Sunday, January 08, 2006

Kelly Kettle

I don't actually have one of these, but ever since Dan Goldenberg raved about this on his year-end "tried and liked in 2005" posting over on the iBOB mailing list, I've wanted one. The Kelly Kettle is a modern, yet very traditional, recreation of the Irish fisherman's kettle. Their website explains how the kettle works. Essentially it's a double-walled flask that holds water. You build a tiny fire in the base and in about five or six minutes you've got boiling water for tea, cocoa, instant coffee or whatever.

For most of my fast and light bike trips, I've been going without cooking gear. But there is something very nice about firing up a quick hot beverage first thing in the morning or at a quick back-country lunch stop. The little one-pint version of the kettle weighs a bit over a pound, and that weight might be worth carrying around. It's definitely lighter than packing a separate stove, fuel and cooking pot.

7 comments:

FixieDave said...

Pertty cool. I like my little alcohol stove qutie alot...

That might be just the trick for super light insant coffee =)

Moishe said...

My uncle got Lindsey & I one of these for a wedding present. It's a sad comment that we have yet to go camping and use it, but it is a fantastically well-designed item. I haven't decided if its weight makes up for not needing to carry fuel.

Anonymous said...

Another option would be the jetboil system offered at most outdoors stores.

Anonymous said...

I've got one, Im a Cub Scout leader and we camp about 8-9 times a year. Theres nothing like kickstarting your day with a hot cup of coffee, the fresh air the wood smoke the sun glinting through the trees.Ah this is the life.GET ONE!!!

Anonymous said...

During one of our cold spring field outings for school, a fellow student pulled out his Kelly and made tea. The process took all of 10 min.

I found this site looking to purchace my own. Very good investment...

Anonymous said...

I've got an MSR Pocket Rocket, an alcohol stove, and the Kelly Kettle. I use all three depending on the situation, but the Kelly Kettle is by far my favorite. So long as you know how to build a fires in lousy weather, you will never find a more reliable stove. I had a JetBoil break on the second use, and I'm VERY glad it wasn't while in the field. With the Kelly, I was able to boil snow in 5 degree weather using twigs from a nearby cedar (and warm my hands up too)

Dan said...

Thanks for the article. I used one of these kelly kettles just last weekend to make hot chocolate for a bunch of scouts.. worked perfectly.