Are beer can cook kits worth the weight savings?

[S Long]

I’ve been using a Fosters Caldera Cone cook kit for years now, but I’m starting to wonder if a more efficient system would be worth investing in. My Fosters kit weighs 3.14 ounces on my scale. That includes the cone, the pot, the lid, a 12-10 stove, a 1-ounce measuring cup, and a reflectix cozy for handling the pot. I also have a BRS 3000-T and a Toaks Ultralight 550 pot. I’ve never used them since they’re heavier and I haven’t figured out a very good windscreen solution. I have been thinking about getting an Evernew 570, making a light lid for it, and buying the titanium cone from Trail Designs. Another option is Zelph’s ridgeline Toaks 550 with cone (but I don’t like the Starlite stove). I know a wider pot is more efficient, but I’m wondering how long it would take for the fuel savings to be worth it. The Fosters system is a bit high on the fiddle-factor scale, and it’s a bit annoying to have to be so careful not to crush the can (I just put it in a ziplock bag with everything but the cone inside and pack it carefully). All I do is boil water for meals. I never cook in my pot and never need more than two cups of water. So what are people using for solo, boil-only cook solutions? Are you happy with what you have? If not, what would you change and why? I look forward to hearing what people are using!

[Graham F]

I think the Evernew 570 should be part of the equation. Flat and wide bottom.

Will heat well and packs well also with that shape. Not sure if it suits you but the Gram Weenie Pro is working very well for me. Plus homemade windscreen and lid.

Cheers.

[J R]

I don’t know that a wider pot is necessarily more efficient compared to the Foster’s caldera cone design (which I also have). Yes, a wider pot gives you more surface area on the bottom, but that usually is compared to a pot that sits higher up in a windscreen such that a large part of the sides of the pot are outside of the cone. With the way that the Foster’s can sits so deep in the caldera cone, and the cone’s design funneling the heat up a narrow channel along the sides of the pot, and all of the water in the Foster’s can is “inside” the cone, you are getting a tremendous amount of heat transfer to the water. So yes, less bottom surface area but a lot more side surface area that encloses the water and is very well heated. The Foster’s caldera cone takes half an ounce of alky to boil two cups, that’s hard to beat on efficiency.

[Diane Pinkers]

Toaks 650 ridgeline from Zelph, coupled with the Starlyte, because I like the safety of it tipping over and not spilling and igniting.  Forest fires have been started by careless alcohol stove users. A GSI Bugaboo cup stacks inside, and allows me to measure water into my freezer bag, and have a cup of tea while my meal is rehydrating in the 650, inside my pot cozy. Open the bag and roll the edges over the 650, and I can eat from the bag, while holding it in the pot and cozy, have a firm bowl to eat from, and still not wash dishes.

[W I S N E R !]

I find the depth of beer can very annoying.  Maybe if you’re freezer bag cooking and only boiling water, but otherwise, I prefer a standard pot and eating directly out of it.  I’m very happy with my Evernew 600ml titanium pot.  I’d much rather wash dishes than have food covered trash.

[Brad Rogers]

That Evernew 570 looks nice.  I might look at that as a replacement for my Evernew 550 pot when it wears out – except I will wear out before the pot does in all likelihood.

[Ben C]

A stove with an alcohol absorbent saves a lot of fuel alone, since there is no wasted fuel.  No longer any need to measure precisely either.

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