How big a cup for cooking?

I get by with everything from a 11oz sterno can pot to a SP450 to a cheapie 1L pot. Just depends what I am desiring to make and if it's annoying to boil water twice with the smaller pot if I have to.

The SP450 covers almost everything I need most of the time.

My Primus tea kettle can boil (safely) 3 1/2 cups or so. I can put 4 in if needed, but I have to watch it. If it is just me, I usually need 1 1/2 cups for dinner, and another cup or so for tea, so 3 cups is perfect!

Thomas, I do use a cup for cooking. I started with the Snowpeak 600, but I discovered in colder weather I want to rehydrate a large meal/double ramen, and have a large hot drink also. So I got the Snowpeak Trek 900, which looks like a big cup, but has a shallow pot type lid (unlike the 600). I found this lid has many purposes and is worth the weight.
1. a lid, to reduce boil times
2. invert it concave side up, put it on the pot, and place sommething inside to heat or boil as the main pot heats
3. A base for an alcohol stove which in turn holds the main pot
4. Drinking the hot beverage, keeping the meal in the main cup
5. Cutting board/preparation bowl for stuff I add to my ramen.
6. As a fry-pan of course..

Other reasons the Trek, 900 is my go-to pot..
– Big enough to cook in, but has a small enough circumfrence that it I can drink from it as a conventional cup without spilling out both sides of my mouth!
– Sized perfectly for a large size iso/propane canister.
– My Snowpeak 600, 450, 300 and 220 nest perfectly inside it when I am packing for a group outing.
– All handles are removable if you want to use a pot-lifter or pot holder. I left the handles on.
– Wide enough to use with any of my alcohol stoves without 'wasting flames', as the 600, Solo Cook Set, etc.. do.
– Has graduations on the side for measuring water.
– Will nest inside my next purchase, the Trek 1400 for group cooking.

I could go on and on; the Trek 900; it is a well-thought out product and one of my best gear choices. If I had to keep only one pot, this would be it.
You can get it in aluminum for $20, or non-stick AL, or Titanium for $33.

If it seems a little too big, check out the Snowpeak Mini Solo Cook set. About the same capacity, in a more vertical profile sized for the 110g iso/propane. Has a cup and lid.

Let us know what you decide on?

Depends on what's for dinner!

Generally for boiling water I use a Fosters Beer can -or- a 2-cup alumium flour cup depending on the stove setup I use (Esbit or Alcohol). If I am going gourmet (something I am just starting to get into) then I'll take an actual pot that I think would hold 4 cups of liquid or a high-wall Al fry pan that holds close to that as well. I am new to the backcounty gourmet thing (a friend has gotten me into this with his evil cooking aromas on the trail as I am eatinga an Enertia meal), so I am not very polished in my process yet.

I've gotten by with a 12oz soda can, but it makes a lot of noise crinkeling in my pack. I like the keg can a lot, and it adds man points. I look forward to using a 24-ish ounce nesquick powder container. it has a perfectly flat bottom. I have about 2 gallons of chocolate milk to drink before I can use it though :). It all depends on how much food im going to eat.

All the freezer bag meals I've made have required 8-12 oz of water, so I use a trimmed down Foster's beer can. When paired with my tealight it performs great. It may take awhile to boil, but I try not to be in any hurries or just find something else to do. Plus it only weighs 3/4 oz and I could probably trim it some more, but I'm afraid I might trim it too much and have to get a new one. That doesn't sound like too big of a deal, unless your only 19 years old and your parents don't drink beer. I just happened to be at a friend's house and saw it sitting in the trash and asked to have it.

Adam

Hi Thomas,

I've played with lots of pots including beer cans but keep coming back to these three:

Winter/mountaineering- MSR Titan 2L Ti (for melting snow)
2 people- MSR Titan Kettle
Just me- BPL Firelite 500 pot

That's my set-up. I actually like the Evernew kettle more than the one I currently have. It easily fits a fuel canister inside and is easier to eat out of. The flared bottom is great for use with wide-flame alchohol stoves too.

I'm excited to start hearing about your trip reports Thomas! You're definitely tackling gear the right way!!!

Best wishes,
Doug

Thomas:

I think this depends mostly on what kind of cooking you intend to do.

For me, my "cooking" is limited to boiling a maximum two cups of water to re-hydrate my Mountain House meals (dinner) or oatmeal (breakfast).

I use the SP 600. I believe it is the smallest cup/pot that will still allow me to store my entire kitchen within (canister stove, fuel canister, lighter and towel — the spork is packed in the mesh bag together with the cup). As you know, the SP 600 doesn't come with a lid, but you can easily make a pretty permanent one out of the end of a tin can.

Thanks for the input everyone! I had a feeling this was one of those "depends on the person" types of things, and it appears I was right! Luckily, there's a lot of variation to where I won't exactly be wrong either way I go.

I've got some thinking to do, but I'll probably stick with the 450 for the time being. The general impression I'm getting is that the 450 is enough for cooking food, but the 600 (or bigger) is the way to go for food and warm drinks. I'm not one for warm drinks with my meal, so the 450 may suit my needs well. Not only that, but warm drinks aren't as much of a requirement in south and central GA where I'll be doing most of my backcountry cooking.

Thanks for all the input!

Tom