I agree with all of the above. I do not like burnt lips...period...that's why I always carry plastic of some description. Some times it is a Nalgene, some times it's not. I use Tinny's gram Wienie kitchen so I usually have a couple of containers to either mix food in or drink out of...sabre11004...
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Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
So, I take it you are not a fan of the timeless classic sierra cup? Be careful, in certain National Parks, I am sure that the Sierra Cup must be plainly affixed to either pack or belt, like a hunting license. Failure to do so will at the very least earn you a baleful stare from the resident ranger.
Actually, you have a point with respect to the stainless steel version ("hot lips"). I have a couple of dust covered examples of the type around, and like most everything else made of SS, they are pretty much relegated to car camping.
In titanium, the deathless Sierra Cup is reborn, ready to serve a new generation. It is light, tough, and versatile. I use mine as a second cook kit, primarily for rewarming my too cool tea. It also comes in handy when digging for water. I have vivid memories of such an episode in the Sierra San Pedro Martyr a few years ago. Try that with your soulless, mass produced plastic!
I am sure I could bake bread in it, stuff it in a crack as an emergency rappel anchor, fry trout, etc. Its potential uses are almost beyond comprehension.
I actually pack the M1 A2 version, which features a recycled plastic snap lid, an Esbit holder, Esbit, tea bags, sugar packets, and aluminum foil wind screen. I need to throw in a lighter to make it complete. This goes with me on every hike - you never know when you will need a nice cup of tea..
Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Jim, I agree on the stainless steel. Aluminum is a far better conductor than either Ti or steel, and is the material of choice when you're actually cooking (as opposed to rehydrating). Anodized aluminum doesn't leach (pretty much discredited as a source of health problems, but the myth is still circulating). Stainless steel cookware for the home inevitably has either a copper-coated bottom or an aluminum disk welded to the bottom.
Cast iron has the best conductivity of all, but is hardly practical for backpacking! It's great for cooking at home, though, and has a multiple-use benefit--cooks your food and keeps your muscles in tone!
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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey
Well... OK... perhaps the Ti Sierra Cup is the new generation that does have its place. And I like the idea of a plastic snap-on cover to keep drinks hot - and pine needles out. But not the old s.s. cup. It's an anachronism.
Eric
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"There are no comfortable backpacks. Some are just less uncomfortable than others."
Being new to the UL behavior pattern, I recently bought a digital scale, and have been amazed as I go thru gear and weigh and note the weights of so much "not light" gear. I just weighed an insulated plastic mug, one that was given to me by the Serta Bed company, and I was amazed to see it weighed 4.4 oz, and it was just under 400ml.... Well, that $30 Ti mug weighed 4.2 oz... so I was like, damn, saving money and liking the mug all at once! I love my tea in the evening as well. I am looking forward to "discovering" new light stuff that is already there!
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I dare you to move, like today never happened... -Switchfoot-
Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
How well does the plastic mug work as a container for boiling water?
Actually, it might work pretty well if you dropped hot rocks into the container. I have never tried this technique, but according to the "literature" hot rocks will bring liquids to a boil pretty quick.
Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
good question. I have never actually tried the technique, but it is often used in non-metallic containers with some sort if shielding. Me, I keep it simple and just shove my metallic cooking container into the flame.
Hot rocks in plastic containers of water may not cause damage for the same reason you can set a paper cup or paper bag full of water on an open flame burner. I think the theory is that the water keeps the container's temperature below ignition...below melting in the case of the plastic mug.
FYI, I have tried both the paper cup and the paper bag on a burner on my gas stove. Both worked...kinda. The heat from the burners was sufficient to ignite the top of the cup (that part that was above the water line) and it burned down to the water line and spilling started to occur. The bag didn't burn but it did leak from the start. Things were getting kinda sloppy on the cooktop before I finally gave up and took the bag off the burner. At that point the water in bag had achieved face-washing temperature and the bag had no charing/burning.
FB
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"...inalienable rights...include the right to a clean and healthful environment..." Montana Constitution
you should try cooking eggs and bacon in a paper bag! i didnt come up with it but the guys over at backpacker magazine did. what you do is smear grease from the bacon on the bottom of the bag then put the bacon in. then through two eggs into the paper bag along with it (without the shells). wait till your fire is nothing but coals to try this though as any sort of flame will ignite the bag.
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Modern civilized man, sated with artificialities and luxury, were wont, when he returns to the primeval mountains, to find among their caves his prehistoric brother, alive and unchanged. -Guido Rey
I think the technique predates "Backpacker". I've got one book that discusses the method, Roughing It Easy by Dian Thomas. The paperback is dated 1974 whereas "Backpacker" started in the spring of 1973. Given delays in writing, editing, publishing, etc, and especially given that I'm sure the author of my book didn't develop the idea, I think the idea was floating around well before "Backpacker".
Either way, it is an old, old 'trick.'
FB
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"...inalienable rights...include the right to a clean and healthful environment..." Montana Constitution
Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
By the by, This has been an interesting thread to me. I have tried many things and there are some good ideas here. Long ago I was hiking with my friend Neal Lind and he was using a 16 ounce plastic measuring cup for his dinner bowl, tea cup and other general purposes. I recently switched back to that. You can always find something to stuff into it so it doesn't take up any volume to speak off. 2.5 ounces?
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