I'm interested in making my cozies for my freezer-bag dinners.

Does anyone know what the best material for that sort of thing is? I'm looking at fleece, neoprene, and the "bubble" insulation you see in the pot cozies made by AGG.

Also, any other suggestions for materials I'm not thinking of are appreciated...

You can't go wrong with Reflectix, aka the bubble insulation with the reflective coating. You can pick this up at Home Depot it is cheap, lightweight, and extremely effective. I found it easy to work with.

Search the BPL forums for reflectix. It comes in large rolls and many people here have leftovers.

Joe has a cool pattern he sent me in PDF form for a Ziploc cozy. Check out his thread at : http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/8637/index.html?skip_to_post=62187#62187

I have some left over if Joe can't help you. You will need aluminum duct tape as well.

You can go to zen stoves to get the directions to make a cozy for your pot.

Good luck

Dave

I use a fabric called 'Insul Bright' in the cozies I sew for our website. You can find Insul Bright at places such as Jo Ann Fabric. It is made here in Washington State as well.

The fabric is punched/lined mylar material. Can be a bit trying as you learn to sew it though (it dulls needles and produces some fine "fabric dust"...I cut the fabric with a rotary cutter, and I wear a face mask as well.)

Ha!

Hi Sarah. I believe I have your book! I've thought several times about just buying your cozies, but I'm a big fan of do-it-yourself-ing whenever I can.

I will definitely check that material out! Thank you for the info. :-)

I've made them from both the Reflectix and Insul Bright. To me it's really just a matter of time and how "into" doing something. The two pictures below are of cozies I've made. They both weigh about the same, the Insul Bright is a bit lighter as shown below .08 but I could trim down my Reflectix one quite a bit.

The real big difference is time. you can make the Reflectix one in about 10 min. The insul bright is very easy to roll up but most of the time I slide the reflectix down the back of my pac so it's size or stiffness isn't an issue. That all said if your into sewing the Insul bright is cooler becasue you can use colors. The Red one below I made with a serger using a flat loc stitch so there are no hems and other then the velcro it's all sewn together at once. The fabric is momentum 90 left over from a pullover.

I've still got quite a bit left of my Reflectix so if you want to buy some let me know. I think with shipping it's around 3.00 a foot and you need 2 feet to make one like mine. I can also email you the template I made.

joefederici(at)earthlink.net

I made mine using a plastic USPS mailing envelope. The photo shows size comparison to a 1 quart size freezer bag laying on top of the mailer. It has the bubble wrap stuff inside for secure shipping. Weighs 13 grams and is water resistant, easy to clean. Durable

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Edited by zelph on 08/21/2007 19:59:05 MDT.

Thanks Joe!

Have you noticed any difference in the performance btwn the two materials?

For instance, does a freezer bag meal take any longer in one than the other to be done? Or they are about the same with regards to keeping the heat in?

Just to test the newer Insul Bright pack I made did work I did a test with 2 bags of 2 cups of boiling water in each then took a temp reading off them 15 min after they were in the cozies. The difference between the bags was 2 degrees hotter in the Reflectix. Considering the Reflectix pac I made has doubles the insulation in the front I thought that said alot about the Insul Bright.

I think you would be more then happy with either.

Joe F

My testings with identical digital thermometers came out about the same on every test as I was developing the cozies.

Two photos of some of the cozies I make:

How is the top held closed. Do you just fold the flap over and tuck it inside the opening.

JFF

They have Velcro on the point, so they close like an envelope. The photos don't all show Velcro on them, but it is a 1" piece.

This one shows the Velcro:

We're going back to Philmont next summer. One of the areas we'd like to lighten up is in the cooking area: We use Turkey bags and a 20 oz pot. : Boil water in a pot, then dump the hot water and dehydrated food in a turkey bag sitting inside the 8 qt (which weighs 20 oz - ouch!) (the Al pot is for support / stability). Next squish for 5 minutes to mix, let it sit for another 5, then eat. Last person eats the bag clean, -0- cleanup beyond that.

So, can I get or make a cozy that big that will support the turkey bag with the food in it?

I'm intrigued that we might be able to replace the 20 oz pot, with something like 0.9L titanium pot plus a cozy that might weigh 2 - 3 oz and be much lessclumsy to carry.
Am I on the right track, or is this a non-starter?

Thanks,
MikeB

Edited by eaglemb on 08/22/2007 23:08:24 MDT.

Mike, I haven't yet tried exactly the size of a cozy that you describe. But I've made 3 different size cozies from Reflectix material. Sourced several feet of it at a local Ace hardware store. I used metallic HVAC tape, displayed on the rack next to the roll, to piece the cozies together.

I have made a paper template each time and cut the material accordingly. It's easy to tape together in either a cylindrical or envelope shape.

Reflectix has some stiffness to it and should work well even with a larger turkey sized mylar bag. You should be able to test your design with $3-$5 of material.

With the 0.9l Ti pot, would you boil several batches to prepare food in double portions per bag? I use a 0.9l SP pot for solo cooking exactly as you desribe -- pour boiling water over food in a plastic bag, knead it for a spell, and then allow it to sit inside the cozy for 10-15 minutes. I usually set the bag directly inside the cozy and even place a Reflectix lid on top for additional insulation.

Edited by flyfast on 08/22/2007 22:11:30 MDT.

Hey Phil,
thanks for the quick reply.
When you make the cozies, do you make a bottom on them, could you make a bottom that would still fold flat?

We were trying to remember exactly how much water you had to heat with a Philmont dinner for 12 (anyone remember?), but the basic thermodynamics are the same, it takes about the same amount of time to heat 1.8L of water in a 1.8L pot as it does in a 0.9L pot, so having to do boil it serially shouldn't be a big deal.

Where am I wrong here?

Mike, make a big round pot shaped cozy from Reflectix. It is light and cheap. The aluminum tape for HVAC ducts works well to join the edges.
Your units confused me for a moment. I wasn't sure if we were talking about a 20oz pot or an 8qt pot. (see relevant thread on US vs Metric systems). Your 8 US quart pot = 256 US fluid ounces, not 20.

Mike, here's an old photo of a cozy made to fit a SnowPeak Trek 900 Ti pot. It couldn't be much simpler. The cylinder is taped to a circular bottom. The lid fits on top when the pot is inside. I carry the pot inside the cozy in my pack. Now I usually do cook food directly in a plastic bag that I insulate in the cozy.



It makes sense that you could serially boil multiple batches of water.

Edited by flyfast on 08/22/2007 23:06:35 MDT.

Thanks Brett and Phil.
Brett, the 8 qt aluminum pot weights 20 oz, I slightly edited the post to indicate that, thanks for the clarification.

Thanks Phil, this looks pretty easy for a quick pound we may have just knocked off the crew gear weight.

Is this 'reflectix' material plastic or metal coated? Any Idea at what temp it melts?

Thanks again,
Mike

Mike, Reflectix is a plastic bubble wrap with an aluminum foil applied to both outside surfaces. I would suspect that it melts quickly near a flame. It has no problem with boiling water. It's made for HVAC insulation applications.

The spec sheet for Reflectix doesn't specify a melting point or any temperature for flammability.

Edited by flyfast on 08/23/2007 06:34:44 MDT.