GSI Halulite Tea Kettle
I ordered this from Ben's Backwoods and it arrived hassle free. The kettle comes in a nice gun metal finish with orange rubber handles (bonus). The kettle itself weighs next to nothing.
What the heck is Halulite? From the GSI site:
Halulite is a proprietary alloy that also conducts heat better and more evenly—so you can leave the extra fuel at home. Plus, every piece is Hard Anodized to create a surface that withstands scratches and abrasions like nothing else. It's ultra light without the sacrifices.
It is large enough inside to fit a Trangia stove and mini stand.
The kettle was also small enough to nest inside our pre-existing MSR pots (double bonus!), there by not increasing the overall volume of our load.
In use, the kettle works like a kettle should. There is no whistle cap so you have to monitor the water by peering under the lid. Use a knife or a stick to lift the lid since it gets hot there. Once nice touch is that the large handle stays standing upright without making contact with the rest of the pot, this lets you pour without burning your fingers.
Why get a kettle at all? Truth be told, it falls more under nicety than necessity. I could get along just fine without it, but it's nice to have along. It's great for Tea for Two rides. It is also nice to have a dedicated bit of cookware just for boiling water. I've made tea using a pot that was used for making chili the night before and let's say that the tea just didn't taste the same.
6 comments:
How does this compare in weight to a Ti kettle? Why this and not a Ti kettle?
Compared to the Ti MSR Kettle it is about 2 oz heavier...not that big of a deal...
The GSI also happens to be less than half the price of the Ti kettle.
One plus with the GSI Kettle is that it has a proper spout and the lid is probably less apt to open during a pour (these are assumptions from looking at the photos not from use).
Pretty compelling reasons. The $/oz to go to Ti sounds pretty difficult to justify.
I am thinking of a similar cookset for two week-long mountain hikes in Japan this summer: hard-ano alu is the way to go. The only thing I'd change from your set-up is no kettle, maybe only one pot, avoid ANY teflon, and take an even lighter alcohol stove: http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/Stovedetail.cfm/VRG1000
I thought about picking up a kettle, but decided to invest in a stainless steel mug instead. I just set it on the camp stove until it boils. If you are going to carry a mug anyway along with a kettle, might as well go a tad heavy on the mug and ditch the kettle. Maybe with two people it would be different, but for solo camping, a mug and small pot are all I need for my meals. Also, I couldn't find anything about whether the Halulite had any leeching or toxic properties, like aluminum. So, I just steered clear.
I have an ancient MSR teapot (BTW the link is to the newer version) in stainless that I have been dragging around the country for years. At 9 ounces it is no lightweight, but has done duty for over 25 years along with my MSR Alpine Cookset at the time I purchased it was the best of the best.
Aaron
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