Tatonka Pots

I bought a 1.6L and 1L Tatonka when I bought my Tentipi out of the UK. I do not know where these are available in the US, and normally I would not justify the shipping cost from the UK. However, adding these two items to my Tentipi order did not change the shipping cost at all. So, I figured I would give them a shot.

First, I wanted to show off my pot stand. I have seen many homemade pot stands for backpacking. But, they are mostly a single piece and curved. I still might make one like that, but I had the idea to make on jointed, so that it would fold up flat. The small pot, lids, handles, trangia stove, and stand still all fit in the large pot.

All of these photos were taken at the "modern" campground. You would think that being a professional photographer and all, my pictures wouldn't be so crappy. But, when I go on vacation, I want to be on vacation : ) So, ALL my vacation were done on a point and shoot.

Here is a close up with the smaller (1L) pot, with lid. The handle happens to be attached to the lid/skillet in this photo.
Here it is farther away, with both pots in the picture.Overall, there isn't too much excitement here. They work as you would expect, are a good thickness of stainless steel and overall are great quality. One interesting thing to note is the locking mechanism for the handle.

The handle has two hooks on one side. When you lift up on the handle, it locks into place. Quite convenient for pouring, and it worked quite well. The handle also locks when you push down, which I didn't quite understand just yet. The only thing it seemed to do for me at this point was get in the way of removing the lid. When in the backcountry sites, I only used the small pot and used it both on open fire and with the stove. I had cut a pot hook for grabbing the hot handle and for pouring. No use for the downward locking feature. In fact, since there would be more clearance for removing the lid with it gone, I had considered cutting off the lock when I got home.

When I got "modern" campground, they did not even want you to scavenge down wood for firewood, so I suppose cutting a green stick for a pot lifter was out of the question :) That is where I figured out the use for the other lock. Not wanting the handle by the hot fire, or simply relying on it not pivoting to stay away from the fire, when you push down, you can lock it in the upright position. Even after staying on the fire for some time, I could grab the handle with my bare hand without it being too hot. Ah ha....there is a reason for the lock. So, I guess the jury is still out. It looks like the lock will stay for now, but I will still have to experiment more.

Here is a picture of the locking mechanism (sorry for the crappy photo):