USGI Canteen Cup with Stand and Trioxane Fuel Bars
Reviewed by: Bill Ames
Where to buy: Army-Navy, Sporting Goods Stores, Catalogs
Cost: about $10-$30 depending on what you buy

This is one of those things the military does best . . . take a simple, utilitarian item, and give it lots of uses.

The USGI canteen cup with fire ring is beautiful in its simplicity. The shape is designed to fit nicely around the standard issue canteen, which in turn is curved slightly to better fit around your waist. Made of stainless steel, it can take a beating and cleans easily.

The obvious way to use the cup comes naturally, just flip out the wire handles and drink. The neat stuff comes when you start heating things with trioxane fuel bars (see below).

Trioxane is really neat stuff . . . it's a small fuel pellet that fits underneath the canteen cup and stand. Trioxane burns clean and hot for about 15 minutes, which is plenty to heat your coffee, tee, water or MRE entree.

Trioxane burns clean, and the only residue is a blag slag of almost pure carbon, so it's environmentally friendly. Since it burns hot and doesn't produce sparks, it's pretty safe to use in the woods. Personally, I use them for day hikes in lieu of a backpacker's stove. Trioxane is cheap and light, and it's perfect for short trips. Trioxane is getting a little harder to find, but Google around and you can still get it. I recently picked up a box from Coleman's surplus. Note the hasmat shipping charges, though.

To use trioxane with your canteen cup and fire ring, simply find a flat rock that is sturdy enough to hold your cup full of liquid. Place a trioxane fuel bar on the rock and light it . . . it lights very easily and burns even when it's raining. Put your filled cup with stand over it and wait. You'll have very hot water very quickly. Watch out for the handles, as they sometimes get a little hot, although they do cool off quickly.

If you have trouble starting fires--especially when the wood is wet--try using trioxane to get a roaring fire going in even the toughest situations.

There are a number of accessories available for the canteens, cup, etc. including gas mask adapters, insulated covers with pistol belt hangers, etc.

 

 
Click image to buy USGI plastic canteen