You guys touched on things that I believe make the Skottle popular in the overlanding world.
One is the name Skottle. It's supposedly African. But the Skottle isn't called something truly African. Rather, it's the right balance that's approachable and sounds like that magic blend of pronounceable, exotic, and hybrid for the average dumbshit to appreciate.
kevinp said:
"It's called a skottle. You've probably never heard of it."
LOL. Dumb white people love that shit. Rolex? Rolex sucks. Everyone's heard of Rolex. I have a BREITLING. I'm different. I'm better.
I don't know how many Fettuccine bike brands I've seen over the years because dumb white people didn't want to own a Colnago or De Rosa or whatever.
The Skottle is also made by a company called Tembo Tusk. For all I know, the Skottle is made in China. But the company has a pseudo African name like Tembo Tusk.
I think the wok aspect is important as well. If the Skottle were shaped like a skillet, then even the average overlanding moron would spot the Skottle as a fake. But if you add a touch of the Last Emporer Silk Road to the mix, then the white man's guilt takes over and becomes afraid to criticize the Skottle because he might be countered with, "well you just don't understand it". I'll bet every Overlander who saw the Skottle thought it was some Ancient Chinese Secret.
The wok aspect is a lot like the name Skottle. The shape and name are both hybrid fusion synergies that take the best of both worlds and have no corresponding disadvantages.
I'm a lousy cook, but I see two problems with the Skottle:
(1) It looks too low. If you take the average counter height in America, it's about 36" tall. Then you add the height of grates and then a pan and the average is well above 36" tall. And that height was designed around the average female. The average male could use something even taller and be comfortable with it. Who came up with the height of the Skottle? The people I see using it are all stooped over. Not only is your back hunched over but your face is over the heat. It looks moronic.
(2) What is the advantage of having the pan attached to the burner? Does that save weight or have better heat conductivity or something? I don't see the advantage there. However, I do see a tremendous disadvantage: THE PAN IS STUCK TO THE BURNER. You can't flip around the pan like every chinaman does with a wok:
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Skilled occidental cooks do the flipperoo with their skillets too. It's fun to watch.
I can't believe something that weird and dumbed down is the all the rage. Even Corey bought one.
