Gear Review: TOAKS 900ml D130mm Pot

One of the most enjoyable parts of a long day on the trail can be a hearty hot meal in camp. The TOAKS 900ml D130mm Pot is a nicely sized vessel that can help make that happen. Its extremely light weight makes it easy to throw in your pack without worrying about adding much strain to your shoulders. If you want to boil water for your food in the backcountry, this TOAKS pot is a solid option.

 

TOAKS 900ml D130mm Pot At-a-Glance

Weight: 3.7 ounces (2.7 for pot only)

Capacity: .9 liter/30 fluid ounces

Dimensions: 5.13 x 2.63 inches

Material: Titanium

MSRP: $45

Circumstance of Review

I used this pot on a two-week backpacking trip in North Carolina in fall 2019. Temperatures were around freezing with a couple of nights and mornings in the upper teens. Even when things got chilly, this pot impressed me with its ability to quickly heat up water. I faced temperatures equivalent to (and below) those I saw on the PCT this year and I was still able to boil water faster than I did with the pot I used on that trip.

Features

• Ounce and millimeter marks on the inside wall.
  
• Handles fold up for easy storage and their light construction keeps them from getting uncomfortably hot.
• The lightweight lid has a small grip on top as well as a holes for ventilation.
• The round bottom edge allows for easy cleaning
• Has the ability to nest a 110g gas canister (the small one) with a small stove while still being able to fit the lid on top.

 

Functionality

The key feature of this pot is how thin the titanium is on all of the pieces. I’ve been truly impressed with how quickly this little thing is able to boil water.  The thin titanium allows temperatures to move through it quickly, and the wide base creates a large surface area to heat up. This combination makes boiling water quick and easy, usually not taking any longer than a few minutes. 

Handleability

In addition to the pot itself, the thinness of the materials is an advantage for the extremities of the pot that you actually end up handling: the lid grip and the pot handle. I never had an issue with the lid gripper becoming too hot to handle, and as long as you hold the handle a bit away from the pot, it too is able to maintain a manageable temperature. 

Critique

As with a lot of gear I’ve handled, this pot’s strength is also its weakness. The thin material means that the heat that is quick to enter the pot leaves the pot in a similar manner: it doesn’t insulate very well. Now, this isn’t a massive flaw, as even in subfreezing temperatures only my last few bites were ever a bit on the cold side, but I did have to eat with a bit of a purpose. There’s no setting your pot down and taking your time with your meal with this thing if you want to enjoy a truly hot meal, at least not when it’s cold out. 

Additionally, I have found the pot to be a bit susceptible to deformity. When crammed into your pack, you can expect a little bit of give around the rim. From other reviews I’ve read this has really turned folks off to the pot, but as long as you exercise a bit of care with it I again didn’t find this to be too much of an issue. Just don’t expect the lid to be an exact tight-locking system and things should be fine.

Finally, the thinness of the material means that extra care is needed if you plan on really cooking/simmering. I found it easy for food to stick to the bottom if I wasn’t a vigilant stirrer. Boiling water is easy, but if you’re going to do precision cooking, just be careful.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Impressively light for a pot with this capacity.
• Heats up water quicker than pots of a similar capacity but with more narrow shape.
• Efficiently and quickly heats water.
• Wide base helps it stay balanced on small canister stoves.
• One of the best pots I’ve ever used for straight-up boiling water.

Cons

• Quick heat loss.
• Susceptible to small bends.
• Can burn food easily without proper care.

The Final Say

Despite the few issues I had with it, I liked the good parts of this pot enough for it to become my new go-to for the foreseeable future. I am impressed enough with the weight and heating efficiency that I can deal with treating it a bit delicately. I also pretty much only ever boil water and then throw in the components for a ramen bomb so the difficulty I found with cooking over heat with it are almost always irrelevant. This is an excellent pot made by my favorite spoon makers that gets my endorsement. 

Comparable Items

TOAKS 900ml D115mm Pot                              $45.00         4 ounces

TOAKS 1350ml Pot                                             $52.95         5.2 ounces

Snow Peak Trek 900 Titanium Cookset         $52.95        6 ounces

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**This product was donated for purpose of review