Keith Titanium Canteen
- Thread starter SCOMAN
- Start date
Link doesn't work for me. Could you post the review here? I have a friend who has one of these and was looking at them earlier this year with some interest.
Text below belongs to member SCOMAN.
https://packyrbag.com/reviews/
Keith Titanium Canteen and Mug
So the Keith Titanium Canteen what is it, why’s it so expensive. Well it’s expensive because it’s titanium and I understand there’s a challenging manufacturing process. What’s the benefits? It’s as light as hell, provides a means to carry water, with a mug, you can boil to clean water in the mug with it’s lid. You can also boil water in canteen itself.
Here’s some details;
Canteen:
Volume 1100ml (to the bottom of the neck opening)
Width of mouth 43mm
Height without lid 185mm
Height with lid 200mm
Width (widest part) 77mm
Weight 160g
Mug:
Volume 700ml (600ml filled short of the brim)
Height (no lid) 95mm
Height (lid) 96mm
Width 75mm
Weight 128g
I first came across these via Bushcraft USA website and the Heavy Cover Canteen. Looking for a cheaper version I found the Keith titanium canteen. I’m pretty sure they’re the one and the same but the Heavy Cover Canteen is inscribed with the logo. Keith do advertise on their website that they can do special logo designs and I guess that’s what Heavy Cover did. The canteen is a completely different shape to the current Brit military issue more akin to the US or NATO aluminium canteen from the 40’s or 50’s or the current military plastic 1 quart canteen. The difference is the Keith titanium canteen is larger in most respects. Not massively bigger but it makes it tighter when fitting it into most of the current third party canteen covers such as Maxpedition or even military issue ones. It fits but it’s a tight fit. The canteen I ordered came with a cheap desert digital camouflage cover but I never used it repurposing the 25mm webbing strap for other tasks. It will fit into the current Brit military issue canteen pouch with room to spare. In keeping with it’s primary benefit, it’s as light as hell, I made a ‘skeleton’ canteen belt holder out of some 25mm webbing. On the other hand I also carry it in my Mother Canteen Carrier, reviewed below.
When out and using it to collect water there is the added benefit of being able to boil water in it over a fire to purify it and make it safe for drinking. Of course it’ll need filtering to remove any bits or mud in suspension. I’ve done this a number of times with no bother. The outside of the canteen is almost a stonewash effect but I’ve been able to clean off the soot from the fire easily enough but there is some residue. The key thing to note is that the lid of the canteen is sealed with a silicon washer.
Happy to state the obvious but you can’t boil water with the lid on because it’ll seal the unit and ‘explode’ and you’ll melt the washer, which may in fact stop the ‘explosion’. Still take the lid off the canteen if boiling water with it. I do have a lanyard attached to the loop on the lid that I then secure via a slip knot around the neck of the canteen. If I’m filling up with water I won’t lose it but the slip knot allows me to remove it easily. The mug I’ve boiled water in it over a fire and boiled water to warm a retort meal over a gas stove. No issue whatsoever. The lip of the mug is obviously warmed when there’s boiling water in it or when cooked over a flame of some sort. This isn’t a big problem and after a few minutes it’s usually cool enough to drink from with no bother. I did buy a a fish mouth spreader to try help suspend the bottle over a fire but due to it’s screw neck it doesn’t hold it securely and I’ve never tried it in anger.
The neck of the canteen is large enough to fit an ice cube into but the size by volume is a bit of a weird one. 1100ml is a tad inconvenient. If using purifying water tablets you’ll need to pour some of the water away in order to ensure that the water has been sensibly treated. Equally if adding a powder to flavour the water or create a drink you’ll need to pour some water out of the filled canteen. I thought it might be more appropriate measured in fluid oz but that becomes 37.2 oz so where the sizing comes from I’ve no idea. The mug is no bother 600ml filled to beneath the brim gives you a good sized brew when out and about. It’s not insulated but it keeps a drink warmer than a similar aluminium or steel in my opinion.
Why would someone spend this much money on a water carrier, is the saving in weight worth the extra money. I’ll probably say no it’s not worth it. Is it a nice bit of kit, yes. I will at this stage remind you that in my intro I mentioned I’m a gear hound. You could of course use a steel or aluminium bottle, I chose titanium. Carrying a litre of water in a bottle that can be used over a flame or stove to purify more water as well as having a mug to drink out of is a huge plus. Obviously the weight saving on it’s own is considerable, it’s easily carried in a variety of carriers. Should you wish, if you chose to ignore the weight saving, you can use it as a base to create a meaningful outfit to take into the field.
I’m a fan, but, and it’s a big but, it’s a very expensive piece of kit and I daresay many will frown and shake their heads at the expense but damn it’s a nice piece of kit.
https://packyrbag.com/reviews/
Keith Titanium Canteen and Mug
So the Keith Titanium Canteen what is it, why’s it so expensive. Well it’s expensive because it’s titanium and I understand there’s a challenging manufacturing process. What’s the benefits? It’s as light as hell, provides a means to carry water, with a mug, you can boil to clean water in the mug with it’s lid. You can also boil water in canteen itself.
