A few mods: I put some silicone sugru on the strainer handle to insulate it. You can also use a small piece of rescue tape. I also wrapped silicone rescue tape around the handle to help insulate from the heat. The strainer part is also handy when you cook pasta for draining out the water, or if you're boiling any other kind of food. Inside my cook pot I put a cat stove (made from a catfood tin), a small bottle of heat alcohol, matches, etc. I also have a pie tin windscreen...
This seems to be a rejuvenated version of the old cowboy cup. Cowboys and US Cavalry carried a large metal cup like this (sans lid) and used it for everything from making/drinking coffee, cooking soups & stews to digging & shaving. This and a good knife were all most needed. The military evolved it into a canteen cup which a 1 qrt canteen would fit in and both fit into a cover which attached to belt or pack. Early models had lids as well. As a youngster on the ranch I carried one tied to the back of my saddle with a tin band aid box (if you can remember those) with coffee, bullion cubes and beef jerky. We also had these hung by cord at all stock tanks and pumps. These would eventually evolve into "mess kits" with plate, pan etc. but a lot of folks who use them began to realize they don't use everything in modern mess kits and a simple cup device like this works great. Less is More!! On a side note I worked on a ranch for a man who would put out a water bag for the help and tied one of these to it for drinking...but he took a nail and poked four small holes in the bottom. Claimed it made you drink up fast and return to work instead of standing around sipping it dragging out your break....I like seeing old methods come back into style. Great video!!
Heym bushcraft412: I've been doing the survival thing for a awhile (actually a few decades). It's rare when a youtube video teaches me something new AND useful. Kudos and thanks you've done both. I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't think of this myself. Once again, thanks for sharing.
Those things are a great idea. I remember one sitting on our stove when I was a kid. Great for personal use. Thanks for letting us know about them. I found some S/S ones on Amazon for $13.00 and up for those opposed to aluminum.
Very true....My son and I spent three days in the Arizona Mazatzal Wilderness last October. This was the only piece of cooking equipment we took and it worked great! We each also took two Cup-O-Noodle meals and reused the cups for instant coffee in the mornings and for serving our other reconstitued meals in. "The lighter the better," we like to say. Thanks for the post.
Bingo! A great idea! Mors Kochanski's ''ideal'' billy pot started out as an old coffee percolator that just had a wire coat hanger for a handle, I used a stainless steel basin shaped pot with a metal plate for a lid for years (good for washing and catching rain in too), I don't see why you really need an expensive name brand for this item, save your money for boots and backpack or other things where it'll really make a difference.
It's a nice set, especially for that price, but I'd recommend stainless steel for a bug out bag. As already mentioned, Aluminum can have heath risks over time and depending on the aluminums quality, it can oxidize pretty fast. Stainless steel might be heavier, but it's way more durable.
For $12, you can get the Stanley Camp Cook pot in the camping isle, at the same store. It is awesome, and has two cups that come with it (and it's made of stainless steel, instead of aluminum - which fails relatively quickly when you cook over open fires with it often). Why skimp for the sake of that $6 difference?
The Stanley cook pot is great. It's even better if purchased at somewhere other than walmart. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the one from walmart is lower quality than the one from any other store.
I chopped off the handle on mine with the dremal and sanded the area with it as well. i have a fire rod, seasonings, an alcohol stove and a squeeze bottle of olive oil in mine. I keep it in a bag made from the pant leg from an old pair of BDU's stitched shut and have utensils and a stand for the stove in the bag. I’ve replaced the knob on the lid with a Chicago screw for a lower profile. folks are amazed when they see this kit on how light and small it is and what you can cook in it..
Thanks for this video I have since purchased this pot and my entire cook kit fits inside. My stove, can of propane and my silicone pot grabber, liter. Everything fits into it very nicely.
I'm just starting to buy the items that I need to start backpacking. So many tips! love it. This is a great one. This will be my first mess kit. Thanks!
The vented lid would also be neat to steam vegetables, to soften a biscuit on the top while boiling your water for coffee or tea or heating your soup or other liquid.
The grease pot is great..... BUT, for those that want a smaller pot...... Walmart also carries an aluminum pot/cup in exactly the same spot as the Grease Pot shown above. The internal strainer for the Grease Pot shown in this video makes a perfect lid for the other pot/cup. All items together are about 12 bucks total. Thanks for the video Sir. It is the same gear that I use and works perfectly with alcohol stoves. Steel wool removes the dark coloring from cooking. Makes them look brand new.
