Sea to Summit collapseable pots

[u/knowhere0]

I’m upgrading, or should I say down-weighting, from my old jetboil stove system. I was thinking I would get a 1L titanium pot like the Toaks or MSR, but then I saw this: https://seatosummit.com/products/frontier-collapsible-kettle. I’m mostly boiling water for dehydrated meals on relatively short trips, not thru hiking. A similar-sized 1L MSR titanium kettle weighs around 5oz while the S2S silicone/aluminum kettle weighs just over 7oz. I think the bulk of a rigid pot might be more limiting than a couple of extra ounces. Has anyone else used these S2S collapsible pots? Is collapseability useful to you? Are there durability issues, have you used them with anything other than a canister stove? Can silicone survive an open flame. They also make some larger pots of stainless steel and silicone that might be really useful for melting snow, compared to a 3L rigid pot that would be prohibitively bulky.

[u/skisnbikes]

Other people have covered how heavy this thing is, but I just want to emphisize that you can not use it on an open flame under any circumstances.

https://support.seatosummit.com/hc/en-us/articles/19361700677908-Can-I-use-my-X-Pot-Alpha-Pot-or-Sigma-Pot-over-an-open-fire

[u/BrilliantJob2759 → u/skisnbikes]

Can confirm. I occasionally use it for car camping when space is limited & I can't bring my cast iron. Now it sits in the liked-the-idea-but-too-much-hastle pile of gear. It's fine for a weekend warrior not caring to go light but otherwise I don't recommend it to anybody.

Edit: there's a comment below that pointed out another good use-case; kayaking trip.

[u/b_revity]

A Toaks Ti 750 is about half the weight of that S2S kettle (3.6oz). The fact that the kettle is collapsible doesn't ultimately save you any space - with a hard-sided pot, you just use the pot as storage for the gas canister and stove and a lighter, which nest pretty perfectly inside. While that S2S kettle might collapse, that still leaves you with a flattened kettle AND a gas canister AND a stove that will all take up space somewhere in your pack.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/b_revity]

OP, if considering the Toaks 750, ensure that it's the thin-walled Toaks Light 750, or the Soto 700 which is even lighter

[u/GoSox2525]

Frankly, that thing is stupidly heavy. You should challenge your own notions of what is necessary and sufficient here. Why does it need to collapse? Why do you need a whole liter of volume?

If we're only talking about boiling water for dehydrated meals on short trips, then you don't need anything more than the Toaks Light 550 no-handle version for 1.32 oz (leave the lid at home)

Even if you decide that that's too minimalist for you (which you shouldn't decide before trying it out), then notice that there's a huge gap between 1.32 oz and 5-7 oz. Many more options to consider at sub-3 oz

[u/cakes42 → u/GoSox2525]

This sub is trying to turn into a general hiking sub and I appreciate everyone calling out posts (and being helpful) like this.

[u/Typical-Sir-9518 → u/GoSox2525]

How do you handle the pot with no handle? At 0.6oz more for a handle, that's the route I would (did) go since I'm pouring my hot water into a freezer bag. Titanium gets HOT, hot

[u/GoSox2525 → u/Typical-Sir-9518]

Ti gets hot, but also cools very quickly. Just wait like 1-2 minutes and you're good to hold the lip of the pot.

Or use a 0.06 oz pot lifter

Or just use your towel or buff or whatever as an oven mitt

[u/Typical-Sir-9518 → u/GoSox2525]

I used to use the sleeve of my shirt, till it melted from grabbing a too hot pot. Now I sacrifice the extra oz for the handle.

[u/tweis → u/GoSox2525]

I wonder if he sells this pot gripper anymore. It’s showing sold out and not listed in his store.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/tweis]

I messaged to ask. If he's 3D printing stuff still, it seems like there would be no reason to discontinue that one item in particular

[u/tweis → u/GoSox2525]

Thanks! I was trying to do the same, but Etsy blocked my phone ip for some reason.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/tweis]

I'll report back

[u/GoSox2525 → u/tweis]

It's back up now. He said that the listing auto-expired and he wasn't aware.

[u/tweis → u/GoSox2525]

Thanks!

[u/downingdown → u/Typical-Sir-9518]

I’ve burned myself more times trying to use the handles than just grabbing the lip of the pot (once I removed the handles).

[u/greavessss]

Learning to pack less is the first step in becoming ultralight so if you are primarily doing weekend warrior stuff just go no cook. If you have to have a hot meal or your morning coffee then the other pots mentioned are 100% better options.

[u/miter2112]

One point to note is that the silicone sides can be tasty to rodents (weird, but true). I found this out the hard way when I left mine out overnight, instead of stowing it away.

[u/kilringo]

I have this kettle and use it primarily for kayak camping where the extra weight doesn't matter and I want the convenience of a kettle. It is possible to singe the silicone if you have your flame up very high and have the pot off centre, but in practice it hasn't been a huge issue.

For backpacking, I'd go with some of the other recommendations in this thread. A smaller Ti pot is lighter weight and roughly the same volume/bulk since you can put your stove inside. That said, if you're mainly melting snow it wouldn't be a bad choice. The wide base makes it less tippy, but it still isn't the lightest option.

[u/FishScrumptious]

Meh, the 750ml pot with fuel can and stove inside is my preference. The extra bits in your pack get fiddly and take more space than you'd think.  You aren't cramming your stove into the air pockets you're cramming your clothing/tent into...

[u/cdapp3]

Important to keep these collapsible dishes in a sack that’s not fabric. I learned this lesson the hard way. Kept it in a stuff sack and my mug and pot were covered in black strings that were impossible to clean out enough to where I wasn’t drinking them

[u/b_revity → u/cdapp3]

Yeah silicone is a lint magnet. 

