Zebra Loop Handle Pot

Updating my previous reviews for my latest Zebra purchase, the 12 cm.I've purchased all the sizes now and can honestly say that Zebra knows how to make a solid piece of steel whatever size you choose. These babies are high quality and solidly built, sure they are heavier than titanium or plastic--but in compensation for their weight, they will last far longer with rougher handling. Which makes them great for BOB kits or any bag where extended use and fire cooking come together. Remember, these weren't originally designed for the backpack community, they are food transportation pots like lunch pails sturdy enough to reheat your food in--but because they are so awesome, they got absorbed anyway. So, no, they don't have measurement marks, yes, they have plastic clips which you have to remove (there are metal clips available on the internet or you can buy the more expensive pots with the metal clips on them) before using over fire, yes, if you try and melt snow improperly you can damage the pot, and no, their handles aren't comfortable for long carrying by hand. If you aren't smart enough to be able to measure water in yourself and carefully scratch the various marks with a scriber, figure out how to remove the clips for cooking and then put them back on for using the pot as a container, learn to put water into your pot before trying to melt snow or either use a pot holder, folded bandana or gloves when carrying the pot, well. . . really, there's nothing anyone can do for stupid. Don't blame the pot for operator idiocy.If, however, you can figure out these things for yourself, you will love the pot. It is great to hang over coals or fire--the handle isn't some flimsy wire bail that is going to rust or rip out or bend up quickly. If you watch some Youtube videos you will learn how to turn the pot various positions to change it from cooking things like stew to baking cookies or biscuits. If you keep the dish with you, you now have two cooking surfaces (not counting the inside of the lid which you could also use, which would give you three). And if you don't do stupid things with it (like putting it onto coals or over a fire without anything in it or letting it boil dry or leaving it out in the rain or snow or packing it away wet, etc, etc, etc) then it will last a lifetime of use.Sure, you can go for titanium or a thin walled steel pot for regular backpacking or camping use. And if that is all you need a pot for, getting a Zebra does seem a bit unnecessary overkill. Especially if you are one of those ultralighters. Or only need something to boil water in. But if you are looking for a pot for your BOB kit or some form of extended length emergency need, you can't beat a Zebra except by moving up to cast iron.I've bought all the sizes available here and each is just as solid as the next--and each has a different 'favored' use. How do you pick which size to get? Well, assuming you are getting a Zebra because you need something for fire cooking use but don't want the weight of cast iron, you now just need to figure out how you are transporting it, how many plan on using it, and what you plan on cooking to determine which size to take. If you are wanting the lightest weight for one on foot and plan on only boiling water as your 'cooking' method, get the 10. If you want the lightest weight for one on foot and plan to both boil water and cook food with only a small amount of baking, choose a 12. If you plan on traveling by foot, car, or horse and have two people who want to cook or boil in one pot, or you intend to add a lot of baking use to your meals as a single person, go for the 14. If you are traveling by car or horse, have three or four people cooking or boiling in one pot, or want to bake a ton and in a wide variety, go for the 16.I gave my brother who likes to boil water as his food prep a 10. I just put a 12 in my Maxpedition Pygmy BOB for extended use for one person. I put a 14 in my Frost River pack for extended camping with two people. And have a 16 for the car for a family's use.I recommend each person travel with their own gear, however, to avoid the whole 'I lost my pack and it has our cooking pot (or shelter or . . .etc.)--and have the ability to actually cook comfortably (even if they only plan on boiling water, just to cover Murphy's Law)--so I urge people to pick up the 12, one for each adult or teen to have in their own pack. The 12 is small enough to fit in even a smaller pack like the Pygmy but big enough to cook and bake in. Kind of a good 'happy medium' pot. And you could share cooking in it in a pinch. If, however, you are doing a kit for a trained kid (read pre-teen here), they might find the much smaller 10 working better for their much smaller size--you would have to give them experience in both 10 and 12 to see what rocks their world best.If you take out the interior pan/dish, you can reduce weight even more but realize that you will lose that possible cooking pan--leaving you with cooking on the inside of the lid or in the pot only. If you add the right size silicone muffin cup with feet or a strip of cut and coiled aluminum 'disposable' pan for lifting it off the bottom of your pot so you can pour water in to the level of the bottom of the cup (for upright steam baking) or the right sized mini loaf pan or tiny baking sheet that will fit in your pot with the lid closed and handle in the locked position (for sideways regular baking), you really increase the food variety. Of course, the included pan works great for steam baking inside your closed water added pot--and can work separately for regular baking with the lid. Just grease the baby well or line it.As others have mentioned, depending on what size you choose, you can always stash other stuff inside the pot while it is inside your pack so you don't lose internal volume so much.You could even attach a shoulder sling to a 14 and put your most basic gear inside and use it as your 'bag' if you want to go even lighter than what you would with a shoulder pack. Sort of a 'possibles' bag pot. A solid folding knife, fire starter and tinder, bank line, fishing kit, Sawyer mini filter or purification tablets, folding or rolled canteen, etc. would fit inside a silnylon ditty bag which would then fit inside the pot. That might be more minimal than you want, but you could do it.Anyway, just my review on the set. I really recommend you go onto Youtube to give the sizes a good eyeball before buying--just reading the measurements won't give you the right grasp of their real sizes--though you can do the math and then measure out the water to get the idea of their internal capacities. While you are there, do some searches for baking with the Zebra billy pot and also of backpacking steam cooking or baking in a pot--it will really boost your eating outdoors and adds some fun to your meals (a bonus with kids, especially). Stews and soups and rice are not the only thing you can use your awesome Zebra for--you can have bannock, pancakes, muffins, biscuits, cookies, pie, cobbler, pizza, steamed foods, stir fry, meat and egg cooking, etc. Basically, your cleverness is the limit.And if you aren't into the upright shape of the loop pot but still want the hardy steel of a Zebra--there are the newer Zebra, MSR-style, wide rather than tall pots complete with a folding handle here on Amazon, also. And again, you can buy the steel pot clips separately on the 'net or pick up one of the newer pots that come with the steel clips, also on Amazon.Toss in your pack one of Lodge's carbon steel skillet/fry pans of the size that works for you and you can pretty much cook anything you can hunt, fish, bird, grow or forage out there--or pick out from your own kitchen. The Zebra and the Lodge make an even more awesome set up together than they do separately. As always, your gear, your choice.Good luck and have some fun.

