Big Square Army Mess Tin

[littlebiglane]

This caught my eye in Endicotts today. £12.95 for supergrade. £9.50 for good grade 1. I thought I'd try it out as a robust alternative to some of the tatonkas and zebras I use for group use. At a good few pounds cheaper and more robust I thought it worth a trial and Kevin has kindly loaned me this one to test. As you know I am upfront about whether I have bought or been loaned items when I test them.

It did seem a bit tippy when empty was my immediate thoughts when I picked it up. Hence my first question to Kev. He said that Bikething had been in the other day and bought one. I believe he has posted on the BCUK about it already and talks about stability.

http://www.endicotts.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2173

Here are some pictures (below). Compared to 4 litre tatonka and 16 cm Zebra.

I hung it under a tripod and also from a wooden pothanger. I then cooked a meal with it (seered tuna steaks and boiled new potatoes) on a honey/hive upgrade that is used for group use.

These are my initial thoughts - further testing is required and I will update this review accordingly.

Pros

• more robust gauge steel especially when compared to tatonka. Its about the same volume. Bigger than the 16cm Zebra.
• convenient frying pan handle pre attached and of decent length
• 'wire' bail arm makes for hanging easier, especially with a wooden pothanger.
• easier to pour from as you can use one of the corners as a spout.
• the Tatonka is about £25 (inc P&P) for a 4-litre verson and the Zebra (16cm) about £19.50 (inc P&P) which is a bit smaller than either of the others

Cons

• not stable when hung by the bail arm as either of the other pans. Caution maybe needed not to pour into it too fast. I poured water into at a normal rate to simulate normal usage and so I could see the result. I have not yet thrown water in to test its behaviour when the unusual happens. The pan is untested just with solids in it - I used water and potatoes.
• Needs further testing as to its stability as I am now not convinced its suitable for hanging from its bail arm without some DIY stabilisation. The zebra is deeper so has a lower centre of gravity and the tatonka has a lockable bail arm which stabilises it. This certainly does not render it unusable by any means. I suspect just more vigilance/care may be required.
• frying pan does do a significant bit of warping (see last piccie), which I find is more common with square pans - but this dissappears totally when the pan is cool again.
• slightly matt outside does make it more challenging to clean the soot off - if that is your inclination.

 

[rik_uk3]

Very good pans, designed originally for army No2 stoves and they fit the new No12's. They are unstable hanging off the bale so what I did was use a wire coat hanger to make a second half bale (if that makes sense) and this 'locks' the pan (I'll try and find a picture)

There you go

Cheap as chips for a pan that size and you can use them as an oven due to the thickness of the material used.

 

[Shewie]

I've looked at these a few times in Johnsons in Leeds, I think they're probably a bit big for my needs but that's a lot of steel for a good price. Do you think they'd chop up well for a firebox ?

 

[drewdunnrespect]

nice pans and would love some but once again rents would kill me

 

[littlebiglane]

I've looked at these a few times in Johnsons in Leeds, I think they're probably a bit big for my needs but that's a lot of steel for a good price. Do you think they'd chop up well for a firebox ?

now that's an idea aswell. yes I think they might. make a wood burner out of it. hmmmm. nice

 

[littlebiglane]

Yep. Now I have tested it well I can confirm that without a modification it is unstable when used from the bail arm. Having emptied some hot daal over my feet I can vouch for the need.