Green man billy cans

[Quixoticgeek]

Am interested in getting a couple of small billy cans for use on open fires, so far I have narrowed it down to 3 options:

• Zebra billy cans
• Tatonka Bail handled pans
• Green Man Bushcraft billy cans

The greenman pots win out on price quite resoundingly, I can have 2 of them for the price of either of the other pots. But they are just the pot, no extra bowl or fry pan as with the zebra / tatonka. But at that price I am nervous, how durable are they? Has anyone else used them?

With the Tatonka pans they are wider, but about the same price as the zebra offering, with the advantage of coming with a lid that will double as a frying pan. If I got two, would they nest together nicely in my pack?

The zebra cans seem to be part of the de facto standard bushcraft outfit. If I had say the 10cm and the 12cm, do they nest nicely together?

Are there any other options I am missing out?

I am only looking at stainless steel pans.

Any thoughts?

Julia

 

[sunndog]

i'v not used the green man ones but personally i'd forget them because theres no lid

i do have tatonka and zebra
zebra are better for over a fire but tatonka are better on a stove for actually cooking stuff, rather than just boiling water

the 10cm zebra is great for nesting with a nalgene bottle and boiling on a hexy burner. but i prefer a titainium cup or crusader for that

if i could only have one it would be the tatonka.
works over an open fire or stove, boiling or cooking, and comes with the lid that can be used as a second pan or bowl/mug
the longer handles on the tatonka lid don't get as hot when pushed into the side of a fire as say an msr titan or similar

HTH.....adam

 

[Quixoticgeek]

i'v not used the green man ones but personally i'd forget them because theres no lid

i do have tatonka and zebra
zebra are better for over a fire but tatonka are better on a stove for actually cooking stuff, rather than just boiling water

My use case for these is for cooking up simple stews and the like on the fire. Not for stove use, I have other items for stove use. Simply boiling water is one of the smaller use cases. I want to be able to cook dinner in the pots.

the 10cm zebra is great for nesting with a nalgene bottle and boiling on a hexy burner. but i prefer a titainium cup or crusader for that

I have my titanium replacement for the crusader for this use case. And a Nalgene bottle to go with it. Like I say, I'm just after something to cook on a fire with.

if i could only have one it would be the tatonka.
works over an open fire or stove, boiling or cooking, and comes with the lid that can be used as a second pan or bowl/mug
the longer handles on the tatonka lid don't get as hot when pushed into the side of a fire as say an msr titan or similar

Ok, learning towards the tatonka.

J

 

[ozzy1977]

The greenman one looks like a paint kettle to me, most hardware store sell them.

 

[sunndog]

either will do the job well. just a bit of preference between them a s'pose

tatonka has a better extra pan, but with the zebra the extra pan is actually extra....meaning you still have a lid on your billy, the lid fits the little pan too of course

i think the zebra possibly have a better shape for packing in your bag...the taller narrower shape just seems to pack better for some reason

IMO both need the handles replacing with brake cable...it hooks onto bush made hanging set ups much more securely for me, packs a little smaller too. i'v done them for my crusader and titan mugs too

oh, and if you find anyone with a 1.6ltr tatonka in stock let me know please

 

[Clouston98]

I have a zebra and it's a good pot, though it's nothing groundbreaking. I like the look of the Takonka but have never used one. My personal favourite pot of all time is the Mors pot, you can get a nesting set, butterfly handles and adjustable bail are very handy, aluminium is a lot lighter than the zebra, which doesn't matter to me at all, but the Mors pots pouring spout and friction fit lid means draining pasta is easy, and it cooks very well. Hope this was useful!

 

[John Fenna]

Me - I am "careful" with my money ...
I use up-cycled Stainless Steel Coffee, Tea and Sugar sets plus a larger biscuit tin that I found in Charity Shops for pennies.
I have added hazel "buttons" on the lids and fence wire or knitting needle bails.
These have lasted me years so far and do not look like failing yet!

 

[Mick721]

Shame you've just missed out on the deal on raymears.com. 14cm zebra for ten quid delivered could have made your mind up.

I love my Zebra for cooking stews, pasta with sauces etc. have to say I would live a mors pot though.

 

[Swallow]

either will do the job well. just a bit of preference between them a s'pose

tatonka has a better extra pan, but with the zebra the extra pan is actually extra....meaning you still have a lid on your billy, the lid fits the little pan too of course

i think the zebra possibly have a better shape for packing in your bag...the taller narrower shape just seems to pack better for some reason

IMO both need the handles replacing with brake cable...it hooks onto bush made hanging set ups much more securely for me, packs a little smaller too. i'v done them for my crusader and titan mugs too

oh, and if you find anyone with a 1.6ltr tatonka in stock let me know please

Bison Bushcraft always have them.

 

[Shewie]

I've just ordered the Snow Peak stainless kettle from Japan ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Snow-Peak-k...d=100011&prg=9833&rk=2&rkt=10&sd=261447186152

Something a bit different and only 900ml, I've got Zebras and Tatonkas buried away somewhere, both work well. The pan in the Zebras is pretty much useless unless you drill it and use it for draining, once you remove the small pan the lid is then loose and can rattle a bit sometimes.

 

[Swallow]

Am interested in getting a couple of small billy cans for use on open fires, so far I have narrowed it down to 3 options:

• Zebra billy cans
• Tatonka Bail handled pans
• Green Man Bushcraft billy cans

The greenman pots win out on price quite resoundingly, I can have 2 of them for the price of either of the other pots. But they are just the pot, no extra bowl or fry pan as with the zebra / tatonka. But at that price I am nervous, how durable are they? Has anyone else used them?

With the Tatonka pans they are wider, but about the same price as the zebra offering, with the advantage of coming with a lid that will double as a frying pan. If I got two, would they nest together nicely in my pack?

The zebra cans seem to be part of the de facto standard bushcraft outfit. If I had say the 10cm and the 12cm, do they nest nicely together?

Are there any other options I am missing out?

I am only looking at stainless steel pans.

Any thoughts?

Julia

DHD uses zebras but was perusing the Takonka's at the May Meet, saying they had more surface area. They are a good build. Zebras look tall and thin but they are actually square. Ms. Swift has used Takonka's exclusively over the fire. We have the 4l and 1.6 litre and they "nest" with room for fire gloves to stop rattling. I can't remember if the 1l nests inside the 1.6 litre. I think I tried it, but I can't remember for sure.

You can feed four people out of the 4l.

With the Takonka's you can't pack an Ikea cutlery holder stove with them like you can with one of the [edit] Zebra's [edit].

Takonkas are probably harder to pack. They did get a best in test in one of the Magazines and were compared to kitchen quality (without the thick bit at the bottom for retaining heat).

 

[sunndog]

Bison Bushcraft always have them.

not the smaller ones though unfortunatly....quixoticgeek very kindly and very quickly pm'd me a link to a place with 1.6ltr's in stock earlier

 

[Swallow]

odd. They had them at the May Meet at the start of the month.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

I use the Tatonka 1.6 for proper cooking. I find food cooks more evenly due to the wider base.
It also nest perfectly with 0.9ltr Trangia kettle, as for packing it fits a treat in a PLCE style side pouch.