Just bought mine like yours. I did some modifications to it, a very slight 1 at that. 1 it holds my Stanley cook set and my SS cup. However you need remove the strainer and pack it separately. I also bought a Stainless 5" hose clamp to put around it to put a bail in it. I now don't have to put or drill holes into my pot . I can now use this as a coffee pot, a mini dutch oven. Thanks so much for this idea, I cant wait to use it on my next trip.
Bushcraft bought one of these grease pots for my B.O.B and i went camping this lastweekend and my freinds where impressed with it, and so was i, when i went to walmart to there clerance area they had a coleman hiker cook set at $25.00 or the grease pot at $7.00 with tax, i could buy onemore of these and have a extra thanks for sharing...........And Great Video!
I love my IMUSA products. FYI I am not into light weight backpacking. My shoulder harness is my lightest piece of gear and it comes in @ 25lbs & that is just for a morning or afternoon hike (My large alice which I can go a week or longer weighs in @ 75lbs or more and I love to carry A.L.I.C.E. fully packed). I did get my IMUSA products because of your videos and I carry and use them in different packs for different outings. My grease pot is my favorite. I heat up my mre in it then I put the strainer in it and use it as a percolator for tea or coffee. Very nice videos and thanks for the advise.
I just got one of these a week ago for this exact purpose! LOL And it was a great buy. Adding a handle to the top was easy enough and I replaced the plastic knob with a wood one. Works so well i am getting another one.
I bought one a few weeks ago and took it out. Works great, and you can fit 3 packages of ramen in it if you break the 3rd one up a bit....Easy way to feed a few hungry kids. I'm still working on a cheap easy fire system but this pot is a great start!
USED IT SEVERAL TIMES. IT SURE IS A GREAT PIECE. TOSSED IT ON THE OUTER EDGE OF THE FIRE AND WALAAA.I DRILLED TWO PIN HOLES TO THE CONTAINER AND ADDED A CROSSED LOOP HANDLE AND AGAIN OVER THE FIRE A SUCCESS. GREAT STORAGE SPACE ALSO. HELL OF A BARGAIN. GOT YOUR BACK BUSHCRAFT!
I just bought one at Walmart for $6.97, and the author is correct: it is strong and light and multipurpose and larger in real life than I was expecting. Mother loves it for separating the debris in the vegetable oil after we finish frying up some hush-puppies, corn fritters, donuts, or french fries, then she pours the clear oil into a mason jar until needed again.. And pot is easy to clean. And smaller items (bullion cubes, instant coffee, cocoa, etc.) could be packed inside it in my pack. We'll be taking it on our next camping trip to test it in the campfire.
When I was small, my mother had a pot like this with a strainer at the top, which she used to save bacon grease. The strainer was to remove solids when she poured hot grease into the can. Then when she fried something, she used the saved bacon drippings for the frying fat. Later, when people started worrying about dietary cholesterol, Mom stopped using the grease can and started using vegetable oil instead of meat fat for frying and for greasing pans. I haven’t seen one of these grease-straining cans for decades. I didn’t realize they are still being made.
Thanks for posting!!! im going to pick one up, my prepping budgit is 20-30 $ a week besides guns & ammo that is much higher, thats on my list for this week! i just bought a ALLICE Pack from the military surplus store & plain to start working on my bug out bag now
FYI to help with the effects of open fire cooking on your pot use some liquid dish detergent and smear on the out side before cooking. when done and ready to wash all the black will wash off nicely.
I saw this video about 6 months ago and bought one. As far as using them for a coffee perculator I never tried that but you can boil your coffee in one and pour it into your cup without any grounds getting into your cup with ease. There's not enough room in between the strainer and the cup for them to seap thru and if you grind your own coffee you could grind it more coarse to ensure this. By the way,thanks for the video
I have researched. The amount of aluminum that leaches from annodized aluminum is far less per meal than you get from the organic vegetables in the ground, or from taking a single tylenol, or applying deoderant. It is literally in hundreds of products we use daily, and is in the water we drink. Our body is built to process a great deal of aluminum on a daily basis. The amount we get from cookware is a fraction compared to what we get from food and water.