Here’s some details;
Canteen:
Volume 1100ml (to the bottom of the neck opening)
Width of mouth 43mm
Height without lid 185mm
Height with lid 200mm
Width (widest part) 77mm
Weight 160g
Mug:
Volume 700ml (600ml filled short of the brim)
Height (no lid) 95mm
Height (lid) 96mm
Width 75mm
Weight 128g
I first came across these via Bushcraft USA website and the Heavy Cover Canteen. Looking for a cheaper version I found the Keith titanium canteen. I’m pretty sure they’re the one and the same but the Heavy Cover Canteen is inscribed with the logo. Keith do advertise on their website that they can do special logo designs and I guess that’s what Heavy Cover did. The canteen is a completely different shape to the current Brit military issue more akin to the US or NATO aluminium canteen from the 40’s or 50’s or the current military plastic 1 quart canteen. The difference is the Keith titanium canteen is larger in most respects. Not massively bigger but it makes it tighter when fitting it into most of the current third party canteen covers such as Maxpedition or even military issue ones. It fits but it’s a tight fit. The canteen I ordered came with a cheap desert digital camouflage cover but I never used it repurposing the 25mm webbing strap for other tasks. It will fit into the current Brit military issue canteen pouch with room to spare. In keeping with it’s primary benefit, it’s as light as hell, I made a ‘skeleton’ canteen belt holder out of some 25mm webbing. On the other hand I also carry it in my Mother Canteen Carrier, reviewed below.
When out and using it to collect water there is the added benefit of being able to boil water in it over a fire to purify it and make it safe for drinking. Of course it’ll need filtering to remove any bits or mud in suspension. I’ve done this a number of times with no bother. The outside of the canteen is almost a stonewash effect but I’ve been able to clean off the soot from the fire easily enough but there is some residue. The key thing to note is that the lid of the canteen is sealed with a silicon washer.
Happy to state the obvious but you can’t boil water with the lid on because it’ll seal the unit and ‘explode’ and you’ll melt the washer, which may in fact stop the ‘explosion’. Still take the lid off the canteen if boiling water with it. I do have a lanyard attached to the loop on the lid that I then secure via a slip knot around the neck of the canteen. If I’m filling up with water I won’t lose it but the slip knot allows me to remove it easily. The mug I’ve boiled water in it over a fire and boiled water to warm a retort meal over a gas stove. No issue whatsoever. The lip of the mug is obviously warmed when there’s boiling water in it or when cooked over a flame of some sort. This isn’t a big problem and after a few minutes it’s usually cool enough to drink from with no bother. I did buy a a fish mouth spreader to try help suspend the bottle over a fire but due to it’s screw neck it doesn’t hold it securely and I’ve never tried it in anger.
The neck of the canteen is large enough to fit an ice cube into but the size by volume is a bit of a weird one. 1100ml is a tad inconvenient. If using purifying water tablets you’ll need to pour some of the water away in order to ensure that the water has been sensibly treated. Equally if adding a powder to flavour the water or create a drink you’ll need to pour some water out of the filled canteen. I thought it might be more appropriate measured in fluid oz but that becomes 37.2 oz so where the sizing comes from I’ve no idea. The mug is no bother 600ml filled to beneath the brim gives you a good sized brew when out and about. It’s not insulated but it keeps a drink warmer than a similar aluminium or steel in my opinion.
Why would someone spend this much money on a water carrier, is the saving in weight worth the extra money. I’ll probably say no it’s not worth it. Is it a nice bit of kit, yes. I will at this stage remind you that in my intro I mentioned I’m a gear hound. You could of course use a steel or aluminium bottle, I chose titanium. Carrying a litre of water in a bottle that can be used over a flame or stove to purify more water as well as having a mug to drink out of is a huge plus. Obviously the weight saving on it’s own is considerable, it’s easily carried in a variety of carriers. Should you wish, if you chose to ignore the weight saving, you can use it as a base to create a meaningful outfit to take into the field.
I’m a fan, but, and it’s a big but, it’s a very expensive piece of kit and I daresay many will frown and shake their heads at the expense but damn it’s a nice piece of kit.
Apart from the light weight, are there any advantages over the other canteens and water bottles out there? Although it was not held up as a comparative review, it would have been useful to draw some comparisons to help us make some decisions, otherwise it seems it's just another bottle that holds water but made from metal.
For comparison one of the cheap plastic canteen with aluminium cup combos weighs in at about 245g (without the pouch!) Not a massive weight difference I grant you however the ability to boil in canteen itself is a timesaver for fast hikes and of course it doubles up as a bed warmer on those colder trips. The traditional design pouch itself has usability problems often being an uncomfortably tight fit for the cup. Typically requiring a minute or two of fiddling and cursing to extract the cup, no fun at all with cold fingers.
Sorry no I didn’t do a review of other alternatives only on the kit I have and only after I’ve used it for a while. The weight and ability to boil the canteen are two real benefits with a large cost implication.
Thank you.
