We've had an aluminum percolator coffee pot like this for about thirty-five years. It's a great camping coffee pot. Lightweight. Back in the days before drip coffee makers (don't remember those days?), percolators were the "in" thing for your kitchen. I keep Mr. Coffee-sized paper filters with the coffee maker, ready to go. Use a knife or a pencil to poke a hole in the bottom of the filter, put it in the coffee basket, put in a few tablespoons of coffee, pour in some water up to the bottom of the basket, put on the cover, set it on the Coleman stove, Svea stove or other lightweight backpacking stove, or over a fire, and within a short time, it is perking away. The hot water is drawn up the tube inside, hits the glass top, and drops into the coffee basket, then filters into the water below. The only problem is that you can easily bring the water to a roaring boil unless you're paying attention, which is way too much heat. My experience...
Anyway, this is a keeper. We've still got the original one ready to go for power outages or camping. It has lasted "forever." A "classic?" Bought in 1974? Coleman 9-Cup Aluminum Coffee Pot
This is a feather-weight, simple, basic campstove percolator. Coleman quality, classic camp style. Coffee tastes great. Makes enough for 2 people to each have two cups. Easy to clean. Looks even better the more you use it, gets a burnished look. I agree with another reviewer that you can get a few grounds at the bottom of the pot, but this can be avoided by not overfilling with water and/or coffee, and by not over-boiling. Do NOT use paper filters with this thing, it's not designed for that. Simply start out with your stove on high, and once you see the percolator knob starting to perk--turn down the stove heat to medium. Let it perk 5-7 minutes--then turn it off. If you let it sit on high to perk, the top of the filter box will pop off inside the pot, which causes the grounds to overflow. Another good point: because it's aluminum, which conducts and holds heat very efficiently--the coffee stays super-hot off the heat while two people each have a first cup, and it remains hot enough for when it's time to have a second.
I have a Coleman stove that I use to cook while camping. I am also a coffee addict. This product helps me to use the tools I have while camping, with my desire to wake up in the morning. The coffee was surprisingly good. I went into it tepidly as I remember drinking coffee around the campsite years ago with my dad's equipment and it was one step above mud.
The only complaint I would have is that metal gets hot, and you will need a pot holder, or folded paper towel to grab the lower loop for pouring. Other than that this is a tough little brewer.
The nub is glass and the water seems to heat pretty evenly, its really a no-brainer, for the price.
This is the 9 cup model of this coffee pot, almost identical to the Stansport brand pot available at Amazon. it is the small size.
We regularly use a percolator outside on our firepit at home, and I have tried alot of models of my own and friends. The straight upright shape of this particular pot makes it an easy pot to fit on the limited space of a camp stove or RV camper stove. The company that made this pot mostly makes camping gear, and that is also why the handles are configured this way, for accessing the pot off a fire. But protect your hands, use a potholder, better yet a glove. We used to use pliers too.
If by chance you ever break a filter basket, they are flimsy these days, you can get replacements. If you break the glass top Amazon.com even sells replacement glass percolator tops if you do a search on them, but make sure you get the right size. Actually since it is a Coleman, call them instead if it breaks and they will send you a replacement top for free.
I prefer the stronger darker brew I get from a percolator, and have sworn off drip coffe makers for good. No more filters to buy, it does not have to live on my counter top like a coffee machine, to clock to set, no carafe to break, durable, and very easy to clean.If you don't like a few loose grounds in your brew, it helps to wet the inside of the filter basket before you put coffee in it. Some people will go so far as to put a paper filter in the basket, but I don't waste the money.
There are also percolators made of stainless steel, Coleman has a nice big one, if you want a look similar to this one, and there are some beautiful old fashioned enamelware pots sold at Amazon.com too. Aluminum does not rust, but it does dent easy. On the other hand it is light to pack. Enamelware chips, stainless is heavy, you decide.
If you do use this pot on a fire, I have a trick for you to keep the black soot off and make clean-up a breeze. Get a bit of wet soap suds on your hands or a wet SOS pad, then lather up the outside of the pot and let it dry. The soot goes over this dry layer and amazingly just wipes off when you wash it later. Overall this is a good value, very foolproof and I recommend.
When I tried this out it started leaking where the spot is attached to the main can when percolating. It looks like it is just pressed together. It might have some type of spot weld but if it does they need to turn the heat up some. It looked like it wouldn't last long. The upper handle would not stay up at all. I could not even get it in the center position because of the design. So the handle got very hot and lay against the pot so it wouldn't cool down. If it was designed to set in a recess in the strait up position at least it would cool down some, so you could use it. I would recommend finding a little better coffee maker.
Lightweight and cheap, sure, but also flimsy and junky. My percolator's pump stem, the flat foot that keeps the tube upright in basket, broke off after just one use. I've tried to finagle it back on, but have had very limited success. And Coleman no longer makes replacement parts for it - joy. I'd save your money and recommend something more durable - probably not made by Coleman. - Percolator - Coleman - Camping - Camping Coffee Pot'
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