Feather Light 700 and Storming Norman Cone: Two Ultralight Alcohol Cook Kits Compared

Introduction

Cone-based alcohol cook systems have a quiet, loyal following among backpackers who want an efficient boil without carrying gas canisters. The Feather Light 700 is a new titanium kit arriving through a crowdfunding campaign, and it follows a design that the Storming Norman Cone made familiar to UK backpackers years ago. This article looks at both: what the new kit includes, how the original was built, and how each one behaves when it is time to boil water on a windy day.

What Makes a Cone Cook System Efficient

A cone cook system wraps a windscreen around the pot and the burner, so the flame and the pot sit inside the same enclosure. All of the heat is captured inside the cone rather than escaping sideways, which makes this style of setup genuinely efficient and notably wind resistant. Alcohol burners are also extremely quiet. There is no roaring gas jet, only a low flame and the sound of whatever is around you.

The trade-off is that a thin titanium cone weighs almost nothing, and when the pot is not seated inside it, a strong gust can tip it over. Once the pot is in place, the assembly becomes far more stable than its weight suggests.

Feather Light 700: A Titanium Cook Kit

The Feather Light 700 arrives in a small mesh bag and weighs 144 g in total. The pot is a branded Toaks titanium mug with a 700 ml capacity, and everything you need nests inside it: the burner, a small bottle for fuel, a piece of foil to protect the ground, and the cone itself.

The cone is made of titanium and comes in two interlocking sections. That split is the clever part, because it lets the whole assembly break down small enough to sit inside the pot. Built up, it feels thin in the hand, but once the pot is seated it is sturdy in use.

At launch the complete kit is the only option, with pot, cone and burner supplied together. The plan further down the line is to offer individual cones sized for other pots, which would let backpackers keep using a pot they already own. For now the cone is matched to the Toaks mug.

Storming Norman Cone: The Original Design

The Storming Norman Cone was made in a garage by Norman Reeves, and it carries the simplicity that comes with small-batch production. The design is straightforward: a cone that captures all of the heat inside it, paired with a burner improvised from a tonic water can. The result is a setup that is highly efficient and remarkably wind resistant, which is exactly what you want on an exposed pitch.

Norman Reeves passed away in 2020, and the cones have not been produced since. Anyone who owns one tends to keep hold of it. The cone was sized for an Alpkit mug, and years of use leave their mark: a few bends and marks here and there, but the system keeps working. Looked after properly, this kind of kit lasts for years.

Boil Performance, Fuel Use, and Wind Resistance

In practice, a cone system of this type brings a pint of water to a boil on roughly 15 ml of alcohol, and the wait is around seven and a half minutes from lighting the burner to the first proper bubbles. That is a reasonable result for an alcohol setup, and the enclosed design means wind has far less effect on the flame than it would with an open burner.

Fuel economy comes from keeping the heat where it belongs. Once the water is boiling, the cone can be moved aside and the screw-fit lid placed on the pot, which holds the heat in and lets you switch the burner off sooner. Titanium cools down quickly, so handling the cone shortly afterwards is not a problem, though the water inside stays hot for a long time.

What to Consider Before Buying

Both of these kits are alcohol systems, so they suit simple cooking: boiling water, rehydrating meals, heating soup. They are not the right choice if you want precise simmer control or fast, high-output cooking.

Fuel is measured in millilitres rather than weighed in grams, so it helps to carry a small bottle and know roughly how much a boil takes. The foil base is there to protect the ground from heat and spillage, and the mesh bag keeps soot away from the rest of your pack.

Availability is the other factor. The Feather Light 700 depends on a crowdfunding campaign reaching its £7,000 goal before production can go ahead, and only the complete kit is offered at that stage. The Storming Norman Cone has been out of production since 2020, so finding one means watching the second-hand market.

Who Each Cook Kit Suits

The Feather Light 700 suits backpackers who want a light, self-contained alcohol setup that packs into its own pot and is available as a complete kit. At 144 g for the pot, cone and burner together, it disappears into a pack and leaves room for the things that matter more.

The Storming Norman Cone suits anyone who already owns one, or who enjoys the hunt for a well-made second-hand piece of kit. It is a proven design with years of service behind it, and the fact that it was built in small numbers by one person gives it a character that mass-produced gear rarely has.

Care, Longevity, and Availability

Titanium cones are thin, so they bend if they are packed carelessly. Storing the cone sections inside the pot, where the Feather Light 700 is designed to keep them, protects them in transit and keeps everything in one place. A cone that has picked up a few bends still works perfectly well, and the Storming Norman Cone has carried a few marks for years without any loss of performance. Availability is the harder part: outside the UK the closest equivalent has been the Caldera Cone from Trail Designs in America, which cannot be shipped directly and needs a third-party shipping service with costs that add up quickly, which is part of why a UK-made cone kit is welcome news.

Buying Advice

If you want an efficient alcohol cook kit that is available now as a complete package, the Feather Light 700 is the straightforward choice: titanium pot, two-section cone, burner and fuel bottle, all nesting into 144 g of kit. Check the campaign details and the pot size before committing, since the cone is matched to the Toaks mug at this stage.

If you already own a Storming Norman Cone, keep looking after it. There is no like-for-like replacement on sale, and the second-hand route takes patience. For everyone else, the decision comes down to whether you value the simplicity and quiet of an alcohol cone system enough to plan your cooking around it.

Conclusion

Both kits solve the same problem in the same elegant way: enclose the flame, trap the heat, and let the wind do whatever it likes. The Feather Light 700 brings that idea back to the UK in titanium, with a two-section cone that packs into its own 700 ml pot and a total weight of 144 g. The Storming Norman Cone remains the original that proved how well the concept works, and it is a reminder that small-batch outdoor gear can outlast the workshop that made it. Choose the new kit if you want one now, and treat any second-hand cone you find as a piece worth keeping.