Hi all,
I've been visiting this site for a while, thanks for all the information and sharing your knowledge and experience so far !
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I haven't managed to use my new Crusader mark 2 yet, but got it partially as a result of reviews from trusted sites like this.
It seems incomprehensible to me that it is so difficult to find a lid that fits-such a brilliant product-it's a bit like making a car without wheels.
Anyway, I ordered the 'stainless steel canteen cup lid' from Cadet Direct to see if I could make them compatible. I haven't seen my solution here, so hope that I'm not repeating what someone has already said. From looking at the web there seems to a lot of inferior solutions, at least in my opinion. I don't understand why no one simply just bends the top of the crusader mug inwards at appropriate points till it conforms to the shape of the lid. I used a pair of pliers and now have a unique and artful new crusader mug design which no one can ever claim is theirs
I guess if you wanted to you could press the mug in a mold and make it more perfect, but as it is made to be bashed about, I don't see the point.
I may drill holes and put a sieve on it, just thinking about the best way of adding these mods. I reckon that with practice this could be done in seconds.
First of all I proved that it could be done by bending the edges of the crusader cup inwards till the lid fitted, showing that the cup and the lid have similar circumferences.
Then I drew an outline of both the lid and the mug over one another so that I could see where the bending needs to be done. I began by bending the convex curve of the mug inwards and the went round the mug and ended up creating a kidney bean shape on the edge of the mug to match the lid. The sharpest curves are done on the lead into the concave edge and this is where I need to build up my skills
I hope this hasn't been a waste of your time, I haven't seen this solution anywhere, but it is such an obvious thing to do-all the solutions I have seen so far seem a bit trashy. Can any one point out why I shouldn't have done this?
Cheers
Nick