USGI cookset

USGI cook set in use with hexamine:

This kit is light and strong and being stainless steel it is very low maintenance and durable.
The kit is compact taking little more room than a water bottle alone and accompanied with a titanium spork you have a very light weight cook set which can cover many cooking needs.

This mug is extremely versatile as it can be used on any fuel.

Crusader cook kit

Here is my crusader cook kit:

It contains...

Nato water bottle 

An army issue pouch

Crusader mug

Crusader stove

Heavy cover lid

and a crusader mug hanger.

This kit is excellent, it is very strong and robust and truly bombproof.

It can be used with any fuel and the mug can be used on coals or an open fire. The mug is large enough to boil water to purify and for tea/coffee and also for boil in the bag meals. You can also cook in the mug which is large enough for almost any solo meal.

This kit is not the lightest being stainless steel but it is strong, durable and very easy to keep clean.

Tool kit.

This is the tool kit I carry:

My most common choice is the Gerber mini axe, Bahco laplander saw and my pukko style knife.

The mini axe is very small and only used to split wood or to rough out shapes for carving.
The Bahco laplander saw is a great folding saw and is used for many tasks around camp.
I choose from a few knives but I favour a full tang knife for strength and durability.

I may also add the following items to my tools:

Mora 120 carving knife
I also carry a DC4 sharpening stone when out for a prolonged period of time or when I will be using my knife a lot
Sometimes I carry a small blade for food preparation and other small tasks.

Cook kits

Here are my current cook kits..

Alpkit titanium cook set.
I use my Ti cook set mainly when I am hiking due to weight. When I am hiking I usually only have quick boil in the bag meals or brews so titanium is perfect for me.

Contains...
Alpkit MyTiMug- 750ml capacity with lid.
Alpkit MyTiCup - 450ml used to have a brew whilst cooking in the larger mug.
TiSpork, both alpkit, either used, one slightly larger for soups etc.
Vargo Ti triad XE stove, used to burn hexi blocks, does the job grand
Whitebox stove, burns meths and does not require pot stand, earlier views found on my blog. Burns meths.

USGI Cookset

Cookset from the US. Water bottle, stainless steel mug and aliminium stand. Stand can be used with hexi tablets, over a meths stove or just placed on the coals of a fire.


Crusader cook set.

Contains..
Nato water bottle, crusader mug, crusader stove and heavycover lid- all fit in an army pouch.
Crusader stove burns hexi or green heat (a sort of flammable gel). This is a very strong cook set and is also very durable. The mug can be placed straight on a fire and I have used this setup the longest.

I use all the cook sets and what I plan to do decides what I carry. When I intend to fish I add a small frying pan and when I am staying out longer I generally carry a billy can and this would be my cooking full setup. I can supplement these cook items with water bottles/water bags.

Day kit

Here is my day kit carried in a 10 liter highlander rucksack.

Contents:
A regatta fleece
Bahco laplander saw
Mora clipper knife
First aid kit
Brew kit
Traditional fire lighting kit
32oz stainless steel nalgene
Pot gripper, spoon and swedish army folding mug

Fire

To me a fire is very important when out in the woods.
A fire can be used for boiling to purify water, to cook, to dry off clothes, to keep yourself warm, to see at night and for many other reasons.

To create a fire you must have oxygen, heat and fuel as seen in the fire triangle.

A fire will not light/stay lit if you remove any of these 3 crucial requirements in the fire triangle. 

The oxygen for fire is in the air around us, the fuel can be your tinder or firewood and heat is provided from a lighter, match, firesteel or other source of lighting the fire until the fire is lit and then the fire provides its own heat.

Many people think the bigger your fire the better which is not strictly true. If you think of your cooker at home it does not give off a huge amount of flames which is the same as a fire, if you have a hot bed of red coals it is more than enough to cook/boil and give off heat.

Fire can be a great thing, but it can also be dangerous. Never leave a fire unattended.

Zebra billy can

There are many stoves and cook systems being sold for 'bushcraft' but for me it does not get much simpler than a open fire and billy can.

Billy can's are widely available in many varieties. My personal favorite is the Zebra billy can.

The billy cans themselves come in a variety of sizes with a strong and sturdy bail arm so they can be suspended over a fire. The billy cans come with a lid which speeds up boiling/cooking time and also keeps ash from going into your water/food. The billy can also comes with a steaming tray so as well as cooking/boiling you can steam foods.

Here is my 12cm Zebra billy can  suspended over the fire boiling water.