Reddit reviews SPACE SAVER MUG ALUMINUM

All the advice here is good. I'll pile on with the caveat about buying ["camping" stuff] (http://www.coleman.com/coleman-lighting-batterylanterns/) that should never go into your pack in the first place.

I'm cheap and it really drives my purchasing. I've gotten most of my UL clothing at second hand stores, slowly collected over several years. I'm always on the lookout for very thin fleece, lightweight supplex, tropical weight merino wool trousers and the like.

As others mentioned, you can also score decent deals on web sales, eBay and Craigslist (if you know exactly what to look for) and some of the gear swap sites. Do your research first, and then be patient.

The cheapest thing in your pack can be your first cook kit: a Supercat stove, an [Olicamp 750,] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HLYPQQ/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_8_w) a mini-bic and a homemade windscreen. That will cost you about $15 total, and be very close to as light as can be found. (I like corrugated aluminum lawn edging for wind screens; cheap, stiff, light, rolls up very compact. It used to be for sale everywhere, but now it's hard to find.) The lightest cooksets are all homemade, and sourced from recycled containers. You can also make a DIY 'caldera cone' style setup using aluminum flashing.

That one is real good on the cheap. For $4 more you get graduations and foldable handles which I like: Olicamp Aluminum Mug, $11

Fire

Being able to make a hot drink or cook food can dramatically change the traveler’s budget. The simplest stove is a cat food can alcohol stove that you can make yourself. These will burn 50%, 70% and 90% alcohol commonly available in drug stores. Denatured 99% alcohol is found hardware and paint stores. Soot will accumulate on the bottom of the pot. These are best for boiling water for instant meals like ramen, oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes and just add boiling water packets like Knorr or Mountain house.

Canister hiking stoves use a fuel cartridge, provide instant fire and the ability to control the flame level. There are two thread types used by this kind of stove. Study yours before purchasing a canister so you get the right one.

If open fires are allowed in an area you are camping in and wind conditions permit, a campfire is a morale booster. All that is required is a safe area, a cigarette lighter or other ignition source, tinder such as dandelion seed heads or paper, kindling about the size of tooth pics to pencils and fuel. Dried animal dung has been used as fuel but it is not as pleasant as wood. Cooking usually requires coals. Make sure the fire is dead out before leaving the camp area.

A .5 liter metal mug made of stainless steel, aluminum or titanium will suffice for hot drinks and boiling water. A mess kit is available in various metals, sizes and prices also.
A folding knife, spoon or spork, chopsticks, P-38 GI can opener

Depends on what you want to cook. Do you just use boil n sit freeze dried packs? Then all you need is a nice mug really. I like this Olicamp because it's made so a Nalgene bottle fits in it to save space.

Olicamp Spacer Saver Mug in Aluminum fits on the bottom of a Nalgene, so it would fit the smaller isobutane canisters no problem, and a stove on top of that, as long as it’s a small stove. Unsure about the Pocket Rocket. Isn’t that one that’s pretty tall, comparatively?

Four Dog Stoves sells a Ti lid for the Olicamp mug…OK, yes, it’s more expensive than the mug itself…

This is my setup, and it weighs 3.2 ounces. I’m not sure the exact volume the Olicamp holds. It has ounce markings to 20 ozs. I’ve pegged it at about 750mL, I think.