I tried out my new Kelly Kettle in my back yard the other day. I started it with some newspaper and a few twigs from a maple tree. It boiled water in just a few minutes and cleaned up nicely when I was done. The fire is fed through the central chimney by just dropping twigs into it. When the kettle is lifted off it's firebox, you could always dump the embers or burning sticks into the firepit or just put them out by pouring a little surplus water on them. I have the small version and it's about 3/4 the size of a 2 liter pop bottle. It weighs about 1 pound and the fuel is where you find it, so no hauling fuel bottles around. I'd say it may occupy about the same cubic inches of space than an Optimus 8R or Svea 123 and an appropriate fuel bottle, but the weight reduction is fantastic! I'm getting too old to haul tons of stuff on portages, and as long as I have coffee, I'm happy.
It's made of aluminum and seems quite strong. Denting it would be a result of carelessness, not cheap construction. Although if it took a good hit right in the side, I'm sure it would dent. It's similiar to a Sigg or similiar aluminum bottle.