Kovea Alpine Pot Wide Up (KGB-0703WU)

There are dozens of different JETBOIL-type cookers on the market, and they all work, but the Kovea Alpine Pot Wide Up offers a unique combination of features such as ideal size, hinged metal handles (instead of those terrible fabric handles), simmer control, integral igniter, and burner compatibility with standard pots. Even if you have an elaborate field kitchen with lots of different burners, the Alpine Pot Wide Up is a very quick and easy way to heat up some coffee, breakfast ramens, or dehydrated foods when you and your trail mates are tired or hung over in the morning and don't feel like cooking an elaborate breakfast.

All of the JETBOIL-style cookers work great, so what really sets them apart from one another? Let's start with size. Some things are just the perfect size. For example, the Glock 19 is a compact pistol, but it holds 16 shots (the same as most service pistols), offers the shooter a full grip, and is every bit as shootable as a full-sized pistol. If you go bigger than the Glock 19, you gain almost nothing. The larger Glock 17 holds 18 shots rather than 16, but is less convenient to wear, harder to conceal, and is no easier to handle or shoot than the Glock 19. If you go smaller than the Glock 19, much is lost. The Glock 26 is marginally smaller than the Glock 19, but it holds only 11 shots rather than 16, does not allow the shooter a full grip, is noticeably harder to handle and shoot, requires nested recoil springs to operate reliably, and does not accept weaponlights for use in low light. Clearly, the Glock 19 is at the sweet spot of 9mm Luger handguns. Its size, capacity, and capabilities are not arbitrary or capricious, but rather based on the size of the 9mm Luger cartridge, the human hand, and the parts and mechanisms required for its self-loading method of operation.

The Alpine Pot Wide Up is at just such a sweet spot in size. Its packing size is a cylinder that is about 5" in diameter and 8" in height, and its pot will hold 1.5L of water. That 1.5L pot will hold the burner, trivet, and a 230g canister of isobutane fuel nested within the pot, and there is no room for anything else. It's the perfect size.

There are a great many JETBOIL-style cookers out there that will hold 1L (500ml less) of water and stand about 6" tall. At first glance, they may appear more compact than the Alpine Pot Wide because they are shorter. But look carefully and you will realize that they are not really because their pots have enough capacity to nest the burner and some wasted space. They will not nest the fuel canister. That fuel canister has to be transported somewhere else, so those 1L cookers that are slightly shorter actually end up being effectively larger than the Alpine Pot Wide Up while having 500ml less pot capacity. If that sounds moronic, it's because it is.

According to Kovea, the Alpine Pot Wide Up's 1.5L pot will boil up:

• two instant ramens (spicy Korean ones of course, and throw in some eggs and leftover sandwich meat in there)
• half a pound of rice or pasta
• 10 frankfurters
• six eggs

Perhaps you really don't require that much capacity. However, why go with a 1L pot that is only slightly shorter in height, holds less, and actually ends up being more bulky to transport because the isobutane canister has to be transported outside the pot?

In addition to its ideal size, the Alpine Pot Wide Up has a very nice feature set that includes:

• clear plastic lid to view the pot contents and folding lid handle for easy access to the hot contents
• pour holes in the lid for use as a colander or for dispensing exact amounts of hot water if desired
• rubber lid retainer holds lid while pouring and is also completely detachable
• cozy is secured with velcro and removes easily for cleaning
• hard-anodized aluminum pot with integral heat exchange fins and windscreen
• fill markings stamped into pot walls
• hinged metal handles attach to the pot (not the cozy) and are rigid for predictable handling and pouring of boiling-hot water and less tiring to hold when eating from the pot
• rubber-coated pot handles for easy handling when hot
• burner output is adjustable from simmer to full gas
• integral piezo igniter on burner
• burner control knob pulls out during use and pushes in for transport to prevent knocks and damage
• detachable pot support with folding trivets allows use of the burner with standard pots just like a standard bikepacking stove
• soft plastic cover protects bottom of pot against dents during transport
• mesh transport bag

The Alpine Pot Wide Up runs on isobutane canisters like the Kovea Iso-Butane & Propane, PRIMUS Power Gas, and Snow Peak GigaPower systems. 450g canisters like the PRIMUS 450G PowerGas will technically fit and work in a pinch, but the taller canister will not nest within the pot and the system height will necessarily be taller and less stable. Similarly, adaptation to other gas systems such as butane and propane is possible, but not recommended because of the obviously taller height, narrow footprint, and propensity to tip over.

Kovea Part Number -  KGB-0703WU
Universal Product Code -  8809361211696