If so tell me about it. :-)

I just bought a Gram Weenie stove from End2End Trail Supply, and I'm looking for a good mug to use with the stove, as a supplement to my main cooking system (a Caldera Cone with the 1.3L Vargo).

I'd like the mug to have the following properties:

- can be used comfortably as a mug
- folding handles
- volume markings so it can double as a measuring cup
- 12 - 20oz capacity (not too large)
- an approx. 3" diameter so that it works well with the Gram Weenie
- lid (not AS important)

So - those are the priorities for me, but I'm confident that you all are going to point out lots of other nifty features of your favorite mugs - like nesting abilities and such. And that's great, I want to here about that too :-)

I've got a Snow Peak 450 single wall. It's about 15 fluid ounces, so within your capacity range, and has the folding handles. It's listed diameter is 3.5", so pretty close to the size you want as well.

No volume markings, which is a bummer for me, but I simply mark them on my water bottle and measure there to add to the mug. I use heavy duty aluminum foil as the lid, and so far it seems to work fine, as well as being light weight.

That said, I'm interested to see what others throw out for suggestions as well, since there may be some items I haven't thought about yet.

Tom

I generally carry two. One is on my shoulder strap with a shock cord and cord lock and the other is in a homemade cozy in the pack. Cocoa, tang and crystal-lite are all made a pint at a time. Finishing your camp hot beverage on the trail is a morning treat.

All beverages are shaken, not stirred.

It does not meet your specs, but it works for me.

Snowpeak is seconded.

I too carry a "second" mug in addition to a pot, sometimes. It is a cut down cheap giveaway kids water bottle about 3 inches in diameter and four inches tall. Crude, ugly (multicolored)hot to hold and I love it. It weighs next to nothing as it is made of thin plastic.

Simon

Somehow I ended up with a new MSR Titan Titanium single walled 400ml mug (1.75oz). I took it on a thru hike and decided that I liked it so much I'd continue using it. Yes, it has a 3.0" diameter.

Edited by Quoddy on 09/26/2007 17:35:48 MDT.

I took an MSR Titan (single wall) mug, removed the handles and slid one of those thin foam cozies around. Works great and only weights 55g (which is just one gram more than what MSR claims the mug weights with the handles).

The cozy insulates and eliminates the need for the handles.

Later, I noticed that one of my "traveler" mug lids fit on the Titan pretty darn well. It adds another 24g.

All totaled, at 79g (2.8oz) this was the lightest insulated mug I could find.

-PLR-

Paul,

What type of mug did you steal the lid from, and how does it seal (ie what method)

I've tried to use an Aladdin which clips over the outside, but it's juuust to large.

Thanks, Rod

My most-used mug is the Snowpeak Trek 900ml. Measurement markings on the side, a lid with 300ml capacity, removable handles, compatible with aluminum and titanium Caldera Cones, big enough to cook in, small enough to drink out of, nesting compatibility with the rest of my Snowpeak series, lid doubles as a fry-pan, inverted lid acts as a double burner, etc..
This is the one do-it-all mug/pot I recommend.
$34.16 in Titanium or $19.95 in Aluminum on google.

Edited by Brett1234 on 09/27/2007 03:52:37 MDT.

I carry a 1.5 L JetBoil cook pot that, W/ its "Flux Ring" heat exchanger, is very efficient. Yeah, heavier than your mug but it's my way of having hot water boiled ONCE that is used for food, cleanup, brushing my teeth, and washing up. And I'll bet it boils 2 c of H2O at least as fast as your mug, given the same stove.

I do own a plastic, insulated rotating top mug for winter camping. It's a necessity... unless you like cold coffee, etc.

Edited by Danepacker on 09/27/2007 04:03:35 MDT.

I use a snow peak 700 mug as my solo cookset. At 4.8oz it may be a bit heavy for you but it does meet most of your criteria.

This is a small cookpot, large mug

It does have folding handles

It has volume markings stamped into the inside

At 23 oz it is just over your volume request

It is larger than 3" diameter at 4 1/8"

It does have a lid

In my research, it had the best mL/oz ratio. This will please gram weenies.

I like the cozy...I'll have to try that.

Does anyone know if ALL of Snow Peak's titanium mugs/pots have volume markings? Or just some of them?

Also, are all of their handles removable?

