GSI Outdoors Halulite Ketalest

Weight: 11.1 oz.
Dimensions: 6.3″ x 5.9″ x 3.5″
Material: Proprietary, Hard Anodized Alloy
Product Use: Ultralight Backpacking
Includes: 1.0 L Kettle, 14 fl. oz. insulated mug, 14 fl. oz. bowl, Sip-It top, Telescoping Foon, Stuff Sack

It was hard to hold off on tearing into the packing for the GSI Outdoors Halulite Ketalist when it arrived, but I was a good person and took all my pictures first. Then I ripped that sucker open and felt like I had gotten my hands on some sort of weird cooking gear version of a Russian nesting doll. The deeper dug, the more cool stuff came out of it. First the really cool kettle, then the bowl, then the cup with cozy and lid, then the folding foon came flying out. Well, maybe not flying, but it was quick work to pull it all out.

The first thing that jumped out at me was that this was an all in one kit. A kettle to heat water, a bowl to eat out of, a cup to drink out of, and a foon to eat with. The second thing that jumped out at me was the weight. The whole set up seemed to weigh almost nothing right out of the box and I was amazed.

I think a lot of people would consider a kettle to heat water on the trail to be a bit crazy, but after years of trying to pour boiling water out of different sized pots and always finding a way to splash boiling water on my hands, feet, legs, or arms I strongly disagree. When I considered the fact that most of my meals are add boiling water only these days, a kettle made a hell of a lot of sense to me. Even I am not crazy enough to attempt to cook in the kettle, but the lure of being able to boil and pour water without inflicting bodily harm upon myself is attractive in so many ways.

I have used a variety of objects as my eating bowl over the years and the prospect of having a dedicated bowl (versus a cooking pot or mug) to eat out of is a luxury that I find very appealing. Now the cup is not very cup-like in my view, but with the no spill lid and cozy, the cup should be fine for drinking. The size and shape of the cup might have bothered me if it was not designed to nest inside the kettle, so I am going to withhold judgment on the cupiness of the cup till later.

The most interesting part of the kit was the folding (sliding) foon. I would call it a spork, but GSI says foon, so a foon it is. The foon has a locking handle that slides back and forth from a storage position to an open eating configuration. The lock is worked by pushing a gray button on the handle of the foon.

My only worry at this point is that the foon is plastic. I have always used metal spoons, so something as simple as a folding plastic foon worries me.

One last little tidbit caught my eyes as I was examining the Kettle. I found a very interesting diagram printed on the back of the kettle that showed how to restack everything inside.

What really caught my eye was the fact that it indicates that a fuel canister can be stowed inside the kettle as well as all the parts to the Ketalist system. Now I really need to get my bag packed and hit the woods as soon as is possible.

The GSI Halulite Ketalist is cool, hi tech, and really fancy, but I will spend the next month testing its usefulness. am hoping that I come back with some great news, so come back in a month and see how it all goes.

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