Vargo Ti-Lite 750 ml Titanium Mug Review

The Ti-Lite 750 Titanium Mug from Vargo is an ultralight 750 ml hybrid of a cooking and drinking vessel, resulting in the perfect centerpiece for a solo ultralight cook-set. The mug weighs only 137g (4.8oz) and is large enough to cook a decently sized meal for one person.

The Ti-Lite 750 is the perfect size, you can cook a solo meal or boil enough water for a Freezer Bag meal plus a hot drink. Picture location: Tollymore Forest Park, Northern Ireland

Features

The Ti-Lite 750 and the rest of the Ti-Lite range are made of titanium, making them lightweight and durable, and simply awesome! Another benefit of the titanium construction is that it's biocompatible meaning it is non-toxic for the human body- a comforting feature to have in a cooking vessel.

The mug has foldaway handles made from titanium wire, reducing pack size and increasing convenience. It also comes with a titanium lid which reduces boiling times and keeps your food warm.

The interior of the mug is polished, acting like a non-stick coating.

The polished interior (showing some marks from heat, common on all titanium mugs)

Materials and Construction

I don't think I need to comment much here. It's made of titanium. What's more awesome than titanium?

Nothing.

Seriously though, the titanium is great. Vargo only use pure titanium (no alloys) for their products which is extremely strong, and most importantly, very light.

The construction on this mug is immaculate. I found no defects in the finish, forming, welding or construction. The spot welding on the handle plate is neat and looks solid.

Immaculate construction and well made handles

The outside of the mug has a matte sandblasted type finish whilst the inside has a polished finish, to stop food sticking to it while you cook. This seems to work just as well as the Teflon non stick coating on my aluminium pots but should be a lot more durable!

Use and Performance

For me the Ti-Lite 750 is the mug that does it all- you can cook a decently sized meal in it, boil enough water for a full dehydrated meal, make a mug of tea in the morning, anything you'd usually use a mug, pot, bowl or plate for... this replaces them all. You don't even need to be an ultralight purist to see the benefits!

The mug's use as a cooking vessel is enhanced by the included lid, which includes straining holes for draining water from pasta etc. I found the straining holes work very well, they're such a small addition to the mug but make it a lot more versatile. Some say the fact that the lid doesn't fit tightly is annoying, I don't mind it, sure it means you can't use the mug as a storage vessel but that's why you get the included stuff sack! The lid has a plastic knob on top, which does a good job at staying cool enough to touch.

The Ti-Lite 750 includes a titanium lid, which increases the efficiency of your cooking. Picture location: between Slievenamiskan and Hen Mountain, Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland.

Surprisingly, the handles also stay relatively cool to the touch. If you use a gas stove with a small burner or a single hexamine/Esbit cube you shouldn't have any problems. However if you use a gas stove with a wide burner or cook in a fire you'll have to let the handles cool before you touch them.

The good news is that the handles are made of thin titanium wire meaning that if they do get hot they radiate the finger-burning heat quite quickly. So if you're in a little less of a hurry to grab your mug you should be fine!

Another problem coming from the hot metal is burnt lips. There are many DIY solutions to this (google it- it's a well known problem with all titanium mugs!) however I think the best thing to do is just to accept that all titanium pots and mugs get hot at the rim and it's best just to let it cool a little before you drink from it straight away. Saying this, I found that the Ti-Lite rim cooled a lot faster than similar titanium mugs, I assume this is because of the flanged design of the rim, helping improve the heat dissipation.

The shape and size of the mug allow you to store a decently sized cook-set inside it including but not limited to; a gas stove, windshield (tinfoil), thin plastic chopping board (takeaway lid), pot scrubber, salt and pepper, drying cloth, small bottle of hand sanitizer, a spork/foon and a couple of Esbit cubes (backup stove). I even managed to fit a 300 ml aluminum cup in there as well.

My cook-set in the Ti-Lite 750

Pros

• It's titanium!
• Only weighs 137g (4.8oz)
• Replaces cooking pot, drinking mug and bowl in one
• Included lid
• Polished inside
• Folding handles
• Can hold a full cook-set
• Really well made
• Does a good job at keeping the handles and lid knob cool

Cons

• Lid doesn't fit tightly
• Titanium is more expensive than aluminum

Summary

I have been very impressed with the Vargo Ti-Lite 750 mug. On my most recent 3 day hike in the Mourne Mountains it was the only cooking pot that I brought, I was a little hesitant at first to rely on a single mug for all of my cooking, eating and drinking, but it far exceeded my expectations in versatility and performance - I can safely say I won't be using my aluminum pots and pans again any time soon!

Thanks for reading!

The Vargo Ti-Lite 750 costs $54.95 and can be purchased from the Vargo website at-
http://www.vargooutdoors.com/titanium-ti-lite-mug-750.html#.VDQ4-FCCOSP. You canm also get it at:

• Amazon.com
• Amazon.co.uk

Thanks to Vargo for letting me review an awesome mug, and to Constantin Gabor for the awesome blog!

Disclaimer: Vargo provided me with the Ti-Lite 750 free of charge in exchange for this review. This didn't alter my opinion of the product in any way. Review by Jake McConnell (part of HighballBlog.com outdoor athletes team who test and review outdoor gear).

---

Thanks for stopping by! Share this article with your friends.