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The Weasel
02-14-2003, 19:02
This could equally go in the "home made" gear forum.

A "cozy" is an insulator, usually use in backpacking to help keep heat IN a pot after it is taken off the stove. As such, it can result in massive fuel savings. Here's how to use one, and how to make one:

USE: A few people use a cozy to keep their pot warm for a while after they are done cooking, for reasons I'm not sure of. But to save fuel, realize that almost all your meals will be either pastas, rice, or dried soups, or other similar items. Instead of boiling them until they are done (usually 10-20 minutes), cook by (a) put the ingredients in the pot with the right amount of water, (b) bring to a boil and keep there for 3 minutes, (c) remove from stove (turning it off, of course) and (d) put the "cozy" around the stove. Put the cozy on something other than the ground, if you can, such as your journal, or something else that keeps it from losing heat to the ground. It's also good to keep it out of the wind. The result is that after the same amount of cook time (another 17 min or so) your food is cooked fully. It may be a little soggier than "al dente", but the purpose of the exercise is to save fuel. Trust me: All trail food tastes the same after the first week or so, so you're not missing much. But you ARE saving a HUGE amount of fuel: I can cook 1 hot meal a day (4 cups of water) for 10 days on 4 oz. of Coleman fuel, and sometimes less.

HOW TO MAKE: Buy a real cheap closed-cell foam sleeping pad, about $5. Put your pot on one corner. Use a magic marker to trace around it. Do that twice. Cut those out. Then put your pot on its side, and draw straight lines along the top side and the bottom side, and roll the pot so the lines are as long as the pot's circumference. Cut that out. Use duct tape to tape together the ends of the long rectangle. To use, put your pot on top of one round, slide the taped piece over the pot, and put the other round on top of the pot lid. All fits should be snug. There are other versions. This is the easiest. One foam pad can make about 5 or so "cozies".

The Weasel

cmejia
02-17-2003, 16:58
There is a company that was advertised in Backpacker Magazine's 2003 Gear Guide who sells these if you don't want to go through the trouble of making one. www.antigravitygear.com (http://www.antigravitygear.com)

MedicineMan
02-26-2003, 03:10
Just recieved my cozies from Antigravitygear.....perfect fit for my SnowPeak mini-solo cookset, good work, fast service and you are supporting the Boy Scouts. I will use them again soon on a cozy for the OilCamp Tit. Kettle....

MedicineMan
03-03-2003, 06:34
and ordered another set of cozies for the Oilcamp kettles, good company!

jojo0425
07-08-2003, 16:27
I ordered a cozy from antigravity gear and tested it this past weekend.

It kept 4 cups of water hot enough for coffee for several hours. Not that you need hot water for several hours, but now you can boil water for dinner, tea and washing later.

UberPest
07-11-2003, 12:34
has anyone thought of making cozies out of the material used in windshield sun reflectors? It's mylar based, so it seems it would do a good job (I joked with a friend that I would use a sun shade as a sleeping pad. She thought I was serious). I picked up a sun shade for $.50 on clearance, so it's definitely worth trying.

(it kind of looks like that's the material used by antigravity gear, but I could well be wrong)

MedicineMan
07-11-2003, 12:42
yep, no reason to make your own, but I thought doing business with Antigravity Gear was helping a Boy Scout Troop??? am I wrong? if so I'll just make my own next time....so far I have 3 cozy converts, it is so true that you can get the water to a boil, throw in the dehydrated foodstuff, put it in the cozy and return in 20 minutes to find it is done...the cozy will without doubt pay for itself in fuel saved both monetarily and weightwise for many hikes to come.

UberPest
07-11-2003, 13:34
Originally posted by Simva the Medicine Man
yep, no reason to make your own, but I thought doing business with Antigravity Gear was helping a Boy Scout Troop??? am I wrong? if so I'll just make my own next time.

Their site says a portion of the profits help their local BSA troop.

Many times I like to make my own stuff just so I know how to fix it should the need arise.

kank
07-11-2003, 19:31
Originally posted by UberPest
I joked with a friend that I would use a sun shade as a sleeping pad. She thought I was serious.
You might very well use one if you slept in a hammock! (I do understand what you were referring to, since a sun shade isn't going to do much in the "ground comfort" department)

(it kind of looks like that's the material used by antigravity gear, but I could well be wrong)
I think Antigravity uses a product that is used as a radiant insulator in the construction industry. The sun shades are made of virtually the same thing, just less pliable. The stuff has hundreds of applications and is one of those things I wish I'd thought of (we've had bubble wrap and aluminum foil for ages, ya know, but I never tried to put them together and sell the result as a radiant heat barrier for roofs and concrete walls).

Antigravity does use a portion of their proceeds from sales to support a Boy Scout troop, while also claiming to contribute to other causes as well (listed at site). However, it is very easy to make the pot cozy on your own if you don't mind buying the raw material and investing a little time. I've loved the idea of DIY for as long as I can remember and even before that, I took apart anything I got my hands on to see how it worked (and sometimes even got it back together correctly). I dislike how most businesses want their customers to think their products are magic. I think it's important to realize that each of us can make most anything we can buy, even if we choose to buy (it often costs more to make it yourself). I think that doing a few DIY projects allows us to see the necessity of purpose for a product rather than depend solely on slick marketing for our information. Still, it is a bother to track down materials for such products, many people simply don't have the time to devote to even small DIY projects, and then there are some people that just don't want to build things. For all these reasons and probably others, it's perfectly acceptable to support Antigravity or other small businesses that sell useful products and support your community (in this case, the hiking/backpacking community or perhaps a preferred cause).