Mess Kits

I'm curious to know what mess kits everybody prefers, based on their experiences and activities.

I use a USGI canteen, canteen cup , canteen stove, & Esbit tabs for Dayhiking for a cup of coffee while taking a break on a hike.

For backpacking, I will usually use a Trangia Mess Kit w/ the alcohol stove (usually use the campfir though) for cooking Breakfast and supper. I also carry two USGI canteen cups with the canteens as well.

For E&E, which I've only exercised with, I carry an enameled tin cup and a USGI mess kit (plate and frying pan). I presently carry 2 water bottles and a Stanley "canteen" as well since the lower half is also a SS cup.

I also carry bandannas and water purification tablets and a HoBo knife in all my kits.

What are yall carrying for different activities or purposes???

i use that old Coleman aluminum box kit.made to carry a Peak stove. the large bottom section will cook a good size one pot style meal,oatmeal,noodles or heat a MRE dinner pouch.the top is the right size for boiling coffee water.
i don't use a Peak anymore but carry a smaller Gaz cart and burner.
a fork and spoon fit inside and a plastic cup fits over the Gaz cart and burner. i have tried other kits from odd parts like a small billy inside a 2 quart pot and because the billy have a bale they do work better over a open fire but in the end i went for the Coleman kit and a gaz stove.

this is the kit making dinner on a canoe trip.the bottom section is heating a MRE pouch and enough heat is coming up to cook the rice packet that will go with it.i use a big butane bottles on long trips.

Is anybody using or tried the Serbian Army Mess Kit? What do you like or dislike about it?

When a kid in Scout we used the classic aluminum clamshell kit, but as an adult we started using a Lexan plate, bowl, cup, and knife/fork/spoon. Tough as nails and keeps hot food hotter much longer. All stored in a mesh bag so it can be hung and air dried after sanitizing in a bleach solution.

Something like this:

I use a Zebra 12cm billy pot.I like that it can hang over a fire or sit on a stove. My stove is a Trangia with a Evernew titanium stand. My canteen is an 38oz Guyot bottle with a Snopeak cup and lid. The billy pot and bottle are a little heavy but bombproof gear. My grandkids will be arguing over who gets them when I can no longer.....

BOATMAN
John

Used the USGI cup.Great piece of kit.Just doesn't fit on my bottle.

What do you carry to cook in?

For day hikes and my walk home car kit I carry a Stanley pot because it fits in one of the bottle holders in my pack and holds a gas canister (plus a bag of rice or whatever). I use an MSR Pocket Rocket to boil water for noodle cups and such for the girls, and hot chocolate in the winter. It will nest with a GSI stainless cup as well which is handy. The Stanley pot is mostly useful for boiling water but does have a strainer in the lid for noodles. It is also very affordable at under $20.

I have the Czech kit which is really cool but kinda heavy. Double nested pot with handles that actually keep the system together. I have the British kit (the nested boxes) which is also useful but heavy. All of my emergency kits have canteen or GSI cups and esbit stoves.

For backpacking or more advanced cooking with the family I have an MSR Quick 2 system (I don't use the cups) with the flex fry pan nested with them. I usually use a Whisperlite International stove for these, and they give good flexibility for the weight for feeding 4 people.

The MSR system replaced an older aluminum non-stick set that is very similar to some of the REI systems now. It was useful but didn't hold together as well in the pack as the MSR does. It relied on an elastic strap to hold the lid onto the pot and that always seemed to come apart in the pack, spilling whatever contents were inside. It did cook well though.

I don't have a kit per se, but various pieces of titanium cookware that have held up quite well. My favorite for all around use is a Snow Peak Trek 700 that I originally bought because it nests with a nalgene 1 liter bottle. Then I went one size up to a Snow Peak Mini Cookset. That and the spoon from a Ti spoon-fork set and you have my "kit".

I bought a couple plates, bowls and a bigger cookset, but they're a waste of space and weight imo; cook and eat out of the cookware. Simple is better.

My setup is a little different and won't add anything to your knowlege or experience. However, should you find yourself overseas with no camping stores , here is what I use.

My setup is for PERSONAL car camping, not for hiking, and not for family. It is made of mainly small size house utensils (kettle, frying pan and steel cup) bought from general stores

Cooking is done by a home made Esbit stove (experiemented with a few metal cans & an electric outlet housing). They all worked fine. Esbit cubes are best here 'cause liquid and gaseous fuels cannot be stored safely in car trunk in the summer heat !!!

Utensils and 'stove' are not lightweight. So, they stay in the car. So, as our friend said :

This is my strtegy for cutting weight

I have used them a few times when I took persoanl vacations (alone)decided in a hurry. They are OK.

