In search of the perfect can opener.

[jcbrandon]

...I tried to explain to her that no proper overlander should be without a can opener that cost at least $11.95 but she wasn't having any of it...

I've designed my own can opener, and am currently interviewing local fabrication shops to find one qualified to make it. I want an individual artisan, self-taught, who has personally driven the length of the Americas, so that he (or she) will know what makes a superior can opener.

Also, I'm having trouble sourcing the titanium.

When we get the first unit made, I will begin designing a carbon fiber mount to attach it to a roof rack.

[rusty_tlc]

I just had an epiphany.
My wife and I had an old Echo can opener when we got married. I had already been using it for years at that point. It finally gave up somewhere around our 25th anniversary. We have been through at least a dozen can openers since then, everything from the $0.99 type to the $12 type. They never seem to last more than a few months.

Here's the epiphany part;
I'm going to hit a couple of thrift stores and see if I can find another old school Echo can opener. If I find one in fairly decent shape it should last the rest of my life.

[Black Dog]

What do you do to a can opener that makes it bust so easily? I'm 23 now and bought a can opener in the $5-$10 range when I was 17 and moved out of my parents house and it is still in perfect working condition and it isn't even a particularly heavy duty unit. Its even survived camping trips and dutch oven contests.

[SunTzuNephew]

The only manual can opener worth anything (IMHO) is the original Swing-Away. We use them camping and in the home. They are American made and last forever, if you don't lose them. They are getting harder to find locally with all the Chinese knockoffs. Search online, or look in hardware stores. The large grocery/big box discount only carry Chinese. I know, because I tried to replace one I had since the late 80's that I lost. A great piece of kit.

+1 on the Swing-Aways. The OXO are very good too.

[brained]

Pampered Chef Smooth-Edge Can Opener

Cuts differently than most. Cut edge is not sharp and you can put the lid back on the can after opening. Won't camp without it now.

[lostworldexpedition]

My camping can opener is a P38, with the opener on my Swiss Army knife as backup.

Exact same set-up. Can't go wrong. Simple.

[Albin]

Mo' bettah:



From here: http://www.georgia-outfitters.com/page52.shtml

[mudbutt]

^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's the ticket....

I have one a Marine gave me 40 years ago from a C-ration and it still works as well as it did on day 1.

In contests I can beat anyone who uses the handcrank style.

[61rover]

Swing-Away. Don't mess with perfection. NASA even sent these to Skylab.

[NH Moto Expo]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Grips-Magnetic-Locking-Opener/dp/B0002IJETI"]http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Grips-Magnetic-Locking-Opener/dp/B0002IJETI[/ame]

This was the highest rated in an America's Test Kitchen tool review.