Cooking gear Advice

“Anyone have suggestions for a rockin lightweight set? I want quality stuff too.

I can't seem to find any sets that really impress. Hook It up!

”

“If you buy food that is in bags that can hold hot water you will only need a small pot to boil water in and a spoon to eat it with.

Doesn't get much lighter than that. Many of the prepared hiking foods are boil in bag and you can also do it with the lipton side dished. There are many other foods you can buy right off the shelf that are in foil warped envelopes.

I personally have the titanium kit that has a quart pot, a smaller put, the lid that doubles as a small fry pan if needed and i threw in a small cup for drinking.

I buy coffee that is in the cheese cloth pouches and one of those cooks up nice in the quart pot in the mornings. For dinner I use the quart pot to heat water for pouched foods. Under these methods there is very little weight and very little clean up. I hate KP after a long day of hiking.”

“What are you going to cook? That tells a lot about what kind of pan set you might need.
Then again, I don't "cook"...I am the Queen Of Wankerness and eat out of freezerbags exclusively-so all I carry is a GSI pot to boil 4 cups of water in....
http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/index.htm”

“Same gear here as SirPete. For most of us, it seems that the longer you backpack the more you lean toward easy / simple cooking, which is usually just boiling water & adding to a freezer-bag concoction or similarly easy-to-prepoare foods.”

“MSR Pocket Rockect and GSI 4 cup pot.”

“If you're looking for a stove also (wasn't sure from your question) consider the Snow Peak Giga, I love mine. In winter I still use the old standby - MSR Whisperlight.”

“I go to Wal-Mart and get the lightest non-stick pot they have.”

“If you are going to buy rather than build a set then here is the way to go:

Get a GigaPower Titanium Stove, Trek 700 titanium pot with lid and a Titanium Spork all in one package that weighs 7.8 ounces! The Trek 700 nests the stove, two 110 Fuel canisters, and the Spork! Mesh carring sack included for convenient carrying. You can't get any lighter than this.

https://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/SN900

It's on sale or 93 bucks (ouch!) but it's a great solo set. Packs down really small. The "pot" (it's really a mug} has a top and the sport fits through a drain-slot in the top of it. It all fits into a tiny stuff sack.”

“I use a jetboil setup with the french press accessory because I like to make the strongest coffee possible. Else just use coffee bags. I have the whisperlite for winter also.

I had found an antigravitygear website that had some nice combo alcohol stove packages that I may try also. I am not concerned with variances between 10 and 15 ounces at this point becasue my trips are shorter. I'd say that the trip length and menu are the biggest players for your setup (alcohol, canister or white gas). Not to mention the difference between wally world aluminum pots and I high-tech titanium piece. Check out ebay or something similar.

I sometimes cook pizza, and use an accessory for my jetboil instead of just heating water. All of that gear is expensive, but I live for it.”

“Patrick, don't buy an alcohol stove. The best ones are hand made. Make one youself.”

“The Four Piece Titanium cookset offers two pots, a cup and a plate all in a nylon carrying bag. The pots have fold away handles for easy storage. The handles have good stability for picking up the pots when full of hot liquids. The largest pot holds 1000 ml (33.8 fl. oz.) and weighs in at 3.4 oz. The smaller pot holds 780 ml (26.4 fl. oz.) and weighs in at 2.8 oz. The cup has a firm ergonomic handle and has graduation marks in both ounces and 100's milliliters. The cup hold 280 ml (9.5 fl. oz.) and weighs in at 1.6 oz. The plate weighs 1.8 oz. and could be used as a fry pan or pot cover, although no handle is provided. The total weight was 10 oz with the carrying case. Everything fits together nicely, as expected from Snow Peak. You can also place one large fuel canister inside the pot or the GigaPower stove making a complete Backcountry kitchen you can take with you anywhere.



FEATURES

Lrg Titanium Pot - 5.9 diam x 2.8 in.
Lrg Pot weighs 3.4 oz.
Sm Titanium Pot - 5.0 diam x 2.7 in.
Sm Pot weighs 2.8 oz.
Titanium Cup - 4.5 diam x 1.75 in.
Cup weighs 1.6 oz.
Titanium Plate - 6.0 diam x 1.1 in.
Titanium Plate weighs 1.8 oz.
Nylon stuff sack
Size stowed - 6.0 diam x 3.75 in.
Total weight is 10 oz. with storage sack

And, Just because I spent less than I tought that I would I grabed this:

A double wall, 10.6 fluid oz., titanium cup with an ergonomic handle weighing in at 3 oz.