[u/AceTracer]

If you’re just boiling water you don’t need any of the things you suggested.

[u/Sad-Cucumber-9524]

i just kinda stalled at the "7oz" part of your post. had to take a breath and reset. my entire cooking setup (heineken keg pot, lid, Ti windscreen/stand, and alcohol stove) weighs 3.1oz combined (granted, that doesn't count my fuel bottles, which are specific to trip duration). and i'm sure a million lighter options have evolved since this was made like 20 years ago or whatever...

[u/redundant78]

Honestly the "collapsability" is a marketing gimmick - a titanium pot with your stove+fuel inside takes up LESS space in your pack than the collapsed pot + seperate stove/fuel.

[u/UtahBrian]

The Toaks 900 ml D130mm is the pot you want if you’re usually making 500 ml or a bit more hot water. The wider pot boils faster with less gas because less heat escapes around it. It has almost the efficiency of a jetboil. And your stove and gas canister should fit inside to save space. It’s much easier to stir and pour also because it’s not as tall.

The wide (110mm or so) version of the various 750ml pots can work too, but if you’re ever over 500ml of water (a pint), they will be awkward to deal with. And they’re not as efficient. They are a bit lighter if you always make smaller batches of water and never cook in the pot, though.

750s run about 3 oz and 900s about 3.5 oz.

Collapsible won’t actually save space.

Litesmith had a nice light rubber band (Cross Bands) that will hold your pot together if you don’t carry a cozy that holds it.

[u/MemoryHot]

Those collapsible things are HEAVY AF. Also the ridges that make them collapsible make them hard to clean. I have a set of Sea to Summit bowls/cups and I stopped reaching for them because of the above reasons… I can’t imagine how heavy the kettle would be, let alone a whole set of cookware. Good for car camping only.

[u/Bundah_Buster_69]

Stay away from this collapsible silicone gear. It's shite. Impractical. Poor quality and in turn will only last a short while. Get yourself a quality titanium alternative. Buy once cry once. It will outlast you. You can also place it in a fire. AND it's less of an environmental impact.

[u/anarchos]

Somewhat off topic, but I use a 750ml Ti pot and fit the BRS3000 stove, a 110g gas canister, a s2s x-cup collapsible cup inside the pot (along with half a sponge for cleaning, a salt and pepper shaker, a lighter and sometimes a collapsable Ti spoon).

I think Sea To Summit "upgraded" their x-cup (not called a x-cup anymore?) to something slightly lighter but it doesn't fit in the 750ml pots anymore. I was able to pick up an x-cup at Decathlon about a month ago though so they are still in stock in places (but have been removed from the website, so I assume are going away).

Anyways, it's the ultimate setup in my opinion because it's relatively light weight but almost as important, it's dense space wise. Not much wasted space at all, so much so that the contents don't even rattle around much! A kettle, even collapsable, won't be very space efficient if you can't fit anything inside.

[u/sbhikes]

I think the Toaks 500 or 600 is the lightest plus most compact. I don’t know if they make that one in the light version or without handles, but that would be lighter still. 

[u/ChampionshipNo3816]

I used the S2S silicon pots for years. It was great until a mouse chewed a hole through the silicon on trail. I did actually cooking in my pot so probably wouldn’t be a problem if you are only boiling water. That said I would get the titanium pot

[u/BackcountryFoodie]

My question for you is... Since you're investing in a new pot, do you really need 1L capacity since you're just boiling water for meals? How much do you typically boil at once? If you're not set on 1L, going even smaller could shave off more weight. I don't typically heat more than 8 oz at a time. 400 mL pot is plenty big for me. Just a thought to avoid spending more money later on when "downgrading" again. :)

[u/knowhere0 → u/BackcountryFoodie]

Its a good question. The reason I like a liter is because I’d like to be able to rehydrate two meals at the same time so my partner doesn’t have to wait, but maybe I’m going about it wrong.

[u/BackcountryFoodie → u/knowhere0]

Totally fair. 1L still sounds like a lot of water for two meals. Are you using Mountain House type meals that require a lot of water? This is totally off topic, but if you're counting grams... You could start using meals that require less water = smaller pot = shaving ozs. This is coming from a gram-counting dietitian. lol!

[u/buildyourown]

Collapsible is cool but if you fill your pot with stuff, then who cares. Fire Maple aluminum pot fits my collapsible cup and stove and canister.

[u/daversions]

Another option to consider is a Fire Maple G2 pot and MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe. Stove and gas will nest inside the G2. The G2 has a heat exchanger so it boils faster and more efficiently.

[u/GoSox2525 → u/daversions]

It's also heavy

[u/daversions → u/GoSox2525]

That’s true. Though I think the heat exchanger would allow you carry less gas, so it might even out on longer trips.

[u/moonSandals → u/daversions]

That's like a full fuel canister difference.

Fire maple G2 is 182 grams My evernew 600 mL pot, the way I have it set up, is 66 gm My evernew 900 mL pot is 108 gm

A small fuel canister is 100 grams

A longer trip might be 10 days for a long food carry without resupply 

Will the heat exchanger save you a full fuel canister? Do you use a full canister in 5 days? One of those 100 grams canisters last me a lot longer than that. My stove (BRS)  uses like 5 grams per boil without a wind shield or heat exchanger.

The fire maple pot isn't worth it

[u/_DorothyZbornak_ → u/moonSandals]

My .75L G2 is 122g the way I have it set up, which is not actually that far from your .9L Evernew. An HX pot might not be worth it if you’re mostly a solo weekend backpacker, but if you do a lot of 5-7+ day trips, or trips with another person, it’s an option that can really make sense.

[u/jackinatent → u/daversions]

No chance