I keep hearing stuff about the medical scare of eating out of aluminum pots as some believe it can increase the chances of one getting Alzhteimers (old-timers) disease. I love my $2 pot. I plan on taking it. What did I just say? No seriously, I’d like to know if anyone else has heard about this stuff. Don’t think Ed Garvey had any trouble. -Sweeper
Sweeper
I have yet to see a large number of old hikers wandering around with no clue of what is going on (they don’t have alzheimers disease). Yes its possible for aluminum to give you a likely hood of getting Alzheimers, but from what I understand its more a genetic cause then environmental. If your grandfather has alzheimers then its time to switch to stainless or even titanium, if not then I would not worry. After all, we probably get more aluminum from soda cans then camp cooking. BTW… none of this post has any scientific backing.
Don’t worry… I use a stainless pot from Target (like Walmart). Its cheap and is the perfect size… Its good to know I don’t nit pic over every peice of gear. 
scott
Scott S
Usually, I try to cut costs on everything that I carry, unless it is insanely heavy or poses some sort of health risk. Aluminuminum (hehe) pots fall the the latter category. The amount of time that I spend in the backcountry warrants a chemically non-reactive pot such as stainles or titanium. The amount of time that I spend carrying my own stuff in the backcountry warrants(in my eyes) spending $50-100 to get a titanium pot, rather than a stainless at half the cost and twice the weight. This is purely a personal thing; but I would carry steel over aluminum any day. I don’t use the stuff at home. It’s either stainless or glass. No tephlon either. I try to stay away from plastics as much as possible, but this is a lost cause in our society. So, to review, I carry a titanium pot because I try to limit my health risks as much as possible, and because I don’t want to carry a stainless pot that would weigh twice as much. Totaly personal.
Howie
Hungry Howie
Ive always wondered about this but aluminum has no official disease causing record…but the FDA works in strange ways. my personal suggestion is to head to wally world and pick up one of their stainless (hehe the copper coating acts like a magnet for soot) 2L/lid pots. cost 9.96, weight 1Lb (+or minus 2oz), craftsmanship…high quality chinese slave labor (the handles are shiznit), Cook time…LOW, this is a thin pot, scorching, none normally…backpacker did a review on this pot in their cheapo article about outfitting at WM…however i burned my prized rice-a-roni because some stink star couldnt stop admiring my stove by looking over my shoulder while i was trying to cook…anyway i think i convinced him to buy his own rather than continuing to question me about mine. hope this helps, it also comes with a sack to keep the lid atteched to the pot, although you lightweighters would ditch the lid. anyway, its finals week. enough from me on the pot…cooking that is.
SS
GAME 3/1/01
Scruffy Sleeper
Never was concerned about aluminum, just whether the thing stuck half my dinner to it. I hate to clean burnt dishes. I’ve searched for years for a light, thick bottomed, thin sided pot to cook with and the best I came up with is kitchen use T-Fal, thick alumimun with a Silverstone coat and the handle cut off which works great. It can stand up to long full boils with a white gas stove and not burn but it’s to heavy. I now have a thin alum with a Silverstone coat but unless you’re careful it burns on the bottom. I did try a titanium pot but I ended up burning my water. I chef a bit and like high horse power stoves but they kill pots unless the bottom is thick. If I could design a pot it would have an 1/8" thick bottom maybe in titanium and sides very thin to cut down on weight. I even tried to get a machine shop to make me one and they couldn’t.
Bushwhack
well maybe thats what is wrong with me. my kids think im crazy for wanting to go hike the AT and all along its the aluminum pots doing it!No seriously I like the aluminum cheepy set. reason is that i like to bake on the trail and i cant seem to get the stainless set I have to bake at all. I also found that just boiling water took much longer in my stainless set. it is also heavier. so the stainless is staying home and the cheepo aluminum set is going.
half_pint_mom