THE POT COZY: Fuel Miser or Wasted Weigh t?

“This appeared awhile back on BPL, but I still cannot access the review. Can some one tell me the results and then can someone tell me their own results...
Have any of you purchased a AGG Pot Cozy or Other Pot Cozy? Do you think they are over-priced for what you get?

Ken”

“Well I made one out of a piece of closed cell and aluminum duct tape. All stuff laying around so no expense. I think between shipping and the cost of the thing it is way overpriced.

I don't use any of the prepared meals so rehydration is not the issue, keeping it hot until I eat it all is. That said it does what I want it to do @ under .5 oz, way less than the 1.5 oz average of the Anti gravity thingy.”

“I use a coleman peak one insulated stove bag. I think I paid $3 for it ten years ago. It works great. Any quilted item could be sewn into a cosy pretty easily. Just make a drawstring bag big enough for your pot or meal bag. It does cut down on rehydration time a bit and also helps keep food piping hot.”

“I saw the article too, but never got to read it. I'll keep mine regardless of the results.”

“I am too lazy to take the time to make one....I love my AGG cozies..I use them at home, also..eating quickly is impossible for me..
last edited: 4/04/05 2:16:36 PM”

“haha...eating quickly is par for the course for me. i dine like a man possessed.”

“if I could, I would..I used to..food never used to have a chance to cool off! life is full of changes...”

“What about AGG's Pouch Cozy?
The Pouch Cozy I have is made for Mountain House 2 serving meals, not the old style(plastic bag w/cardboard bottom and Ring)But the new single bag type. It is also Self Standing, something AGG does not offer.

Ken”

“Just made one over the weekend using a roll of insulation from Home Depot ($5 for 50-foot roll) and heavy gauge aluminum foil. Very crude: just top, side, and bottom, not even taped together. Held side part onto pot with a large rubber band.

Anyway, tested it by making a Lipton noodle dish. Instead of simmering for 7 minutes, I added mix to boiling water, waited for it to boil again, removed from heat, and wrapped insulated parts around, above and below. Left outside on porch for 10 minutes (about a 40 degree evening). Cooked up just fine, and still a little too hot to eat.

Conclusion: does save fuel for the fuel-pinchers among us. Does add a bit of weight (1-2 oz...I don't have an accurate scale). Cheap and easy enough to make...my 50-foot roll of insulation can produce maybe 20 of these things for 1.5L pots.”

“CaCycle - No need to bring the water/meal mixture back to boil.
Just put the Lipton Meal in a bag, in the cosy, add boiling water, close, and wait 15-20 minutes. Eat.

This worked very well for me.”

“So, why are they sooooo much money to buy? We all can agree that given the time, we can make Cozies. Is this a case of, I'm buying a name associated with a product?

Ken”

“I call it being lazy. LOL

Most people will never make anything. They are too programed to just buy what they want.

I guess the real reason is the TIME needed to make something. Peeps have more Money than Time.
last edited: 4/05/05 4:14:15 PM”

“I pour the boiling h2o into my enertia, mountainhouse, or ziplock bag & sit the bag inside the potcozy. I haven't spilled anything yet.”

“buy this and make you a few. unfortunately my Home depot doesn't carry it :(
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&keyword=Reflectix&cm_ven=hd_over&cm_cat=Search&cm_pla=D-22X&cm_ite=bid10066456-reflectix&ovmkt=RRHSQV1MO3BS0R2OD5RVQRTD74”

“http://www.thebackpacker.com/trailtalk/thread/29728,-1.php

$1 a running foot by 2 feet
I just bought a 25 foot roll of two foot wide Reflectix insulation from Lowes. I got it to experiment with making some cozys and stuff but don't need 25' of it.
If anyone wants some, I'll sell it to you for $1 a running foot (2' wide) plus shipping (thats under my cost a bit).
Anyone know if Priority Mail boxes come in two foot lenghts? $3.85 shipping if they do.”
StoveStomper
7:37:23 PM
3/13/04”

“hell SS, just make them and sell them”

“I have played around with a Marketing a Mountain House Pouch Cozy. The ones I make are pleated, so they stand by themselves. :)
I guess I could make any size at half the Price of AGG?

Just a thought...
Ken”

“I just swallow a whole package of food and then a cup of boiling water. No need to mix or get anything dirty.”

“I have little interest in making and selling homemade gear.
It's not worth my time.
My hourly rate would have to be around $60/hour and very little homemade gear is worth that rate.”

“Drunkenblade - I would love to see a pix of your cozy.”

“No problem... as soon as I get home I will take a few pics and post them... I'll take some of it on the Scale also. :)

Around 4:45PST...

Ken”

“I am running Late...
The pics are being down loaded right now...
Ken”

“stovestomper...
I wanted enough for my entertia meals and one for my coffee mug.

how do I pay??? so total would be what?

$6??

I looked at the home depot site, but am not sure what insulation you are talkign about. isn't regular insulation made out of fiberglas?

yeah...I edited AGAIN. So what???
last edited: 4/05/05 7:52:46 PM”

“I read up on the various methods of Pot Cozy constructed items and decided to attempt this myself. I have found an old,disguarded windshield cover down in the woodshop and killed a few birds with one stone so to speak. I made one to fit my 2 quart stainless steel pot and another version that will allow my 1.5 quart pot as well as a freeze dried meal to fit in. don't weigh s### nor did I have a hard time with the aluminum tape. Iam leaving in nineteen days for the AT Smokies where I plan to put these items thru the test and see for myself just how effective they are and how much fuel I will save by not having to burn my stove as much. Love to have more than one cup of hot whatever with my meal without having to refire my stove. Will post pictures of this mess hall mess when I return. The cozy for each pot fits snug and can be stacked together for packin.”

“oh...I have one of those too. those window covers. I use it when car camping under my thermarest. soooo much warmer. I guess I could cut it up in pieces huh”

“What a great idea to use it under the pad. Darn I never thought about that before just always brought a cell foam pad as well as my therma rest during the winter.”

“it's very warm. you can tell the difference right away, and it's so much lighter then the thermarest cellfoam.”

“[img][img]
8x9 for Mountain House 2 serving meals(new style)

[img][img]
Velcro closures

[img][img]
Pleated bottom

[img][img]
1 3/8 ounces...

Hope these are ok... they were a "B" to get online.

Ken”

“That pleated bottom looks like nice work.

Gem - Windsheild covers work fine.


http://doitbest.com/shop/product.asp?mscssid=1LMRMWSBUFJA8L50ABFS9W8DKKTV6VR2&dept%5Fid=4280&sku=112259
This is the kind I have.

http://hikinghq.net/user_projects/david_white/building_the_reflectix_cozy.doc
PLANS for cozys”

“Hey, SS...you can mail pretty much anything priority - in any box....as long as it is under 1 lb it is $3.85 :-) 2 lbs is usually $4.40-5.75 depending on region.
(I mail WAY too many pkgs at work..lol!)”

““I call it being lazy. LOL

Most people will never make anything. They are too programed to just buy what they want.

I guess the real reason is the TIME needed to make something. Peeps have more Money than Time.
last edited: 4/05/05 4:14:15 PM”
StoveStomper
4:12:32 PM
4/05/05



That's funny! I just made a new pot support/windscreen today from your plans!
last edited: 4/06/05 3:55:04 AM”

“thanks stoveman.I'll make my own before this weeends trip.

hey the reflective insulation would be pretty good for winter trips too then. (for under your therma) I mean that stuff is REALLY light. I may invest in a roll.”

“I looked at the Reflectix stuff last fall, need to buy some for use with my pop-up camper. Cheapest per sq. foot I found it is here:

http://www.buyhardwaresupplies.com/hardware_supplies.cfm?t=5&m=b1&itemNumber=5269238”

“Where are you using it in your pop-up, tech?”

“currahee, where did you find the reflectix at. I have called some stores and no one sells it except in a 100' roll.”

“bit - I read a tip on a pop-up forum about using it over the canvas ends as a sunshade in hot temps (clip it down with heavy-duty spring clips). If my whole camper is in direct sun and its above 90, my a/c unit can't keep up. Since I can't always get a shaded campsite, the Reflectix should eliminate the problem. I'm guessing it would help with insulation in cold weather, too, but we rarely take it out when its cold.

Another similar material I'm considering for this use is below. Much cheaper, similar properties:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=81284&memberId=12500226”

“OK, good to know since it's usually above 90F in the summer down here. Thanks!”

“So I am dehydrating a week's worth of food for an upcoming trip. Since there will be no resupply, I am trying to keep my pack weight down as much as possible by dehydrating food and using the freezer bag cooking method again, for the most part.

Anyway, I've been using a pot cozy for rehydrating stuff. I also carry an insulated plastic mug for coffee. Has anyone used an insulated mug instead of a pot cozy for rehydrating food? I don't want to carry both if I don't have to. Can you think of any reason not to do this?
last edited: 3/23/08 7:25:41 AM”

“not unless by putting your baggie with water in it into the mug makes the bag overflow. I'd try it at home just to make sure it works, but I've done this myself and it works great if your mug is big enough.
Good thinkin CD. Eliminate the superfluous!”

“Yup, I need to try it at home. My mug is 16 oz, so I think it's big enough. My concern is that the cup might not insulate well enough and long enough during really cold temps.
last edited: 3/23/08 7:37:10 AM”

“Unless you are talking sub-zero temps you should be fine. That mug most likely has a higher R rating than a reflectix envelope any way. Probably even higher than TWO layers of reflectix. Especially is you put your sock hat over the top of the mug while it's "cooking".”

“Ahhhhhh! Good idea about the hat!

Not subzero, but maybe mid teens. Thanks meanie!! :)”

“No reason the insulated mug wouldn't work well enough.

I don't use cozies. In those temperatures I'm all layered up so I usually just make sure the freezer bag is sealed up tight and tuck it inside my jacket. Since I'm sitting there anyway, I get the cheap thrill of a freezerbag warmed down jacket. ;)”

“Does your food taste like arm pit?”

“It should work great for you, just be sure to try it first!
Get your bag of ingredients, put it in the mug then pour your water in, and make sure the lid still fits etc. You are essentially putting a square peg (bag) into a round hole.

The sock hat will insulate the top, and add more for the sides. If you are REALLY worried about it, then you can sit it on your sleeping pad, or even inside your sleeping bag if you can secure it from other hikers with the stumbles so it can't get spilled. At those temps, a sleeping bag full of wet food could lead to a dangerous situation as I'm sure you are aware of.”

“I knew Spindlette was into cheap thrills like me. LOL!”

“Take 'em where you can get 'em huh? ;)”

“i use the enertia wrap for enertia meals and it works very well. that plus esbit for fuel is a great combo. the meals stay hot, rehydrate well, and it's all super light. i also have a "freezer bag" style cozy i use with my home-made backpacking meals and again it's a key part of food preparation. so i vote "yes" on the cozy but you have to learn to use it and be confident carrying less fuel.”

“Being I eat mostly Mt. House single serve meals, a Cozy is not part of my gear. Most of my food re hydrates quickly enough, where I don't need to use a cozy.”

“Can't stand esbit. Stinks up everything in my pack.

I use an alcohol stove and I am confident with the freezer bag cooking method. I still need to learn how to minimize my fuel use however. Seems like I always add too much or too little to the stove.

For a six day trip, I am trying to get by with 2 oz of alcohol per day - 1 oz each day for breakfast and dinner. I think I will carry 16 oz though to allow for some flexibility.

Good ideas meanie and spinlette. I am such a klutz though. I need to keep my food far far away from my sleeping bag and arm pits.”