 Insulated
Food Canister
Klean Kanteen's stainless steel, vacuum insulated, hot or cold
canister.
Andrew Buskov
Initial Report: September 23, 2016
Long Term Report: March 2, 2017
Tester
Biographical
Information:
| Name: |
Andrew Buskov |
| Age: |
41 |
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: |
217 lbs (98 kg) |
| Email: |
Rescue(at)Corridor9(dot)net |
| City, State Zip |
Madisonville, Kentucky USA |
Backpacking
Background:
I’ve been backpacking for nearly 30 years, and have slowly
developed my ideal style. I’ve gotten my pack weight down to roughly
20 - 25 lbs (9.1 - 11.3 kg) before water, and am whittling it down
every hike. Day hiking is nice, but getting out over multiple nights is
really what I enjoy. I like to take my time and view the scenery as
opposed to hiking hard. I also like being comfortable and insist on an
air mattress. I usually tent or hammock, but stay in shelters when
needed.
 Product
Information:
| Item: |
Insulated Food Canister
|
| Manufacturer: |
Klean Kanteen |
| Website: |
http://kleankanteen.com
|
| Year of Manufacture: |
2016 |
| MSRP: |
$29.95 US |
| Listed Weight: |
11.0 oz (311 g) |
| Actual Weight: |
11.0 oz (311 g)
|
Capacity:
|
8 fl oz (270 ml)
|
| Color: |
Brushed Stainless
|
Product Description:
Per information from website
& enclosed
materials
The Insulated Food Canister from Klean Kanteen is a stainless steel,
vacuum insulated container designed to keep hot foods hot and cold
foods
cold. It was designed to be used multiple times with minimal damage in
an effort to eliminate single use waste such as paper, plastic, and
foam cups. It is designed and constructed from materials such as
high quality stainless steel so that neither the food, nor the
container, will retain any smell or taste from previously carried
items. The insulated lid is packed with recycled, corrugated cardboard
which Klean Kanteen says is just as effective as foam.
Product
Impressions:
 I am definitely a tester who likes using multiple use products. I want
all the items in my pack to work double duty as I feel this lessons the
overall weight of my pack, thereby making my back and feet feel better.
When the Klean Kanteen canister arrived, it was easy to tell that this
item was the epitome of an engineered simple product. It truly is a
simple insulated container, but don't let that fool you. The
engineering that went into designing this container is quite unique.
When I opened the box that the Klean Kanteen container shipped in, I
found only the container wrapped in a plastic bag; no packing foam, no
bubble wrap, just the container. I looked it over real good for signs
of scratches or dings from shipping but found none. The label on the
container is only a simple band with wording on both sides. The outside
of the band lists the product name, manufacturer, the fact that it's
BPA free, some of the qualities of stainless steel, as well as the fact
that the canister with keep warm foods warm for five hours, and cold
foods cold for ten hours. This is in contrast to the website which
lists a five hour average for both warm and cold foods. In addition,
the Klean Kanteen Insulated Food Canister label has the dreaded wording
that I absolutely loathe seeing; made in China. The only difference
here as opposed to other products I've seen is that Klean Kanteen adds
the word "Responsibly" in front of "made in China".
I liked the fact that both stickers (there was also a UPC on the
bottom) were easy to get off without leaving a lot of residue behind.
As someone who often picks up items from a local shop just before
heading out, not having to worry about stickiness residue migrating
inside my pack is very nice. Inside of the canister was an
informational packet detailing care and use, as well as some cautionary
statements such as "do not freeze or use dry ice." In addition, there
are some disassembly instructions for the Cafe Cap 2.0, which is not
included.
The inside of the canister is a dull finish, but not necessarily the
brushed finish as on the outside of the canister. Klean Kanteen calls
this an electropolished interior and claims it doesn't retain or impart
flavors. The welds inside the canister are nice and smooth with zero
burrs. The threads are also nice and offer little resistance until the
silicon rubber seal is met with the canister lip. Inside the lid of the
Insulated Food Canister is a BPA-free plastic shell that houses the
corrugated cardboard insulation. All logo's and information on the side
and bottom of the canister appear to be etched so I won't have
to worry about scraping them off over the long haul. There is also a
small indentation on the top for content identification. Klean Kanteen
says that a grease pencil will work well here.
In closing, this appears to be a well-designed food canister. I look
forward to having warm drinks and cold foods with me on my trip. Check
back in approximately two months for the Field Report phase of
this test series.
Long Term Report: March 2, 2017
Testing Locations:
 During the testing period I was able to get three overnight trips in. Two of
these trips were in the area of the Pennyrile National Forrest. This
forest is in western Kentucky and is an open, backcountry area for
camping, backpacking, and hiking. Elevation for this area is roughly
450 - 650 ft (135 - 200 m) with rolling terrain that has a lot of
valleys, cliffs, and ridges. Temperatures in the area for both trips
were around 60 F (16 C) during the day and down to 35 F (2 C) at night. The
third trip was an overnight in the White City Wildlife Reserve, also
located in western Kentucky. This area is mainly comprised of natural
gas pipeline connections. The area is open to hunting, camping,
fishing, and backpacking. Elevation that we stayed at was roughly 530
ft (160 m). There was lots of precipitation as it was raining steadily
on two of my trips. In addition, I used this canister to carry lunch
back and forth to work about 20 times.
Summary:
One of the aspects about this canister that I thought was interesting
was the ability to take some cold food out on the trail for a first
night dinner. I was able to take some frozen meat and veggies in the
canister on two of the nights mentioned above for a little stir fry.
Having the ability to carry some foods that I normally don't have the
ability to made the trips that much more pleasurable. I was able to
have some nice hot protein meals before bed time which was nice during
the cold night time temperatures. Most of the cold foods that I packed
in the Insulated Food Canister tended to stay cool for up to five
hours. The frozen foods didn't thaw completely during this time either.
I was very disappointed with the way the Klean Kanteen held the heat
in. One of the aspects that I really wanted to enjoy was being able to
take some warm food from home for lunch without having to reheat it
just before eating. My wife likes to cook crock pot meals for dinner and
send some with me for lunch. I found out that this canister rarely kept
the food warm enough to be enjoyable though, even after just three to
four hours. I timed this once and found that 160 F (70 C) chicken soup
when I left home was only 90 F (32 C) soup after 4 hours. While I
understand that canister won't keep foods as hot as first poured, I
didn't expect a 70 F (39 C) drop.
The Klean Kanteen held up very well to repeated use. Even with
frozen blueberries the canister didn't hold stains in. Washing was a
breeze even though the item needed to be hand washed as per
manufacturer's instructions. At no point in time did I need to use a
scouring pad or steel wool to clean the canister with. Even warm foods
like ravioli were easy to get off after being stuck to the canister
sides and drying out. Simple warm water and some mild soap did the
trick for all washings. Getting food out of the canister top was also
fairly easy. I simply twisted the end of a washcloth into the threaded
grove and worked it around a bit to loosen the stuck on food.
In all, the canister worked out rather well for transporting cold food,
but not so well at keeping hot food hot. It didn't leak at all, and the
lid stayed on nice and tight even when tossed around in the back of my
pack. There were very little dings or marks on the canister after the
testing period. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to test out the
Klean Kanteen Insulated Food Canister.
Pros:
Durable
BPA Free
Easily Cleanable
Cons:
Doesn't keep warm food warm as long as advertised
I'd like to thank Klean Kanteen and
BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to test the Insulated Food
Canister.
Read more reviews of Klean Kanteen gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Buskov
|
