My Evolving Cook Kit

Been using my old 600ml Snow Peak cup as my solo cookpot on my AT sections. I found it a little small as my hunger got bigger. I like to boil enough water in the morning to fill my coffee cup and make oatmeal and 600 ml just didn't cut it. I couldn't squeeze a fuel cannister in it either, which adding to pack volume. I was also wishing it had some volume measurements in it to facilitating cooking stuff like rice, oatmeal, etc.

Well, my birthday came around, and Mary got me a brand new Snow Peak's Titanium Trek 700 Cookpot!

I had researched it. I knew it was big enough to fit a canister, and that it had volume markings on the inside, but would my stove fit inside too? And what's up with that lid?

As soon as I opened the box, I slipped a 4 oz canister inside, grabbed my little Monatauk Gnat canister stove and a lighter, slipped them in, and put the cover on. Perfect!

That lid was a disappointment. It has two clips on the side with the sippy, pasta draining, spoon stowage slot, but the lid does not clip on securely. Plus it has that hook sticking up that allows one to hang it on the side of the pot. I foresaw that snagging and wearing holes in stuff inside my pack.

The forums are full of discussion as to the lid's weight, and whether it's titanium. Snow Peak says it is, but it's heavy guage and it weighs 35g. Some hikers felt the same I did about the hook, and cut it off. Some added a wooden knob to the top. A Minibulldesign lid for this pot weighs only 16g which would cut 19g ...

And some replaced it with a jetboil PCS lid that snaps on! I decided to explore that option. I ordered a PCS lid from Jetboil, and it snapped on to the Snow Peak like it was so designed!

It's a molded flexible material with a well designed pour spout, and a hole in the center that accommodates an optional french press kit. I slipped a fuel cannister, my stove and a lighter into the pot, snapped the cover on, turned it upside, and shook it vigorously. It stayed on.

Finally, I filled it with water, put it on my stove with the cover on, brought it to a boil, and it didn't melt. I didn't crank the stove up to max. I generally don't let the flames lap up the sides of my pot when I'm cooking. And there are those who have serious reservations about using it over a camp fire ... Watch this space.

I tossed the lid on the scale, and it weighs ... 35g! So no weight savings over the stock lid. My old pot with a Minibulldesign lid weighs 3.31 ozs. The new pot with the Jetboil lid weighs 4.48. So my penalty for increased volume and reduced pack volume is for an increase of 1.17 ozs. I can live with that.

Now to design a pot cozy for it ...