(Cue theme from the original Ghostbusters) Got Power? No? But you want your Joe. Who ya gonna call? Kelly Kettle! Hot food sounds good… but there’s not much wood. Who ya gonna call? Kelly Kettle!
Picture from manufacturer’s webiste of the Scout kettle.
I am not what you’d call a gear-head; I don’t get excited about gear for gear’s sake. So when Salty got one of these kettles, it was not love at first sight. Then I used it … and it WAS love at first USE.
Kelly Kettle
Kelly Kettle Stainless Steel Scout Model, MSRP $84.99
What’s the Kelly Kettle good for? Boiling water and heating food over a small flame; very fast, very safe while using minimal fuel such as small sticks, pine cones, left-over cardboard, pictures of your ex, whatever.
Yes, it really burns just stuff like this…
I carry one in my car and use it out at The Place for hot tea in the morning, hot dinner at night.
If I had to walk and expected to be out overnight, the Kelly Kettle would be worth its weight to carry (they make a lighter weight, smaller aluminum hiking version). the Kelly Kettle a good solution for heating food or quick cooking things such as eggs anyplace in a town or city, since it can be safely used on a sidewalk with sticks picked up from under the hedge. It also makes safely potable water that might harbor parasites, by boiling.
Tinder to get the fire started
Hot food and drink does wonders for the spirits when you’re having to make do; so let’s not underestimate that aspect.
Cooking lunch on the cabin’s front porch at The Place
How’s the Kelly Kettle used? You take the fire tray and put in a double handful of little pieces of sticks (stuff you can easily break with your hands), dried grass or leaves, pine cones, or other burnables.
The kettle itself has an outer shell that holds water, is hollow on the inside, and has no bottom because it’s meant to sit on top of the fire tray. Fill the outer shell with water. It doesn’t need to be potable to start with but you don’t want it all mucky either. If I had to drink from my pond, I’d run it through a t-shirt first.
Place the Kelly Kettle over the burnables pile, then light the burnables pile through a port provided in the side of the fire tray. The little stuff burns away fast, so drop more burnables down through the top if necessary.
Looking into the firebox from a vent hole in the side
The water boils in less than ten minutes. If potable water or a hot drink was your goal, you’re done and can just pour it out of the outer sleeve’s spout. (It has a nice handle system so you can do that without burning yourself.) It’s no trouble to pour off some water, refill the sleeve, replace it over the fire tray, and add more fuel if you want more water boiled.
Hot water for tea…
If your goal was to cook a bit of something, you leave the kettle itself off and put the supplied grill directly on top of the fire tray. There is tiny little fry pan or a small pot that can set on the grill, or one could use the grill directly. They aren’t awesome cookware, but they fry a couple eggs, toast some bread, or heat up a can of something in the little pot nicely enough.
When you’re done, just pour some of the left-over water on the fire tray to douse and cool it, and rub it out with a handful of dried grass. It will be blackened but perfectly functional. The kettle and all its bits pack into a bag barely bigger than the kettle itself (different sizes are available).
There’s some room left inside the kettle when all is put together. I use it to stash a lighter, eating utensils, and an old pill bottle stuffed full of cotton that’s been smooshed up with petroleum jelly, because a little of that cotton makes a beautiful one-try-every-time fire starter.
Not only does it work great, it’s kinda cool to watch the fire shoot out the top!
What are its strengths? Speed, ease of use, no problem to quickly gather fuel by hand. It will burn practically anything flammable that is small enough to fit down the hole. The key elements (kettle and fire tray) aren’t really breakable. Good handle system so you don’t need a pot holder. It renders water safe to drink with no chemical aftertaste. There are no consumables to run out of. The kettle protects the fire tray from wind, reducing your risk of accidental fire-starting when using the kettle function.
What’s it not good for? Elaborate cooking. You get a little pan or pot or grill at one time, and these utensils are serviceable but not robust. Being left alone for long while in use: It only uses nibbles and bits of wood, and those pieces burn out fast, so you have to add fuel a lot. It’s got some bulk to it (though it isn’t heavy).
Final Verdict? Two thumbs up, WAY up!
Great review. I was just looking at one of these online 2 minutes before stumbling across your review. Thanks.