Visiting Wild River Outfitters today in Virginia Beach we ran across Hot Can. It’s a self-heating can of soup, coffee or hot chocolate. We picked up a few cans to try them out and thought we’d share our impressions.
First off, the instructions are simple, but like with any equipment, it’s best to figure out how to activate the thing when you aren’t freezing in the cold. For example, they tell you to turn it upside down and peel off the bottom label but you can easily push right through it to activate the heating element. Just shake it gently to mix everything up and once the indicator button changes color, you’re ready to go. When you flip it back over and remove the cap don’t toss it. You’ll want to replace it once you flip the soda can style opener so that you don’t burn your lips on the can. Admittedly, this was a little messy.
The sample was Cafe Latte but it really tasted more like mocha. Not sure what that was all about. Tasty, not unpleasant, but not what we were expecting. We’ve also got hot chocolate and tomato soup so we’ll let you know how those go on our next outing.
It’s worth keeping a couple around in the car during the winter or for other vehicle-borne ops. It’s kind of heavy to be carting around a premixed beverage with heater so I wouldn’t carry it in a pack. You’ll make better use of your fire making and water filter materials along with some coffee or bullion and a canteen cup. Lots more versatility there if you are living out of a pack.
They were $2.99 each so you are paying for expedience and convenience. Some will. Some won’t. Like I said. In a car during winter, it might be a welcome relief, absent a full survival kit.
Like other prepackaged self-heating ration items, Hot Can has its place. Check it out at hot-can.com.
Tags: Hot Can
I don’t know about these, but I came across something similar on a road trip out to a power station in central Queensland once and thought I’d better give it a try. My boservations were:
1) It was reasonably expensive compared to other non-heated cans.
2) It let out a considerable amount of pale smoke while heating.
3) It took a reasonable amount of time to warm up – 4-5 minutes.
4) It got quite warm, but not hot.
5) The coffee was ok, but not particularly good.
6) The heater element takes up about 30% of the can volume, so there’s not actually that much in there.
Overall, I found the product entertaining, but not exactly amazeballs. Pick a couple up and have a play or give them to your friends but try not to take them too seriously. There is certainly novelty value but not much else.
No steam in my experience but the can mentioned it might be there. Mine heated more quickly but as you said, wasn’t HOT.
Thanks for the feedback!
I was totally expecting something like Cowboy Bebop like “pull cord and like steaming hot noodles”….dang
Wolf Gang Puck did this with a line of coffee 7 or 8 years ago. Definitely a cool concept though!
For those interested in how it looks, here is an inside look at one of the WGP cans.
http://makezine.com/extras/48.html
I’ve tried something similar as well. I don’t remember the brand. We had tomota soup and coffee/latte. It definitally took what seemed to be a long time to heat up. Admittedly that could have been because myself and my hunting buddy were freezing at the time! We were both a little surprised that the contents did not come out that hot. The saving grace was the fact that we were ice cold and the food/beverage was warmer than us. Respectfully warm at that. It changed our day thats for sure. If Hot Can can get the product piping hot I would keep a case in my truck for winter activities with the wife, kids, and hung-over hunting buddies.