View Full Version : Cozies wearing out?
vaporjourney
08-29-2006, 12:20
I am about to order an Antigravity gear 3 cup pot and cozy, but first wanted to know this. How long do the cozies usually last if you store your pot in it in your pack, and then just shove the pot/cozy into a silnylon stuff sack? Antigravity gear offers a neoprene cover for 10 bucks, but that seems like a lot for protection that may not be necessary. I'd like the cozy to last for my entire thru-hike next year. Especially hate the idea of spending a decent amt of money for pot/cozy/cover and then finding that .7L isn't enough space for me on the trail...
vaporjourney
08-29-2006, 12:34
I should add that the cozy is made out of material like those aluminum-sided sunshades.
SGT Rock
08-29-2006, 12:35
I don't really like that sort of cozy myself. You can just use a knit hat or fleece cap.
Cozies really aren't necessary.
The do work in that you use less fuel, and you can let your food finish cooking in the cozy, and it stays hot.
I have never used the pan cozies, but I have used the freezer bag cozy AGG makes, and even after using it as a butt pad on some trips, it still is like new, even after many trips, and being shoved in my pack without thinking.
He does make good products, but 6 months of use nonstop will wear anything out ;)
SGT Rock
08-29-2006, 12:58
I've played with the material that the AG cozy is made of. First off the mylar comes off after a little while of regular use. When I was hiking the AT in 2004 during thru season I saw a couple of thrus that were using them. This was at Roan Mountain which is about 4 weeks into the trip and they were looking sort of sad.
Add to that, I had a reference to a site that tests insulation material. That type of material is supposed to have a dead air space between it and the material to insulate for best results. In applications where it was "in contact" with the item to be insulated the R factor was something like 0.6. I've since lost that link since the site it was to went down. Anyway, there are better things to make an insulating material out of.
And the other reason I don't like it is it isn't exactly the lightest possible material for that application. If you took some polyester batting and sandwiched it between some light nylon you could have a high loft cozy that weighed less and wouldn't have the issues listed above. I made one that weighs 0.9 ounces and works pretty darn well doing exactly that.
SGT Rock
08-29-2006, 13:15
Trust me, it is NICE. And since I am normally wearing my warm cap when I am in camp eating in this weather, having my separate cozy is worth the 0.9 ounces of weight.
vaporjourney
08-29-2006, 13:30
Ok, thanks for the thoughts Rock as usual. I had been using a cozy sewn from an old fleece scarf that is starting to wear away. I didnt 'sew it as good as I should have, and its starting to rip at the seams, but still works pretty well. It'd be a lot easier to just use an old knit hat or fleece hat that won't come apart at the seams. I found an old knit cap around my apt, but it isn't quite tall enough to cover the lid.
Do the cozies need to fit really snugly around the whole pot, or as long as the entire pot is surrounded, to be efficient? I'm assuming if I can find a hat that is large enough, I'll just have to roll the top shut, and maybe use a rubber band to keep the pot enclosed.
SGT Rock
08-29-2006, 13:33
Just surround it. You don't need a snug fit.
I don't really like that sort of cozy myself. You can just use a knit hat or fleece cap.
Geez, this is why I love Whiteblaze - all this shared experience and creative thinking. I've been using the AG cozy for my .85L cookpot but if I can save that ounce, I'm happy.
I have a fleece cap that should work nicely. However, fleece being just a plastic - have you had any issues with the hot pot melting the cap? My cap is 100% polyester...
Sgt. Rock, thanks as always for sharing your knowledge.
SGT Rock
08-29-2006, 13:51
No problems yet LOL.
peter_pan
08-29-2006, 14:14
I Have the pot and cozy and cover that you asked about....been using them for two years now probably about 60 nights out and lot of day use experimentation....
If you cook vs boil water the cozys work great...bring pasta to a boil ( 7 minutes and 3/4 oz alcohol) place in cozy, wait 7 more minutes and then open and eat...still hot and fully cooked soft pasta.
As to wear....on one trip I used the cozy in a silnyl bag w/o the nephrene cover...It clearly showed some wear in a three day outing.... been using the nephrene cover ever since and no further wear....also it is more efficient as it forms a double cozy.
Great set IMHO.
Pan
I should add that the cozy is made out of material like those aluminum-sided sunshades.
I just made a cozy for a freezer bag out one of those that you put in you front windshield of your car. Got it at a dollar store. Cost me only a buck. Used some double sided sticky Velcro to secure the flap. I did a quick test at home and it seemed to work OK. Going to give it the full run this weekend. So we'll see. I'll ahve to take some pics to post.
