Let’s face it, the price of gas canisters for stoves and petrol for Coleman will not be coming down any time soon, just the opposite in fact with the continued troubles in the energy market, so how about a way of brewing up that will cost you absolutely nothing?
Field kettles are a great low cost means of brewing up when out on the bank, as they use solid fuel (twigs to you and I ) as a fuel source, so you can keep them fired up for as long as you like with no expensive hit to the wallet!
Field kettles could not be simpler to use; you just gather up some twigs and easily flammable material in the metal base, fire it up, and then place the kettle on top –job done! A few minutes later you’ll have steaming hot water. I purchased one of the one pint field kettles from Fishtec just before last Christmas for a friend, and he’s used countless times ever since. It’s given faultless service brewing up for any waifs and strays who happen to visit the lakes we fish. I got the smaller version as it’s very lightweight at just 590g, and measuring just 30cm tall it’s easy to pack away.
The other benefit during the colder months is that you can almost use it as a campfire, to keep you warm during those cold hours sat motionless behind the rods. In fact, it’s often the case that the social, should there be one, will often be found on the swim where there’s a field kettle to keep everybody warm!
They do kick out quite a bit of heat, and so long as you can keep them topped up with twigs and bits of wood, you’ll be warm as toast for as long as required. You have to be careful though, they do give off an immense amount of heat from the base so will burn through the base of a bivvy in seconds, so they must always be used outside. Likewise, if you keep them going they can often leave a scorch mark underneath if used on bare grass or suchlike, so to prevent damage to the swim, they’re best placed (safely) on a brick or tile. Some fisheries have strict rules about fires, and whilst a field kettle is not a fire in itself, it’s always worth checking before use.
For those who like to consume copious amounts of tea on the bank, the kettle also comes in a larger 2.5 pint capacity, and you can also get a cook set for the field kettle comprising of a frying pan, saucepan, clip-on handle and a two-part grid that enables the pans to sit over a kettle’s heat source. As such, the full set is a great way of making your long fishing sessions quite a bit cheaper.
Above all this though, I just love them for the atmosphere they create on the bank. I’m an old romantic at heart and there’s just something very nostalgic and true to the sport about a few good friends sat around field kettle chewing the fat as the wood smoke gently wafts away on the breeze – all very reminiscent of those classic scenes in ‘A Passion For Angling’.
Available from Fishtec, with prices starting at £49.99 for the kettle and £19.99 for the cook kit. CLICK HERE for more details.
Julian Grattidge
Northwestcarp.co.uk
October 2011
