How to use the Swedish army mess kit properly

Today I show you how to use the swedish army mess kit without burning your fingers!. This kit has pretty much replaced my day to day cooking set when out for a wander due to its simplicity and cost effectiveness. thanks for visiting mountain bear outdoors

[@dalecarpenter8828]

Pathfinder maked a stainless steel model around $50.00 usd !

[@robr4596]

$50.00? not any longer.

[@fromtheflightdeck252]

​@@robr4596 just bought 2 for $42 each at SRO with $5.95 shipping

[@Magoo652]

The Swedish M44 military kit is super reliable. I would recommend you use wooden or bamboo spoon & spatula with the aluminium pot and pan. If any food does stick or burn, just heat a little water in that pot or pan. They should wipe clean without needing any scoured. Yes the Trangia burners can leak where they are crimped as you pointed out. They can be soldered to seal them. I use my M44 for motorcycle touring here in Australia. Thank you for sharing👍

[@gordonmurdoch3811]

A few tips which I hope will help you. If the Trangia is leaking at the joint you can solder it or use a high temp. epoxy. It's a good idea to put the burner in a re sealable plastic bag to stop the brass and aluminium reacting with each other (it stops the smell as well) when storing it in the pot. B & Q sell bio ethanol in 2 litre bottles which is cheaper then meths and burns hotter. If you add around 10% water to your fuel (ethanol or meths) you get less blackening on your pots. To extinguish the Trangia with the simmer ring you can lift the windshield out of the way by inserting a stick in a side slot and hooking it under one of the pot stands. For transport the handle of the small pan slides inside the windshield and helps to hold everything together. Happy cooking, all the best.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Great tips, Thank you for the great ideas, I would be interested to try the bio ethanol fuel for comparison. I learned the hard way about the pot tainting thing. You've obviously been a fan of trangia for a while with those ideas, thanks for visiting😀

[@gordonmurdoch3811]

@@mountainbearoutdoors Some people say that I should get out more. ATB

[@JuhaAaltonen]

I have never added water to the Trangia fuel, nor have I noticed excessive sooting. slight soot is removed by wiping. Of course, there are differences in fuels, I use Sinol and Marinol myself.

[@ericj.w.ruijssenaars3421]

Nice demonstratie on this crackin' piece of kit. I have been lucky lately and found a complete stainless steel version in a thriftshop. These were only made between 1940 - 1944. Your burner is the regular Trangia, the army one is langer, but has no simmer ring.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

I had the army burner but it leaked really badly and had to get a civvy one, I really like this cookset its so rugged and fool proof. If i go away for a few days I usually take the trangia because it is so reliable. thanks for visiting

[@LosPeregrinos51]

The simmer ring, made from stainless steel by Tatonka, fits the larger SVEA burner nicely - makes a lot of difference to your cooking.

[@GUNSLINGEROUTDOORS]

Never seen one these before.. i can see the flaws but it does look like a tough piece of kit.. appreciate you sharing this 🇺🇸🤠

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Hey thanks for visiting! It's a very tough bit of kit and won't appeal to the hiking brigade but it's absolutely bullet proof and I think it will outlast me! All the best from across the pond stay safe 😁

[@JeepsterDave]

I haven't used my set for ages, but I really want to dig it out again after watching this! I hadn't seen that tip / pouring trick before, so thanks for that. On that tubing stuff, I don't how it compares price-wise, but I'm thinking that Sugru might also do the job. Thanks for posting.👍

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Sugru would be fine to use, glad you enjoyed the video, I love my kit now I've worked out how to cook without giving myself burns all the time. Thanks for your comment

[@PreparedCamping]

It's a great system mate great over an open fire too if you're going full bushcraft style 😉 Take care Roo

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Yeah I'm happy with it, glad I picked it up cheap The price has quadrupled since I got mine!

[@PreparedCamping]

@@mountainbearoutdoors wise investment 👍

[@Jason-iz6ob]

I use 190 proof grain alcohol in my stove. Works great and pretty cheap too. I wouldn’t drink it, since the fuel bottle is used and had methanol in it at some point, but if it were to spill in my cooking pot no big deal. Gives an excuse to run by the liquor store too. Though I did luck out with my kit. I keep my stove and fuel bottle in plastic bags. But have never had a drop leak from either.

