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Does anyone NOT Use a Cozy for Freeaer Bag Cooking?
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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › Does anyone NOT Use a Cozy for Freeaer Bag Cooking?
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Jun 19, 2011 at 10:31 pm #1751184
Energy Waisted imho, much rather warm up my toes using my sleeping bag than let all that perfectly good heat go away and not do anything. Think of it, multi use energy!
Jun 20, 2011 at 3:04 am #1751202I made my cozy out of an old reflective car sun screen. I suppose that's what you guys are calling reflctix.
Anyway I shaped it to my pot so I could ditch my stuff sack and still keep soot off everything. I simply pour my hot water into the bag, slide the pot into the cozy, then slide the open bag into the pot, put the lid on and flip the cozy lid closed. For best results I try to find a rock or something to place on top in order to better seal the cozy.
If you have trouble with melting the bag on the pot I suppose you could just negate the pot from the cozy process but still store the pot in it when packed.
Jun 20, 2011 at 6:53 am #1751239all of my hiking is done in bear country, so I'll take the 1.2 oz hit (this is for a two person cozy)- it's very efficient and packs small
I have no doubt that a down cap/down jacket/other insulating layer (not convinced a bandana would be that great) would work as well, but as Mary points it's not uncommon (for my clutzy self anyways :) ) to get occasionally get some spillage- I don't particularly want that on my hat/jacket that I may depending on as part of my sleep system
Jun 20, 2011 at 7:05 am #1751242Agreed, Sarah.
Even without spillage, I experience significant smell transfer. If 'I' can smell it, everything else in the woods can, too. My cozy goes in the hang bag or the canister along with the food. Besides, if it's cold outside, I'm wearing all my clothes!
Jun 20, 2011 at 9:42 am #1751285I agree about smell transfer. Theoretically it shouldn't happen if you're careful, but in my experience it does. My cozy is a bubblewrap envelope intended for shipping glass bottles, which just happens to fit a gallon ziplock perfectly. It weighs right at 1 ounce. After a few meals I can pick up a faint odor on it, so I know everything living in the woods I'm visiting can too.
Jun 20, 2011 at 2:26 pm #1751377I ditched my cozy for a shallow lidded "disposable" plastic container (like "Gladware"). Weighs a little over an ounce and it serves as a cozy, a dish/bowl, and I also use it to store crackers and other fragile foods. It's been a surprisingly handy thing to have in my pack. When it's especially cold, I can wrap a hat or whatever around it for extra insulation and have found that it contains the smell much better than a ziplock bag.
Jun 20, 2011 at 2:40 pm #1751379Country time lemonade container. All my stuff goes in it for
packing. Crush proof and can handle hot water.
For cooking the bag goes in, hot water, fold the edges over
and I put the lid on and it holds the heat in pretty well. In winter
I might wrap it with my microfiber dishcloth or a bandana.Gives me something to hold on to when I eat.
Jan 24, 2014 at 6:02 am #2065720http://outsak.blogspot.com/2014/01/escape-pouch-freeze-dried-meal-cozy-and.html
We make a freeze dried meal cozy.
Jan 24, 2014 at 7:03 am #2065741I use my Montbell watch cap in non-bear country. Other times I have a cozy I made that serves double duty. It opens up and doubles as a second wind screen for my cat stove.
Jan 24, 2014 at 8:40 am #2065771I use a 2 piece plastic caddy for my kitchen. Holds my beer can pot and other stuff.
1/2 of the caddy is used to hold the freezer bag of food while pouring the water into it, rehydrate the food and eat out of the same container. The other half is used to hold my drink. The container is multipurpose for sure.
No cozy used. 5 min. to rehydrate a MT House meal and it's still to hot to eat right away.
Jan 24, 2014 at 10:04 am #2065801The caddy weighs 3oz.
That's not bad for a combo cup, bowl and caddy.
Jan 24, 2014 at 2:30 pm #2065862Never, not needed. Just another unnecessary single purpose item for the type A personality.
