Hi, i have noticed some people recommend using a pot cosy to save stove fuel when cooking, i have took to using an MSR titanium kettle of late and was wondering if a home-made pot cosy out of foil/bubble wrap would be any better than just using my thick wooly hat instead for the same purpose, does a pot cosy really work and would a home-made pot cosy out of bubble wrap glued inside layers of foil keep the contents of cooking pot warmer and for longer than just using something like a thick wooly hat, thanks.
Pot Cosy - alternative? benefits?
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Well don't set fire to your hat! 
There's a lot to be said for a cosy but I've never really used one. An aluminium (or even titanium) windshield is another option which can save a lot of fuel, especially if the fuel is alcohol.
I sometimes use a cloth or towel to insulate the pot when I hold it in my hand, but that's more to prevent burns than to keep the heat in.
I tend to make a big meal and nothing less than a pint of tea which will usually stay hot for long enough for me to get around to eating/drinking them.
Sometimes I use a metal mug and that makes it possible to re-heat drinks if they go cold, and you can stand a metal mug on a stove top for example to keep it hot. But pottery mugs keep heat in longer. A lid also makes a big difference to either.
There are some heat-proof insulation materials at e.g. builders' merchants, but I'd be very wary of things like bubble-wrap, they'll melt very easily.
There's a lot to be said for a cosy but I've never really used one. An aluminium (or even titanium) windshield is another option which can save a lot of fuel, especially if the fuel is alcohol.
I sometimes use a cloth or towel to insulate the pot when I hold it in my hand, but that's more to prevent burns than to keep the heat in.
I tend to make a big meal and nothing less than a pint of tea which will usually stay hot for long enough for me to get around to eating/drinking them.
Sometimes I use a metal mug and that makes it possible to re-heat drinks if they go cold, and you can stand a metal mug on a stove top for example to keep it hot. But pottery mugs keep heat in longer. A lid also makes a big difference to either.
There are some heat-proof insulation materials at e.g. builders' merchants, but I'd be very wary of things like bubble-wrap, they'll melt very easily.
the best cosy (cozy in US) that I've even made was from a closed cell foam pad used by the US Army - it had a smaller than average cell size and thus was better insulation. I did not use it as a _pot_ cosy however but rather as a cosy to support the plastic bag as I was pouring the boiling water over my dry food to cook it (freezer bag cooking). The cosy that I made looked like a tall, somewhat narrow bowl and I had a separated piece of CCF for a top that I would put on and hold down with a rock or water bottle while the food was cooking.
Never tried a woolly hat but the Reflectix stuff works a treat. If you're eating dehydrated meals you can switch off the stove once you get a boil and drop your pot into the cosy for 10-15 minutes and you're good to go.
I use Pour & Store bags so I made a cosy to fit those, it keeps my pot clean then for boiling water and brewing up as I need it.
I use Pour & Store bags so I made a cosy to fit those, it keeps my pot clean then for boiling water and brewing up as I need it.
I love my reflectix cosy, not only less fuel used but I like to hold my pot underneath rather than by it's handle & have it close up to my face when eating in the cold, the warmth thaws my nose
I recently switched to an SS insulated mug with lid & thought I'd miss being able to put it back on the stove to warm through but don't at all, it keeps it so warm I don't need too.
I recently switched to an SS insulated mug with lid & thought I'd miss being able to put it back on the stove to warm through but don't at all, it keeps it so warm I don't need too.
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