Gear Question: Best Titanium (or Steel!) Water Bottle/Cup Combo?

Quiet

Quiet

"That Guy"
Platinum Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2013
Messages
21,618
Hey gang, first of all, if this has been covered, I apologize in advance, feel free to post derision (also please post a link to where I should be reading!)

I have been camping for a long time, and I usually carry a small cook-kit with various pans. It's always been no-name stuff, because I don't hike often. A lot of the Youtube folks I follow use what appears to be a titanium or steel water bottle with a large camping cup that fits over the bottom. I would like to try this combo out, but a general search manifests a ton of different bottles, and since I'm not an ultralight guy, I'm not spending $130 on a water bottle.

So, my request is: can you suggest a decently priced cup/bottle combo that I could grab so I can give this combo a try for myself? I'm not married to Ti, it could be steel if that's allegedly better. I just have a smaller pack these days, and would like to take up less room with my cooking setup, and this seems to be the way to go.

I appreciate any help you guys can provide. Thank you in advance.
 
Last edited:
savage99 said:
Nalgene and a gsi stainless steel cup is what I use. Cheap and tough all around.
Click to expand...

I should probably specify that I'd like to be able to boil water over a fire from both the bottle and the cup. A Nalgene won't stand up to that, I wouldn't think. This also leaves out insulated bottles also, I believe.
 
I just went through the process of agonizing over bottle choices after losing my previous canteen, and I'm now using a hydroflask 20oz insulated bottle. It's great —*really robust. 'Bout $40 at REI. They come larger, too. 32oz or 40oz wide mouth would make sense if it's your only water carrier for the hike.

Is your plan to cook in the cup? For drinking, I generally don't bother with a separate vessel, and just chug from the bottle. If you're cooking, and want something compact and lightweight that can double as a mug, the GSI Halulite pot is good, cheap, and lightweight: https://www.rei.com/product/895451/gsi-outdoors-halulite-11-liter-boiler-pot

If you want to go a bit smaller on the cup, the 600ml version of the snow peak single-wall Ti cup is really nice too (snow peak stuff fantastic). https://www.rei.com/product/807754/snow-peak-titanium-mug-with-hotlips
 
Ah —*you want to boil.

Just get a single-wall non-painted steel kleen-kanteen.

On the bottle front, the biggest problem is going to be finding something that does all of the following:

* seals (won't spill in a bag)
* allows you to boil water in it
* has some kind of handle to allow you to manipulate it when hot


That last point's easily-enough solved by bringing a leather glove.

Here's a guy boiling water in one: http://offgridsurvival.com/kleankanteen/
 
... best part is that if you get one of the wide mouth kleen kanteens, and certain MSR water filters, they thread together (same theread as a wide-mouth nalgene, FYI) so that you can filter water directly into the kanteen as a closed system.

lifestyle_wide1.jpg
 
Timichango, this is all excellent advice. So, a Klean Kanteen seems like it would work. Which of the other two items you linked to would fit on the bottom of the KK?
 
Olicamp makes a 24 oz cup in anodized aluminum that is as light as titanium and a fraction of the price
It fits under a regular 3 1/2 inch/95 mm bottle

Nalgene 36 oz plastic at $6
 
At $25 I would recommend the Blackthorn bottle.
1d468c133e528c40e7738cca9a796337.jpg

It will nest with all the major cups and stoves that are made for 32 oz. bottles. I own one and can't find any complaints other than that I wish the rim were larger that way there was something for a wire o be wrapped around. As of right now I use a fish mouth spreader to hang it.
 
I use one of the Pathfinder cups w/ either a 32 oz Pathfinder bottle or a 40 oz Kleen Kanteen. This is the best system that I've found without spending huge $ on Ti stuff.....
 
Brommeland said:
I use one of the Pathfinder cups w/ either a 32 oz Pathfinder bottle or a 40 oz Kleen Kanteen. This is the best system that I've found without spending huge $ on Ti stuff.....
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I use. Inexpensive, works well, and seems sturdy.
 
timichango said:
Ah —*you want to boil.

Just get a single-wall non-painted steel kleen-kanteen.

On the bottle front, the biggest problem is going to be finding something that does all of the following:

* seals (won't spill in a bag)
* allows you to boil water in it
* has some kind of handle to allow you to manipulate it when hot


That last point's easily-enough solved by bringing a leather glove.

Here's a guy boiling water in one: http://offgridsurvival.com/kleankanteen/
Click to expand...
I second the KleanKanteen suggestion. Ive used different sized bottles from this company for years and never looked back. Heartily recommended.
 
I have a Kleankanteen and a GSI steel cup coming to me here soon thanks to a friend, so I am going to give that combo a shot! It sounds like exactly what I was looking for. Thank you again to everyone who chimed in.
 
Vacuum insulated Klean Kanteen does it for me with titanium GI style cup (might be a GSI) I would be super stoked of Klean came out with a titanium Vacuum insulated line.

-Josh
 
My favorite water storage and cup set is the Heavy Cover Ti kit. It's costly but worth it. Another fantastic solution are the Guyout stainless nalgene bottles and a nesting cup; as are the old stainless USGI canteen kits. Titanium is light, strong, and germ resistant - it can be as tough as steel and weigh no more than a similar aluminum or plastic setup. Stainless is strong and affordable; it also distributes heat more evenly than Ti which can be very valuable for certain types of cooking. Having used it all I'd say it would really boil down to exactly HOW it's going to be used whether the nalgene format is better than a canteen format vs another oddball format and whether you would be best served by Ti, stainless, plastics, Al, and/or a combination of them all.
 
The Snowpeak cups and simple cooking/camping kits can be found pretty cheap if you watch for them. I love mine and while more spendy ($15~$30) than other options, their lightweight and durable nature (i.e. no dents, warps, crushes in the pack, etc.) are nice. It's a bummer to find a squashed aluminum pan at the end of a long hike.
 
I use a 40 or 64oz single wall Kleen Kanteen and a GSI or Oil Camp cup. I put the KK directly in the fire coals and fill my cup as needed as I sip piping hot tea. Ive had and used titanium bottles and cups. Ti cups will burn the crap out of your lips and bare hand if you want piping hot liquids. They have those "Hotlips" silicone devices that attach to the cups lip but it always ended up falling off with the slightest bump so i went back the a steel cup.

KK's are readily available in many sporting goods stores. GSI or Oil Camp Cups you might need to check Amazon. I know Bens Backwoods has them both. A Standard Nalgen is the same diameter as a 40oz Kleen Kanteen single wall SS bottle so they both nest in those cups.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top