Gear Review – Coffee Makers for Backpackers
I’ll be honest here, I’m a coffee fiend. I love coffee, getting up in the morning and having a nice cup a joe is one of my favorite things. In this post I will review the three methods and coffee making devices I’ve used while backpacking and which one wins out as my preferred method. Keep in mind my rating 1 – 5 is based on my experience and using it for primarily backpacking. So weight and size play an important part in the rating. Rating guide: 1 star = Lame; 2 = Barely Functions; 3 = Functions Well; 4 = Exceeds Expectations; 5 = Totally Rocks
Instant Coffee Packs – Weight: Depends on how many you bring – Rating: **
Pros:
- It has some caffeine
- Simple
Cons:
- Poor flavor
- Heavier to pack out
- Messy garbage
My first experience making coffee while backpacking was instant coffee packs. Like tea bags, except with coffee in them. I think they taste horrible. Like paper and wood with coffee mixed in. Plus you have to pack out the now soaked coffee bag with the added weight of the water. So for me not a good option.
GSI Lexan Java Press – Weight: 8 oz – Rating: ****
GSI Lexan Java Press
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Makes great tasting coffee
- Brews enough for a small group
- Comes with a wrap for keeping coffee warm on cool days
Cons:
- Binds easily
- Weak point where push rod attaches to press
- Bulky
The next experience I had was with a French Press. My friend brought his GSI French Press on one of my first backpacking trips. It works especially well making coffee for larger groups, about 3-4 cups per brewed pot. I picked one up and have used it for 6 or so backpacking trips as well as car camping at the office. It is simple to use and makes great tasting coffee. One issue that I have found common, with mine and the 3 friends who’ve picked them up is they tend to bind fairly easy as your are pressing the coffee, mostly toward the bottom portion of the press. If you keep pressing it can bind completely up and be very difficult to get apart. My first one broke on about the 3rd trip. After in had bound up my friend was trying to pull the press back up it cracked the press where the rod attaches to the wire mesh part. With my new one I try to be very careful with pressing. If it starts to bind, pull back up a little and try continuing. I think part of the binding issue is that grounds get caught in between the press and the body and if you keep going it just locks it up. Overall this is a great solution for making coffee while backpacking. I generally pack my ground coffee plus other items in it to make use of the space inside since it takes up a fair amount of space in my pack.
MSR Mug Mate – Weight: 1 oz – Rating: *****
MSR Mug Mate
Pros:
- Extremely Lightweight
- Makes Great Tasting Coffee
- Small Footprint
Cons:
- Expensive little bugger
I ran across this in backpacker magazine as a great item for coffee or tea lovers. I happened to find one as I was preparing for my Ridge Lake hike and decided to give it a try since there were just two people going. The list price on this is $16.95. Which is close to the GSI Press. But it only weighs an ounce! It makes great tasting French press like coffee. It worked well for the two of us, depending on the size of the group and patience level it could work for a larger group or if you had one for every couple of people. It takes about 3 – 4 minutes to brew a cup of coffee with it. I also found you can get one like it under a different brand name “Finum Teeli” for about half the price MSR charges. I love this item and it is my new favorite backpacking coffee maker.
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