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Owner Review:
REI Lexan Cup
Date: January 23, 2006
Owner
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 48
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
As spring 2006 looms on the horizon, I'm
beginning my third year of
backpacking, and I continue to love it. So far, I've progressed
from day-hiking and single overnights to weekend trips, and I'm
planning a longer trip for spring '06. Hopefully it will be a
section hike of the Appalachian Trail! I
hike and backpack
mainly in
the
hills and valleys of West Virginia, and use a hammock sleeping system.
For a
two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including
consumables, and I’m
striving to
lighten that a bit. |
 Product
Information
Manufactured for: REI
Year of manufacture: 2004
REI Part Number: 401025
Listed weight: 3 oz (85 g)
Weight as delivered: 2.5 oz (71 g)
Listed dimensions: 3.75 x 2.75 in (10 x 7 cm)
Measured interior dimensions: 3.5 in (at top) x 2.75 in (9 x 7 cm)
Manufacturer Website: http://www.rei.com
MSRP: $3.75
US
The REI Lexan Cup is a light weight multi-purpose cup made of clear,
hard plastic. It has a
classic shape, wider at the top and tapering toward the bottom. A
small open "hook style" handle projects from the side of the cup,
starting at the top and running about 3/4 way down the cup. The
cup holds 12 oz, and the inside has raised lines and numbered
measurments in 1/4 cup increments to the one cup level. The cup
can obviously be used for drinking, measuring, and dipping liquids.
Exterior measurements of the cup are 3 in (7.5 cm) across the bottom,
and 4 7/8 in (12.5 cm) across the top including the handle. The
cup is 2 7/8 in (2 cm) deep.
Field Test Conditions -
I've used this cup in a wide variety of elevations and temperature
ranges. Common elevations have ranged from 700 to 4000 ft (200 to
1200 meters) with terrain from nearly level to steep hillside.
Temperatures have ranged from around 25 to 80 F (-5 to 25 C).
Although it has rained during several of my backpacking trips, somehow
I've been fortunate enough for the rain to stop at mealtime,
so I haven't had to actually use the cup when it was raining.
Use -
I've taken the REI Lexan Cup on more than a dozen backpacking trips
and at least a half dozen day hikes. My "cooking" on the trail
consists pretty much of boiling water and reconstituing freeze dried or
dehydrated food. The cup has been used for measuring boiling
water, holding a hot beverage such as cappuchino or tea, for mixing
instant iced tea at lunch, and for reconsituting instant soup.
Since I'm always looking for a way to lighten my pack
weight, I experimented with leaving the REI Lexan Cup behind a couple
of times and just drinking directly from my pot, but I found I missed
the cup's versatility and added it back to my kitchen kit on a more or
less permanent basis.
Performance -
The multi-tasking cup has proven a reliable addition to my kitchen,
allowing me to measure accurately, and to make a generous serving of a
hot drink and enjoy sipping it. The cup handles boiling water
without a noticeable effect, other than the exterior of the cup feeling
hot. It has never warped or felt soft when I poured boiling hot
water into it. Although not insulated, the
liquid will stay hot in the cup for a while, letting me enjoy my drink
without having to slurp it quickly down before it gets cold. The
heft of the cup feels well balanced and good in my hand, and the hook
style handle makes it easy to hold without burning my fingers.
With the cup being clear, I can easily see the measurements marked on
the inside for greater accuracy when I need to measure boiling
water. Due to its light weight and classic shape, it's easy to
carry along wherever I go. I can pack it with my kitchen set,
throw it in the bottom of my day pack, or stuff a few nuts, grop mix,
or other small goodies inside the cup and throw it in my food
bag. I've never had to worry about cracking the lexan plastic -
it seems very durable. In fact, there are only a few light
scratches on the cup, possibly because I usually try to pack it inside
a small viscose cloth when traveling to prevent scratching and noise.
Other than hot liquids cooling a bit faster when it's cold, the cup
performs the same at all temperatures. The height of the cup
makes it easy to stir the bottom with my small Lexan spoon and the
balance of the cup
is such that I can rest the spoon against the side of the cup without
it tipping over. Even on sloping ground, the cup remains stable
and I don't have to worry about it tipping over easily, although
obviously I have to be careful of the amount of liquid inside the cup
before setting it down. My current favorite way to
pack it is to turn it upside down over my alcohol fuel bottle, which
nests inside my homemade "SUPER CAT" stove, which in turn all nests
inside my cooking pot. The cup is so easy to clean that I can
often just rinse it out with cold water. The cup dimensions are
large enough that I can easily reach inside it, so for more stubborn
beverages or food, I can use a drop or two of biodegradable soap and a
viscose cloth and the sloped sides make it easy to wipe out. The
lexan plastic doesn't absorb odors, so I don't end up drinking a cup of
tea that tastes like last night's chicken soup - a real plus.
Final Conclusions -
The REI Lexan Cup is a good
fit with my backpacking style, providing maximum utility at minimal
weight. This cup is a winner, and I plan to continue using it for
a number of years, and replacing it with the same cup if it ever breaks
or wears out.
Likes
–
Light weight
Durable
Multi-purpose
Dislikes -
None really
Read more reviews of REI gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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