Just an in-person first impressions on this Titanium set. You can get all the snazzy pics on Amazon or eBay. As I haven't used a public image hosting service in years it will be picture light but happy to answer questions people may have.
I have several Russian VDV Aluminium Canteens with nesting pot/frypan. I love them and they often go on plane trips or day hikes in the past. They live in old soviet ww2 era gas mask bags and along with a mini waterproof first aid kit, hard candy, Emergency blanket, a few meters of paracord, swisstool and becker Bk11 knife/ Victorinox Trekker form a 'excursion' pouch i just sling over the shoulder and off I go. Not really a Survival kit or crazy EDC but something of a step up from just whats in my pockets + waterbottle.
Whilst I love these little canteens there is a part of me that keeps their use to a minimum as I am not 100% confident the tangy aluminium water is good for me in the long run. Light is great so I had been looking at titanium offerings for years. I had been resisting getting the Keith Canteen+cup simply as I really love the 3 piece nature and couldn't cough up the funds anyway.
I had toyed around with the idea of getting the Boundless Voyage mess kit and a Keith canteen too. Fear they wouldn't actually nest held me off taking the leap. A video recently confirmed that they actually don't. Which is fortunate as when this cooking set came up on eBay I was swayed to cough up the AU$180 I spent on it including delivery from China. The most I've spent on any canteen by fourfold.
So what are my impressions?
I'm happy I bought it. If someone wanted a 'good to go' system they might be disappointed given the expense. I bought it knowing i was not going to be using the pouch.
I've attached a video with pouch, if you search on youtube it will not come up as the video will only work for those with this link.
If you watch the video you will see a cheaply put together canteen cover. It can be used with a strap, attached on belt or bag with the snap loops or attached somehow with the moolee syle tabs underneath. I am not too confident it would stand up to much use with a full canteen of water. The stitching is rudimentary, the snap fasteners dubious and using velcro to make the shoulder strap easily removable doesn't inspire long term reliability. With some quality thread and a needle it could be salvageable, just don't make it a cornerstone of your decision.
The actual 3 piece set seems sturdy and only time will tell how the handles hold up. Unlike the Russian VDV, the nesting function isn't friction fit so if you pull out the
canteen the loose pots will not come with it in a tidy bundle. It's probably because I'm used to it I was a little disappointed that it didn't. I will probably just make a retention strap. Others may like the fact it slides out easily making holding the bottle less awkward for smaller hands.
The canteen itself has a wide mouth, titanium lid and rubber ring seal. Holds a tidy 1.1L and after a quick rinse+fill has no tangy taste. In theory, I could boil 2.2L of water across the 3 pieces. I love the measuring increments in both pots. A quick test using the smaller pot the markings were at the correct height to each other (300ml in one poured into the other gave 300ml) I will need to test with a proper measuring cup later but the 500ml point on my blender looked eyeball right sitting a third of the way above the 450ml mark and 2/3 down from the 600ml mark. The Lid for the pot fits snuggly on both and feel the 3 draining holes it has would work adequately
All in all, it needs a few tweaks to completely replace the Russian aluminium option but I hope to use it more frequently than the VDV's. I always was going to ditch the pouch and only time will tell if the handles and the hanging wire are up to the task.
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