Kit review - Crusader Cooker and Mug

[mercury]

Well last week I took delivery of a Crusader cooker and mug from Bearclaw , I don't know how long it took to come as I got it delivered to work and it arrived between shifts.

Anyway I remember somone was'nt that impressed by it so I thought I'd do a review.


The mug is the same size as the issue army plastic mug and is well made of steel with .5 litre and 1 litre graduations on the side , both units are black , whether the mug is ptfe coated or not I'm not really sure ( or worried)

Anyway lighting the cooker was simplicity itself and simply squeezing out some greenheat gel and lighting it was much simpler that unwrapping a hexi burner and fuel then cursing the wind when it would'nt light

The gel only burned for 10 minutes and the water never really boiled but I was only interested in using it for heating up army compo boil in the bag meals anyway.

After 10 minutes the meal was more than warm enough to eat <burp> and the water made a cracking cuppa , without burning my lips I have to add - so no need for a plastic rim

In summary this will be an excellent addition to my kit , it means I can throw away my hexi burner - and my messtins and my mug wont split again

Thanks to Bearclaw for the prompt delivery and freebie gel

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

thanks for your kit review, it's always interesting to hear peoples views. :biggthump

the cup you have sounds more like the 85" pattern mug, not the crusader cup. :shock:
the crusader cup is bigger than the plastic one and does not have a plastic rim!

as for boiling, i never found "greenheat" that great anyway, i always did prefer hexi.
you can boil water you just need one and a half or two hexi blocks as you would on the normal hexi cooker.

the main advantage of the cooker being, it's compactness, and weather resistance and multi fuel option. in comparisson to the issue hexi stove, used in conjunction with the crusader cup. :biggthump

 

[JFW]

Does the kit all fit together with water bottle and then in to the plce canteen pouch?
And is the cooker and cup combo heavy?
I am thinking about getting one to add to my extensive range of cooking equipment
Cheers

JFW

 

[maddave]

Does the kit all fit together with water bottle and then in to the plce canteen pouch?
And is the cooker and cup combo heavy?
I am thinking about getting one to add to my extensive range of cooking equipment
Cheers

JFW

The answer is yes. The crusader cooker fits on the bottom of the cup, which in turn fits on the bottom of the 58 pattern waterbottle. A very compact and useful unit. Take this and 1 medium sized billy and you'll not need anything else IMO

 

[mercury]

Better be a crusader , thats what I paid for ):

Also found out the greenheat gel packets are flammable , the idea being you squeeze a bit out and litght the whole ish

weight wise its less than a hex burner , fuel and 2 mess tins that I carry now

 

[SquirrelBoy]

I have used greenheat sachets with a hexi stove and crusader cup. With this arrangement 1 sachet would boil 1/2pint of cold water, 2 sachets will boil 1pint with a bit of reserve.
What is it that would make the Crusader cooking unit any different to the above? Or are you guys trying to boil a pint with one sachet?

Im interested as Im thinking of buying one.

 

[mercury]

I've sent an email to the greenheat manufacturers website enquiring where I can but the greenheat gel in bottles. They do a .5 litre and 1 litre bottle which will of course give you whatever burn time you want

BTW green heat gel really is green , I think it should have been called "snot"

 

[Martyn]

Try putting meths in the burner crucible of the cooker unit instead of greenheat. Worked quite well for me - dont spill it though

 

[Gary]

Mercury it is a crusader dont worry, Rappleby was confused by your mention of the plastic rim, which the old 85 telfon coated mugs had (i dont know if they even produce these any more!!).

 

[mercury]

Thought so Gary , was wondering if my mug is teflon coated though?

Not that it really matters for boil in the bag

 

[Adi007]

I've read in many places that the black coating on the Crusader mug is teflon but it doesn't look of feel like teflon to me. Looks and feels like black paint to me.

Anyone know for sure?

 

[hootchi]

Not sure if its necessary but i got a tip from someone to put some duck tape on the lip where you drink from other wise your lips will stick to the bare metal :yikes:

 

[Adi007]

Not sure if its necessary but i got a tip from someone to put some duck tape on the lip where you drink from other wise your lips will stick to the bare metal :yikes:

The Crusader is designed with a thin metal lip that cools down quickly. The reason for this is that the plastic rim trapped food debris which caused stomach upsets. I don't find that my Crusader mugs need anything in the way of a lip protector, even after taking the mug off a fire.

 

[mercury]

No need for tape , as adi007 says it is cool enough to drink from

 

[Beer Monster]

Did anyone discover if the crusader mug had a non stick (teflon/PTFE or similar) coating? :?:

 

[Adi007]

I've got some bits (along with the Crusader cooker and some Greeheat) coming from Jasper of Strikeforce (http://www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk/) so that i can have a play. I'll have a word with him see if he knows.

 

[Beer Monster]

............. just noticed this place that sells Teflon (PTFE) coated crusader cup, cooker and a 12 pack of gel for £21 (....... or £20.99 to be precise!) ...... not bad?

 

[Gary]

According to the catalogue it is a black PTFE finish - what PTFE means is anybodies guess - any boffin got a clue?

Well that answered that BEERMONSTER - YOU MUST HAVE TYPE THAT AS i DID!

 

[Stuart]

polytetrafluoroethylene (AKA teflon)

 

[tenbears10]

I suppose that makes you an official Boffin then Stuart

Bill