these days many (not all) of them have nasty petrolium-based sealants and liners added to them.

Hard to beat the issue canteen cup (folding wire handles, not the old VietNam & earlier era type with the L shaped folding handle). Similar in style and volume is the stainless steel cup that nestles on the outside of a Nalgene bottle. But larger kettles take up no more room... in anything larger than my ready pack, I continue to carry and use a battered and blackened aluminum 2 quart kettle with a bail and tight lid. A stuff sack sits inside the kettle and is full of... things. The kettle essentialy takes up no room.

That was the song called Waltzing Matlida it never became the Aussie Anthem instead "Advance Australia Fare" became the national anthem.... My wife is Australian and I spent many a night in the bush cooking on a billy and drinking billy tea with my in-laws when i lived there for three years.... In fact after using a billy for cooking and such it is my favorite pot.... Get a good sized metal #10 coffee can and season it like you do a cast iron pan.... I made my bail myself out of a bail off of a 5 gallon bucket much more robust and works great. bend it so it will bend around the can for easy packing.... keep the plastic lid and you can keep things like tea, coffee, some misc food item in it as well as a neat way of storing your fire tender in a ziploc bag.... great site and forum you guys have...

Agree with Ayers the issue canteen cup is my favorite as well.

Flip

Geez-o-pete NO! You guys are violating the basic laws of gearlust. There's ALWAYS a better piece of gear if you have enough money.

Try the MSR titan mug and kettle. These are super-light titanium with folding handles. They nest inside each other and are big enough to hold a Trangia or home made alcohol burner and a windscreen as well. Your entire kitchen in a minimalist cooking pot.

http://www.outek.com/msr_titan_kettle_04_gear.htm
http://www.outek.com/msr_titan_cup_04_gear.htm

And forget about mugs that wrap around mil-spec canteens and look like Dali designed them. Wrap your mug around a standard-shaped lexan bottle or soda pop bottle. Olicamp in stainless steel, or SnowPeak in titanium.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores...oductId=9738452
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores...ductId=33548666

And remember that aside from a knife, the manufactured thing you might miss most is a pot in which to cook and purify. These mugs and kettles all work well as cooking pots.

Bear

Kcatto:

Welcome and understand, it is not "you guys" anymore but "we", because you are now part of us.

Bountyhunter

I have to admit my ignorance .... (once again <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />)

What's a "billy" and a "billibong" ??
explanation or pix welcome ....

A billibong is simply a camp, usually close to a water supply. A billy is slang for your cooking pot.Just imagine your at Lourdes dipping a Limoge teapot in the waters. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Oh.... I see ... that would be a "faute de go?t" !!! Du Limoges ? Lourdes !!...<img src="/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Last time I was in Lourdes, I quite simply used a Baccarat cup, delicately rimmed with a fine lace of gold.... it was perfect ...
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I've got a full nesting set(purchased at Target) I carry in my ruck, plastic cup inside small pan inside larger pan topped off with a small frying pan, there's room in and around the cup for salt/pepper and about a dozen boullion cubes. With this small cook kit, even if I lose or use up my carried food, I can make a decent meal from scrounged greens & tubors, and maybe the occasional rabbit or squirrel. I've also got an issue canteen cup between a canteen and cover, but since I've gotten the cook kit, all the cup gets used for is morning and evening coffee.

Troy

Rusty:

I have, for some time, carried a US military 1 quart canteen, canteen cup with wire handles, canteen cup stove/stand, AND, another cup, with the handles removed nested inside the first cup. There is an Altoids tin in the bottom of the canteen cover that holds 4 Esbit tabs. This is my most basic, or ?hobo?, cook kit. It provides me with enough hot water for my needs, and allows me to use a cup for eating or drinking while the ?cook pot? cup is making more hot water, or as a cover for the ?cook pot? cup to help water boil faster.

But, never one to be content, I always look for bigger and better things: Here are several suggestions:

West German Army Mess Kit: Make sure you get the post war Bundeswher kit, not the East German one, or the Russian/Soviet one, or the BGS one. The one I?m talking about is about a 1/4" taller than the others I mentioned, and is a THREE piece kit. The large pot is about 2 litres, the lid/fry pan is about .5 litre, and the middle dish is also about .5 litre. The middle dish snaps on to the handle of the lid/fry pan and makes a pretty good eating surface, and the lid/fry pan alone makes a pretty passable drinking cup. (I does not, however, make a good frying pan?. <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />) The large pot has a bail handle so you can use it over a fire, if necessary. It is aluminum, so it is pretty lightweight. With an Esbit stove and one fuel tab, you can HEAT 1 litre of water. On a good day. With NO wind. If you are going to use this kit, you MUST make a windscreen to get water to a boil, or even to get it anywhere near a boil. This is the kit, along with a windscreen, I carry if I am going to be out longer than 72 hours. I have tried others, but I still keep coming back to this one.

Swedish Mess Kit: This is a two-piece setup similar to the German one, but it has the advantage of having a Trangia stove and windscreen as part of the kit. I Loooove my Trangia. Oh yes, I do. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> This baby will send 1.5 litres of water into a rolling boil in about 10 minutes. The secret is the windscreen. The reasons I do not ditch the German kit for this one is for one-man camping is that it is HEAVY; and y?know, that third dish in the German kit comes in real handy.

British Army Mess Kit: Same as the Dutch Army Mess Kits you?ll see on e-bay. Two deep, square-ish, aluminum pans that nest, with wire handles on each. Much better for frying food than the German Mess Kit, but nearly impossible (in my experience) to boil water using an Esbit or Trangia stove. Again, a windscreen is a must. (Note: Any UK or Dutch Army vets who can help me with cooking tips for this rig would be most appreciated!)

Hope this helps, and Happy Thanksgiving!


?..CLIFF
Living large one state over to your right.