I have been day hiking for years, but I am just preparing for backpacking and I have a question about camp cookware. I have a 1 liter Aluminium pot, a cup
and a spork. What else do I need?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Terrible Tom the Termite(aka…tttt
I am sure you will get many different responses. But here is my setup. When I go out backpacking I take freezed dried food for dinner and eat out of the pouch. So I only need a 1.3 liter pot, cup and fork/spork and of course a stove.
My camping buddies who don't use freezed dried take a large pot, bowls, spoon/fork and of course a stove.
You might want to consider a filter or a water purifier too.
Hikerdude
You know, they’re funny things, those sporks. I used to use one for years. Finally, one day on the trail, I borrowed someone’s knife-fork-spoon “kits” - you know, they come in a plastic holder that you can find at any camping supply place that stack together on small posts on the spoon and are inexpensive to boot? Liked it so much that I bought one and have used it ever since. The difference in wieight is negligible, and cleaning three utensils as opposed to one takes maybe all of 15 seconds more than a singe spork. I finally realized that, while it’s fine for KFC, a spork never really did the job of either a spoon or fork as well as a regular spoon or fork does. Just my opinion…
Canaima
really there is nothing else you have to have except the stove… a bandana can work as a hot plate/hot hand thingy… many folks last year used the etowah type stove the pepsi can stove or a rocket blow torch that was way over kill but it worked for them…and that is the key, whatever works for you. you could do like i did at times and use aluminum foil and make hobo meals on open fire. oh last year loads of folks went dry, meaning they didn’t even use a stove or eat any cooked food. until you try ramen dry, uncooked and unflavored, you will not understand why i thought they had been out in the woods too long. hehehe
less is more at times too. you could go with a multitude of gadgets and new fangled cookware setups, and maybe that is what you’re looking for, try any campmore catalog and you’ll see that the sky is the limit on new stuff to tote out there, yet you may find by combining snacks that need no cooking, a hot drink on cold mornings and a hot evening meal that is cooked in a minute or two, may just be all you ever really need. hope this helps. oh, i dropped my cup and just drank out of my 1 liter cook pot. saved a few oz.
burn
Just my two cents - I bought the MSR Blacklite cookset before last year’s section hike and loved it. It’s very light, dries and packs nicely, and heats quickly. We took dehydrated food so we only boiled water, but it sure works well for that. I had an older aluminum cookset but I think the Blacklite is much superior.
Terry
Personally, I used the MSR Ti-Kettle. It’s .85 liter size is perfect for one person meals, (liptons, mac/cheese,etc.) It’s kinda pricey at $40 but it does weigh 4 oz. and made from titanium. If I were to do it again I would probably look at the antigravitygear.com’s pot. It’s about the same weight and much less cost. I’m not sure on the durability factor between the two, but I’m sure it’s a quality product.
guru
I to have the MSR Blacklite cookwear. It works great, but when I got a gift card for christmas I upgraded to a MSR Titan cookset. I could tell the weight difference immediately. But after scorching a couple of meals, by not paying attention I got the Evernew .9 liter non-stick pot from REI that is on sale for $27. Plus I wanted a solo pot that had its own lid. The 1 liter titan uses the lid of the 1.5 pot. The .9 Evernew is smiliar in weight to the MSR Titan Kettle.
jerm
Another 2 cents for ya. Check out Snow Peak, they make top quality, light weight back packing cookware. I bought the solo series pot 2 years ago and used it on every trip since then. It has a pot, and a cup which fits on to the bottom of the pot. I haven’t tried this but you can also buy the mini giga stove and fit that, and a cannister of fuel inside it, very neat indeed. The best part is the whole thing will fit nicely in an elasticated side pocket.
Good luck with your descision.
Cheers
Cheers
I would recommend adding a lid for that pot, a lid that can also be used as a fry pan, small pot, or even a plate.
The lid will greatly reduce cooking times (read less fuel needed)
myst
I would add that using a 2 liter pot is better. A wider base heats quicker than a narrower base which equals less fuel. I use a snow peak titanium pot. I agree with whomever said to have a lid. I used to grease my lid and “bake” rolls over a campfire. Some biscuit company makes a great biscuit that all you need to do is add water to the pouch. They come in four different flavors.
aswah
I thru hiked the A/T last year with a .9 liter titanium pot a small plastic cup and a two dollar plastic spoon. I cooked everything on a pepsi can stove, and carried my fuel in a red mtn. Dew bottle. This setup lasted all the way with no problems. Good luck
Tank
I use the pot and alchohol stove from antigravitygear.com. Both of those items and the pot cozy can be bought for under 30 dollars and the total weight is under a half a pound. The pot is only like 6 and it’s light, has a nonstick coating, and big enough for all of my fairly simple on person meals. If you’re cooking for more than one person or making elaborate meals, you’ll want a bigger pot, but this one should be fine otherwise. It’s lasted me a good while. The coating is starting to scratch a bit, but not much, and for 6 bucks, who cares? The pot cozy is GREAT. The company makes them for different pots too. It’s a form fitting insulator for your stove. You heat the water and food, put the pot in the cozy and seal it. The food continues to cook for a long time. It’s also nice because you can hold the pot in your hand without burning it. I don’t usually carry a pot grabber. I just use the portion of a pack-towel that I use to clean up with to grab my pot.
zach attack
Zach Attack
Well, you got me interested in the alchohol stove. Will be making another post to gather opinions
:boy
HikerDude
here’s an idea for you. i dont cook anymore on the trail. there is lots of meals you can put together from the grocery stores that taste great and dont need cooking. it just suits my way of hiking. but you have all you need. go with an alchohol stove. unless you jump up and down on it they cant go wrong, and make a foil wind gaurd. the alchohol stove will struggle in the wind with out one.
all the best:cheers
“SQUEAKY”