Cooking System usinf foam Cozy + MLD 850 Ti Pot

[Jamie Shortt]

In searching for a better way to eat I came up with a simple solution that I was able to test in the field over the past few days. I wanted to improve the way to rehydrate and eat freezer bag meals. I also wanted a way to keep the lid on the pot while hiking without using a small stuff sack.

Where I landed was to make a simple cozy from an old GG thinlight 3/8" foam pad and I moved to a large pot, now a MLD 850 instead of a BPL 450. My previous cozy was a reflectix envelope style from Hawk Vittles. I used a snowpeak giga for this trip, but the stove really doesn't matter. This system works fine with alcohol or esbit stoves.

MLD 850 Cozy System: Pot, Cozy, and Stove

Heat water, pour into freezer bad, put bag into pot, put pot into cozy, and add lid.

Wait 20 minutes then open and eat from pot, when finished throw away bag.

Cozy placed on pot over lid to keep lid in place while hiking.

No concrete data, but I believe the food inside a ti pot wrapped in a foam cozy keeps food warmer than reflectix. One night I left the food for 25 minutes with the outside air temp close to 32 degrees and when I opened it up it was still piping hot and fully rehydrated. I also found that by moving to a larger pot I could put the entire meal inside the pot. Clean up is a breeze, just toss out the bag.

Old System:
BLP 450 ti mug & lid (1.8oz) + Reflectix Cozy (.9oz) = 2.70 oz

New System
MLD 850 ti pot & Lid (3.3oz) + Foam Cozy (.45oz) = 3.75 oz

So the new system does weigh 1.05 oz more, but functionally it has made cooking, eating, and clean up much easier than any system I have used so far. The biggest negative is the volume in the pack.

Probably does not seam like much but I find anything that improves my hiking experience to exciting.

Jamie

[John Donewar]

Jamie,

Nicely done.

"Probably does not seam like much but I find anything that improves my hiking experience to exciting."

+1 for improving the hiking experience.

One question, what adhesive did you use to hold the cozy together?

Party On,

Newton ;-)

[Jamie Shortt]

Hey Newton, I used a hot glue gun with standard glue sticks. I had no idea if this would hold but a combination of adhesive and heat melted the Evazote together and looks to hold really well. I started with making the cylinder first then I made a circle for the bottom and glued it into place. It looks pretty much like a standard cozy you would buy for a 12 oz can, just bigger.

Jamie

[And E]

I do the same thing with my lite trails 900 ti, but with reflectix. I also cut a couple slits so I can slide it in with the handles out.

What kind of glue did you use?

[Mark]

Great idea

I use the windscreen reflectors and duct tape to make my cosy's

[Jamie Shortt]

Andy, I was able to glue the foam together with a standard craft style hot glue gun with standard glue sticks. I think it was a combination of adhesive and heat (melting the foam) that created a superior bond.

I am curious about reflectix vs. 3/8" evozate. My subjective observation is the 3/8" evozate kept my meal hotter for longer than when I used a reflectix cozy. Now I probably had some benefit of having my meal inside a bag that was inside a ti pot with lid that was inside a 3/8" evozate cozy. But it is also important to point out that the evozate cozy weighed less my reflectix.

The reason I think this is significant is I was using reflectix, like so many other people, to do freezer bag cooking. I am wondering if evozate isn't a better solution.

Jamie

[Eugene Smith]

Smart little cozy setup Jamie, I may steal some of your ideas.

[Hiking Malto]

I use reflectix but I also have a cord that is looped through the pull ring of the lid. The cord slides around the pot, you slide on the cozy and it all holds together in storage.

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