GSI Halulite Minimalist Ultralight Cookset Review

As I look forward to Kiwi Brevet, I have been tweaking and lightening my kit for both Bikepacking and Tramping applications.

Unfortunately while this cookset has some excellent ideas, it didn’t quite reach my expectations.

 

The minimalist set is designed to operate as a billy by being made of cooking grade anodized aluminium, with the addition of a neoprene sleeve and a sipper lid to turn it into a mug. It also comes with a foldable spork (or foon?) and is designed to be able to enclose a small butane burner with a 110g canister as a single tight cooking package.

 

 

The weigh-in according to the manufacturer, and my independent but not certified as calibrated scales:

 

Item	Claimed	My scales
600ml billy	92g	100g
Sipper lid	42g	44g
Neoprene sleeve	20g	24g
Silicone pot gripper	14g	12g
Spork/Foon	9g	9g
	177g	189g

 

What I like:

• Single integrated and adaptable package
• Large mug is good for social cups of tea
• Neoprene sleeve works well (and also reduces rattling when placed inside other items)
• Fairly inexpensive
• The silicone pot gripper is very functional and could be used for other hot items too – e.g. move pot stands or other peoples pots.

What I didn’t like:

• Because the anodised aluminium stays hotter than the contents, without the sipper lid it is too hot for my lips
• While the sipper may keep a drink hot for longer, it doesn’t have the same ambience of a cup of billy tea in the outdoors
• The lid it too heavy (nearly half the weight of the function pot!)
• Couldn’t bring myself to depend on the reliability of foldable/ and gimmicky spork/foon
• Not so “ultralight:” – I have a 1 litre billy with handles that weights 117g. This billy is 40% smaller, and with the silicone gripper only saves 5g.

What could be improved:

• A silicone or plastic ring or sleeve around the rim would address many of the things I don’t like about this set – providing the user kept the flames away from the rim. It would eliminate the need for the sipper lid, neoprene sleeve and pot-gripper which would bring it down toward 100g.
• More solid cutlery, a straight spoon would suffice.

Bottom-line:

Hard to knock something for a soft issue like ‘ambience’, so if drinking a cup of tea at a campsite with a takeaway coffee cup feeling does not disturb you, and you want something solid and light then this set may work well for you. If not, there are some great ideas in this set to borrow to either customise this kit or another that you may already own.

First outing: Memory-Map Toughprint Paper

I went on my first tramping trip in a long-time last weekend. One of the things I tried out for the first time was Memory-Map’s Toughprint™ Waterproof paper.

 

Most of my maps, are now on a projection that is no longer used so I used the Memory Map software, and my inkjet printer to print the maps of where I was going, instead of trying to track down the correct map sheet in one of the tramping shops in town. I printed the 40km journey on two sides of the same sheet of Toughprint™ paper.

 

I was dubious, as to whether, regardless of the waterproof paper my run of the mill Brother Inkjet printer could really print waterproof maps. To my surprise, it worked out far better than I ever imagined. Even a deliberate dunking in the Mangatoetoe Stream at the end of the trip has failed to cause ink to run, or the paper to tear. I was quite impressed.

 

When printing your own maps, ensuring the hardcopy that comes out of your printer is at the correct is one of the challenges. The Memory-Map software addresses this, by changing the selection order in that you first select your paper-size and your margin-size before offering you the opportunity to select the area of map that fits those dimensions. When measuring with the ruler on the compass I could distinguish any scale inconsistencies in either the lounge, or out in the hills.

 

Not worried about map destruction, and a smaller size with less unfolding it was certainly far more convenient to keep a copy of the map in my pocket to constantly refer to throughout the weekend - especially in the less than perfect weather.

 

Following the trip, I have noted black ink has run through the paper, in that it now visible from the opposite side – particularly in the blue (sea) areas of the map. This is possibly related to the dunking in the stream.

 

I also think, one needs to be careful at not being too minimalist when printing their own maps. The coverage on two sides of A4, at 1:50,000 is not great, and if inclement weather, or an injury changed route plans it is possible that you may want to travel outside of your self-printed  map sheets. Including escape routes is vital.

 

Ultimately, I think in future I will use a mixture of official map sheets, and self-printed map sheets depending on the nature of the trip and the size requirements of the map sheets.

 

I am without doubt, that an A4 waterproof map in my pocket will be invaluable in critical navigation portions of future backcountry journeys.