Cup Mug is there a real alternative to the crusader!

  • Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.

gentlemanc

Full Member
Aug 24, 2010
109
0
Southampton, Hampshire
When it comes to kit I must be a psychologists dream. I spend hours reorganising and searching, researching and trying out stuff and have spent a considerable fortune on gucci kit and am beginning to hone in on what I need and then have a much longer list of what I would like. I have been on this forum a while so know I am among friends who also suffer from this, hither to, undiagnosed psychosis.

The last couple of days I have been very twitchy, I have bought some custom molle webbing, as I would like to try a new logic by having a "ditch kit" or camp kit plus a rig for foraging etc allowing me to be away from the camp for most of the day and still have what I might need to cover most eventualities. I am in the process of sorting what should go in the rig and what should go in my pack for the camp kit. I have concluded that my honey stove, katadyn filter and brew kit should be in the webbing with my new 10cm Zebra Billy. Now we approach the nub of it, I cannot seem to make it come together with a crusader mug as well. There I am about to by a load of new pouches etc when I concluded it is the mug that does not fit so what is the alternative? What better place to ask this question than here! So what alternatives are there to the crusader mug?
 
Plenty of metal mugs that fit on a water bottle out there; pattern 44 for US type canteen, alpkit mytimug for a nalgene, or a tatonka 'handle mug' for the nalgene if you prefer SS.

Personally I'd use either the 10cm Zebra or the crusader, do you need two cooking vessels? The Swedish folding mugs or plastic Kuksa would be a good companion for either.
 
Last edited:
If you have the billy can to boil water to make your brew do you need a metal mug as well, a swedish folding one would do?
 
Thanks guys, I have been giving thought as to the need for two cooking vessels. I do tend to follow the logic of better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

I like the alpkit but they are sold out so will probably think on it a while.
 

+1 for these mugs. I've got the ally one as well as the stainless steel. I also found a little pot stand specific for this mug that it can rest on and solid fuel tablets used underneath of it to use to cook on. Got the canteen that sits inside of it too. I really like these mugs.

That ebay ad's a bit pricey though. I doubt I'd paid more than a fiver for mine and I got the canteen and the cammo canvas cover with it too.
 
what about the 58 pattern water bottle which fits the crusader mug and it fits in a standard pouch aswell
 
I bought a stainless GSI mug recently with folding handles. It will nest halfway into the 10cm zebra billy (up to the handles) and a 1L Nalgene bottle will next inside of that. Most of this (not the nalgene) nests inside my maxpedition 12x5 water bottle holder along with my tea and fire supplies. I'm very pleased with it as a cup. I use my water bottle for water or gatorade, but tea or when I bring of bit of Canadian whiskey it goes in the mug. Its stainless so I can use it as a seperate cook container if need be, and it nests beautifully with the rest of my kit.

http://www.gsioutdoors.com/products/pdp/glacier_stainless_bottle_cuppot

Snapshot_20130614.jpg
 
How about a 58 pattern bottle with a stainless Crusader mug on the bottom and the now very rare Teflon coated 85 pattern mug on the top. Mugtastic!

Why would you do that when there is a teflon Crusader any way. When the 85 mug was incepted many service personel purchased them only to discover they were rubbish anyway. The only thing they had over the then coveted 44 mug was the removeable burn protector, which it turned out to be a device designed to disperse liquid around the entire rim and drip everywhere, meaning that most binned it and went back to the black nasty! So in the end the only advantage it had was that it fitted the bottle without being "adapted".
 
Last edited:
I used a Dutch army mug first, but I couldn't find any bottle that fit inside of it, now I use the crusader cup with a nato bottle. I tend to just carry it in my backpack rather than on my belt with the cover because it's so heavy it makes me have to pull up my pants all the time.
 
Im a fan of the tatonka handle mug myself.
Fits under a guyot bottle. Small zebra billy fits over the other end. All of it fits into a maxpedition bottle holder clone with room in front pouch for tea spoon, ,suspension chain for billy and a couple sporks. All cooking/drinking needs bar a fryin pan sorted in one tidy organised pouch
 
Im a fan of the tatonka handle mug myself.
Fits under a guyot bottle. Small zebra billy fits over the other end. All of it fits into a maxpedition bottle holder clone with room in front pouch for tea spoon, ,suspension chain for billy and a couple sporks. All cooking/drinking needs bar a fryin pan sorted in one tidy organised pouch

Would be intersted in seeing a pic of this setup.
 
I used a Dutch army mug first, but I couldn't find any bottle that fit inside of it, now I use the crusader cup with a nato bottle. I tend to just carry it in my backpack rather than on my belt with the cover because it's so heavy it makes me have to pull up my pants all the time.

Neils, the dutch water bottle fits the mug, both the old 850ml one and the newer 1l bottle. Endys sell them, but you should be able to source on at home very easily. I've got 3 of these set ups myself, as well as a crusader and numerous Ospreys, a Tantoka mug and nalgenes.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE