What mess kit do you reccomend?

[Scoutfish]

Since this was a camporee, 4 patrols were combined into two patrols. Have no idea why, but that is what I was told.

 

So they have a troop trailer and park it next to the shelter they used for a kitchen/ dining area.

 

Each patrol had at least 1 coleman gas stove. The younger age patrol had two Coleman gas stoves and the older patrol had 1 gas stove and what looked like a Jetboil style tower cooker. I say Jetboil style because it might have been another name. Black with red logo wrining and not bright orange and blue like the jetBoils I saw displayed at Pow Wow.

 

Now here's the thing: I watched the patrols cook with stainless frying pans that have the heaveir gauge bottom. They also used a heavy guage pot to boil...well, I don't know what it was they were boiling, but they ate it.

 

So, the mess kits they were using were aluminum kits that appeared to have an equally sized cakepan shaed top and bottom. They were either hinged or snap hinged together. Maybe about an 8" diameter with 1" hig sides.

 

The utensels varied, but the common design was that a fork was connected to a spoon ande knife by a ring in the handle.

 

I can imagine they had a cheap set, but since my son saw the btroop using THAT set....it must be the best mess kit ever created in the history of mess kits. Therefore I wil have to buy one like theirs.

 

 

[SSScout]

CSDC gave out plastic mugs one year, about8" tall, 3" wide, big handle, BSA mongram emblazoned on the side. We ended up with four of them. I put a carabiner thru the handle, clip it to my belt loop. Carry it that way to all Scout events (and others, much to my family's embarassment), but I avoid styrofoam and paper guilt this way. I am always ready to share a cupa at the camporee or training or IOLS. Rinse it out, hang it on the beltloop to dry.

I had a nested Scout kit for a long time. Kept the frypan, the plate, leave the pot behind. Use it for demos and Jonny cake frying, Scouts like to watch the Primus squeal as it heats up. Bent my fork and spoon to fit inside, use pocket knife when necessary.

[boomerscout]

Are Frisbees lead free? My reason for asking is that the colored plastic around electrical wire contains lead to maintain the color. Electricians who can't smoke on the job anymore are sometimes known to chew on pieces of scrap insulation. After a couple years of doing this they seem to lose their mathematical ability.

So, since Frisbees are also brightly colored plastic, have they ever been tested for food use?

[Stosh]

After 55 years of camping, I use noting but aluminum mess kits. I am leary of soft plastic because scratches hold bacteria. If washing does clear the bacteria, the next meal will. An aluminum mess kit can be held over a heat source to sanitize.

 

If the food is too hot to handle in the plate, use the frypan and hang on to the handle.

 

If you can't fill the kit sufficient for a growing boy's appetite, go back for seconds.

 

If the cup is too small to handle hot chocolate, use the boiler.

 

The nice thing about the aluminum mess kit is you can cook in it as well as eat out of it.

 

Stosh

[Tampa Turtle]

I use a and old lemonade container with a foam cozy. Cheap and even has built in measurement lines. Very, very light and an easy scout project. Good for backpacking--I also can store stove in it.

 

I also have a vietnam era Army mess kit. It is pretty big and tough (and heavy). Like Blake said it has the advantage of being able to be dunked into boiling water with a wire.

 

Simple Lexan bowl is pretty good.

 

I still have those old cheap walmart special mess-kits. Pretty junky. I would not start Webelos out on them as they will not likely use them in Boy Scouts.

 

 

[qwazse]

I have accumulated a variety of aluminum kits (and cast-iron ware) over the years (including utensils from garage sales), and I mix-and-match to suit my needs. Thus, mesh bags are a must.

 

My son stole my aluminum cup (which I had "procured" from my brother many years ago). So I "procured" a wire-handled bowl/cup from the scout shack hand-me-downs.

 

Most backpacking trips I take the bowl/cup, a spoon, and my pen-knife. (My espresso pot counts as a luxury item, not part of the mess kit.)

 

Since I have a mesh bag, I prefer the kits that don't require nuts and bolts to attach handles (snags). I throw in a pot-holder and some lightweight tongs to grip stuff.

