Need to replace my battered army-style mess tins. What's the Trangia got that the cheap ones haven't?

The Trangia has so many advantages over cheap ones it's hard to know where to start. They're compact, with not only the mess tins fitting inside each other but also the burnerand accessories. They're simple to use and the higher the wind (within reason) the better they burn when using the integrated meths burner, just by turning the base with its vent holes. You can get a gas convertor so giving you multi fuel options. They're reliable; I've had mine 20 years and never had a problem. You can get an optional kettle that also fits inside along with everything else (including a KFS set). Most of all they last - still on the same ones after 20 years. OK a full kit will set you back about £100 if you include the kettle and gas convertor, but they'll last a lifetime, never let you down and you can use them anywhere in the world given the multi fuel ability.

Seconded. The Trangia pans are also quite deep so you can fit a lot in, and are more stable than many stoves, so you can use them reasonably safely inside the flysheet of a tent. If you flip the pan holders to fry position they will also take a wok so you can excel in those group base-camp situations. The high sides of the pan-holder make them fairly resilient when it is windy too.

Misunderstanding here. I know about Trangia stoves and pans (which I use when in company). I'm asking about their rectangular mess-tins, with a view to solo use, on gas. Never seen them on the shops.

Sorry to set you off, perhaps it just shows how obscure the mess tins are.

rectangular trangia mess tins? Weird idea!!

For those unfamiliar:

Trangia Mess Tins

I suspect they'll be smaller and lighter than the old Army mess tins, which use fairly hefty aluminium. Other than that... more substantially anodised surface, so you ingest less aluminium, perhaps?

Do you get all three or just one? Perhaps its that theyve got lids with Cotswold. I know the ones I have seen in Yeomans are quite lightweight and quite cheep too

I've emailed Cotswold like I should've done in the first place. I'll post something when I get a reply.

I use one of these mess tins . Not sure which of the three it is, but it's about half the width of an army issue mess tin. I find it does the job fine. I keep it in one of the pouches on my webbing, but it only takes up half the space. Because its smaller, however, you can't cook a massive all in. If using the boil in the bags, I heat the main meal first and then the dessert whilst eating the main meal. The remaining water makes a reasonable size brew. The aluminium it is made of is quite malleable, and crushes easily. However this also means you can bend it back into shape. As for if you get all three, I would be surprised for only £6.

You're right Marcus, Cotswold tell me the photo is a mistake and for £6 you get the tin in the middle of the picture. They didn't tell me the dimensions - when you have a moment could you post them?
Thanks

Hi,
I bought a trangia pan a year or so ago. Mine is lasting OK (so far), it's made of quite thin aliuminium (I'd guess at 1 - 1.5 mm), and has a lid as well. The quality is a little dubious - the lid does fit, but the aluminium was quite rough when I brought it. Some glass paper sorted that out though. It holds about 2 mugs of water - just enough to get a boil in the bag into, and leave enough water for a mug of something.

Hope this helps,

Ioan

Rob - Don't have the mess tin to hand to measure it, but its about the size of half a house brick (cut perpendicular with the long side)

Thanks for all contributions. Just for the record - Trangia tell me the single pan is 16.5 cms long, 9 wide and 6.5 deep. I assume that the depth does not include the lid. I make that 965cc. You can't fill any pan completely especially in camping conditions. Let's say the practical fill level is two-thirds of max. That's 635cc, or just over a pint.