[@ROE1300]

👍. Excellent video. Thank you.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Thank you for the kind feedback

[@TheBikerDodge]

That burner is a civilian model. The army model is much bigger and much more reliable. The large pot is actually meant for heating food, the small pan is for boiling water. As far as burning your hand on the small pot handle, you can cut a notch out of the solid side of the windsheild and turn the handle the other way round. Blackie from Down & Dirty Woods Craft has a video on the mod.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Yep I binned the military one it came with as was badly cracked. Thanks for the handle tip

[@TheBikerDodge]

@@mountainbearoutdoors Just out of interest, can you remember if the burner you binned was made by Trangia or Svea. Mine is a Svea and I've had it for about 8 years with no problems on the burner itself or the lid.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

@@TheBikerDodge it was the large svea version with less screw threads on the lid. I got it shipped from an online surplus store,.

[@TheBikerDodge]

@@mountainbearoutdoors That's a shame. Mine is from 1962. Guess I just got lucky

[@JuhaAaltonen]

I simply flip the lid handle upwards. I have also added a Trangia pot handle, which I use to pour liquids from the pot. I picked up the pot from the burner, e.g. with the opening end of a can of a Victorinox knife.

[@dhammo749]

If you cut a notch on back side of windshield to accommodate handle don't get hot no gloves ,see blackys vid on messkit hacks .

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Thanks for the tip 😁

[@Bugout72]

Firebox sells the trangia alcohol stove that is soldered so it won't leak.

[@afternoobtea914]

Actually it is not a Trangia stove. They made some of the burners only. The other parts is Swedish Army's standard stove decades. I hade it myself in the military service back in the 90's. The one you've got is of a later date. Good video though! It has three crowns stamped on it. That means Swedish Army.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

thanks for watching and thank you for the kind feedback :)

[@Boars78]

I’ve got one of these bought it for £15 a few years ago never had a problem with it camping.. I saw a documentary saying this type of stove was used in the napoleonic wars and is still in use in some military’s to this day.. that’s a long time be be using the same type of kit..was wondering if you still use it?..I don’t see a reason why you’d replace it apart from weight or size..if it ain’t broke don’t fix it 💪

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

I still have my kit yes its very good and the windshield does wonders for the burner with the crap climate in the UK, I have had gas burners that stop working or start leaking but the trusty trangia is pretty much indestructable I just have to be a bit more patient when cooking, its a shame they have gotten so expensive to buy now, I think I paid £10 for mine but quite often see them going for £40 now.

[@stephenfoyle3329]

Still a bargain. Often see them online at £100 - £120.

[@kurtsteiner8384]

If its genuine trangia, i had personally never had a proble. With leaking spirits. Perhaps replacing the lid seal may help. There are a lot of copies out there, some good some not very good.

[@lisah9394]

I use the little measuring cup that comes with cough medicine to measure my alcohol. This much for coffee/tea, that much for ramen, that much to boil a pot of spaghetti...

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

thats a really clever idea, should cut down on the wasted fuel, thanks for the tip!

[@Seanoduk]

A great kit, love mine. I use a wooden spatula in my kit which can also serve as a handle for the lid. I like the look of the tubing on the locking hook. Is the idea to make it a bit quieter or to avoid burning your fingers? Cheers

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

It's a bit of both mate, I find the tubing grips smooth surfaces a bit better when I hang the pot and it also cuts down on the clanking a bit, you can buy the tubing In short lengths just search for radio control car fuel hose, it's a bit like silicone. I use the tubing on my titanium cup handles as well so I don't burn my fingers if cooking with the cup, nice idea about the spatula handle combo thanks for dropping by

[@Seanoduk]

Mountain Bear outdoors thanks mate that’s really helpful & a great idea! I like the idea of reducing the clanking where possible. Think I’ll be giving that a go on my mess kit & Ti mugs! Cheers.

[@archygrey9093]

The stand can be flipped upside down and used to burn kindling too, you can also use solid fuels instead of the alcohol burner and i think some poeple even use propane burners inside the stand.

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

Great tip I didn't know that thanks for sharing 😁

[@dalecarpenter8828]

Swedish copy of the American p38 . Great can opener once you learn how to use it . Also a small pry bar flat head and philips screwdriver , rod spark scrapper ! I don't use aluminium ( linked to alzheimers) . Don't use titanium either ( might be great but I don't want to be the tester ).

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

haha yeah the tin opener is going really well, I work in an area that does not allow knives or sharps so the little tin opener is a really handy bit of kit to have, all the guys at work cant believe how easy it gets through lids.

[@LosPeregrinos51]

P38 is an American copy of the original French can opener designed by Etienne Marcel Darque from his WW1 model and patented in 1932 (pat no, US1921911A)!

[@PeterHofmann7]

O.M.G. 😣🙈... don´t waste time with watching.... that thing hier..... eyes bleeding....

[@pikemaster1972]

That is not an original

[@mountainbearoutdoors]

the brass burner is not, the rest of the kit is as it has all the right stamp marks on it .