Questions to the winter walkers

So I preface this by saying this will be our second walk - we got rid of excess baggage in Estella, so am trying to be very particular about what we take this time! The second thing to note is that we will be starting mid December to the end of January so includes that time between Christmas and 3 Kings Day and I know that a lot of the places that are open over Winter do close. A lot of the places that do stay open seem to put winter pilgrims in the 'old part' of the albergue where the kitchen is either not available or old and nothing more than a sink and microwave. From blogs and anything I can lay my eyes on about winter caminos, there will be a few days that the only food available is what you bring ie bread cheese, etc. A cuppa will really help - or heating packet soup.

My questions are...

A few winter walkers talk about how grateful they were for their hot water coils (approx 250g) for cups of tea. As there are 4 of us, we stumbled across this collapsible kettle (approx 450g). In our situation, would you go for the kettle or the coil?

I mentioned earlier, we dumped our plastic (ikea!) plates etc in Estella as it was clear we would not need them. I came across these silicon colapsable cups, bowls and plates - what do you think? The collapsable aspect is making me consider them. (I am showing all three - cup, bowl, plate, but they can be purchased seperately). These are microwavable.


Finally, I am thinking of the best way to take a hot cup of tea for us/cola cao for the kids. I like the idea of stopping for a hot drink if we cant find an open bar. Ideas are Thermos (or similar brand) - individual 4 x 500mls, (this comes in 500ml or 1L so, 2 x 1L (1 for kids, one for adults) or each have our own, to put soup, tea, cafe con leche or hot choc:

or individual insulated travel mugs, similar to this...

I know I am over-thinking, this is what I do, so please indulge me! If you believe I wont need any of the above, I am happy to hear this also,

thanks.

LOL, with the cord dangling behind? Seriously, we share the load. The kettle collapses down to about 10cm. If my husband carries the kettle, I would carry the toiletries for the family, a child might carry an extra towel, etc. Our last walk was in March, and got caught in a cold snap so lots of snow, cold rain, icy snow winds etc and felt we were well equipped (never cold) as we had long-johns, gloves and lots of warm layers. Will probably take an extra jacket each but otherwise I think we have a pretty realistic understanding of the winter clothing (thanks for pointing this out though).

At Roncesvalles, did you stay in the old section or the new? I heard that only the old is open. Were any of the bars open for dinner/breakfast? What month/s did you walk?

I would love any more tips/suggestions/observation that you care to share.