This is a Water Boiler. Boils Water. Does it better and faster than anything I've ever used. Home range top ( electric or gas), camp fires, whatever. If you count all time start to finish, these just do it better & faster.A handful or two of nature's trash ( sticks & twigs, basic detritus ) - and the water is boiling. I can get this model to boil 54 ounces in 5 minutes. Can. I usually add a little less fuel and end up in the 6 or so minute range. *I* am frugal even with sticks.IF you aren't here to boil water, you're in the wrong place. Move along.You MUST run this filled with water before you light the flame. Empty to mostly empty, you WILL ruin/destroy the kettle and void the warranty in one expensive swoop.Only boil water. No soup, no stew, no other liquid or food. You will never be able to clean it out. ( Well maybe after LOTS of unnecessary labor and cussing). But you will never ever see the bottom or inside the kettle without a metal saw or cutting torch. It's welded & sealed. Don't put weird stuff in there. You boil the water here, make the drinks and food over there.Speaking of: Before you use it. Clean it! It's made in a factory overseas and shipped across the sea. Nothing wrong with that. But always clean you cookware and guns before using. One DROP of dish soap about halfway full of water. Put your hand over the hole & shake. Pour it out and rinse 3 times. Don't use the plug whistle because it's not a plug and you'll wet your whistle in a bad way. Fill the kettle up to the fill line with water. then pour some of that water into a glass and taste it. If you taste soap, you put in more than one drop. IF you taste anything weird or bad, it's probably your tap water.And do yourself a favor and read the instructions. I suggest YouTube videos. Kelly has some there and so do customer. This is a wonderfully simple gadget but there are some really important tips & tricks to safely using it. I'm a friendly fire freak and it's really easy to burn yourself if you use this wrong. Example: Your whistle is whistling, your water is boiling, and you grab the wooden handle and pick up you kettle full of boiling water. BAM! You just burned your hand, possibly badly, and you probably dropped your kettle of water. It's that easy. The "proper" way is definitely weird, but it is also definitely the "Proper" way.And after all your prep & study now you can go outside and do the water boiling thing. Be safe.That brings us to the cooking section: Kelly shows cooking on top of the kettle. If you do, that kettle still needs to be full of water. And personally, cooking with my food & grease or even soup sitting precariously on top of the kettle looks like a good way to need immediate medical help that's nowhere near. Don't go out of your way to have an accident or make an emergency.Better: If you take the kettle off and put it safely away, you can of course just make a fire in the fire base. Nice & low and steady.This model comes with a little cooking grate that fits on the fire base. That'll work. And for $30 more, they sell a "Hobo Stove" for the fire base that works even better. Make sure you buy the right size. I think $30 is way high for that little Hobo Stove, buuut I bought one anyway. Makes the set an All-in-One Kit.*Almost* makes the Ultimate Base Camp model worth it. ( It comes with everything including the hobo stove plus cups & plates).And note: I now have TWO Kelly Kettles. This, the 54 oz. Base Camp model and after I saved up my play dollars again, I got the 20 oz Trekker model. The Trekker is small enough to tote and makes enough hot water for a decent serving of pour over coffee, a few cups of tea, instant and dehydrated everything.For my frugal tail to buy not one, but TWO of these at these steep prices shows not only do they work, they work well.I'm over 60 now and I no longer do the hiking/camping thing. I wish I had these when I did. These days "fun" must include heat or air conditioning as needed and more stuff than I can tote. Like the bed & couch.So why did I buy these? Because I'm in the middle of Texas and this area gets way too many "Boil Water" notices and sometimes just plain old "The Water Plant broke and we're working on it". That's why.Kelly Kettles can boil more water faster than my stove, propane stove, pear burner, or anything.Time 54 ounces of water on your range top from when you turn the knob to get a boil and check see how long it takes. The Kelly kettles do it in about 5 minutes ( give or take. There's variables. Outside temp, what you are burning, wind speed getting the hang of it, etc. Weirdly, not that much time difference between the small one & the big one).