Snowpeak 600 Handle Insulators

Look for silicone vacuum tubing at larger auto parts stores. Check with your neighborhood BMW or Mercedes repair facilities. Both manufacturers use a 2.5-3mm tubing that will fit nicely over the handles.

I have NO IDEA whether this will work for your purposes or not, but you asked for ideas; they sell relatively small diameter silicone tubing at pet stores for running from air pumps to aquariums.

Hopefully that helps.

Good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I found some silicon tubing at my local hobby store. Here's a photo:

Let us know how it works out, I would be very interested in doing that to my Snow Peak 700.

You failed to mention the most important parts:

1. How did you get it on there?
2. What does it weigh?

You could be docked BPL Rank points for failing to mention the weight! :)

The weight is about 25 grams. I didn't measure the tubing before installation but I measured the leftover material and calculated the installed weight by using mass/length.

Installation was relatively simple:
1. Remove the handles
2. Wet the handles and tubing ID with soapy water
3. Slip the tubing on
4. Spring the handles in a bit to compensate for bending them open during removal
5. Re-install the handles

I did some testing last night by intentionally turning the stove up too high to force flames around the base of the mug. After boiling 8 oz of water the handles were cool and the silicone wasn't impacted by the heat.

A side advantage is improved grip on the handles. This wasn't an issue with the standard bails but they are a little easier to hold onto with the silicon.

DM

Don:

Not saying this one is any better or worse, but just asking out loud…

What stove do you use with your SP600 — which is a relatively narrow pot? I use both SP600 and Firelite 550 and seldom if ever encounter handles "too hot to touch". When using canister stove, I adjust the flame so they don't fan up and out — wasting fuel heating the surrounding air and pot handles. When using alcohol stove, I use a non-pressurized top burner — which also minimizes flames flaring up and out.

When your pot handles get too hot to touch, your rubbery tubes will certainly manage the problem — but perhaps you might look at eliminating the problem altogether with a more appropriate stove (if that's the culprit)?

I've just switched over to the new SnowPeak. The pattern is a little wide for the pot if you turn it up much. I've noticed even with my pocket rocket that if you get a little wind that bends the flame pattern you can get hot handles. That doesn't happen too often but it does happen occasionally.

I've been interested in trying a top burning alcohol stove. Which would you recommend for a SnowPeak 600?

You know, narrow pots actually match well with the simplest of stoves — a simple half-ounce or one-ounce capacity tea light candle holder (the thin and thus ultralight aluminum cup that holds the tealight candle). The half ounce variety is available everywhere but may require fuel “reloading” to bring 1 pint of water to a full boil — which can be a nuisance. The one-ounce works much better but is hard to find.

You can also use a slightly more robust wedding tin which is actually made of aluminum (just discard the lid). There will still be some flames lapping out, but only enough to cause the handles to get warm to the touch — not hot. I cut a piece of wire cloth (available at any hardware store) — connect it into a circle to match the wedding tin, and jam it in to form an “integrated” pot stand. Here’s my “wedding tin” stove set up — with Firelite 550 pot and windscreen:

It it is not too hot but uncomfortable I have just wrapped my in the HVAC tape. Almost no weight cost. For an alcohol stove I have found that the aluminum caps off of plastic flasks work pretty well also.