Kettles....why?

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
1
Hampshire
Now I know that many are very fond of their kettles (and some I know are particularly fond of their Eagle kettles from Norway..).

And far be it for me to criticise anyone loving their shinies, or packing unnecessary stuff!

However, I do wonder why there is this love for kettles. It is a sole purpose piece of kit - ie boiling water. A pan with a lid is just as efficient, and has other uses besides. (a preliminary list would include bowl to eat out of, mixing bowl, cooking pot, using the lid as a cutting surface/plate, makeshift oven etc etc etc)

Can someone explain it to me?
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
A kettle can be left over the fire for brews whilst other pots are used for cooking. If it's a backpacking trip and your carrying then I agree, I wouldn't take a kettle then.

I think a kettle works better in a group camp whether it's a trip or just a meet.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
When you look at a Trangia kettle - its just a shallow billy with a spout surely? So...like a billy....but easier to pour from!
 

jacko1066

Native
May 22, 2011
1,689
0
march, cambs
I take my little £1.50 Tesco ally kettle everywhere I go!! It weighs about 250g and boils a litre of water!!

It means I can get a brew on while in cooking or eating from my pot!!
 

Mouse040

Full Member
Apr 26, 2013
533
0
Radstock
A lot of the places I go mean water is a worked for commodity as I hike for long distances and carrieing water in volume is a back ache
Having a kettle means no waste eve coffee washing up morning coffee without the need to empty my kettle to use it for something else
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
60
Gloucestershire
There is a certain appeal of minimalism but I find that if I take my Eagle kettle along with my Crusader mug and its lid, I have a good way of boiling water and a safe way to pour it. If I need a 'pan' to cook in, I've got the Crusader and lid to tick that box. Sometimes, I put a stove inside my pot (if I am carrying one); in my kettle, I put my brew gear (tea, coffee, hot chocolate powder, soups, etc.).

As has been said, it's a much safer way of pouring boiling water but, for me, the kettle-or-pot debate depends on how I'm feeling and, to a degree, what I'll be eating.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
Now I know that many are very fond of their kettles (and some I know are particularly fond of their Eagle kettles from Norway..).

And far be it for me to criticise anyone loving their shinies, or packing unnecessary stuff!

However, I do wonder why there is this love for kettles. It is a sole purpose piece of kit - ie boiling water. A pan with a lid is just as efficient, and has other uses besides. (a preliminary list would include bowl to eat out of, mixing bowl, cooking pot, using the lid as a cutting surface/plate, makeshift oven etc etc etc)

Can someone explain it to me?

Are you the type that bungs a tea bag in a mug at home? Utterly barbaric practise, just because one is 'roughing' it does not mean one should lower ones standards Andy.....where will it all end? We already have one or two seemingly sensible members here using 'sporks' good gosh alive the whole country is going down the pan.
 

Bumbler

Nomad
Feb 22, 2013
256
0
Norway
www.bushcraft.no
Here in Norway, amazingly the Eagle kettles are not all that popular. It's the tiny lid. Most look for one with a large lid as possible, so that you can cook other foods in it.
But and there is a big BUT. We are coffee drinkers, and you don't want anything else than coffeee being brewed in your coffee pot.

I am not a coffeee drinker however, and got the Eagle kettle, and I only boil water in it. I could of course boiled the water for my brew in the Zebra billy. But I like to cook everything in one go. And I do not like to cook my prridge, and then have to clean out the porridge from the kettle, so that I can boil water in it. So my standard cook kit now (for use over the fire) is the Eagle kettle, an eagle frying pan and my zebra billy.

Hope this was not to confusing
 

Jared

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 8, 2005
3,389
640
50
Wales
When you look at a Trangia kettle - its just a shallow billy with a spout surely? So...like a billy....but easier to pour from!

Yeah, or Mors Pot. Which is a tallish billy with both side and bail handle.
 

bearbait

Full Member
Are you the type that bungs a tea bag in a mug at home?

Yes. I also add boiling water to the mug. The tea bag remains in the mug until the beverage has been consumed. Then the tea bag is squeezed out and the remnants drunk. This is how I make and consume tea, both at home and away. It is my custom. I also drink wine from a plastic mug. However I have never used a spork but I do posess one. Now I'll just get my coat as I'm off to the pub with my buddies Conan and Genghis...
 

dwardo

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 30, 2006
6,451
475
46
Nr Chester
Next folk will be adding sugar and milk whilst the teabag is still in the cup.
Must admit I dont take a kettle when on the move but at my local play wood I have a big old 2L kettle thats constantly on the go. Makes purifying water so much easier.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Yes. I also add boiling water to the mug. The tea bag remains in the mug until the beverage has been consumed. Then the tea bag is squeezed out and the remnants drunk. This is how I make and consume tea, both at home and away. It is my custom. I also drink wine from a plastic mug. However I have never used a spork but I do posess one. Now I'll just get my coat as I'm off to the pub with my buddies Conan and Genghis...

You're more civilized than I am then; I drink wine from the bottle.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Depends what I'm doing.
I have a humongus kettle that just sits on a tripod at the side of the big fire pit and quietly soaks up the radiant heat....hot water always available :) Easy for tea, coffee, cooking spuds, topping up stew, or just water for washing. Wouldn't carry it any distance I didn't need to though.
The kelly kettle is brilliant, not heavy, but it is bulky. For shore or woodland, or a days workshop or work then it has no peer; it is simply superb. Eight cupfuls of boiling water in a couple of minutes, and it's really efficient fuel use too.

My wee lightweight aluminium one weighs almost nothing; for camping it's excellent, no juggling pots to have clean hot water. That's all it gets used for; hot water. It fits neatly inside my little folding handled frying pan (I'm veggie, stir fry is a daily occurance, a good non stick pot means I don't even need oil or fat to roast the veggies/nuts in a stir :) )

"Kettle's boiled!" or "The water's boiling!" ? :)
Where's the tea? and who minded to bring chocolate digestives?

cheers,
Toddy
 

BCUK Shop

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

SHOP HERE