Trekmates Flameless Cook System Flask review

Trekmates’ Flameless Cook System (FCS) is touted as an alternative to carrying a stove and the range currently consists of the Flask, for heating up liquids, and the Cookbox which will do the same for pre-cooked food. We tried out the Flask and found it a breeze to use. Consisting of a stainless steel inner cup, and plastic outer, basically you pop a heatpack in the outer, cover it with water to activate it and then place the metal flask with your drink or soup in back in the plastic outer. Place the top on and wait for about seven minutes, by which time steam is coming out of the top and your drink should be suitably hot.

The advantages of the system are that it doesn’t produce any harmful gases (carbon monoxide) so there’s no problems using inside your tent, and we liked the fact that you can forget about it once you’ve set it up – just return a few minutes later to a hot drink. Downsides? Well, at £10 for a pack of seven heatpacks, it could get pretty expensive compared to, say, gas. And if you are relying on this to purify as well as heat your water, then don’t – as it doesn’t actually get to boiling point.