Review: SOTO Thermostack Cooker Combo: Follow two rabbits and get multiple rabbits! If you have this, you don't need anything else
written by Outdoor Gearzine Editorial Department
The best part about going to the mountains is to make rice in the mountains! I'm sure there are quite a few people who say this. Especially during this time of year, warm foods and drinks in the cold are truly soothing and also provide a vitality for your continued mountain hike.
The essentials here are the cooking utensils burners and cookers. Cookers in particular can also be used as tableware after cooking, so we can't stand requests such as "it's better to have freshly cooked and easy to hold even if it's hot, and something that doesn't cool down when it's cold." Of course, there are things that can be accommodated, but if you're going to the mountains, it's definitely better to have less luggage and lighter. I think many people are using it while trying to compromise on how they would like to have a cooker that can be used all the way through.
The SOTO cooker we will introduce this time is a cooker set that allows you to do anything in one set. This cooker set is suitable for solo purposes, and we have actually used it to evaluate it, combining comparisons and how it is versatile!
table of contents
The rough features of the SOTO Thermostack Cooker Combo
SOTO's Thermostack Cooker Combo is a versatile and lightweight cooker combo for solo camping. It consists of a 750ml, 400ml, 350ml mug set and lid, and each mug is made from a different metal, so it can be used to suit each individual's characteristics. Not only can it be used alone, but it also has a variety of ingenuity, such as the storage case being used as a heat-retaining case, and the double wall cup that can be used by stacking 400 and 350 mugs to keep warm and cool, and has also been recognized as a track record of winning the 2019 Award Finalist Award in the Camping and Gear category at the UK Outdoor Exhibition.
Recommended points
- This is enough, and it's extremely versatile.
- Ensuring heat retention with ideas
Points that interest me
- If the lid is made of metal, it would have been even more versatile.
- The joints are tight
Main Specifications and ratings
The overall weight of the set was 306g. Below we will introduce the detailed specifications of the set contents.
Containers and Specifications
- Mug 750 (750ml, made of aluminum)
- Mug 400 (400ml, made of titanium)
- Mug 350 (350ml, made from stainless steel)
From left, 750 mug (made of aluminum), 400 mug (made of titanium), 350 mug (made of stainless steel)
| Specs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| item | Mug 750 | Mug 400 | Mug 350 | Double Wall 350 + 400 Mug |
| Material | aluminum | Titanium | stainless | − |
| Official weight (g) | 84 | 50 | 80 | − |
| Actual weight (g) | 85 | 49 | 77 | 147 (including lid) |
| Volume (ml) | 750 | 400 | 350 | − |
| Dimensions (mm) | Diameter 102 x Height 120 | Diameter 85 x Height 94 | Diameter 84 x Height 98 | − |
Accessories and specs
- Magrid L (Mug 750 lid)
- Magrid (Mug 350/400 Lid)
- Joint (for double wall mugs)
- Cozy (heating case)
- Lifter
Accessories: Storage and heat-retaining case, lid (for 750/450&350), joint, lifter
| Specs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| item | Magrid L | Magrid | joint | Cozy | Lifter |
| Material |
|
|
|
|
|
| Official weight (g) | 17 | 12 | 12 | 40 | 13 |
| Actual weight (g) | 17 | 11 | 11 | 42 | 14 |
| Uses | 750ml lid | Lid for 350&400ml | For 350&400ml double wall mug | Storage/750ml heat retention cover | For holding containers when heating |
Detailed review
It consists of three mugs of different sizes and materials. Each capacity and material is 750 mug (750ml, aluminum), 400 mug (400ml, titanium), and 350 mug (350ml, stainless steel). By deliberately using a different metal, you can use it to make use of the metal's characteristics. The inside of the mag 750 and mag 350 have scales to show the capacity.
Accessories include two types of Magrid (for 750 and 350 and 400), joints, cozzies, and lifters. The Magrid is a mug lid and has a silicone gasket around it, so it can be firmly secured, but not completely sealed. It has a spout and air holes, so it has a slightly lower heat retention, but is convenient when cooking or pouring into other containers. The magg itself is made of resin, so it cannot be used when heating the mug.
The Magrid fits well by raising the gasket. There is also a spout, making it easy to use for cooking.
The joint is the highlight of this cooker combo. By pinching a joint between the 350 and 400 mugs, it becomes a double wall mug made of stainless steel and outer titanium. Normal double wall mugs cannot be heated directly, but with this double wall mug, you can remove only the inside and heat, so you can effectively use heat and there is no waste.
