Owner Review by Bob Wardecker

Snow Peak Mini Solo Cook Set Ti

Owner Review

September 23, 2005

Reviewer Information

Name: Bob Wardecker
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Height: 5' 6" (1.5 m)
Weight: 180 lb (82 kg)
Email address: bakpakr at comcast dot net
City: Carlisle
State: Pennsylvania
Country: USA

Backpacking Background:
I have been an avid backpacker more than 35 years. I try to get out at least twice a month for either a weekend hike or week long hikes. For the past few years I have been averaging about 700 mi (1127 km) a year. I hike year round. My usual hiking grounds are the Appalachian Trail Pa sections. I also hike in local state parks and Shenandoah National Park. The trails I hike vary from bushwhacking to graded trails with every trail condition in between. I try to keep my pack as light as possible but mostly I am unsuccessful.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Snow Peak
Year of Manufacture: 2005
URL: http://www.snowpeak.com/
Listed weight: 5.5 oz (156 g)
Weight as delivered with stuff sack: 6 oz (170 g)
Large pot weight: 3.3 oz (94 g)*
Lid weight: ½ oz (14 g)*
Small pot weight: 2 oz (57 g)*
Height: 5 in (12.70 cm)*
Diameter:
Small pot: 3 7/8 in (98 mm)*
Large Pot: 3 11/16 in (94 mm)*
Lid: 3 15/16 in (100 mm)*
Capacity: Small Pot 10 oz (296 ml)
Large Pot 28 oz (828 ml)
MSRP: $49.95 USD

*= as measured

Product Description

The cook set comes packaged in a cardboard box. The box is printed with pictures of the set and information about the set printed in multiple languages. Upon opening the box I found the cookset inside its black mesh stuff sack. Once removed from the stuff sack it is wrapped in a clear plastic bag. The set consists of a black mesh stuff sack, a small matte silver pot, a larger matte silver pot and a matte silver lid that fits the larger pot.

The small pot is 2 in (51 mm) tall with a diameter of 3 7/8 in (98 mm). Two rectangular handles swivel flat against the pot. It also has graduated markings in both ounces and milliliters embossed into the side. Construction material is titanium.

The larger pot is 5 in (12.70 cm) tall with a diameter of 3 11/16 in (94 mm). Two rectangular handles swivel flat against the pot. The top of the pot is rolled to accept the lid. Construction material is titanium.

The lid is 3/8 in (9.5 mm) tall with a diameter of 3 15/16 in (100 mm). A triangular ring is attached to the indentation on the top to serve as a handle. The top is also embossed with the Snowpeak logo and the word titanium. Construction material is titanium.

The stuff sack is black mesh nylon with a red drawstring and black cord lock.

The larger pot is used with the lid to heat a meal or to heat water. The smaller pot can be used as a cup or for eating out of.

Field information
a. Location or locations where the test was conducted: Appalachian Trail, Pennsylvania sections.
b. Description of location (geography, terrain, elevation, etc.): Appalachian Trail. Various elevations ranging from 805 ft (245 m) to 1520 ft (463 m), various terrain ranging from loose dirt trail to rocky trails.
c. Weather conditions (temperature, precipitation, etc.): Weather conditions consisted of rain, warm, cold, i.e., early spring and summer, Temperature range from mid to low 20 F (-7 C) to highs of 90 F (32 C). The weather was dry during the various hikes but with periods of rain.
d. I used the cook set during numerous week long and overnight hiking trips during the spring and summer of 2005. I used it to heat water and to heat my evening meal. The meals I cooked were of the one pot meal variety, i.e., Lipton, Ramen and I used this set with an MSR Whisperlight stove with a wind screen. The smaller pot was used as a cup while I prepared my meal in the larger pot. I tested the time to boil water in both a stainless steel pot and the Mini Solo. I found no appreciable difference in the times. Cleaning the pots was done with a biodegradable soap and green Scotch bright pad. The Scotch bright pad tended to scratch the surface of the metal.

Summary

The cook set did well during the many trips. I noticed no tendency to slip off the stove or to tip over. I could boil 20 oz (591 ml) water in approximately three minutes. Clean up can be a bit of a chore due to the small diameter. I found that although I have smaller hands I still had difficulty getting burnt on food out of the bottom of the pot. The small triangle handle on the lid is a bit small to be gripped while wearing gloves. The other handles are large enough to be gripped while wearing gloves. I found that the small pot and the large pot tended to transfer enough heat to the handles so that I needed to use a bandanna to grip them. The handles on the large pot came to just above the top of the windscreen of my stove so that much of the heat in the handles was from the heat rising from the burner. Because of the small diameter of the pot I found that I used more fuel than I did with a larger pot. The volume of the large pot was enough to prepare two Lipton meals. Burning of food can be a problem if the pot is not watched closely due to the good heat transfer. The lid fit the large pot well. After some thought I found that the small pot is not needed. Its functionality as a cup is ok but as with any metal cup the rim becomes too hot to drink out of and liquid cools off too quickly. I will therefore not be taking it with me anymore and will be using an insulated mug instead.

Things I like:

1.   Light weight
2.   Durability
3.   Size

Things I Dislike:

1.     Small handle on the lid
2.     Small diameters
3.     Heat transfer to the handles
4.     Small pot as a cup

Read more reviews of Snow Peak gear
Read more gear reviews by Bob Wardecker

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > Snow Peak Mini Solo Cook Set > Owner Review by Bob Wardecker

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