Even with gloves and a bandanna I'm always scorching my fingers. Darn alcohol stoves burn so hot! I'm thinking of forgoing handles and getting a grabber. Can anyone attest to UL grabbers?

Antigravity gear 1.2oz
Coghlans 1oz
Vargo ?
MSR ?

The one that came with my Trangia mini kit is very light, I think it's about 0.7 oz or so. It works best (or maybe only) however on pots with a rim.

http://www.rei.com/product/657906

I've got the MSR one and it's really nice, it's weighs 1 oz.

Edited by dag4643 on 05/14/2008 14:47:17 MDT.

You can solve your problem by adding yet another piece of gear (however light) -- or get an alky stove that's more appropriate for your pot. Is your stove really too hot, or is it because the flames are too wide?

My pot is the FireLite 550 -- just about as narrow as a pot gets -- and while the water boils fast and furious, the pot handles are only "warm" to the touch.

Which pot do you use?

Edited by ben2world on 05/14/2008 14:55:57 MDT.

the msr its quite light but with some holes could be really light:

http://zenstoves.net/PotAccessories/HoneycombGripper.jpg

I got the little MSR red-handled one with a pot set and find it does the trick at a mere ounce, although it seems pretty expensive bought by itself.

I'm guessing you use an aluminum pot? Ti pots, costy things that they are, are much easier to handle without any sort of pot lifter because the rim seldom gets too hot to touch. Aluminum conducts the heat far more, which is why it's difficult to drink hot liquids from an aluminum cup.

Good point, Rick. It may be the stove, or it may be the pot -- or both. But methinks it may be better to eliminate the problem rather than adding another gear piece to mitigate its effect.

I have cut about an inch of a silicon egg ring and I use it to pinch the rim of the mug between my index finger and thumb. You could cut a scrap off any silicon baking product, but the egg ring is quite firm and springy and seems to grip well pouring water out of a firelite 550 mug.

Edited by bretthartwig on 05/14/2008 15:42:43 MDT.

Hey all - I have a MSR Titan and a whitebox stove. The flames ARE too wide for this pot, but I also had the hot hands experience with a 1.5-2L aluminum pot which mated the whitebox perfectly. One time I actually got the handles of the Titan red-hot!

Maybe I just have really heat-sensitive hands?

Margaret, I think that is just the nature of the WhiteBox stove, not your hands.

"Margaret, I think that is just the nature of the WhiteBox stove, not your hands."

It definitely is a hot little bugger. :)

Rick wrote:
> I got the little MSR red-handled one with a pot set and find it does the trick at a mere ounce

I endorse what he says. The red-handled MSR one works well and seems to be the lightest one around.

Cheers

I use my Leatherman squirt P4 with needle nose pliers for my pot grabber. I use a BPL 1100 with Caldera Cone and haven't been burned yet. The squirt weighs 2 ozs and you get a little knife, pliers,file,screwdriver ....etc.Not just a one use piece of gear. (although there may be other uses for the red handed pot grabber that I am not thinking of)Also, I haven't had any problem with the pliers leaving teeth marks on my pot.
Josh

Good idea, but I have a leatherman micra which has scissors instead of pliers. I'm in the market for a bigger pot anyway, so I may pickup one that comes with a grabber for economy's sake.

If you are thinking of buying a new pot I would suggest you borrow one with bail. Very light, very simple, never misplaced. Try one with a crimp that allows you to stand it upright while cooking.

Now I'm a little bit of a zealout about bails but I think you might really like it.

Hi Margaret! As noted in an earlier post I managed to score a Mini Trangia pot lifter from REI. At 20 gm it is unquestionably the lightest around, and like you I needed something for my Antigravity Gear alu handleless pot... the bandana trick just wasn't working. Then recently I came across my old Boy Scout mess kit and guess what: the pot is the exact same one as the AG except that it has a bail (though not anodized)! The AG pot cost me $12 while the whole mess kit was probably less than half. That's what happens when your gear closet gets too stuffed I guess, ha! Even though it's not high tech Ti, I prefer this large diameter (5 in), .75 L, pot because the flames don't lap up the sides no matter which stove I'm using.