I have one for grease, because of complaints about how ugly the coffee cans sitting on the cabinet we're. I have wondered about using them for camping. Looks like that top could be used as a strainer for pasta.
Just FYI about Walmart-these would be in the housewares dept. Different stores have different mods and the grease pots may be in a different home at another store if the store carries them. However, people can always go on walmart.com and have it shipped to their store for free.
I think they work great for a camping coffee pot. Hell, for less than 7 bucks you have a damn effective percolator. I carry 2(one for a backup) and for what I paid for them it is still less than if I bought 1 of the blue percolators in the camping section of walmart
Jeffrey Yeip eye bolt and wing nut. check out Dixie's pot on Home Made Wanderlust. RU-vid. did the same with mine. I use this with a 32 oz . beer can flue stove. + fuel, lighters, foil windscreen and squishy cup, etc all inside the pot.
Seems like the top should be taller or the filtering screen sit lower for pouring the grease or oil in. But other than it's intended use, I think it's a nice product. I can see making noodles and unless one is making ramen, you can pour the water out and actually have spaghetti. It also seems to be larger. I like how you recognized it's usefulness and versatility. I like that Stanley cup, but sometimes it's priced higher at Walmart than at Amazon.
Picked mine up the other day. Can you make coffee in this? Otherwise, no big deal, I have a french press that I haul along.....I NEVER go without my coffee!! Thoughts on the handle, it does get quite warm I just used a bandana out of my pocket as a potholder.
Thanks! I'll be hunting for a few of these on my next trip to Walmart or target! Making my first alcohol stove, so looking for a good pot to go with it!
the stanley cookset walmart sales isnt much money just eliminate the plastic cups with a stainless cup avavailable on the same shelf and it nests perfectly done!
You can use it on an open fire as long as its not super thin aluminum only because that will always warp on a real hot fire. Maybe even melt. I am talking a few pieces of paper thin or less looking pot is worthless. I used to work a lot with aluminum. Sometimes get them to record heats with no issues. Calcium deposits do attract on the cheapo aluminum cans/cups/pots but is harmless.
I was really excited to be able to make coffee or boil and strain pasta. And if it dies it is cheap to replace. Making my best friend a mini gear he can throw on his back and get the bike out and go spend quality time with nature.
@wizz202 I remember years ago someone did tests with the grease pot and found that it transfers heat and boils water quicker than pretty much every commercial mess kit on the market. Plus it is the lightest 1.5 quart pot on the market excluding the strainer. Wonder if walmart realizes what people actually use this thing for!
aluminum darkens up a lot when directly exposed to a high heat,its merely a discoloration based on temperature.it will look better that way so enjoy!!its got class now!! now if the water itself is black then obviously i would change out the water and maybe scrub the inside..
This will work perfect with my Solo Stove... well, the second Solo Stove (I'm using the Solo Pot 900 with the first one) I think the stove may nest inside of this pot quite nicely by looking at your video. Thanks for the review!
@tomfaranda Thanks! forgot to mention it in the video but fuel cans for the MSR pocket rocket fit perfectly inside this thing if you wrap them in a bandana. They are awesome with white gas stoves. I'm surprised there are not more YT videos on these. They were all the rage in the backpacking forums like 5-10 years ago.
Great option especially for a SHTF situation. No buddy is going to care what you’re cooking there food in as long as they get to eat. Personally I prefer stainless steel or titanium, but this is a great budget item.
IMUSA, grease pot. They also make 10 & 12 cm pots/cups but with NO Tops. Tinny, at Minibulldesigns, makes and Sells, assorted size pot TOPS, as well as alcohol stoves for your cooking kits.
It is like a 50/50 on finding those pots. Both Target and Walmart USED to have them... sometime now they SOMETIMES carry them. I'm about ready to order these on-line or something since I cannot seem to locally find these grease holder cup things.
