Mess tin coatings

[baldtastic]

Hi everyone

Just wondering what people think about different coatings of mess tins/crusader cups.

I have an 'ally' crusader cup which has seen better days. I have heard rumblings that the non-stick mess tins aren't suitable for use on a fire (or fuel tablet)...can anyone confirm or deny this?

I have looked on the net and this forum, but to no avail....

...looking forward to learning

BaldyT

 

[beenn]

I would stick to stainless steel as much as possible where weight is not a problem, but that's a personal choice due to ease of use.
I dont own much non-stick but my old non stick seemed to come off after a few uses.

 

[Claudiasboris]

I've got the coated Crusader Mug. Only tried cooking with it once, when the coating was intact; since then the coating has been coming off slightly. I imagine that regular use would wear it out, but I just keep it in my just in case.

I'd be interested to learn other people's experiences of the coatings.

Claudiasboris

 

[rik_uk3]

Aluminium Crusader mug? Aluminium mess tins are great to use on a stove or fire. The non stick Crusader mugs are crap the lining comes off too easily.

 

[ateallthepies]

I have seen recently but can't remember where, a bit on using non-stick stuff on fires where they said at about 600 degrees C you can get 'Teflon fever' from the coating breaking down?

This will need some clarification of course as it is like one of those 'bloke down the pub quotes

Steve.

 

[mountainm]

I have seen recently but can't remember where, a bit on using non-stick stuff on fires where they said at about 600 degrees C you can get 'Teflon fever' from the coating breaking down?

This will need some clarification of course as it is like one of those 'bloke down the pub quotes

Steve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_fume_fever

 

[lou1661]

I have seen recently but can't remember where, a bit on using non-stick stuff on fires where they said at about 600 degrees C you can get 'Teflon fever' from the coating breaking down?

This will need some clarification of course as it is like one of those 'bloke down the pub quotes

Steve.

Thankfully i never get my cooking pots anywhere near that temperature!

 

[ateallthepies]

Yep that was where I saw it mike, got my degrees wrong, seems to be above 450 degrees C.


Steve.

 

[FGYT]

preferred coating for the crusader mug is Port and for the mess tin is Chilli

 

[John Fenna]

preferred coating for the crusader mug is Port and for the mess tin is Chilli

Stainless all the way - with whisky in the mug and ratpack in the messtin (no danger of any contamination...the ratpack would kill any organisms and neutralise any heavy metal contamination! - even if I did get it out of its pouch!) bingo - whisky sterilises the mug and the ratpack contents need never come in contact with the world before it reaches my mouth!

 

[ged]

... Just wondering what people think about different coatings of mess tins/crusader cups.

Can't help you on the particular utensils you mention, but I use several non-stick pans when camping and I don't have problems with them. I am careful not to damage them. My favourite is a fairly large frying pan, which is just about big enough for one of my breakfasts. I have a smallish set from Aldi (I think it was sold as a camping set, or at least when they did some camping gear last year) and it's great for the money. About seven quid for two pots and a frying pan. The set has a plastic pot lifter which is rubbish.

... I have heard rumblings that the non-stick mess tins aren't suitable for use on a fire (or fuel tablet)...can anyone confirm or deny this?

You can certainly heat any polymer coating to a temperature high enough to damage it, but you'd burn your food horribly before you got the pan to anything like that temperature and the burnt food wouldn't be very good for you either. I can't imagine that the heat from fuel tablets would be any more of a problem than from a stove or camp fire, but I suppose it's possible that combustion products from them might attack a polymer coating. That would probably be more likely if the coating were on the outside (two of the three Aldi pots are coated both sides) but then you'd probably be less at risk from the result. I've used my Aldi set on a camp fire with no ill effects but as I said, I'm careful -- mostly because I want to preserve the non-stick performance, which is excellent.

 

[monkey boy]

if the black coating comes off the crusader cup, is it then the same metal as the silver one?

 

[The Ratcatcher]

I used to know someone who worked in the laboratory where polytetrafluoroethylene (a.k.a. ptfe or Teflon) coated cooking utensils were tested. She wouldn't have any non-stick in the house, all her pans were either stainless steel or cast iron. Should this tell us something?

 

[BigMonster]

No coating for me. Sooner or later it will come off doesn't matter how good it is. And most of it with your food right in to your belly. Plus, non stick mess tins in the woods are just to civilized for my taste