Weightless Measuring Cup

[Chris Lucas]

I'm not sure if this is an original idea; I highly doubt it given how obvious it is yet I can't recall seeing this suggestion here before. I'm getting into freezer bag cooking and so need to be able to measure liquid volumes in the backcountry to the nearest fluid ounce. My BPL Ti cup only has two graduations which makes it useless for that (thanks Evernew!) and my water boiler is a heiny pot. It occurred to me last night that I could simply graduate my water bottle since I prefer it to a platy bag for its miniscule weight.

I happen to have a 2 fluid ounce syringe which made it quick and easy. In order to be as precise as possible and not amplify error, I tared the empty water bottle on my gram scale and filled by weight rather than trusting the syringe. A fluid ounce of tap water will weight 29.5 grams so fill to 30 and then 29 on a gram scale. Rinse and repeat; no amplified error.

Graduated Absolutely Lightest Water Bottle

Turns out my 1L water bottle actually holds 35 fluid ounces when filled to the bottom of the neck. A bonus fluid ounce! So 15 minutes yielded a means of accurately measuring water volumes which added 0 grams to my pack. I had previously added Aquamira instructions to the outside of the water bottle to reduce the chance of my making a mistake in the backcountry.

[Barry Cuthbert]

Good Idea!

I use a water bladder so I've scratched lines on the inside of my cookpot every 100ml for measuring.

[Richard Gless]

Chris,

+1 This is a great idea. I marked off my 1 L Dr. Pepper bottle (wide mouth) plastic water bottle in one cup increments with an indelible marker last summer for the first time. It made my basic food measurements quick and easy. The marks do wear off and need to be redone once in a while though.

[Kevin Babione]

I still have one of the old-style wide-mouth AquaFina bottles that I've marked as well. I didn't do every two ounces either – I limited it to the marks I needed for the food I was rehydrating. Specifically:
– 4 ounces
– 6 ounces
– 8 ounces
– 16 ounces
– 32 ounces

The marks do indeed wear off, especially if you use your water bottle as your "reload" bottle at water sources.

[Tim Cleary]

of the ink?

Seriously good idea though. I am more of a 4 oz 8oz etc. type guy but why not be precise. Could measure for an alky stove in a pinch.

[Bob Shaver]

I have scratched cup markings on my plastic drinking cup, and its always in demand to measure water for cooking. I put white out in the scratches, then cleaned off the excess so the markings are visible and somewhat permanent. The cup has lasted for maybe 7 years, and its been very useful. I would be carrying the cup anyway for coffee and tea at least.

[Author]

Posts