Sierra Cup?

I just acquired a Sierra Cup and have added it to my growing pile of backpacking gear.

Do any of you use one? What are your opinions about it? It looks like its utility is limited, but then again, it might be useful in a minimalist pack.

IC.

I used to have one, years ago. It banged on my pack while I walked, it was too shallow to keep warm drinks warm, and it burned my lips when I drank hot drinks from it.

If you wanted to design a hiking cup, you would design the antithesis of the Sierra Club cup.

I have backpacked since 1970 and have never owned a Sierra cup. There is no special magic about them. It is a steel cup and hooks easily to the outside of your pack. If that appeals to you, then go for it.

My first backpacking trip was in 1941, I horsepacked every summer from 1945-1958, car-camped and dayhiked from then through 1980, started backpacking again in 1981. I never used a Sierra cup. In fact, I now do not take any cup; I drink water from my water bottle and tea from my cooking pot.

There are less heavy metal cups (such as the IMUSA mug) that can be used to heat water if you add a foil lid. They are lighter and much handier. The Sierra cup is sort of traditional, though, if you want a link with old-timer backpacking. It's supposed to be sort of a cowboy thing, but although I knew a lot of cowboys in my younger days, I never saw any of them use a Sierra cup. Back in the days when nobody treated their water, everyone I knew used their hands to scoop water from a stream or spring rather than hauling around a cup.

Yeah, I use one... but it doesn't seem popular anymore. I picked mine up (in titanium!) before I knew what I was doing. It is a good cross between a cup and a bowl, but like many multi-use items it doesn't perform either task particularly well. If I am splitting a freeze dried meal with someone its good for eating out of. It also works for hot cocoa/tea, though liquids do splash out rather easily. I usually backpack with others where we have one pot for cooking/heating water and then need a separate container to eat/drink out of. In that situation a Sierra Cup makes a reasonable choice.

A bowl might work better in this situation. It would be easier to eat out of a bowl and more vertical walls would probably hold liquids better, but the handle is good for not burning your hands. A cup would have a handle and be much easier to drink out of, but a bit more difficult to eat out of. It is a trade-off and I am not sure what I would choose if I had it to do over. In July my wife is going on her first backpacking trip with me. I bought her a Ti mug and will have a more direct comparison then.

I still have my sierra cup from back in the 80's (IIRC). I fondly remember using that thing as my only cup/bowl/plate on many trips. I suppose how I currently just eat out of my pot and use a ziploc bowl as a mug is a natural progression from that earlier minimalist state. I am planning on doing a trip using my old gear sometime just for funs sake. I am sure I will bring my sierra cup along for that.

My Sierra cup dates from the 60s. The version I have is bimetal so it doesn't burn your lips. We carried it on our belts (rather than on our packs) as a kind of badge. When I was leading group trips for the Wilmington Trail Club we usually cooked in a common pot and divied up the food. The cup was perfect for that. I believe the Sierra Club did likewise and that that was the inspiration for the cup. It was also great for getting water in shallow sources, and I occasionally used it for cooking (with a foil lid). Haven't carried it in many years, but it's still something of a keepsake. Best, jcp

I lost my original back in some tall manzanita east of Loon Lake, close to Upper Bassi in one of my trips around Two Peaks close to Desolation Wilderness. Have not used the replacement for years now. Yep, badge of honor, kept handy on the belt when water was come upon.
Duane

I had completely forgotten about how we used to carry the sierra cup by looping the handle under our belt! Wow that brings back memories.

I had one way back when I would hike in the Sierras...but haven't used it since I moved away to different ranges. I have no idea where it is anymore. I won't be replacing it either. I don't see it as anything better than what I already have and use.

I acquired mine in the early '70s in high school when hiking in the Sierras. It was nice to just stop by many of the streams, scoop up water and directly drink it. Didn't carry much water as the streams were not too far apart. In addition, that cold water tasted much better than the lukewarm stuff in the pack.

Those days are gone and haven't used it in decades.

I had one, too; haven't seen it (or any others) in years. Nice piece of nostalgia, but I agree you'd design the antithesis: a Titan Kettle or Jetboil cup.

I have mine from the 60's. Use them car camping still...work great for that.

I was intrigued by Sierra Cups also a few months ago because it seemed like my cooking system would do better with a pot with a little more width to catch the flames that climbed up the sides. I did a little Google'ing and found someone selling a set of three in varying sizes for just a few bucks so I got them.

I did boil tests on them all in series and was initially confused by the results. I thought the larger/wider ones would boil faster. It took me a week until the reason hit me: I wasn't using a lid. They didn't come with lids, so it didn't even occur to me. The larger the opening, the faster the heat was escaping. Duh! The next boil tests were more like my hypothesis.

After that, I grabbed a really large Ti one --with a lid! and a folding handle. My boil test on the Ti cup was very encouraging and I am hoping the versatility will outweigh the awkwardness of trying to drink coffee out of a bowl.

The three steel cups will be used for car-camping.

Cheap version of lid = piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.

I just grabbed a lid from another pot for the second boil tests, but foil would have been an easy option.

The steel cups weren't big enough to burn 2 cups of water, so it made more sense to get the big one.