Hi adh24, curious to see how that goes, looking forward to the report! ;-)
DawnTreader
08-29-2006, 16:06
I use the Acg pot cozy for my 3 cup pot.. I wrap the cozy and pot in my dishrag bandana and store it in my pack.. It has held up remarkably well.. a great piece of gear .. really saves on the fuel
Skidsteer
08-29-2006, 16:15
You can make a cozy out of 1/4" CCF that works pretty well. Custom fit to the pot you carry so your kitchen nests inside the cozy for storing in your pack. This one is for a Heineken pot and weighs .7 ounce
LostInSpace
08-29-2006, 17:06
I am a freezer bag cooker, and sometimes use dehydrated dinners. I cut the top off a 4-serving dehydrated dinner with sissors at home and saved the metalicized mylar outer package. I have reused that package many times. It weighs next to nothing, rolls up really tight, and makes a great cozy.
What one of you way up said is true-in summer you don't always need a cozy (especially if it is oh, 95* out!) but come fall/winter/spring, a cozy is very much needed. Many times in summer I actually just use an Orisako plate as a "cozy" and "bag holder" ;)
Hana_Hanger
08-29-2006, 18:12
You can make a cozy out of 1/4" CCF that works pretty well. Custom fit to the pot you carry so your kitchen nests inside the cozy for storing in your pack. This one is for a Heineken pot and weighs .7 ounce
Just wondering if it will melt?
Skidsteer
08-29-2006, 18:25
Just wondering if it will melt?
Well to quote an experienced hiker on this thread:
No problems yet LOL.
Seriously, no problems. In fact I use a smaller piece of this same CCF pad as a potlifter for the Heinie pot. Here's how it looks after a bunch of uses.
Hana_Hanger
08-29-2006, 18:26
Thanks...I am off to make one then :D
Skidsteer
08-29-2006, 18:29
Thanks...I am off to make one then :D
Use aluminum duct tape for the seams on the inside. The glue on that stuff sticks so well to CCF that you can't pull it off without ripping the CCF apart.
Hana_Hanger
08-29-2006, 18:35
Aluminum duct tape...got it...now I have to go buy that
I needed to use up some of my bits and pieces of CCF now this is
a good excuse to do so.
Thanks again for the heads up on this one.
Usually for me, by just letting my food sit in my aluminum pot to cook/rehydrate with the gas off, the food is still too hot even after all the cooking/rehydration is done. This suggests to me that If I used a cozy my food would be hotter, meaning I would have to wait longer to eat my food.
This is in the summer though, so I don't know how this would work with winter or colder temperatures. It might be different. It might not. I haven't tried it.
I like to cook my lunch while dayhiking / snow shoeing in the winter. I like using a cozy because with cozy around my bowl I can hike on (and warm up) for another 1/2 hour and then eat my lunch.
I made a cozy with mylar coated bubble wrap and wide strips of clear tape. It weights a couple of ounces (If I remember correctly) The mylar is covered by tape so it is protected. My bowl is a gladware cointainer (or is is ziplock?) that has a screw on lid.
In the future though I plan on sewing fleece bag for my cook kit to go into and that fleece bag can double as a pot cozy.
bigcranky
08-29-2006, 19:50
I bought a roll of the Reflectix insulation that the AG cozies are made from. It's not cheap at $25 for a roll, but I have enough to make cozies until the end of time. I have a cozy for every pot we own (which is a lot), plus several bag cozies.
I am a HUGE fan of using a cozy. When I am solo hiking, I carry a Snow Peak 700 mug/pot, with both a fitted cozy and bag cozy. I boil water for dinner, pour into my ziploc bag, and put it in the cozy to 'cook.' Then I make a hot drink in the pot/mug, and put the mug in its own cozy, which keeps it warm for a long time. (Much longer than without the cozy -- I've tested this.) Now I have a hot drink and a hot dinner at the same time, which is nice in cold weather, and I don't have to carry a separate insulated mug.
For family hikes, I carry a SP 1400 and a cozy. We save a lot of fuel by partially cooking dinner, then shoving it in the cozy for 10 minutes. Then we can share it around and eat directly from the pot, without burning our hands, and without the last noodles being ice cold. (Mmmm, cold Lipton's. Ick.)
I've been using the same cozy on the 700 for a couple of years, and it's still in decent shape.
Skidsteer
08-29-2006, 21:09
Looks melted to me.
That's because it is.
But only on the top edge. After fifty+ tests and no burnt fingers, I'm cool with it.
Whaddya expect out of a potlifter that weighs 2 grams? :D
I made mine out of ccf and it works well. Before that, i used a 24 oz. insulated coffee cup from wawa which worked great and was a mulitasker but i thougth it was too heavy and bulky. My pot and stove, cup and spoon nest inside my new homemade cozy
saimyoji
10-27-2006, 12:41
Works great for me. I've used it for about 10 meals so far, no wear at all, save for "handling damage" on the outside. Very light, tough, cost me a buck for the bubble pack (I already had the mylar). The cozy doesn't take heat damage, but I'm finding the ziplock bags do....:(
JoeHiker
10-30-2006, 13:11
I love the AG cozies. Yes, they're not durable enough to last you for years or anything but they're so cheap it doesn't matter. They work great for me.