Product Review: Kelly Kettle

This weekend I got the chance to use one of the most sensible pieces of survival gear I have yet to run across. It's called the Kelly Kettle. Although, not a lightweight, packable item, if you have to bug out with your vehicle, then the Kelly Kettle is a must have.

The whole kit is comprised of 8 pieces. First is the kettle; an ingenious design with a spout and an internal "stove-pipe". The kettle has a wooden handle for pouring and carrying, and a cork for the pour spout if you want to transport the kettle with water in it. Next is the fire base; a small base where you put any kind of combustible material in to make a fire. The base has a small hole on one side so you can add fuel, or to stick a match through to light your fire. The hole also allows air to fuel your fire once it's burning. The kettle sits on top of this base to boil the water that is inside. You can add fuel (wood, sticks, pine needles, paper, etc.. ) through the top of the stove-pipe, and it falls straight down to the base. The next item goes along with the fire base. It's just a simple two piece screen to set on top of the base if you want to cook right over the fire. Fourth, is a pot stand that you can put onto the top of the "stove-pipe". It does exactly what it says. It holds the cooking pot over the stove-pipe, so while you are waiting for your water to boil, you can also cook or heat up some food. The next 3 pieces are the cooking pot, the lid, and the pot handle. All pretty self explanatory. All of the items listed are made out of a high grade aluminum. The last item is the carrying bag. The bag is made of durable nylon with a drawstring at the top to cinch it closed.
The kettle itself holds approximately 5 cups of water, and once your fire is going in the base, it takes just over 3 minutes to get all 5 cups of water to a boil. To pour the water into your cup or bowl, simply lift the wooden handle to 90 degrees (DO NOT HOLD IT OVER THE STOVE-PIPE!!!) and use the chain to lift the kettle and pour. The stove-pipe acts like a furnace, so all the heat from the fire shoots straight up the pipe and out the top. Once again, DO NOT HOLD THE HANDLE OVER THE STOVE-PIPE!! My dad (it's his Kelly Kettle) cut a small groove into his wooden handle so he can use a knife or stick to pick up the kettle and carry it while the water is boiling. WARNING! Do not boil water with the cork in the spout. We cut a standard 2x4 into a 5 inch piece, then split it into small kindling. Half of that was enough to boil the 5 cups of water, so as you can see, it doesn't take alot to get this thing hot.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the Kelly Kettle and I will be adding one to my long term survival kit soon. Everything nestles inside of the kettle for easy storing and transporting. The only downside to this kit I found was, the cooking pot got stuck inside of the fire base. We were able to get it out, but not without damaging the cook pot itself. This is a great cook set if you plan on being out in the wilderness, or without electricity for an extended amount of time. You don't have to worry about packing numerous fuel canisters, or waiting for your firewood to dry before you can have boiling water. Just add anything combustible, and enjoy hot water in under 5 minutes. Visit www.kellykettle.com for more information on pricing and ordering. Don't forget, moral is a huge part of living to see tomorrow.

Thanks to my dad, for letting me try out his Kelly Kettle, so this product review was possible.