Here is a pic of the electric box I use for esbit



Just open a few side holes and add a couple of metal wire on the top and you are in business

I disagree with your opening statement as you've already got my thinking broadened into new directions.

I'll never see an electrical box the same again -- excellent.

Chisel,that is truely outstanding thinking. It is so simple. I smack my head and say "why didn't I think of that"... BRAVO!

BOATMAN
John

Glad you guys like it. However, let me warn you that more experimentation has added to the cost and weight of this stove. It isn't the box alone.

After the initial experiments, I found the pot or kettle had to be raised another half an inch to lessen soot and improve combustion. So I added this raised cover and drilled a few holes on two sides ( they may improve combustion and ventillation although not really necessry as kettles are round and the square corners are good enough for ventillation).



Drilling holes is cumbersome and a better alternative I did : install two parallel pieces of metal wire (coat hanger) across the cover (through the small holes)to raise the pot a little and gurantee more ventillation. These small wires also serve as guards to keep fuel tabs and/or box of matches stored INSIDE the box when not in use.

I ahave used only two diagonal screws to hold the cover to the box and didn't tighten those screws.

After some successful initial attempts, I thought to add 4 screws on the bottom of the box itself to raise it off the ground and allow bottom ventillation, but I got lazy and preferred to spend more time relaxing and drinking tea than inventing and perfecting.

On the plus side, this homemade Esbit stove can store more fuel tabs than the original foldable Esbit stove. Also, it is near indestructible.

Negative side, weight, if you are hiking.

a few years ago i was looking around for a good mess kit stove combo.each of those kits in the photo has some sort of stove inside.
Esbit.small Gaz or Coleman fuel,a Trangia burner were the main choices that could fit.the long box on top is a cooking grate and pots kit made for a open fire.
sorry to say i never took and shots of the stoves with the burners inside! i'll make that a rainy day project.

my car kit for heating water for the Mountain House freeze dried entrees...Swiss Ranger stove with the fuel feed hole opened to accept a Sterno can... still can use twigs, Esbit, and fits the Trangia burner or other penny alcohol stove... smaller diameter cans of Sterno would allow less of the circumference (strength) of the Ranger stove to be compromised

Wildman

I carried one of the USGI kits as a kid and never realy liked it. The frying pan was a good size and easy to pack but the lid was apain. First, who eats out of it? Second the compartments are small and it was useless wieght and a bad desgn, so I went to a clamshell kit.
The USGI canteen and it's accesories are fine. I have mine on a web belt with a knife and food and survival gear in the case. Iit sits behind the seat and is great for fast trips away from the vehicle. I like the new 2-3 piece sets which house the stove, fuel and utensils and small food items yet are ultra compact.
Great question you asked.

Canoe dogs
What can you tell me about your rectangular mess kit? Dimensions, wieght, contents etc?

You just pointed out why they make chevrolets and fords. Everybody is different.

You are right about the plate side's usefulness. I interlock the two for eating purposes and that works great for me. The frying pan side has always been useful to me & which the plate side holds one cooked item out of the dirt while I'm cooking one or two other items.
A big plus for this mess kit is that it's very easy to clean.

The Trangia has some mean grooving in it's construction that can make cleaning it a real chore at times (ie: scrambled eggs). Of course, the bale makes cooking over a campfire easier and it's more versatile being a deep pot. The lid (plate) is very small when it's time to dig in and achieve some serious calorie replacement.

The canteen cups are easy to clean but very limiting in the amount of food that one can cook at a time.

I did finally identify and order canteen cup lids from RothCo (no affiliation) but found that those lids only fit RothCo made canteen cups, properly. I do carry a lid in my dayhiking & backpacking kits to keep bugs and trash out while I'm cooking something on a fire.

Very true, Sir.
My lid was made in metal shop at the high school by a nieghbor boy. His teacher found it a fun project and it fts almost a bt too snugly for removal when hot. I generally use just a titanium teapot when out alone, it supplies water for tea, Freeze Dried meals and other just add water items. Plus I can cook in my metal mug if need be. But if wieght is not a factor, say driving right to the camp ste, nothing beats good old fashioned cast iron IMHO.

Ti teapot?? I have an MSR Ti kettle, is that what you mean? Very useful piece of cookware.

Yup that's the one. Sorry if misspoke.

It works well for tea. I was just hoping you found a real Ti teapot.

Les..if you have a Trangia tea pot the lid fits the cup on the Swiss kit like it was made for it,fits the 123 stove cup too.

more about the square kit coming up.

