Gear: German NVA Mess Tin

This NVA (Eastern Germany army) mess kit is based on the same concept as Bundeswehr (Western Germany army) counterpart of the same Cold War period.

It has more shallow lid to be used as a pan rather than a bowl, so the overall size is a bit smaller. The aluminum insert cup has a folding handle so it can be used separately.

The biggest difference, though, are the manufacture details - NVA cooking set leaves much to be desired in comparison to Bundeswehr one. Thinner aluminum, simple non-locking wire hoop and poorly fitted handle moving sideways give an overall "worse quality" feeling.

Inner side of a pot has no fancy surface layer of any kind, so you should consider seasoning it with boiling cooking oil. This allows you to obtain smooth "non-sticking" surface at the cost of an almost impalpable oily residue in your tea for some time ;)

On the other hand, it's also noticeably lighter than any mess tin of similar design I've had used, and - to be fair - this can be an important trait. Despite all of it's flaws, when I want to travel light and oldschool, I'm going to use this cookset (leaving cup insert at home).

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SPECIFICATIONS:
Weight: 428g total (210g main pot, 122g lid pan, 96g cup insert)
Capacity: 1.4l main pot, 0.4l lid pan / cup insert
Weight to capacity ratio: 305.7

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