I can see the benefit of being able to boil up 'in the bottle' and, of course, weight is an important consideration. I am interested in the bottle but not really the cup or the pouch. Do you know if you can get hold of the bottle on its own?
I can see the benefit of being able to boil up 'in the bottle' and, of course, weight is an important consideration. I am interested in the bottle but not really the cup or the pouch. Do you know if you can get hold of the bottle on its own?
No not that I'm aware off. If you do decide to get one and want to shift the mug and lid on give me a bell.
I have the Heavy Cover branded version of this.
i personally really like it. as an aside you can get a MOLLE compatible pouch that fits its all bar the lid nicely off of ebay
i personally really like it. as an aside you can get a MOLLE compatible pouch that fits its all bar the lid nicely off of ebay
Which one did you get? I have an ACU one its a weird camo but I like it, I even bought some ACU webbing to make a strap. I bought some custom MOLLE pouches recently of this forum and it takes the lot with room to spare. My 'skeleton' holder is good but could be improved upon in version 2.0. The Mother Canteen Carrier I reviewed on my site is a gold plated option with or without the gear roll. But posting to the UK makes it even more mad than the canteen price, I bought mine and got it delivered to the hotel I was staying in in NYC.
Useful reviews, thanks.
I had hoped that someone would make a metal Crusader bottle as an alternative to the Pathfinder offerings. I prefer the military shape to the round bottles, but have adapted to round ones as I can stack a Stanley 700ml pot, a Tatonka 500ml(?) mug and a 1ltr steel Nalgene bottle together in a £4.00 Amazon special Maxpedition rip off pouch together with a basic fire/survival kit in the front zipped pocket. Using the Stanley lid + a spare Pathfinder lid from Heinnes I have 3 pots in which I can boil water + cook for one easily and 2 at a pinch. I made a metal toggle from c.10cm of coat hanger bent to form an asymmetrical bar with an offset loop. That fits into the bottle's neck to suspend it over a fire, following Dave Canterbury's ideas. All that costs about £35 if you shop around. It weighs a lot more than the Keith set. I've had it for a couple of years now and have modified it to fit my needs with wire bails, etc. I don't have the spare cash for a Keith set. Would I buy one if I did? Well, that's a good question.
I had hoped that someone would make a metal Crusader bottle as an alternative to the Pathfinder offerings. I prefer the military shape to the round bottles, but have adapted to round ones as I can stack a Stanley 700ml pot, a Tatonka 500ml(?) mug and a 1ltr steel Nalgene bottle together in a £4.00 Amazon special Maxpedition rip off pouch together with a basic fire/survival kit in the front zipped pocket. Using the Stanley lid + a spare Pathfinder lid from Heinnes I have 3 pots in which I can boil water + cook for one easily and 2 at a pinch. I made a metal toggle from c.10cm of coat hanger bent to form an asymmetrical bar with an offset loop. That fits into the bottle's neck to suspend it over a fire, following Dave Canterbury's ideas. All that costs about £35 if you shop around. It weighs a lot more than the Keith set. I've had it for a couple of years now and have modified it to fit my needs with wire bails, etc. I don't have the spare cash for a Keith set. Would I buy one if I did? Well, that's a good question.
It is a good option to make a rabbit snare from stainless steel, which you use to strangulate the bottle. On the opposite side you need a fixe loop to take it away easier from the fire or tripod.
If you attach a small open hook in the snare, you can hang in here a billy can. That allows you to leave the heavy and in my opinion idiotic hobo stove at home.
The stainless steel rope you can get in a boat shop. You should produce the snare directly in the shop, because normal people have no cutting tool at home for this quality.
That is a very light and good working option for the 360 Degrees 750ml Bottle, which fits with the neoprene cover nicely in the Robens 450ml mug.
I guess that works with the Tomshoo 450ml mug as well, which costs round about half the price of the Robens.
What I described here is an interesting very light low budged version. Together with the 750ml titanium billy can from Tomshoo, which has folding handles at the side like a mug too, this is an interesting alternativ variation of the idea.
And this is very light too!
Of course not as light as the Keith Canteen, but not so bad!
And with bottle, spork, mug and billy can, two lids for the pots, neoprene cover and snare you have to spend all together round about 50€.
If you attach a small open hook in the snare, you can hang in here a billy can. That allows you to leave the heavy and in my opinion idiotic hobo stove at home.
The stainless steel rope you can get in a boat shop. You should produce the snare directly in the shop, because normal people have no cutting tool at home for this quality.
That is a very light and good working option for the 360 Degrees 750ml Bottle, which fits with the neoprene cover nicely in the Robens 450ml mug.
I guess that works with the Tomshoo 450ml mug as well, which costs round about half the price of the Robens.
What I described here is an interesting very light low budged version. Together with the 750ml titanium billy can from Tomshoo, which has folding handles at the side like a mug too, this is an interesting alternativ variation of the idea.
And this is very light too!
Of course not as light as the Keith Canteen, but not so bad!
And with bottle, spork, mug and billy can, two lids for the pots, neoprene cover and snare you have to spend all together round about 50€.
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