Cooking Pots - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

I was looking at the Primus Litech as my primary cooking pot, but I have heard that it is wise to bring 2 pots: 1 for cooking the other for extra water for washing, etc

Any thoughts?? Or suggestions as far as the cookware goes?

Thanks.

Big Slick

#2

Boil water in your pot, put your food in a Ziplock, add water, stick it in a cozy. Cleanup = throw away the ziplock.

Most normal hiker fare can be eaten this way. Just not the gourmet chef-type stuff!

Jeff

Jeff

#3

The Primus Litech, as far as I can tell, comes in two sizes: 1.7 quart and 2.1 quart. Both of these seem unnecessarily large to me. A little over 1 quart is probably enough. And even with the smaller size, you’re paying 9 ounces (with the pot holder). That’s quite a bit.

I’d suggest the Evernew 1.3 liter pot-- pricey, but very good. Weighs 6 ounces. The 0.9 liter pot weighs 1 ounce less. However, I find it a little small. And I think it heats more slowly because of the smaller base, so you lose out on fuel weight. Antigravity gear has cheap, light pots, but I think their small is too small and their large is too large.

I don’t think carrying 2 pots is a good idea. That’s twice the weight for essentially zero benefit: you can wash without a pot. (In fact, I don’t know how you wash WITH a pot!) If you just want to pour water over your head, then go ahead and use your main pot. The next time you cook, you’ll sanitize it by boiling anyway.

Eric

#4

The Primus Litech Trek Kettle holds 1 liter and weighs 7.6oz
It has a foldable handle and a perforated lip for straining pasta, etc

Is a 1 liter pot big enough?

Also to clarify my earlier “wash” comment, someone suggested to me to use my larger pot to boil water in, add the boiled water to my smaller pot and mix in dinner, then use the left over water in my big pot to rinse out the smaller pot. Sounds like a good suggestion, but not necessarily worht the added weight.

Big Slick

#5

I have used the same pot for a while. I would say a 2 liter pot is the best size. It has a wider base which translates to more surface area which translates to quicker heating which translates to less fuel used. You do not need 2 pots even if you are cooking for two people and making “gourmet” food. Daytripper and I ate probably better than most hikers and I only use one pot. I suggest grabbing a 4 liter dromedary bag which only weighs a hair more than a smaller bag. I fill it up at night and have enough water for dinner, coffee/cocoa/tea, Breakfast and to start the day… Use the lid of your pot to pour off water when cooking pasta. You can also “bake” biscuits on the lid. Just because you are hiking it does not mean that you need suffer on your diet.

aswah

Aswah

#6

Big Slick, I understand your washing comment better now. I think you’re right: it is a fine suggestion, but probably not worth the added weight. Here is an alternative way to wash your pot:

Add a little bit of water from your water bottle, scrub with your fingers to get all the residual sauce or whatever into the water, and then fling the wash-water over a wide area. (Or pour it into a “gray-water” pit, if one is available.) Some people drink their wash water, but I don’t think I could stomach it. :slight_smile:

I used to carry a scrubber, but found that fingers work just as well. I also used to add one drop of soap. However, this required me to do a second “rinse” phase. And, really, the whole pot is going to be serilized by intense heat the next time I eat out of it anyway.

Eric

#7

whatever brand, whatever diet, whatever diswashing preferences, pretty much the rule of thumb is:

1 pot, 1 spoon. you of course will have a swiss army knife, you will find pretty much the only thing you use it for is to cut cheese. so make it a small one. thats it. simplify simplify.

milo

#8

I used Snow Peak’s titanium pots–two small nesting pots with a lid that doubles as a fry pan. The larger one could just hold one package of Lipton. The smaller one doubled as a coffee cup for my cocoa/protein drink. Or I could make gravy in it to go with mashed potatoes or stuffing. Yum! Both pots and the lid weighed 7 ounces. I placed my pepsi can stove and stand inside the smaller pot and put them all inside a homemade pot cozy. Good luck!

Rainbow

#9

Dear Big Slick:

The question is always one of weight vs. utility.

Two pots will make your life immeasurably easier, with cooking, with cleanup, with things you won’t even think about until you’re out there day after day.

In this case, with pots as light as they are, I think carrying the second pot will turn out to be worth it.

In fact, from my point of view, based on my experience, its a no-brainer.

Take two pots.

Sincerely–Conan.

Conan

#10

ok. now, 1 only carried one pot and here was my solution, when i hiked with my dog, and when she was at home.

with dog–eat, let dog scour the pan after i was done to eliminate left overs, wipe out with bandana. next meal, when water was boiling, the lid would produce steam at high enough temps to kill any dog germies not good for my system the wiping with bandana would have missed. then before eating, id also pour a bit of water on the bandana while it was hot and squeeze it out so it got sorta clean every day.

ok i admit, not really the thing you told your mom about, but it was efficient, and hey, my dog enjoyed licking out the extra rice bits from my lipton dinners.

ok now, when the dog was at home, then i would eat, and after eating wipe out pot with bandana and some water. then fire up the stove again and heat about an inch and a half of water till it was hot but not boiling, drop in a drop or 2 of dish soap from this itty bitty container of enviromentally friendly all purpose soap, wash the pot, if i felt like it, wash my face, hands, whatever else felt like being washed, then go find the right place to drop the water into and do a real quick rinse with water to get the suds off/out of the pan. i also carried a bit of a orange sack as a scrubbie in case i ever needed to scrub my pan, but being teflon coated it always cleaned up real well. for the life of me, i cant remember what kind it is now, but i bought it in 02 and it was only like 29.99 (not top of the line) but its really light, about 2 liter capacity, has a lid and is black annodized and teflon coated.

big boy

#11

I vote for one pot. It has been enough for the two of us along with a cup, bowl and spoon each.

Save fuel and time: boil pasta in less water so that all water is absorbed by the time the pasta is cooked. For example, Kraft mac&cheese cooks in 2 cups of water (the amount the microwave instructions calls for). Angel hair pasta or fideo cortata use 2 cups water for 8 oz. pasta.

Even if you wash up in the pot, you boil water and sterilize the pot the next time you use it.

IMHO

Marcia

#12

I started out with 2 pots and ditched one at Neels Gap when I was reducing my pack weight.
I found one pot more than adequate. At dinner time I heated the water for my hot drink first, then heated the water to cook my dinner. I sipped on my tea while dinner was being prepared (a little back-the-front perhaps). I would do the same again.
Have a great hike!

Downunda