New gear -- BIG MUG

This is my big mug for boiling water if necessary -- it fits over the end of a nalgene bottle.

No pic. Interested in seeing it, been looking for something that fits over Nalgene bottles.

The Snow Peak solo cook set fits over a nalgene bottle. It's pretty slick, as it gives you all that functionality with so little room taken up. The titanium model is super light, also. Here's another from Vargo that I haven't tried, but similar concept.
Jason

I have that cookset. The Larger pot (mug) holds about 25 ounces,IIRC, making it a reasonable boiling pot.

Interesting this should come up. I just got two. Found one at Sportsman's Warehouse and got a slightly different one from Campmor. About $5 each.

Kinda like the old GI canteen cup. Fits over your water bottle so it's out of the way but there when you need it.
And one might need it if spending an unexpected night out with just daypack gear. Can't heat water in your Nalgene bottle and warm water sure would go nice with your survival fire wouldn't it? (and you can melt snow, and you can make soup or tea or ramen or.....)

unimogbert

[img][image]http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/9760/2002134558767443048_th.jpg[/img][/image]

Advice: Don't try to melt snow in your cup unless your using a gas camping stove in alpine conditions. It's very expensive on fuel and you can, under some circumstances, melt the cup. Snow is a very good insulator, being something like 50% air when it's on the ground. If you have lit a fire, put the snow in a barrier net (mozzie head net to most people) and hang it up next to the fire. Close enough to melt the snow, not so close as to melt/burn the net itself. Put the cup underneath it to collect the snowmelt.

Important point to remember: DEHYDRATION leads to HYPOTHERMIA.
That is because your body needs water in order to maintain it's processes. Including those that generate body heat. You lose water as fast in freezing conditions as you do in hot weather.

When melting snow always start with some "starter" water in the bottom of the boiling vessel. Add snow slowly so as not to burn the snow and it is alot quicker. even a quarter inch in the bottom will do the trick.

Cameron

What's "burning snow"? Sounds like the tired joke about the wife who is such a bad cook that she'd mess up boiling water! (Husbands can be equally inept, of course. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

Regarding "burning snow":

Yeah, "burning snow" sounds like a joke, but it's not. Cameron's advice is right on the money.

What really happens is that the snow wicks up any liquid water created by melting, leaving a small airspace on the bottom. It's the pot that scorches by overheating, and when you finally get water it tastes like something out of the exhaust pipe of a Chevvy. Easy to do with blowtorch-hot backpacking stoves.

I've also noticed it's best to dig down for denser snow/ice. Pouring fresh powder snow into a pot is like pouring sand down a rathole.

Regarding "big mugs":
I strongly agree -- this is critical gear, even for short day hikes and vehicle kits. I've used stainless steel and enamel ones. Stainless lasts a lot longer, and they're making it thinner and lighter these days, which encourages packing one along with you. The enamel on cups these days is pretty sensitive to chipping -- not like the bombproof stuff your grandparents had around. But it still gets the job done.

A mug does more than boil water. I have had many a "cup wash" by adding a little liquid soap to an oversized mug of warm water and pouring it over my head etc. Then I pour some rinse water from my main supply. Never underestimate the boost to morale and good temper that a cup wash can bring.

I have occasionally packed a Sigg aluminum 1-litre fuel bottle in go-fast kits. It's dual purpose and very lightweight. You can boil water in it, let it cool, and then seal it up for travelling. I wouldn't use it except in an emergency, though. You never know what trace materials might leach out.

I'll veer a little side tracked and a little contrary here - just my opinions:

If one carries a Nalgene bottle in a mug-kettle (mugle???...nah), where does the lid to the kettle go?

Tall and skinny kettles are an abomination in windy and/or cold conditions. You can use a wind screen, you can insulate, but they suck in these conditions.

Ditto uneven terrain.

I've (reluctantly) used Nalgene bottles so long that I've some "museum pieces" (HDPE) that are so brittle one can poke a finger thru them and crumble them up (polycarbonate ones MUCH better!)

The large mouth versions (virtually all of ours are that type) are a PITA to drink from - witness the wide availability of "splash guards", Said splash guards rob the bottles of their one virtue - ease of stuffing something like snow into them or dumping a baggie of Hydrolite into the bottle.

Theoretically, wide mouth cylindrical water bottles are slightly more resistant to freeze-up than narrow-mouth military canteens. Practically speaking, there is no difference.

The ideal opening size, IME, is the size commonly found on 20 - 24 oz sports drink bottles (which, BTW, make decent water bottles for the frugal-minded). Don't have one in front of me, but call them roughly 40mm diameter.

A 1.5 - 2 quart pot with lid takes up zero room: sew up a little stuff sack that fits inside the pot and put things you normally stow elsewhere in the stuff sack. Put stuff sack in the kettle.

