For years I have heard that aluminum pots are better for backpacking. While the aluminum weighs more than titanium, aluminum will conduct heat better and thus boil water and save fuel. Less fuel means less weight overall.
I decided to test which whether what I have heard actually proves out.
Here is what I did. I setup my MSR WhisperLite Internationale stove on my back patio.
Altitude: 4500ft
Ambient Temp: 48ºF
Water Temp: 37ºF
Water Amount: 500ml
Wind: 15-20 mph
Pot
Weight
Boil Time (hh:mm:ss)
Peak 1 Stainless Steel
341g
00:04:30
MSR Quick Solo Aluminum (Hard Anodized)
220g
00:03:30
Optimus Terra Weekend HE (Hard Anodized)
278g
00:03:20
MSR Titan (Titanium)
341g
00:04:30
Weights listed are just for the pot, lid, and the pot lifter for the Titan pot as seen in the video.
As spring struggles to make an appearance, I have begun taking short excursions in the foothills that surround my home. I generally tuck a Sawyer Squeeze into my hydration pack, just in case those ice cold mountain stream calls to me.
After my most recent trip, while drying the squeeze pouch I began to wonder about using the Squeeze as a gravity filter. With the Squeeze connected directly to the two liter pouch the water flow using gravity is minimal. I retrieved from my gear, my Sawyer Inline Hydration Pack Adapter, and a replacement MSR AutoFlow hose. I removed the connector from the 12 inch AutoFlow hose piece. Placed the hydration adapters on each end of the 12 inch piece. Removed the bite valve from the squeeze and fit the long hose onto the nipple under the bite valve. Used the included pinch clamp to shut the hose down, and attached the completed squeeze/hose to a two liter Sawyer pouch. I essential built the same configuration that every gravity fed system uses. I released the pinch clamp, and started a timer. It took 1 minute and 26 seconds to empty the pouch.
My fastest gravity filter takes 1 minute and 15 seconds to empty a two liter pouch using a .2 micron nominal hollow fiber filter. The Sawyer Squeeze is a .1 micron absolute hollow fiber filter. My gravity filter is rated at 1,500 liter cartridge life. The Squeeze at 1,000,000 gallons cartridge life.