Sorry to ask these types of questions here, but I'm checking out their website, and they seem to have VERY little information about each item... :-(

*******
Edit
*******
Ah - well, I answered ONE of my questions - about the volume markings - apparently the 450 doesn't at least (re-read an earlier post). Does anyone know then which ones DO?

Or, since it seems that most of the mugs don't come with volume markings, has anyone had any luck with scoring volume markings on the inside of a titanium mug themselves? If so, what did you use to do it?

Edited by cowboisgirl on 09/27/2007 12:08:52 MDT.

Using a measuring cup, I poured a cup of water into the mug and then made a score with a utility knife. It's good enough for the type of measuring you need to be doing while cooking.

I use the Brasslite 600ml which I got on sale for 20 bucks. Here is a picture: Brasslite thread

Edited by fperkins on 09/27/2007 13:04:38 MDT.

Some do (700, 900) but many don't.

The handles are removable (and reinsertable) on every pot/mug I've seen.

Curiously, the spotwelds that attach the handle brackets to the mug, and are often visible from the inside, will align very closely, if not exactly, with convenient amounts. For example, my SP600 mug has spotwelds right at 2 cups and I think one at 12 oz too.

Actually, the SP has spot welds at darn close to the 2 cup, 1.5 cup, and 1 cup marks...

I saw a post somewhere about a guy who used JK's 'measuring stick' concept and instead etched the handle of his spoon...

I usually use an MSR Titan kettle with my SP stove and 110 SP canister. To go really light I use a SP 600 with a homemade alky stove, or a titanium bike spoke potstand and Esbit. I have put a narrow strip of reflective tape on the handles of a Ti spork for the kettle, and on a Lexan spoon for the SP 600. Measured from the end of the handle, and used as a staff gauge, the bottom of the tape is one cup, and the top is two cups for each of the respective pot/spoon combos. I just eyeball 1/2 and 1 1/2 cups. The added advantage is that I can easily find my spoon if I drop it in the dark, or if I'm packing in the dark (I like to hit the trail very early sometimes!)

I also have an Olicamp SS Space Saver cup that exactly fits the bottom of a Nalgene 1L bottle. If that cup were Ti, I think it would be just about the perfect size and weight. I tried to email Olicamp to ask if they make the cup in Ti, but got no reply. They DO make what they call a titanium Space Saver kettle, but it does NOT have the same dimensions as the stainless steel cup, nor does it have volume markings like the SS cup.

If you love your little pot, you already know the volume without needing "markings."

I fell in love with the BPL 550 and I know where 12 ounces is... or at least close enough.

Ti weathers so well that whatever volume you use most often will leave a "marking." I now have a 12 ounce mark and I wing it from there.

Come on guys... let's go camping. Does it have to be that complicated?

See ya

Martha Stewart just turned over in her cell. Oh well ;-)

Edited by samurai on 09/27/2007 21:48:31 MDT.

Rod -

Looking through my cupboard, it would appear that I nabbed the lid from my Sportsmans Warehouse travel mug (shown below with the lid on). This mug is made by Liquid Solutions.





Regarding how it seals, the lid has a silicon gasket, shown here:





Sharon -

For what it's worth ... my solution to the measuring cup problem was to take a plastic measuring cup that I got at REI (click here) and cut it in half. Below is a "before and after" picture ...






This gives me a 0.5oz, 1/2 cup measuring cup that nests perfectly into my MSR Titan mug ...



Which then (as one would expect) fits perfectly into my MSR Titan Kettle ...





The combination of "foam cozy and the nested measuring cup" are just-slightly-tall for nesting in the Titan Kettle, but it all works out since the Kettle lid is slightly domed.

From the photo above, the observant reader will notice that I replaced the stock MSR folding handles on my Titan Kettle with Snow Peak handles (off of a 450 Ti mug). I always found the stock MSR handles to be too awkward when the kettle is full of water. By contrast, I find the curved Snow Peak handles work much better (meaning: more stable).


And finally, I agree with Sam ... let's go camping ......

-PLR-

(edited to add some additional comments and fix the hyperlink)

Edited by viking8388 on 09/29/2007 07:59:18 MDT.

Yes! I HATE the taste of coffee in plastic so I use a Snow Peak double-wall 450. It keeps the contents hot and my lips cool. It also nestles perfectly inside my Firelight 550.

Thanks Paul,

I'll try to find something similar. I had been looking for an outside seal, rather than inside, but I like your option.

Rod