If you pinch it between the mug 350 and the mug 400, it becomes a heat-retaining double wall mug.
Cozy is a storage case and heat-retaining case for the set. The inside is made of aluminum film, so if you put a mug inside, you can improve heat retention, reduce thermal conductivity, and hold it in your hand.
The storage case has aluminum film deposited inside, so it can also be used as a heat-retaining case.
No mug has a handle. You can't carry it by making it a double wall or putting it in a cozy, but it's not the case when you remove it from the burner, so you can hook and lift the lifter onto the edge of the mug. It's even stronger than it looks, so you can lift water without worry even if you boil it with a mug 750.
You can easily lift it up even with a 700 mug.
Optionally, different coloured lids and double wall cup joints are available.
The lid and joint are available in three optional colorful colors.
Just changing it will make a big difference in appearance.
As the color changes, the expression changes considerably.
Impressions of actually using it
Very wide versatility
The three mugs are made of different metals. This uses the metal in consideration of the characteristics of each metal. The Mug 750 is made of aluminum and has a lightweight characteristic. It is said to have a high thermal conductivity. It can transmit the heat of the flame evenly throughout the metal, making it suitable for boiling water or cooking. It's no surprise that the largest 750ml mug is made from aluminum. It seems that it can also be cooked rice, but the included resin lid cannot be used when heated, so you will need to prepare aluminum foil or metal lids. The lid has a hole in it, making cooking pasta and other items very easy.
Magrid's drain is quite useful for cooking pasta and other dishes.
The mag 400 is made of titanium. Titanium is strong, durable, and low thermal conductivity. How lightweight? Some people may say that, but it is actually heavier than titanium or aluminum. However, it is about twice as strong as aluminum, so it can be made thinner, resulting in a reduced weight. It has a very low thermal conductivity and does not easily get hot even when hot food is placed in it, making it an excellent single wall cup. Thanks to its low thermal conductivity, heat is not easily transmitted throughout even when placed over a fire, making it not suitable for cooking, but the specific heat is high and thin, making it quick when it comes to boiling water.
The mug 350 is made of stainless steel. It is resistant to rust, durable and heavy, and has low thermal conductivity. It is quite durable, so you can use it without thinking about it, making it the most suitable metal for outdoor activities. However, the weight will be heavy, so there are only a few situations to use. Its thermal conductivity and specific heat are also low, making it difficult to warm up, making it unsuitable for cooking or boiling water, but once it is warmed it does not cool down easily. Once the drink is cold, you can remove just the mug 350 and place it on the side.
The mug 350 is made of stainless steel, and the mug 400 is made of titanium. Magrid is also compatible.
Even considering the properties of these metals, this cooker combo is highly thought and distributed. The Mug 700 has the largest capacity, so by using lightweight aluminum that transfers heat, it reduces the burden of carrying and is suitable for cooking. In addition to the fact that aluminum is easily heated and cooled easily, by making it a cozy storage bag, you can remove it from the heat and hold it even when it's hot, and it also keeps it warm. The 400 mug is made of titanium, making it light and durable, making it easy to use as a mug even after it is fired. This mug is likely to be used mostly on its own. Compared to other products, the stainless steel mug 350 seems to be less likely to be used alone. However, it is easy to use due to its high durability and ease of maintenance.
When it comes to using it as a double wall mug, this combination of titanium and stainless steel is the best. Once heated, stainless steel is used as the inner wall, which is hard to cool down, and titanium, which is hard to transfer heat, is brought to the outer wall, making it less likely to be absorbed by the outside temperature even in cold environments, and the inside is hard to cool down. The joints are slightly tight, so be careful when removing them.
By clamping the joint, it can be used as a double wall mug for titanium exterior walls and stainless interior walls.
This is a wide range of combo, and is highly versatile, but it weighs 306g, including all accessories. With this functionality, this weight is quite light. If you want to make it lighter solo, or if you don't need a double wall cup in the summer, the total amount is around 220g, and you don't need a lid! If that happens, it will be below 200g. It's well-stored and fits everything inside the mug 750. The double wall cup can hold a lifter and a small burner.
When storing, you can put a lifter and a small burner in the mug 350.
If you put the double wall cup upside down, the lid becomes a cushioning material and does not make the unpleasant noise that the metal hits. By the way, a small gas can fit perfectly in a storage bag.
Cozzy and Magrid are designed to hold small gas cans just fit.