Wrap tin foil over that top and set in another pot with a tuna can ring to keep it off the bottom, put coals on top and it may work as a small dutch oven
i've been watching all the Alcohol Stove videos and accessories to them that are around, & I also removed the handle one 1 I have and took a Coat Hanger and bent it into shape and attached it to a couple of handles pieces i left on the pot, and made it similar to the handles that bend and wrap around other popular Camping pots like the Stanley, it works great, on my 2nd one, I bent it in a little from the bottom to make the handle a little smaller and wrapped it with Silicone tape so it won't burn you, I painted it from the just below the top down in Black Heat paint by Rust Oleum, I painted the bottom High Heat White, I got better temp & cooking results this way, I also cut a round piece of Carbon fiber felt and a similar sized piece of reflectix unscrewed the lid knob and placed these 2 pieces on the inside of the lid, reflectix on 1st then the carbon, I punched holes in the center of each and then screwed the knob back on, then really helps keep the heat inside and helps the overall temps inside the pot for cooking, on the 2nd pot i also attached 2 D-ring picture hanger hooks to the sides of the pot, and then placed a wire on each to also have a wire handle, this way i can also use it over an open fire with my Teepee 3 piece Pot holder that holds pots over open fires, and another way to also carry it, and a good double pot cozy, with a double, one over the bottom and the 2nd cozy fits down over the top allows whatever you cooked inside to stay warm for up to an hour or more in cold weather.
I found one of these after i saw your video. You are right about the plastic top handle. It can be replaced by a wooden drawer handle for use near/on a fire. It also has a lot of room in it for storage. Thanks for the video.
If you're concerned about aluminum there's a thing called a mucket or corn boiler. It's like that except it's stainless steel, has a hinged lid, and a bail. You can find them at civil war reenactment web stores.
I took one of these on a trip, and I tested it before I left but when I got to camp the bottom rivet developed a leak, and I kept putting the stove out. Good for 6 bucks, but I wouldn't depend on it.
@earlymusicus My previous one was 4.2oz. This new one might be a little heavier though. it is aluminum and very lightweight. I have heard that k-mart is selling theirs again. K-marts is supposed to be slightly smaller.
Probably shouldnt... but they still sell aluminum pots and pans, mess kits... but the way I see it is if I cook in aluminum a few times a year I'm probably doing way less damage to my body then people who smoke. Or at least I justify the risk that way.
eh, it's the rare troll that bothers me anymore. I could argue back with people that the study linking aluminum and alzheimers was largely discredited because you can't imply that the aluminum caused the disease, the scientific method requires that you rule out that the high aluminum is a result of alzheimers limiting the bodies natural removal of aluminum... but people believe old discredited studies over scientific method.
seriously people get over the aluminum crap. If you want to buy SS than do so . When shtf and you have no gear whatsoever your going to use whatever you can. Aluminum doesn't have an affect on everyone either. Far more things in the world to worry about than aluminum . News flash very very little American items made in USA exist today, china makes everything nowadays. If you do find a USA made item it will be very expensive, hence they have to compete with foreign manufactures. I like his idea its cost affective and it works.
Rey Lindsey I've done the research... you get way more aluminum from your deoderant than cookware by far. You actually get way more aluminum from eating root vegetables than you do cooking all week in aluminum pots. Scientific method isn't for everyone...
Hope you don't mind but I put a video of mine here as a response. I show another cooking pot that could be used also for this very thing. Also bought at Walmart. A stainless cookert by Stanley. I almost got the one shown her, once, but felt it was a bit bulky for my uses. In case it doesn't show up, I show in my video, Backpacking DOIN' TRAILS. Thanks for the ideas. Good item here.
I use these as well. I think what codybrady is suggesting is not the whole "aluminum will kill you" argument, but that it is possible to melt aluminum in a fire. If I remember correctly, aluminum melts at just over 1200 degrees, easily attainable in the heart of a fire, versus stainless steel which melts at like 2700 degrees. Just my two cents. These are great over an alcohol stove, which is how I use them.
Hey Doug Vannier. It's actually made to keep bacon grease in for cooking or whatever. I want one but in stainless or cast iron. and they do make a pretty cook coffeepot.
Friend, I believe the label says it all "GREASE DISPENSER" Its dispense the grease out from the food you are cooking by using the strainer. But you could also use it to boil anything then take the water out using the strainer.
At least a few comments indicate an awareness of the toxic effects of cooking in aluminum. But people who drink fluoridated water and are similarly careless about their intake of poisons will probably find an aluminum pot wonderful, because it's cheap. Note: Corporations, including Wal Mart, don't care if you get sick and die from their products, and forget about the feds protecting you - they don't care either. The more people that eat aluminum, the better for them. What you can use aluminum pots for is cooking with oil, like deep frying, as aluminum doesn't react with oil as it does with water (oxidizes).
