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GSI Halulite Minimalist Integrated cookset
BY CHARLES NICHOLS
OWNER REVIEW
April 02, 2011
TESTER INFORMATION
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NAME:
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Charles Nichols
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EMAIL:
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hikingshoes@yahoo.com
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AGE:
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48
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LOCATION:
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Corinth, Mississippi, United States
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GENDER:
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m
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HEIGHT:
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5' 11" (1.80 m)
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WEIGHT:
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218 lb (98.90 kg)
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Over the years, I have come to love hiking/backpacking. I have hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail, Palmetto Trail in South Carolina, Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama, and Big Hill Pond State Park in Tennessee. I started out with a 45 lb to 50 lb (20 to 23 kg) pack. After meeting other hikers using lighter gear has encouraged me to get lighter gear of my own. My current pack weight is 28 lb - 30 lb (13 to 14 kg) now.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Pictured but not included: Coleman F1 stove,waterproof matches
Manufacturer: GSI Outdoors
Year of Manufacture: 2010
Manufacturer's Website: www.gsioutdoors.com
MSRP: US $24.95
Listed Weight: 6.3 oz (177 g)
Measured Weight: 6.5 oz (181 g)
Measured Weight of Pot/Mug with Sleeve: 4.2 oz (118 g)
Measured Weight of Lid: 1.5 oz (43g)
Measured Weight of Silicone Gripper: 0.5 oz (13 g)
Measured Weight of Foon: 0.3 oz (9 g)
Measured Volume of Pot: 0.6 L (20.29 fl oz)
Product Description
The GSI Halulite Minimalist is a solo pot designed for one person with an insulated neoprene sleeve. The neoprene sleeve is thin and soft but protective enough not to burn my hands. The pot has a dual-purpose lid with two modes (boil and sip-it). It also comes with a Foon (spoon and fork combination utensil) and pot grabber. The pot gripper is made of silicone material. Insert two fingers at the top and the thumb placed on the back flap. Place the opening end over the lip of the pot and squeeze.The GSI Halulite Minimalist is a .6 L (20.29 fl oz) pot made of hard anodized alloy also called Halulite.The Minimalist is everything I need for cooking besides my stove and fuel.
FIELD USE
I used my GSI Halulite Minimalist four days and four nights on the Appalachian Trail (AT). The first two days was at 3500 ft (1067 m) on the summit of Max Patch on the AT. Once we reached the summit of Max Patch, I began heating 16 fl oz of cold water in my GSI Halulite Minimalist pot for supper, within 3 - 4 minutes, I had a boil. After turning my stove off I used the pot gripper to pour my hot water into my dehydrated meal. When pouring hot water from my pot, I position my hand and fingers in my pot gripper placing them on the side of the pot, pouring away from my hand and fingers so the steam from the water will not burn me. I complete the following steps when using the Halulite to boil water. I put my GSI Halulite Minimalist pot in the sleeve and attached the sip-it lid (press sip-it lid down to make a seal) so I could drink directly from the pot. If I don't use the sip-it lid I could burn myself because the exposed pot is still hot. The pot sleeve, has worked well at keeping the heat in and not burning my hand. The Foon worked well mixing my coffee too. Now I can enjoy a good cup of coffee and watch the early morning sunrise.
Boiling water in sip-it lid mode (ready to drink)
The next morning I setup my GSI Halulite Minimalist pot to heat up my water for breakfast. After adding my water to my pot I placed the sip-it lid on the pot as a demonstrated in (Image 1). To avoid losing the pot gripper, I attach my pot gripper to the side of my fuel canister (Image 2). Once, the water comes to a boil I turned my off stove. Once I remove the sip-it lid, then I used the pot gripper (Image 3) to lift my pot and pour the water into the meal. Once I poured the water in the meal I slide the pot into the sleeve (Image 4). Next I added my instant coffee directly to my pot, then I turned my sip-it lid over (Image 5) and applied a little pressure to seal the sip-it lid to the pot.
After using the GSI Halulite Minimalist for two more days, I learned that it makes it easier to remove and check the water if I turn my sip-it lid over (Image 1). I prefer to use it in the sip-it mode (Image 5), because condensation builts up and drops off and makes a mess (see picture below). I have tried boiling water with the sip-it lid turned over in the cook/boil mode (Image 1), and drinking mode (Image 5) and it works fine both ways.
 
Picture taken from GSI instruction booklet . Also a picture with condensation dropping off my sip-it lid, after boiling water.
I have also used the GSI Halulite Minimalist, car camping twice at the Tennessee river in Pickwick, Tennessee. On my first two days at the river, the weather was awesome and sunny with a little wind blowing just enough to make it comfortable. So far I have only used the Halulite for boiling water for freeze-dried meals and coffee.I have found that it works well for this purpose. I was about to heat 16 fl oz of water and within 3 - 4 minutes, I had a boil. After turning my stove off I used my pot gripper to pour my hot water into my dehydrated meal.
SUMMARY
Overall, The GSI Halulite Minimalist is multifunctional and works very well for solo hiking and car camping.
I can't nest my MSR fuel canister in my GSI Halulite Minimalist pot (diameter 4.2"/107 mm) due to the canister diameter being too big. Now the Jetpower fuel canister (diameter: 3.5"/89 mm) will nest really well in the GSI Halulite Minimalist pot.
THINGS I LIKE
* Lightweight
* Multifunctional for solo hiking
* Price is not bad at $ 24.95
* I can nest all my items (stove, Foon, matches, pot gripper, and Jetboil fuel canister) very nicely in my GSI Halulite Minimalist.
THINGS I DON'T LIKE
* Sip-it lid is a little hard to get off.
* "Sip" part of the Sip-it lid is not long enough to seal my mouth around it.
* Would be nice if MSR fuel canister also fit "nested" inside the pot.
SIGNATURE
Charles W. Nichols
This report was created with the BackpackGearTest.org Report Writer Version 1.
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.
Read more reviews of GSI Outdoors gear
Read more gear reviews by Charles Wayne Nichols
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