For ultimate functionality on your outdoor adventure, you want to boil water, with no other pots or pans needed. When traveling ultralight you need to keep your gear to a minimum. All excess weight must be carried so a minimalist approach is the best way forward. A single-wall titanium water bottle is your all-in-one solution.
In this article I am going to cover:
What to look for in a titanium water bottle?
Why choose titanium over other materials?
Essential safety tips
How to boil water in a titanium water bottle?
Boiling water on a Stove VS a Campfire
So without further delay, let's get into this.
What to look for in a titanium water bottle?
There are a lot of titanium water bottles on the market. With both single-wall and double wall options plus some double-wall vacuum options. For this article and explaining how to boil water in a titanium water bottle we can only proceed with single-wall construction titanium water bottles. More about why later but its to do with safety.
For a titanium water bottle you want an all titanium lid, silicon leakproof seal, and single-wall construction. This ensures a durable, strong, and ultralight water bottle.
If you want to know more about the other features and what to look for in a titanium water bottle check out this comprehensive guide.
At SilverAnt we have the largest collection of single-wall titanium water bottles on the market. With every one of our single-wall water bottles you can boil water. So whether you are preparing for a long bikepacking adventure or camping on the weekend, enjoy increased functionality.
Why choose titanium over other materials?
Titanium is a super material. It’s versatile, strong, ultralight, and has many health benefits.
When camping and hiking there are mainly two materials that are used besides titanium. Stainless steel and aluminum.
Both are great materials but they also have their disadvantages. Stainless steel and aluminum are less expensive than titanium but not as healthy or long-lasting. With aluminum and steel often when camp cooking you will see the coating peeling.
Titanium is biocompatible, a stable metal that does not leech toxins. With all SilverAnt water bottles, they are uncoated and unlined. This ensures that you can boil water on a stove and protects titanium’s integrity.
Essential Safety Tips
You can only ever boil water in a single-wall construction bottle for safety reasons. A double-wall water bottle, whether titanium, stainless steel or another material is not safe. The air particles expand in the double-wall/vacuum construction causing an immense build up of pressure. This while boiling water can lead to burns, scalds, and even explosions.
Always check to see the construction of your titanium water bottle or ask the manufacturer whether its safe to boil water in.
Heat Conductivity
Titanium is a phenomenal heat conductor. When boiling water this means quicker boiling times but this also means extra care is needed.
Once you have boiled water your titanium water bottle will be extremely hot.
Please leave the water bottle plenty of time to cool. 15 minutes is a perfect amount but still your titanium water bottle will be hot/warm to the touch.
While boiling water in your titanium water bottle you want to setup your stove on a level surface. When boiling water close to the 100 degrees celsius there will be some movement caused by the water bubbling. With an uneven surface this can cause your titanium water bottle to fall. This can in-turn lead to burns and scalds if you are not careful.
SilverAnt advises a tripod style stove rather than a stove attached to the gas ganister below. The tripod style stove is much sturdier.
The last safety point is to never boil water with the lid screwed on the water bottle. For that fact don’t even put it on the bottle. This is for two reasons. Firstly the titanium lid has a silicon food grade seal. Heat affects the shape of the seal and its effectiveness. This will cause your water bottle to leak.
With the titanium lid on, the pressure inside will build. Titanium is a super heat conductor and unscrewing the titanium lid when boiling water will be almost impossible and increase the chances of burns and scalds. Even if boiling water takes a minute or two longer its worth it for your safety.
For safety never put the lid on your titanium water bottle when boiling water.
Note: When using a campfire or a stove, always be mindful of your environment and ensure a solution is available to put out the fire immediately if needed.
How to boil water in a titanium water bottle?
With safety concerns given let’s move on to the main event.
To boil water with a titanium water bottle you can make a campfire, use a gas powered stove, multifuel/alcohol stove, or use a wood-burning stove. All are good choices. As long as you have a source of fire you are good to go.
To start fill your titanium water bottle with water. SilverAnt recommends up to 70%- 80% full. Dont boil water with a full water bottle. This is so the water bottle remains stable, doesn’t put out your fire source with water spilling, and more so for safety again.
Next start your fire source, collect wood for the campfire or wood burning stove. Turn on your gas stove and light with a lighter or match. Whether boiling water on a campfire or on a stove you want a medium flame, not too high or small.
Place the titanium water bottle on your fire source ensuring it is stable. Once again please do not ever use the titanium lid. With the bottle on your heat source, make sure that the flames are not licking the sides of the bottle.
For the 1200ml/42.2 fl oz SilverAnt titanium water bottle I filled it with 1liter of water and it took roughly 5 minutes to boil. The time to boil will depend on the volume of water and flame size. Titanium is a superior heat conductor so in contrast to other materials it will get hotter quicker but also cool faster.
Wait for the water to boil while leaving a good distance between you and the stove.
With the water boiled, turn off the gas or use a glove to take the bottle off the wood-burning stove/multifuel stove.
Leave to cool at least 15 minutes.
If the water was collected and you are uncertain of the quality add a purification tablet. The water will be extra safe with firstly boiling and then a purification tablet.
Once the titanium water bottle is cool enough to pick up either pour the water into a another water container or screw the lid on the water bottle ready for the days adventures.
Boiling water on a Stove VS a Campfire
With the steps shown to safely boil water in your titanium water bottle the next question is what fire source is better? This is a personal preference and a question we asked the entire SilverAnt team while writing this article.
Overwhelmingly a gas stove was most popular.
When boiling water on a campfire versus using a stove their is mainly one factor to tell you. Cooking or boiling water with a campfire using any titanium product will leave black flame marks. This will be from the flames licking the sides of your titanium gear. With titanium cooking gear this is expected but for my water bottle I don’t want this. I want to use my titanium water bottle at the office and in the backcountry. I want maximum functionality. If my water bottle has big ash marks firstly its hard to wash off and secondly it just doesn’t look great.
To almost eliminate this when boiling water in your ti water bottle use a gas powered stove.
For those that want to use their water bottle on a campfire the great thing about SilverAnt’s water bottle range is that with the thread grooves or lip of the water bottle neck you can hang a wire. By securely tightening the wire around the water bottle neck you can then hang it above the campfire with a tripod. This is a small design feature that makes all the difference with boiling water in a titanium water bottle over a campfire.
The SilverAnt 800ml/28.1 fl oz, 1200ml/42.2fl oz, and 1500ml/52.8fl oz water bottle all have this feature.
Conclusion
Titanium is an incredibly versatile material and it’s why SilverAnt uses it to make our products. When out on your adventures to boil water in a titanium water bottle might not be essential, but at least you have the option. For those that love every item of gear being super functional a titanium water bottle is for you.
If you have any questions on boiling water with a SilverAnt water bottle just leave us a message and we’ll happily get back to you. Till next time happy adventures.