it was prime but definitely not 2 day delivery - check the seller and be ready to be patient.was it worth the wait - very much so, several weeks in my case but it originates in thailand so that's what you get.I purchased a silky saw chomping at the bit to get it in 2 days - well, it's made in japan it took 3 weeks from the seller I chose. the other silky that I purchased got here in 3 days. just check your sellers but hey, I got a premium japanese product direct from japan. now it's extra special...sorry, back to the pot. It is a nice heavy gauge stainless. love the design, love the ruggedness, excellent quality pot - it lives up to the rave reviews and I can tell you, I am very particular and lean strongly toward heavy duty and last forever when I purchase items and do the research..If you look at what they are intended for they are essentially a lunch box but of a nice heavy gauge stainless and in the US many have fallen in love with these as camping pots.they work exceptionally well as camping pots by the way and is my intended use but would work well as a lunch box too. probably the best deal out there unless your into titanium high tech stuff. Me, I want rugged and long life use with small chance of flattening the thing in my outdoor adventures with the little ones.Now that I have gotten a chance to check it out and use it. yep, it's a little heavier, nope a magnet does not stick so it's a good stainless for not corroding or rusting, yes the plastic tabs that hold the lid on will melt over a fire and not what they are intended for. They do, however perform perfectly for what they were intended for, keeping the lid on and in place when the bail is in the upright position.Tthere are aftermarket resellers that are making stainless kits to perform the same task as the plastic lid holders so they will not melt over a fire and pretty reasonably priced for the ones that I have found.The pot should last a very long time and I WILL be getting a few more sizes - I purchased the largest 16 cm for my first go since I use it for taking the kids out to the park and camping and like to be able to cook a quick meal while out for 3-4 people. I use it for both a food carrier and a cooking pot.in summary:good stuff - totally happy and pleasantly surprised that the hype lives up. great job zebra or the other known thai company called simply "S". zebra is the international brand. All depends on what your looking for but if you want a seriously durable camping pot - check. if you want a seriously mulitpurpose lunch box that you can heat your food on over a stove - check. if you want a lunch box that won't leak with soup in it - not what you want. I have taken a large pot of soup in the pot and cornbread in the insert to work, just know you can't lay the thing on it's side.I pop it on the stove at work to heat the soup and pop the stainess upper insert into the toaster oven to crisp up the corn bread and it's awesome. meal for 2 on the spot.to sum it up:get one folks, just understand what your purpose is, how it functions and you will not be disappointed.