As long as you have a hat, jacket, fleece, or sleeping bag, you dont need a cozy for a freezer bag. If you are worried about leaks, bring an extra freezer bag and double bag it.
Honestly, reflectix cozys dont work all that great anyway.
I have never noticed any smells. In grizzly country I might be more cautious. I dont worry about black bears wanting my cap, there is a whole foodbag closeby that would draw their attention first.
Jan 24, 2014 at 3:29 pm #2065879I agree that even without spillage, the odor from freeze dried foods transfer. I'm especially sensitive to odors when I'm outdoors, and I've noticed that my clothing will just absolutely reek of the smell of the freeze dried meal I ate even with my having taken extreme care to spill none of it on me. It simply picks up the odor, much like it will of campfire if I'm around one of those. While I would still balk at using a piece of clothing as a cozy in bear country, I do have to wonder how much it matters. If I think I reek of what I ate for dinner, I image a bear can smell me miles off. It's made me wonder if I ought not store my clothing away from my tent after I change into my sleep gear.
Jan 24, 2014 at 4:20 pm #2065888I have always used a cozy, the best way to get orza pasta to cook with esbit. The cozy is needed to get the pot off the fire (to keep the pasta from sticking) but after about 20 minutes, the pasta is done. Mixed with parmesan cheese and olive oil.
I make my own out of CC foam. I've compared it to the reflectix cozy; no comparison, much hotter, longer. No large pockets of air for convection of heat. Foam is glued with 5 minute epoxy, then that seam is covered by the metal tape.
Pics are from my latest, for an Evernew 600mL. Weighs 0.6oz with 1/4" thick foam, 1/2" thick in the lid.
Steve
Jan 24, 2014 at 6:11 pm #2065931I say just try leaving it for a trip and see if you miss it. I've never used one, nor really knew there was such a thing until recently, though that's a small dataset. I just let the alum pot cool while I stir a bit and place it back in there for stability while eating.
Jan 24, 2014 at 7:08 pm #2065946Seriously? A cozy is a handy cooking utensil. Squeeze your pimples, blow your nose, and shave your pits to make up for it.
Jan 25, 2014 at 12:25 am #2065998I'm with Sumi, I have used a separate zip-lock bowl (often complete with DIY cozy) for years, at least when not just using my pot. It has been one of my long unfulfilled goals to find one that will nest with my pot. I just prefer to eat out of a bowl-shaped container. As Obiwan would say "pouches are so uncivilized". Also bowls easier to clean. Don't make fun of me, I'm just starting to get over my need to drink coffee out of a mug-shaped container. On long trips the original packaging is a total pain, especially with a packed bear can.
One thing I do not get is people cleaning the bags, and reusing them. Wouldn't cleaning the pot be easier? I thought one of the main points for the pouch users was not having to clean, though I guess the equation would be different for multiple people.
Iksnay on the clothing/bag cozy as well. I'm way to klutzy, but even without spilling there would be too much food smell for me to be happy in bear-land. That is the majority of my trips.
As for a different cozy model, if you take two ziplock bowels (still pretty light), and sandwich Al foil between them I find it does about %80 as well as a cozy.
Jan 25, 2014 at 8:53 am #2066058I found some 8” x 10” open end bubble wrap packing envelopes at Staples. They are sold in a six-pack and only cost about a $1.25 per bag. The Staples item number is 593720 (see link below). These work well with the quart size freezer bags I use for freezer bag cooking. They only weigh 0.2 oz each. In my testing, these bubble wrap envelopes appear to hydrate my food as well as my previous 1.1 oz fleece hat cozy that was dedicated solely for this purpose and then was stored in my bear bag each night.
For some reason, they are not quite as enjoyable to eat out of as the fleece hat was for me and pouring the boiling water is a little bit trickier than it was with the hat, however, they might be something to try if you are looking to have a dedicated cooking cozy while trying to save some weight.
http://www.staples.com/Staples-Bubble-Bags-8-inch-x-10-inch/product_593720
Jan 25, 2014 at 12:40 pm #2066115I use those bubble mail envelopes from office max. They fit freezer bag perfect.
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