new, smaller cooking pot

Are you opposed to cooking in a mug? Because any of the many 500 to 750mL mugs sounds about right for you. Evernew makes a 600mL pot, too, if you don't like the mug idea- look on the Trail Designs website.

Or you could go full-on crazy and use a beer can…

What about a Snow Peak 600 with MBD lid?

The SP 700 would work too

For me, the 550 ml mug hits the sweet spot for solo travel. Enough to boil 1.5 cups for a meal and still have enough hot water left over for coffee. I use the BPL Firelite 550- same as the evernew 550 ml pot mug (ECA 266) but without the handles.

I'd highly recommend the evernew pot mugs- at 2.6 oz, they are lighter than snow peak and have better lids.

I agree a 550ml mug/pot is perfect for solo use. I use one from LiteTrail which are out of stock at the moment. You can get one that's compatible to the LiteTrail from either Toaks or Ruta Locura. I personally would go with the Ruta Locura as you can buy it with either a Ti or Carbon Fiber lid.

here's a review of the LiteTrail if you are interested:

http://cenazwalker.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/litetrail-550ml-cookpot/

The Snowpeak ti bowls are about 1.8oz and $16.95 retail. I use a pot grabber that adds weight, but you could drill the sides and add a bicycle spoke for a bail. Some foil or turkey roaster pan will do for a lid. The curved bottom edges are easier to eat from and clean. It's almost a mini-wok for sautéing pilaf and such. Drinking from it is not difficult and it makes a very good bowl too :)

For solo use, I don't use anything bigger than 550-600ml. That's all I need for the typical "2-person" dehydrated dinners using 2 cups of hot water. Most pots that size will hold a small canister and stove.

My Spartan kitchen is a 450ml mug with foil windscreen and lid, a Ti Esbit wing stove and folding spoon. That will give me some hot drinks, oatmeal or soup and is great for cold weather day hikes or uber minimalist overnight trips.

Are all of these recommended pots and mugs fire safe?

The Snowpeak bowl is fine. IMHO, any of the Ti pots or mugs without plastic hardware are fine in a fire. Keep in mind they withstand concentrated 10,000+ BTU propane burners with no problems. Raw (non-alloy) titanium melts at 3,034°F (1,668°C). For comparison, steel melts at ~2500°F (1371°C) and aluminum melts at 1,221°F (660.3°C). I've never had a problem with aluminum pots. Even the thinnest stuff survives as long as it has water in it.

Don't get too hung up on the lid thing. Foil works fine and leaves more options and less weight.

Though I have yet to purchase any Ti cookware, I've personally had my eye on the Toaks brand for a little while now. Their prices are downright remarkable, and they have a wide variety of sizes and handle configurations to fit whatever you're looking for. As an added bonus they have free shipping on any order. From what I've read from other users, they seem to be pretty high quality, haven't seen any complaints yet.

They are usually not coated or painted like many others. I have the 640ml deep, they are around $50 and it will last a lifetime.

I have put all kinds of pots directly into extremely hot fires. Titanium, steel, aluminum, it's all fine. You need to be a little more careful with aluminum.