View Full Version : Messtin vs Billy can
This day im geetting a some new messtins, ive used these all the time o nmy duke of edinburgh etc but have noticed a lot of people use billy cans i was wondering what people think is the best of the both.
Ryan
I'd say mess tins were best if you intend to cook on a stove rather than an open fire and Billy Can for the other way round.
Graywolf
06-06-2007, 10:59
I would go for a billy every time,never liked mess tins even when in the forces.
They are both good, hard to pick an overall winner. On an solo overnighter I take mess tins, I can store some instant tea/sugar, a Vesta beef risotto, KFS and mars bar in them, ideal as they are compact and fit the front pouch of my Bergen perfectly. If I'm with my lad, Luke, I need big billy cans as the boy consumes vast amounts of food;)
Billy cans are easy to hang over a fire, but the mess tins are fine on hot embers, I would say, get both:cool:
Squidders
06-06-2007, 12:07
Again, with all things on this site, there is no real "best" as such... just what each individual prefers.
I prefer a billy can as I can hang it, or just shove it on the fire... I use the little bowl thing with a pot lifter to fry things too. As it's stainless it takes all the abuse I throw at it and still laughs at me.
gregorach
06-06-2007, 12:13
I've used mess tins for years, but I don't anymore - they're just too easy to spill if you're using them on a fire. Plus it's a real pain finding somewhere stable for them.
The worst one is when you go to lift your loaded mess tin off the fire and the handle bends, dumping half your meal and ruining your fire.
I voted billy - I've had a mess tin for more years than I can mention (was my Dads) but don't think I have ever used it! - I like the way the two nest together and that it is squareish and easy to pack things into but a billy always seemed the natural shape.
Toadflax
06-06-2007, 15:30
I have voted billy, as it can be both hung up and placed on a surface (e.g. grid or coals), though I am very sentimental about my old set of mess tins from 1982.
Geoff
Northern Giant UK
06-06-2007, 15:59
rik_uk3
They are both good, hard to pick an overall winner. On an solo overnighter I take mess tins, I can store some instant tea/sugar, a Vesta beef risotto, KFS and mars bar in them, ideal as they are compact and fit the front pouch of my Bergen perfectly. If I'm with my lad, Luke, I need big billy cans as the boy consumes vast amounts of food
Billy cans are easy to hang over a fire, but the mess tins are fine on hot embers, I would say, get both
Can't really add much to Rik's comment, It's really horses for courses (excuse the pun :D )
like em both but use billys more.
Kev
Billy.
It has the advantage of having a lid which may double as a small pan. No smoke and ash dropping into your water or food, and it boils quicker with a lid.
A difficult one for SA Trangia owners as it's a billy with a mess tin as a lid.:) I voted billy though because essentially the SA Trangia is a billy (I suppose). Even without a SA Trangia I would get a billy for the reasons everyone has said before.
It was quite amusing (in a sadistic kind of way) to see new recruits in the army try to throw away water from their shiny new mess tins by holding on to just the handle only to find the mess tin spin around and cover them with the contents. :D
Pablo.
twisted firestarter
06-06-2007, 22:59
Billy- don't be a hero :D
I prefer a small steel wok (you can stirfry just about any thing :D ) but you do need a kettle or billy as well to boil water
ive still got my Mess tin its the small one with the bottom painted black and the larger one cut off as lid / plate inside is a tupperware thats fits exactly and has the brew kit n condiments Ideal for Army rations not so good for other stuff i find
ATB
Duncan
I've got a trangia mess tin that I use as a survival kit for the van but the kit I pack for use is based around billy cans of various sizes depending on what I'm doing.
This is what I usually use. (http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20206&highlight=perfect+stove)