I use a flat, rectangular Esbit-style stove, but I dislike the round Esbit fuel tabs. I use a stash of ex-military, flat, rectangular tabs instead.

I have a Trangia liquid fuel stove, too, but I rarely use it, partly because I have a fear of spilling the burning fuel.

I saw one years ago on the web, it looked like a metal glass but with a tiny pouring spout and a lid. It was way too expensive to justify the cost. For me that is. I read on another forum that someone makes a percolater insert for the one I carry, but I didn't note any details and I don't remember there being a link.

For coffee or tea, I use tea or coffee bags. A small amount of coffee placed in a paper filter and then twist the filter edges closed will also make a coffee bag.

The amount of coffee grounds can be small enough for a single cup or large enough to make a small pot of coffee for 2 - 4 persons.

I use Tea bags, and Folgers crystals. This keeps the pot clean as I brew in the cup.

And cups are easier to clean than pots!!! Good point!

I have used tea balls for course ground coffee.I use the screen type.The grounds that do make it through are not that bad.

BOATMAN
John

There's a piece of Ti for coffee too -- Snow Peak Ti Coffee Press. I really like Titanium for cooking, no metallic taste.

Ditto. Mine's stuffed with "the essentials" and fits nicely into a '70s vintage USArmy "fannypack" with a giant garbage bag and a few other items. My stove is a knockoff of an old SVEA stove...123A, maybe...I forget...it works. When it doesn't work, a campfire does.

For solo cooking, I like a Mini-Trangia cookset, with either the supplied alcohol stove or a MSR Pocket Rocket hooked up to an isobutane canister. If confronted with really cold conditions, I would use a liquid gas appliance like my ancient Primus 71L.

For occasional use,I have a sierra cup with a small titanium Esbit cooker and the fixings for a nice cup of tea (/or coffee).

Yes, they are Wildman. Especially when you have big hands. I like using disposable cups for instant oatmeal and other hot cereals.

how about this one?
the old Czechoslovakia Army cook kit.



the Sierra wood burning,fan driven stove fits right in.




with a solar battery charger and something,anything,to burn you can always come up with a hot meal or boil water to make it safe to drink.



i think the best way to use this stove is to put a grate on rocks or whatever over it so you can feed the fire box without having to take the pot off.
there are of course lots of ways to keep the pot off the stoves built in pot holder.

CD,

I've got the Czech kit as well and really like it, but it is kinda heavy. It latches up better than most of the other kits though. The Zip stove is awesome as well.

Greg

One of my faves for larger groups is my US Army Mountain cookset, two 2 qt aluminum pots with a stainless steel lid/skillet. Lightweight and very cheap, at least when I got mine - it is dated 1951 and has served well on many trips. I use it less now because I often don't need the capacity.

My choice of cooking ware is dependent on the situation. For my day bag I have just transitioned from a Snow Peak 700 around my water bottle (a Guyot Designs 38 oz.) to a Mini Solo (both in Ti). I like the mini because it is slightly larger and if it is cold (and often if it is not) I can carry a 450ml double wall cup in it. A MSR Micro Rocket provides the heat.

If I am going for a few days or longer and only need to boil water I have a Snow Peak 1.4 l and a Caldera Cone Fusion Ti Tri for multi fuel capability and wonderful quiet even if it is slow on alcohol.

If the weather is cold or it is high I have an MSR XGK. It is also used for lots of trips to remote areas because of its capability on Avgas or Jet fuel. I used to carry a pair of nesting Sigg pots, but sometimes use stainless pots if I am not going to carry them far.

If I am going to cook real food I have a set of stainless pots from 1l up to 4l that I can mix or match depending on the menu. There is an MSR fry pan and a tea kettle too. Traveling by canoe or light plane weight is less of a problem.

I also have a few pots left from the days of wood cooking fires if I get the chance to use them. I also have several combo's that I have tried but not continued to use for one reason or another.

Respectfully,

Jerry

Over the past couple of years, I've migrated to my canteen kit, an old plastic thermos cup and a titanium spork for my individual mess kit. It's a mainstay in my dayhike and minimal over night kit.

When I ramp up to feed the family, it totally depends on who's coming for dinner. (The bacpacboy is pretty good with anything, as long as the food's tasty, and bacpacnotsuchababyanymore still prefers her fingers to a fork or spoon.) I add more pots when the cooking gets more complicated that boiling water, and plates and cutlery come to the party if we're camping for more than a simple overnighter.

When I go to a Scout camp, where there's a group kitchen, my mess kit consists of my Grandmother's ancient aluminum pie plate, an old enamel mug and a basic nesting(?) cutlery set with fork, spoon and knife.

That's brilliant, Chisel!! Thanks for sharing!