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Cuissential brews up a collapsible silicone tea kettle

Cuissential brews up a collapsible silicone tea kettle
The four-cup SlickBoil retails for US$35
The four-cup SlickBoil retails for US$35
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The four-cup SlickBoil retails for US$35
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The four-cup SlickBoil retails for US$35
The SlickBoil is ideal for backpacking
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The SlickBoil is ideal for backpacking
The SlickBoil is perfect for camp-outs
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The SlickBoil is perfect for camp-outs
The SlickBoil kettle collapses to 2.5 inches (5cm)
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The SlickBoil kettle collapses to 2.5 inches (5cm)
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Everywhere you look, items made with or from silicone rubber continue to pop up like mushrooms after a long spring rain. From artificial lungs to cookie sheets, even baby bottles, this versatile, non-toxic material is becoming increasingly indispensable in our everyday lives. Now tea kettles can be added to the list of items getting the silicone treatment with the four-cup SlickBoil from Cuissential that takes advantage of silicone's flexibility to shrink to a space-saving package when not preparing a refreshing brew.

Luckily, for those concerned about unwanted chemical exposure from all-things plastic, silicone rubber is BPA-free and its heat-resistant flexibility gives the SlickBoil another desirable trait, too: it collapses into itself so when stored, shrinking to just 2.5 inches (5 cm) high. That's brilliant for folks on a space budget and less than any other commercially available kettle (doll house teas sets excluded, of course).

The SlickBoil kettle collapses to 2.5 inches (5cm)
The SlickBoil kettle collapses to 2.5 inches (5cm)

But why silicone, and for that matter, just what the heck is silicone? Not to be confused with the element, silicon, it has a number of interesting properties that make it an excellent candidate for cookware and countless other uses. The word itself was coined by chemist Frederick Kipping way back in 1901 to embrace a class of mixed organic-inorganic polymers known as polysiloxanes. The compound does actually contain silicon, but also carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and other elements, varying the proportions of which confers different desirable properties.

Key for its use in cookware is the fact that silicone doesn't support bacterial growth and its surface is non-stick. Although it can withstand temperatures of close to 500°F (260°C) it is flammable, so the SlickBoil comes with a stainless steel base. If you cook with open flame, just remember - keep it low enough to avoid the rubber portion, unless, that is, you like the smell of burning polysiloxane in the morning!

SlickBoil is available at Amazon.com for US$35.

Via: 7 Gadgets

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2 comments
2 comments
Mr Stiffy
I could think of a lot better things than this - buy a 1 liter stainless steel mug, pack all your tea, coffee, sugar, soups etc., inside it and instant container, cooking vessel and cup / bowl etc.
Nice but.... Novelty factor - yes. Great Idea. Market acceptance - we live in a galaxy of unhithertold volume, this saving ???? space will never be an issue.
I also think - \"OK - what\'s going to happen the first time you boil it dry\" - thinks of glowing cast iron frypans etc.
Mmmmmmmmmmm at least the proper stainless steel kettle can really survive quite a few proper boil drys without fail - this one? Not so much.
Geometeer
Now make it transparent, or at least translucent, so I can see how much water is in there. That\'s something stainless steel can\'t do, and would limit (though not fix) the problem of boiling dry.