Have you ever found a piece of gear that makes you smile as soon as you touch it? I’ve been casting around for the perfect canteen/cup/pot stove combination and wasn’t really satisfied with any of the sets I came up with. Then the other day I was watching a Dave Canterbury video and saw him pull a steel bottle and cup out of a bag. Much the same as a military canteen and canteen cup, but the whole thing was made from stainless steel. I watched the video of him using the kit and decided to give it a try.
I went online to his pathfinder website and ordered the water bottle, cup, and the bag. Confirmation was virtually instantaneous and the kit arrived a few days later in perfect condition.
One thing I like about the bag is that it has storage space in the side pocket where you can put in matches, a firesteel, small knife, coffee packets, or what have you. I put a small flashlight, multi-tool, button compass, and firesteel in mine and put a strap on it from a tree climbing stand. Voila! Instant survival kit I can wear over my shoulder.
First – about the water bottle kit:
It’s sturdy, but not too heavy and it has a wide mouth. In the picture below I have a standard military canteen next to the bottle to give it perspective. The bottle nests into the cup nicely and the whole thing sits tightly in the canteen bag, much the same as a canteen, canteen cup and canteen pouch. Notice how shiny and new it looks! Not for long.
The closest thing I could find on Amazon was this Klean Kanteen that comes in different sizes. Dave’s prices are reasonable for this kit – $35 for the bottle and cup and another $20 for the bag.
The cup has a set of handles that when gripped properly are sturdy and doesn’t feel like it’s going to scissor out of my hand.
There’s a small lip in the bag that ensures the cup won’t fall out accidentally. Indeed, you have to work a little at getting it out of the bag. (See picture below.)
Below is a picture of my Camillus knife and the water bottle kit strapped together using the strap from my tree stand.
Testing
I didn’t buy this just to have a pretty water bottle. I wanted a good way to heat water with both containers able to take heat. Obviously a plastic canteen wouldn’t be able to do this, but with this set up I’m able to heat water right in the bottle and pour it into the cup or vice versa with no fuss. I used the small multi-tool to handle the bottle as it gets hot.
In one of Dave’s videos he shows a technique where he surrounds the water bottle with wood and lights it. Within minutes he had a good roiling boil, so I thought I’d try the same technique.
See the photos below.
There’s another video here on a cool alternative way to heat water and a good explanation of the kit.
Within five minutes of lighting the fire I had a good boil going. Like I mentioned earlier I used the multi-tool to pour the water into the cup and had myself a nice cup of hot coffee.
Below you can see some of the contents of the mini-survival kit. Awhile back I asked what you would take into the woods if you only had three pieces of gear to take. I said a knife, a firesteel, and a poncho. Some of you came back and said a steel pot. After thinking about it I’m almost ready to lean in that direction and if I had my choice it would be this little set up right here.
As you can see below the bottle isn’t quite as pretty as it was, but that’s the beauty of a piece of equipment you know you’ll be using. This water bottle kit has found a permanent spot in my bug-out bag and I’d recommend it to anybody looking for the same functionality I was.
-Jarhead Survivor
8 comments
Great review. I subscribe to Canterburys’ / Blind Horse Knives SRI journal and saw this offering. I’ve been sitting on top of the fence on buying this, but this review might have pushed me off once and for all, lol. Sounds like a good piece of kit.
The only thing that really stops me is having a reliable water source to find it in 1st place. Our region isn’t known for natural flowing water courses, some irrigation canals is about it, other than the Rio Grande River. But water is a real need, and having something to purify it is necessary.
Thanks again for review.
Looks great, I hv several variations on this type of gear.
Good Kit, I have several like it with Nalgene bottles, and back them up with GI canteen/cup/covers for my 2 qt minimum water carry. I have been looking for good steel bottles to replace the Nalgene. I use the GI cup for cooking, the round cup for beverage. If you are going to boil in the bottle, you may want to add a pot gripper to your kit.
Great reveiw. I, too, have been sitting on the fence for this. Thanks for pushing me off.
As for the gear bag, the featured bag is nice, but you can get alternatives at a little lower prices on EBay.
Pot gripper comment is an excellent point. I keep a folded metal hangar in my BOB — lots of great possible uses and serves as a lifter for bottles out of a fire.
Interesting set up , I’ll have to take a look at one .
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Thanks for this post. This is a great way to get friends to build their edc around water instead of having lots of “useful” toys and no water! (Also this might work to prep people who will carry their pricey water but no other gear.)
Thanks also for the videos/photos. Was taught the “pot above the fire” idea, hadn’t realized a tall “pot” makes that unnecessary. However I had decided to add on a folding wire ‘handle’ around the bottle’s lower rim to hang it – and that would also be useful to have on it already, so you could grab a stick and lift it out of the fire (or coals).
I have a jetboil flash that fits in the same condor H20 bottle holder. it even fits the fuel canister. No super hot bottles to deal with and you get boiling water in 2 min and hot water in 1.