I have a STRONG preference for a US military canteen cup over the Nalgene bottle equivalent (have and use BOTH). Spend some quality time using both for heating, cooking, drinking, filling water bottles, etc and see what you conclude. BUT - I do not like the narrow-mouth canteen for anything but sipping. If someone would modify the military canteen design to incorporate a 35 - 40mm mouth, I would buy two for everyone in the family, plus spares.

I use hydration bladders almost exclusively for the past few years (Camel Bak by preference, plus sometimes a nifty Platypus roll-up bottle for in-camp use - replaces the gallon milk jug I used to carry). I never put anything but potable water in my bladders. I carry at least one water bottle for 2 reasons: mixing electrolyte replacement and because various incidents over the years have molded me into a "belt-and-suspenders" mindset about water. I have learned to really trust my Camel Bak bladders, so maybe there is some hope for me in the future...

So I DO carry a metal cup (and have used it a LOT over the years). Winters and family also drive me to carry a 2 qt kettle + lid 99% of the time, although soloing (rare these days) I may leave the kettle back home in non-winter conditions.

I hate the taste of water roasted over an open fire (bag melted). Give me carefully melted water in a kettle any day... as the hard-soot blackened exterior of my battered 2 qt pot bears silent witness (don't forget the lid!)

Carry a metal spoon. Lexan, nylon, and lesser plastics will melt at the most inopportune time... I've switched to a titanium spoon from SS and while I love it, I wouldn't miss it if I had to go back to a clunker SS spoon.

Also, for longer trips, a sawed-off wooden spoon is a fantastic implement. But a bag of cheap ones, cut down the handles with a hacksaw, sand end hemispherical, and toss at the end of each trip or do the same to any old wooden spoon and work in a few coats of USP mineral oil + beeswax. (They can get moldy if you don't take care of them between trips).

I warned you I would veer a little askew of the main topic... anyway, these are my opinions. <shrug> use what works for you. But DO always carry a metal mug or kettle!

Tom

One interesting thing I have noticed about my "fit over the end of a Nalgene bottle" cup is that it will not fit over the end of a polycarbonate bottle of the same capacity. Go figure.

As for carrying the homemade "lid" for the cup, I made a little "stove" for the mug from a 12 oz coffee can. That fits (very tightly) inside of the non-insulated carrier I have for the bottle. I used the cut off top from another tin can (the coffee can had one of those foil tear-off tops) as the lid for the cup, it fits inside of the stove, the cup slides inside of the stove, the bottle inside of the stove and cup. Not real fast to remove from the carrier, not the best lid in the world, but at least it is all there in one place...

You can use the cut out end of a coffee can to make a lid for a GSI or Olicamp cup. Put it under the cup in the pouch, or in with your cook kit, and it will take up effectively no space.

I might also pack a tall billy pot that fits over a water bottle-- it has the advantage of having a lid. Anyone kow of a model that would fit?

Teacher

Hmm, a billy pot is a good idea. It's somewhere between a mug and a pot, and quite at home over a small-stick fire. And, the extra capacity is always worthwhile. Time to check the catalogues.

I've seen hard-anodized aluminum ones that are the right size (I think). But I would want one made of stainless steel, with some option for a solid handle. The rim of a stainless steel item cools very quickly and lets you drink tea/soup out of it directly. Believe me, aluminum does not -- a guaranteed scorcher until the contents are lukewarm.

The closest to a nalgene-fitting billy is the ti-Lite, which is a lot larger than most of the cups, or a coffee can. I've been looking for a while for something in the .9 liter size for 1.0 liter nalgenes.

If you can't see the photo, I've got it here

http://familydisasterplanning.blogspot.com/

on my blog

Teacher,
I checked out the mug in your blog. It looks perfect. Where did you get it?

I got the mug at a Goodwill type store -- it is BIG and some sort of rolled metal.

Thanks

I just saw an "alpine mug" at camping survivial.com that fits over a 1 qt. Nalgene bottle. Its a 16oz stainless steel cup with folding handles. I'm thinking about getting it for myself. I think 16oz is a good size.

I'm glad I kept looking. I just found an "oilcamp space saver cup" for 5 bucks thru bizrate.

I use two water bottles of different types for dayhikes. First is a regular nalgene bottle. Second is a British canteen with metal cup. The brit canteen is a liter, holding a little more than an american one. The mug is bigger as well. The combo has worked well for me. The black canteen also has the advantage of warming up in the sun, allowing you to melt snow (provided it is sunny) by packing it in & letting it sit.

Does anyone know which, if any, of the Snow Peak titanium mugs fit over the end of a nalgene bottle? Thanks!