Don't get me wrong, the coffee was terrific once it was done...you just have to be patient, and if you like your campfire morning caffine early like I do, you might consider just bringing along a glass-free coffeemaker.

I just used this pot for a week on a wilderness camping trip, and I have to say that it makes a seriously good cup of coffee. However, you need to get a feel for how you use it. I also recommend getting some percolator filters since they will make the pot more forgiving, but they're not required (I bought some but lost them in a box and never used them). First things first. Make sure to make a couple of practic pots at home first. Don't even drink the first one since it will contain any oils from the manufacturing process. You'll likely also overcook the coffee, which will make it bitter.Here is what worked best for us. Keep in mind that we like strong coffee, so you can adjust as needed. First, fill the pot up to the 9 cup line with decent water. The better the water, the better the coffee. I have to say the water out of the Merced River in Yosemite was outstanding. I didn't worry about bacteria because we were boiling the water. But I digress. Get course ground coffee. Not fine expresso grind, but a coarser grind that's less likely to fall through the holes in the basket. Dump coffee in the basket. We didn't measure, but you can if you want. We filled the basket up to about 1/8 of an inch of the rim...pretty much a full basket, give or take a little. Assemble pot and put on a consistent flame, like a camp stove. Oh, before you do this, flip out the little lifing ring on back so it's easy to grab later. You'll thank me. Turn on medium heat, then wait. We found that the pot started percolating in about 7-10 minutes depending on how cold our starting water was. Here's the secret: As soon as you get the first perc, turn down the heat! If you keep the heat up, two things will happen. First, the violence of the boil will give you more grounds in the pot. Secondly, you can scorch the coffee. Just turn it down to as low as it will keep perking.We found that 10-12 minutes of low heat percolating was about right for us. Just turn off the heat source, let it settle for a few minutes (the grounds will sink), and you're ready to go. DO NOT REMOVE THE TOP. The folks on here that complained that the plastic top melted or pulled off caused the issue themselves. If it melted, you had the heat WAY too high. Slow perc over low heat, folks. You also have no reason to take the lid off while this is hot. None. Just gently pour yourself a great cup of coffee using towels or hot pads. The pot is all aluminum, and hot. If you really hate grounds, just pour through a paper towel or something similar. However, if you pour gently you should get minimal grounds assuming you let them settle. Clean-up in generally a pain, but all percolators are. After cooling, the unit comes apart easily. We always keep a bucket of water available as a wash basin, and this worked great. You'll need a small nylon dishes brush to clean the unit well, but it takes just a couple of minutes.I hope this was helpful. We read several negative reviews on here before we tried the pot, and we were intent on avoiding the mistakes of others. We did, and it was easy to do so. The pot works great and we loved the coffee out of it. An added bonus is the fact it's very LIGHT. When packing into a camping area, having an aluminum pot that's virtually weightless is a big plus.

Not the sturdiest pot ever but I knew it wouldn't be with that price. I looked at the coleman ones they sell at walmart but they looked poorly made and were rusty. I'm glad I bought this one because it was lightweight and easy to pack for my several camping trips I take yearly. At first it wasn't peculating and I realized I didn't shut the lid all the way, after I adjusted with my oven mit (it will be very hot) it worked just fine and made a nice coffee that everyone enjoyed.

I must admit its been a while since I used a percolator, and I was unsure of what to do. The box did not have instructions so I just went for it and did what I thought would work. Filled the pot with water, added coffee and put it on the stove. It worked great, it just takes a little time.

Really light for stainless. Well polished. We'll see how it takes campfire heat, liquid fuel burners, and backpack travel. So far, it loos well made, is incredibly light and meets every advertised specification. I'll bump it up to a 5 if I like the way it performs, but I'm pleased at the state at which it was received.

The weight is fine....Hooks easily onto outside of your pack....second use, after washing, the plastic dome bubble came off, and wouldn't go back on because the aluminum had tweeked/bent where it attached. I'm going to leave it home and make coffee the old fashioned way....drip, drip, drip.

This was affordable, works great for camping or the zombie apocalypse, and is nice and light for easy packing/carrying. We use it often and we are glad we bought it. It's also cheap enough that we don't care that it's turning black (yes, you can make the effort to prevent that with soapy water but it's kind of nerdy to want your outdoor gear to look shiny and new forever) and that our kids have dropped and dented it while helping out around the campsite. It still makes coffee, so it's the best camping accessory we own.

