- Mar 10, 2008
- 1,376
- 38
Ode To The Swedish Mess Kit (The Motherland)
Borrowed from ZS. author crypto
Some of you have probably still not seen the amazing Swedish Mess Kits that are all over the surplus market, so I thought I'd make this post showing them off.
They're typically $5 to $8 depending on where you get them from, and they're pretty much bombproof.
They stand about 10" tall, 6" wide, and 4" deep. There is a stainless steel pot with a bale and pan with a handle (and loops on the handle to shove a stick into). The pan lid covers the pot, and they both nest into a aluminum windscreen.
Now, the jewel of the Swedish Mess Kit is the brass Trangia stove contained inside.
The Trangia stove is a brass alcohol jet stove that has no moving parts, and is pretty much indestructible. I rolled mine down the mountain at Z-Con and it was no worse off. If you've ever seen a pepsi can stove then you know how these operate you pour alcohol in the center, it flows to the sides, vaporizes, and comes out the jets. Easy peasy. It's heavier than a pepsi can stove but is also not made out of aluminum foil.
To use the mess kit, you place the Trangia stove inside the windscreen, and flip the supports up, like so:
Pour enough alcohol in the stove to cook your food. It takes about an ounce of fuel to boil a cup of water. Light the stove, and put either a pot or a pan on top:
This stove generates quite a bit of heat, and boils a pot of water in 5-7 minutes depending on temp. The windscreen is totally effective, and the fact that it is custom made for the pot and pan means that very little heat escapes around the cookware.
When you're done cooking, you have two options. Either let the stove burn out, or place the cap back on it. The flame will extinguish, and once it cools you can thread it on tight. The rubber gasket inside the cap will prevent fuel leaks. I don't know whether heat will eventually degrade the gasket, so I usually just let it burn down and cool off before putting it away. If you do it like that you could even throw out the cap and save a few ounces.
Speaking of ounces, thats the only complaint about the Swedish Mess Kit. It has too many of them, being designed to be GI-proof.
2 pounds, 14.25 ounces. Almost 3 pounds. However, if you consider that's a stove, a windscreen, a pot and pan, and enough fuel for 3-4 days, thats not too bad.
Anyway, go get one. They're dirt cheap, and indestructible. You'll be ready to invade Finland and Norway on a full stomach, or at least bug out without worrying about a broken stove.
Borrowed from ZS. author crypto
Some of you have probably still not seen the amazing Swedish Mess Kits that are all over the surplus market, so I thought I'd make this post showing them off.
They're typically $5 to $8 depending on where you get them from, and they're pretty much bombproof.
They stand about 10" tall, 6" wide, and 4" deep. There is a stainless steel pot with a bale and pan with a handle (and loops on the handle to shove a stick into). The pan lid covers the pot, and they both nest into a aluminum windscreen.
Now, the jewel of the Swedish Mess Kit is the brass Trangia stove contained inside.
The Trangia stove is a brass alcohol jet stove that has no moving parts, and is pretty much indestructible. I rolled mine down the mountain at Z-Con and it was no worse off. If you've ever seen a pepsi can stove then you know how these operate you pour alcohol in the center, it flows to the sides, vaporizes, and comes out the jets. Easy peasy. It's heavier than a pepsi can stove but is also not made out of aluminum foil.
To use the mess kit, you place the Trangia stove inside the windscreen, and flip the supports up, like so:
Pour enough alcohol in the stove to cook your food. It takes about an ounce of fuel to boil a cup of water. Light the stove, and put either a pot or a pan on top:
This stove generates quite a bit of heat, and boils a pot of water in 5-7 minutes depending on temp. The windscreen is totally effective, and the fact that it is custom made for the pot and pan means that very little heat escapes around the cookware.
When you're done cooking, you have two options. Either let the stove burn out, or place the cap back on it. The flame will extinguish, and once it cools you can thread it on tight. The rubber gasket inside the cap will prevent fuel leaks. I don't know whether heat will eventually degrade the gasket, so I usually just let it burn down and cool off before putting it away. If you do it like that you could even throw out the cap and save a few ounces.
Speaking of ounces, thats the only complaint about the Swedish Mess Kit. It has too many of them, being designed to be GI-proof.
2 pounds, 14.25 ounces. Almost 3 pounds. However, if you consider that's a stove, a windscreen, a pot and pan, and enough fuel for 3-4 days, thats not too bad.
Anyway, go get one. They're dirt cheap, and indestructible. You'll be ready to invade Finland and Norway on a full stomach, or at least bug out without worrying about a broken stove.
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