 

The "outer layer" of my "complete" personal kit is a 2 quart pot and a teflon coated pan. And has a nice 1 quart pot on the inside. I used it since I was an older scout. It worked really well with my patrol b/c with a little wire, we would rig a double broiler and make chocolate fondue. Not something easily done with a scout mess kit.

 

But, for your money, if BD is offering you a freebee, give him a call.

[Gunny2862]

For an Individual or backpacking Mess kit - We recommend a Frisbee or Orikaso (either plate or bowl) with Sporks and either an Eagle Industries or Orikaso cup and will usually cook with Jetboils PCS and/or GCS.

 

Otherwise we're draggin' the trailer with the big LP Stoves and have Plates, Bowls, Silverware and all provisioned in the Cook kits.

[eisely]

Solely for eating purposes: a lexan plastic bowl, a lexan spoon or spork, and a lexan cup (not a Sierra cup). This assumes that the boy will be part of a cooking group using a group cookware set of some kind for actual food preparation.

 

Plastic is also better for cold weather camping.

 

The best bowls I have used were made by Tupperware. We used them for feeding our sons when they were infants. Unfortunately Tupperware does not make these particular bowls anymore.

 

Plastic will not transmit heat as readily as metal, thus reducing risk of burned fingers, and hot food cooling off too fast in really cold weather.

 

Your son may want the official BSA mess kit, but tell him that the really big boys don't use them. There are far better ways to spend your money for camping gear.

[trainerlady]

I and most of my pack and troop use the Cascadian mess kits sold by BSA Supply. They are now BPA free and come in a mesh bag for drying. It contains a plate with a raised lip (good for stews but not soups), bowl,cup, spoon, fork and knife. The cutlery is very sturdy plastic and the knife is serrated (will cut steaks). The only problem I've had with my family's 3 sets is my daughter's GS camp counselor melting the tines of her fork together while demonstrating campfire cooking. DD was the only kid in her camp group to have a mess kit at summer camp. Supply sells them for $9.99 and repleacement cutlery packs for $2.99. It holds up well, ours on their 7th year. Plastic knife cuts well but doesn't score the plate too much.

 

I've seen the same set at Target for $15.99 and at the GS store for $19.99 (GS logo added for the extra $10). Also saw double sets by same company at Gander Mountain for about $25. So Supply isn't really that bad on this item.

 

As for the BSA aluminum cook kits, the are awful. Son got 1 and used it once. It warped with the heat from his MSR Pocketrocket stove. You get what you pay for with this one. Using it as an eating set requires more hands than the average scout has. I've seen more food spilled at Cub summer camp in the dining hall than I care to due to kids and Dads trying to use a cook kit for eating purposes. Plus you have to buy/get utensils because the BSA cook kit doesn't come with them.

[Basementdweller]

15-25 bucks for a mess kit???????

 

I have a whole 4 bucks in mine with metal silverware.

[dundalk83]

Both my sons use the old WWII GI issue mess kits that my grandfather brought home from the war. I used one in the 70s and now it's their turn. Made of stainless steel, they are quite durable. Perhaps a little old school given the penchant for plastics and Nalgene bottles these days, but at least my kits have some history. If they could only talk about the places they've been...

[nugent725]

I still have to swear by the metal GI Mess Kits, which can be found dirt cheap in any Army/Navy store. As others have said about the metal kits, I prefer them due to the ease of cleaning, and the ability to sanitize better/easier. I have been using my set since I was a Scout in the late 90s, along with the GI Canteen/Cup combo set...and I don't foresee replacing them anytime soon.

[Basementdweller]

those gi mess kits are great for car camping.....

 

 

The BSA is laughed at by most of the outdoor community. Our leadership has no clue about minimum impact camping or how to camp in a light weight manner.

 

This is just another example of that.

[Basementdweller]

Scoutfish.......

 

I will drop the gear in the mail tomorrow morning sorry for the delay, post office is closed before I get off work and I have camped the last two weekends.

 

Son and I are going to comic-con tomorrow, should be fun.

[dundalk83]

Gee, I guess using something that's a family heirloom and built to last 70 years or more doesn't qualify me or my sons as the "elite". Please tell me BasementDweller, how the difference of a few ounces between a high density polyethylene frisbee and a thin walled stainless steel mess kit is going to make or break a backpacker. I haven't weighed the two to compare but I might even wager that the HDPE might be a little heavier!