Verification of heat retention: It's comparable to a regular double wall mug!
To see how different the heat retention is, I put half the capacity of boiling water on each of the mag 750, 400, and 350, put the included lid on, and measured the temperature change after 30 minutes and 60 minutes. Incidentally, when we checked indoors, the temperature inside was 17.5°C.
Next, the mug 750 was fitted with a cozy that can be used as a storage case and heat insulation cover, and the mug 350+400 was used as a double wall cup to measure temperature changes. To measure whether the mug 350+400 truly functions as a double wall, the Snow Peak Titanium Double Mug 300 double and the Coleman Double Stainless Steel Mug 300 , and tried the same measurements.
| Thermal insulation verification results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| item | When pouring | 30 minutes later | 60 minutes later |
| Mug 750 | 88.7 | 55.0 | 41.9 |
| Mug 400 | 88.4 | 58.3 | 44.8 |
| Mug 350 | 88.6 | 57.8 | 44.4 |
| Mug 750+Cozzy | 89.1 | 69.3 | 51.9 |
| Mug 350+400 | 89.1 | 70.5 | 54.3 |
| Snow Peak (Titanium) | 89.1 | 67.8 | 54.4 |
| Coleman (Stainless steel) | 89.1 | 68.2 | 53.9 |
As it is, the temperature dropped to about half in 60 minutes at an outside temperature of 17°C. The prediction was that the titanium mug 400, which has low thermal conductivity, had high heat retention, but it was almost the same as the aluminum mug 350.
However, when you attach a cozzi or use a double wall, the temperature after 60 minutes is high as high as 10°C and it seems to have an effect of keeping the heat in place. Compared to Snow Peak Coleman's double wall mug, the temperature after 60 minutes is almost the same, and it acts as a double wall mug. The heat retention of the Mug 750+Cozy can be said to be sufficient if the 90°C hot water is 50°C after 60 minutes.
Useful use using containers and accessories
As mentioned on the official website as an example of useful ways to use it, we tried out how to make coffee using a double wall mug. It's inconvenient to have no handle, but as long as it can be used well, there's no need for a handle! It made me think that. First, boil water on a mug 400. Meanwhile, prepare a dripper on your mug 350.
There is no handle, so when boiling water, balance it thoroughly before setting it on fire.
Once it boils, pour hot water into the mug 350 using a lifter. Each individual will be particular about how you make coffee, so please feel free to do so.
Pour the mug 400 with hot water using a lifter.
Once you've finished brewing your coffee, attach the mug 350 to the 400ml mug and it's quick to replace it with a double wall mug. Even if boiled water remains, if you put it on it as is, it will slightly improve heat retention.
Once you've finished brewing, stack it on a mug 400 container to increase heat retention and you can hold it by hand without a lifter.
Not only coffee, but depending on your ingenuity, there are various ways to use both mugs. That's one of the interesting things too. Once it's cooled, you can also take out just the mug 350 and heat it. I also tried cooking with a mug 750. When it comes to cooking, I just made ramen, but even a freshly made cup can be held by hand if you put it in a cozy. It also improves heat retention and has nothing to say. The handle is easily broken and the weight increases slightly, so it may not actually be necessary.
If you put it in a cozy it will also keep you warm and you can hold it in your hand without a handle.
summary
The Thermostack Cooker Combo wasn't just a set of cookers with a collection of convenient sizes for storage. It took advantage of the properties of the metal and provided the maximum range of uses with a smallest set. He has not yet won awards at outdoor exhibitions! If you interpret this in cookers that are difficult to show off their characteristics, you can see how SOTO thought up and created them.
For solo mountain climbing, this set will allow you to use the full set for leisurely climbing, enjoy warm food and drinks, and if you're concerned about the weight of an ultra-light hiker, you'll be able to use the full set for leisurely climbing, and if you're concerned about the weight of an ultra-light hiker, depending on the combination, it will be lightweight yet fully equipped. This cooker is also a great way to handle even two people if they use it well. The double wall mug, which is the highlight, has no inferior heat retention compared to other firm double wall mugs, and has been able to deliver solid performance.
If you want a cooker but don't know the difference and don't know which one to buy, then you can definitely use it for a long time with just one, and you'll never regret it, and you'll be able to continue using it for a long time in the future. On the other hand, I hope that people who have seen and used various cookers up until now will use it! Hats off to the manufacturer's efforts and ingenuity, and your feelings for Cookers will become even stronger.
