I own a Sea to Summit X-Mug and have had it for a few years now and it has served me well on different hiking trips.  So when I first saw the X-Pot series of pots by Sea To Summit a year ago I was intrigued but I didn’t see a need for it at the time and the price was a higher than I liked.

But as of the last 6 or 7 months a lot of my hikes have been with my nephew who doesn’t exactly own all of his own gear so he uses mine most or nearly all of the time.  We do a lot of overnight hikes and this combined with the fact that he uses my gear has pushed me to simplify meals and other things whiled still enjoying a non-ultralight hike.  Now, if I was hiking without him or on a long hike I wouldn’t even consider this piece of gear because it just wouldn’t make sense.  At 10.3 ounces it’s about 5 or so ounces heavier than my lightweight setup that I can use instead.  So while I was checking out various gear the other day I gazed at the X-Pot series and it dawned on me that I could benefit from this piece of gear.

In theory, with the X-Pot I figured I could accomplish several things that would enhance the trip and make it a little easier.  First off, I could make one big meal for the two of us in the X-Pot instead of making two smaller meals so this would make both packing and preparing our meals faster and easier.  This was probably the biggest factor in the whole X-Pot idea.  Second, It would eliminate the garbage just from the steam bags used to pack and prepare the meals.  Third, instead of making one boil for his food and one for my food I could create one large boil in the X-Pot and be done with it.  Fourth, transferring boiling water is inherently dangerous and risky but this would eliminate that need and instead I’d only be transferring the food to the boiling water in the X-Pot.  These are the reasons I decided to make the X-Pot purchase.

I got a chance to use my Sea To Summit X-Pot for the first time on an overnight to the Twin Arches area of the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area.  Although I didn’t boil water and only used it to heat up some corned beef hash I have to say I love this thing.  I can’t wait to boil some water in it as well because I know it will do this chore just as well as it heated up my hash.  It also has a strainer built into the lid so this opens up additional options.

The only thing left is to test out its durability over time and see how it holds up to repeated opening and closing the accordion style silicone sides.  I’m hoping it doesn’t stress out the most critical part of these sides where the material is thinnest and no doubt the weakest.

Depending on how well this thing holds up I may just purchase the Sea To Summit X-Pot 1.4L for hikes where I only cook for myself.  I’m already working out in my head if I can take the 1.4L pot along with my X-mug and leave my titanium pot at home.  I guess it’s probably 6 in one and half-dozen in the other but currently the titanium pot setup is basically a tube configuration with my cup inside the pot.  If I go with the X-pot and X-mug it will change the configuration to a flat round configuration which could take up less room in the pack but would be a little heavier.

The Sea To Summit X-Pot Series won a 2015 Backpacker Editors Choice Award

Check out all of the Sea To Summit X-Series

 

 

 

Here is the official information straight from the Sea To Summit website:

X-Pot

Until now, your camp cooking pot was the most bulky, awkward item in your kit. The Sea to Summit X-Pots change all that. Our X-Pot is a fully featured cooking pot that combines the heat-distribution of aluminum with the flexibility of silicone. The hard anodized aluminum base offers a fast boil time and the stainless steel ring embedded in the rim lends a rigidity to the silicone walls for easy lifting and stirring. Top it off with a clear locking lid with an integrated strainer and you have a full-size pot that packs down to an inch tall disk. The added beauty of the X-Pots: Your X-Bowls and X-Mugs can nest inside for an exceptionally compact cook set. The X-Pot is available in 1.4L, 2.8L and 4L sizes.
Click HERE to view important X-Pot usage instructions

• The silicone handles are designed to secure the lid to the pot only during transport. Attaching them to the lid during cooking will cause damage to the lid.
• Sides of pot should not be exposed to direct flame.Click HERE to learn more about proper use of the X-Pot
• BPA free, food grade, heat resistant silicone
• Hard anodized 6063-T6 aluminum base
• Durable translucent lid