This pot has a smaller pan stored with in it. I read someone wasn't happy with plastic locks on the handle. Just remove them for cooking they just hold it locked for transportation or storage. Overall this is a very well made pot and pan within and the lid fits that too. I have two of them!

Great for 'Bush Crafting' but too bulky and heavy for backpacking - I've upgraded to a Toaks titanium bail handle billy can for that.The plastic catches can be popped on and off when it's being used, to stop them from melting in the fire.You can make replacement catches out of metal coat hanger which can be left on. These allow you to use the can as an 'oven' by laying it on it's side.We've used these cans to roast a small shop bought chicken, and a caught rabbit, as well as the usual boiling water for tea and coffee.My Lixada stainless steel wood gasifier stove fits perfectly inside.

After hearing/reading many great reviews of this item I decided to buy one, and I was not to be disappointed. It is a solid bit of kit that is perfect for cooking indoors & out. It fits on my Bushcraft Essentials LF stove perfectly. The plastic bits seem a bit useless as they would melt whilst cooking, presumably, but they can be removed easily. I like the shallow pan that comes with it, fitting inside the billy can. You could use it as a dish/bowl or cook with it. The bit on top that I can't recall the name of at this time of night allows you to hang it on a branch to cook over an open fire. The "handle" is the word I'm looking for, I think. It's not massive, so suitable for the solo camper, backpacker, especially as you can keep stuff inside it. But it's big enough to cook a meal for two or three. More if you have bread &/or tins of rice pudding. Why it's called a "billy can" I don't know. Perhaps it was invented by a devotee of positive thinking called William.Combined with my Bushcraft Essentials LF stove I can cook amazing food in the middle of nowhere & host a rather bourgeois fondueparty. I use a gel stove for the latter.Thank you Zebra for this excellent bit of kit.

This is a very good, strong Billy can but why have they made the bail handle clips plastic? Makes no sense to me as plastic tends to go soft and squidgy when it comes into contact with a fire which kind of defeats the object. The solution is to ditch the plastic clips and make some metal replacements yourself (there are some YouTube videos that show you how to). I can see this lasting me for years and years now.

Very high quality stainless steel build. A great size and will fit in my day pack easily with my Lixada Lightweight Portable Stove ( Lixada Portable Stainless Steel Lightweight Wood Stove Solidified Alcohol Stove Outdoor Cooking Picnic BBQ Camping with Mesh Bag ) stowed away inside with lighter and pan handle.One negative is that the handle clips that help lock the handle upright are made of plastic, what the heck?! Surely they realise that this thing is going on or above a heat source? Easily removed before cooking though but just wish they were metal.There is a handy steamer pan inside the pot and this can also be used as a small frying pan when needed.Highly recommended as way better than aluminium equivalents. Lixada Portable Stainless Steel Lightweight Wood Stove Solidified Alcohol Stove Outdoor Cooking Picnic BBQ Camping with Mesh Bag

Glad I bought the 14cm can, large enough for 2. The plastic clips won't be a problem as they can be easily removed when on the stove. And refitted again for keeping the lid secure when packing up. Happy with my purchase.