I'm glad I decided to get this pot. If you haven't used one of these before, keep in mind that bigger is NOT better. The more water in your pot, the longer it will take to come to a boil (could be an hour on a small fire with a big pot). This medium sized 9 cup pot was perfect. It did its job and survived a couple of falls on the rocks. I recommend it!

I have never spent a better bit of money, never. It is about 30 minutes from the concept of coffee to a steaming mug in your hand, but that just gives you time to start a campfire and scramble some eggs while you wait. It is stripped down and simple, but that means fewer moving parts. I had been looking at the Coleman stove top coffee maker at nearly 3x the price of this, and so glad I didn't go that direction. This coffee maker will work on a camp stove, a campfire, or a grill! Just make sure you bring hot mitts or heavy leather gloves, those handles get hot!

I love this coffee pot. My grandparents had a percolator pot when i was growing up, and we would drink coffee made over the campfire in the mornings. I wanted to share this experience with my family, and have been able to with this little coffee pot. It is very easy to assemble and easy to use. So far, we have used it with a standard dual burner propane camping stove. I have also used it at home on our gas stove to brew a pot of decaf in the evening. Some caution is necessary when the pot gets hot over the stove, but it is easy to handle with an oven mitt or folded dish towel.The trick for me is to not overfill the coffee basket. i also do not use a filter. I have found that by heating the water slowly, so as to avoid a full rolling boil, i get great tasting results. I heat the water on medium heat until i see the first couple of pops of coffee in the bubble on the top of the pot. Then, i reduce the heat to simmer and wait until the subsequent splashes of coffee turn a dark, rich brown. the whole time, i check frequently to make sure that the water is never at a full boil. Once the coffee looks right, i turn off the stove and remove the pot with an oven mitt from the heat. We pour and enjoy the coffee immediately, and find that it is plenty warm for a second cup about 10 minutes later.

Works as intended. Word to the wise, cover the candle with a cork or something or you will get burnt. Also, dont over tighten the glass cap or it will crack.

Package arrived quickly and was packed well in the box. Will use this for a camping trip in june 2013

I have made a pot of coffee with this Percolator Coffee pot and I really liked the results, good tasting coffee. We plan to use it on our next camping trip.

Have not used it yet. Purchased it for the next hurricane and hope I won't need it for a long time. It is used but in nice condition and arrived as described.

I typically use this pot to make 4 or less cups of coffee but have used it at its 9 cup capacity (twice). I am satisfied with the quality of the pot and its components. It should be stated that this is my sole method of making coffee, I love the robust taste of percolated coffee. I brew using this pot 5 to 7 days per week.As mentioned in previous reviews, the handles get very hot. This is a serious problem for the unprepared. I found that wine corks can be installed onto the handle for a safe, durable, and semi-permanent handle cover (see customer images at top of page). I leave the corks on when brewing and washing but they remove easily if needed. I gave this product 5 stars because it works for me and is a good value.

Best coffee pot around. I had one before it lasted 15 years until the handle finally broke off. This is a excellent item for making perked coffee.

It's just what we needed to hang above the fire pit! Good quality and ideal size. Very easy to clean up.

Small, but very nice is how I would describe this. Whether it be on a campfire or the range it is large enough to be useful but small enough to brew a cup to snuggle with on days when the weather is cold and blustery.

All out better heating and tasting coffee than other enamel coffee pots (even says other campers from around our site!)Pros:good construction overalleasy useJust make sure to use mits or something to grab and pour the coffee (it gets hot on the pour handles).

I bought this percolator for camping and it's a good deal. It's well-made, fun, and good looking too. It's only an aluminum coffee pot but it IS fun! I keep it on a shelf in my office when not in use. It's retro-looking but unique, and I think it's great to look at.As far as using it goes, mine doesn't leak and it's easy to clean. It's true that the wire handles get hot over an open flame. They're not the most convenient handles, but it's not a big deal to me and easy to work around. Oh, and one more thing: the knob on the lid is glass, not plastic. Prior to purchasing this, I read a lot of reviews of various percolators and a common complaint was the cheap plastic knob used on some models. Not this one, though. It's glass and easy to replace should you break it.