I was wondering what you use for your mess kit. Here's mine. After talking with a buddy at work today about the possibility of camping this weekend, I decided to inventory my pack and fill up rations.



Shown from top left to right and so on: MSR Alpine Stowaway Pot 1.6L, MSR "" 475ml, Nalgene 1L bottle, MSR lids, Olicamp 16 Ounce Cup, MSR coffee cup, War Dog, Light my Fire salt and pepper shaker with third compartment I keep red pepper in, 2 MRE hot water bags with 1.5 cups of Minute Rice a piece, cheapo Coleman silverware set, dry fuel tablets, bag of assorted bullion packets.



I use the Minute Rice because it is quick to fix. Add boiling water and wait 5 minutes and it is ready to go. Usually I just through it in whatever it is I am cooking if it is a stew or soup type dish. Did I hear gumbo? It is not as good as regular rice, but it ain't bad.



I am pretty happy with the MSR pots. I have had the small one for a few years and it is holding up like new after many camping trips. I picked the bigger one up about two months ago. It will see heavy use as well.



I like the MRE water bags to hold the rice since they are marked in ounces. It makes it easy and quick.

I prefer my Olicamp cup to the GSI cups since it is marked in ounces too and you can see the markings from the inside and out.

Can't forget one of the most important containers. Nalgene flask with cup. This was made by Nalgene especially for Maker's Mark. <---- I did not just make that up.



Now that I have shown you mine ... show me yours.

Very nice jj, mine is similar. I'll post pics tomm.

Nice and well thought out.


Maybe some french roast and something to make coffe with ?

Look into the MSR Mugmate. Fits into the cup.

Great kit, mine is very similar. With the exception that my water bottle is stainless steel and has a stainless cap as well, just the o ring is rubber. I keep a survival water straw in the canteen when not in use as well as a small bottle if iodine pills. My canteen cup is the same one you have and fits perfectly to my water bottle. Like you, I store rice in my mess kit but not the Uncle Ben's just short grain white rice. I generally carry enough to make eight bowls of rice once cooked which is roughly four cups dry. I also collect and store a few of the little soya sauce packets from sushi trays and Chinese take out to add to my kit as well as a few dehydrated Okinawa style umeboshi. I supplement this with a small bag of dehydrated lima beans as well as some salt and pepper packets, about two cups of dry beans. It all fits pretty easily in my mess tin, which is stainless steel as well, though I can't remember the make. The fork and spoon thing I prefer to forgo for a stainless steel pair of thin hashi or chopsticks, it is just more versatile tool I think. While living in Japan my father in-law was into bushcraft and would always just make his own hashi quickly with his knife whenever we went out hunting. The camp knife I keep is just a cheap mora knife. I am planning to get a few good swamprat and scrapyards to have some decent blades though. Thanks for creating this thread JarheadJournalist, brilliant idea. I look forward to seeing or reading about what other peoples kits are like as well.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Not a coffee drinker.

A Marine that doesn't drink coffee also known as the Elixir of Life? I thought all Marines drank coffee out of a 55 gallon drum, always had a stub of a cigar in the corner of their mouth, used 550 cord for floss, genuflected when Gunny walked by, and looked down their noses at Airmen.

Not a coffee drinker??? Say it ain't so.

How heavy is your basic mess kit (both pots/lids, both cups)?

You are misinformed, to see US, they would have to look Up, WAY up! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Right now My cook kit is pretty sparce, just a a ss pan with a lid and a 1/2 lit pot with a plastic cup. But I am thinking about getting a pot like JJ's. My outfit is more for frying and not really what I wanted, but for 10 bucks...

Well, you got most of it right despite what the chair jockey (Skunk) said. I do use the instant coffee packets that come in MREs. I just pour them down my throat and wash it down with a 55 gallon barrel of diesel.

I am not sure what it weighs. I would guess 1-2 lbs without the rice and stuff in it (just the metal stuff).

I know that back in my day we were Airmen- what are we now? Airpeople, Airpersons, Airpersonnel?

Chairmen <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Here is this years setup. Usually I have some freeze dried meal like a Mountain House Beef Stroganof etc. I haven't used it enough times to say if its a winner or not but its freakishly light and adequate. 11.1 ounces for everything. I do want to get one of the 1.1L MSR's.

Its a GSI Ketalist.

Got any close ups of the silverware? What make is it, price and is it worth a [censored]?