FEATURES

Cup weighs 3 oz.
Double wall insulation
Foldable handle
last edited: 9/12/05 12:49:11 AM”

“Looks great Blind Willie... I have a double-walled mug (the handle on mine is different). I love it in the winter. Be sure to read the notice that says DON'T COOK IN THIS MUG... :)”

“For coffee: At the grocery store in the coffee aisle, you can usually find a very light weight plastic coffee cone. Put a No. 2 coffee filter in it and your coffee, then pour hot water over it. It will drain right into your mug. I have tried the single coffee bags and the lexan french press and used a camp fire coffee pot. This method is by far the easiest, best tasting, and almost the most light weight (only beat out by the single coffee bag).”

“Sounds like a lot less mess too (other than the coffee bag).”

““Looks great Blind Willie... I have a double-walled mug (the handle on mine is different). I love it in the winter. Be sure to read the notice that says DON'T COOK IN THIS MUG... :)”
pitts

Those sealed cells don't like being heated up do they man? Funny. It will be noted.

Ruby:

This is for a six month trip, si want to stay light, and just with the neccessities.

OK, your right. Coffee IS A MUST HAVE. I want to find a super light weight press if I can. If not, it will be the cone.

I will start looking now.

Thanx Lady and Gents!”

“It is, Pitts. I wish I could find a picture of it. It cost me a whopping $3.79 and came with an insulated travel mug as well.”

“Blind Willie McTell: Tell us what you get your final pack weight down to...”

“

Titanium construction
Makes enough for 3 cups
3.2" d x 5.5"h
Folding handles
Nylon mesh stuff sack included

$45.99”

“Give me a little while and I will give you what I got.”

“Blind Willie McTell: I would take a look at a good gear checklist to help you manage the total weight of your pack and to make sure you are fully prepared. Here is my favorite "gear checklist" on the Internet. My pack is a significant variation of this list, but I use this as a reference from time to time.

http://www.backpacking.net/27-pound.html

This is a 7 day pack... 27 lbs.
last edited: 9/12/05 9:52:55 AM”

“They look like large Skoal Bandits for coffee addicts.”

“ 2lbs 13oz

1 lb 15 oz

10oz

3oz

6.3oz

1lb 5oz

14oz

3oz

This is what I have thus far. This excludes Clothing, Sleeping pad, food and water, plastic forks, pocket knife, food-hanging cord, and whatever else I have forgot at this time.

TOT: 8lbs 7oz”

“Hehe, some excellent gear.

Plug that into the checklist I sent you. The food list is a good estimate in terms of weight. Note this dood only carries 1l of water at a time. I generally carry 2l in hot weather because I sweat like a pig in hot weather.

The extra bits and pieces add up.

The tent is cool as hell. I have always wanted one that I could put up with hiking poles. Someday perhaps...”

“Thanks man.

check it here, just order and do not be in a hurry.

http://www.wanderlustgear.com/tents.htm”

“I cannot wait to see what all my new gear weighs in at for my trip coming up this weekend.

Hey, I was just thinking about coffee for this trip. What if I take the gold filter out of the coffee pot at home and use this to make me some java?

This should work, ey?”

“That new sleeping bag will take off a lot of weight!

P.S. I got my new one the other day and it's GREAT!
last edited: 9/12/05 1:30:31 PM”

“What kind of tent & bag????”

“Wounded Knee: My big fear with that reusable coffee filter would be crushing it. It's pretty fragile. That said, I REALLY like the idea of using a plastic cone and paper filters because you can pull up the paper filter, close it off, and put it in your pack-out trash bag. Very clean. My percolator is a bit of a mess to clean up. At this point, however, it may make sense to just carry those tea-bag coffee things or the "skoal coffee bandit" things. I'll still use the percolator in the near term since it doubles as a water boiler for my food.

Oh, divinity, I bought a Marmot Hydrogen for this Fall. I am very pleased.
last edited: 9/12/05 3:12:06 PM”

“I thought about that too. I may have something that I can place it in to avoid being crushed.”

“Def the MSR Pocket Rocket with a small titanium cooking pot. I've used the pocket rocket in a situation from a bright and sunny day to a blizzard at 4500 feet in the middle of January. It's excellent and it's really reliable.”

“I watched a guy last winter get really frustrated with his canister stove - a pocket rocket in fact. He had the "special cold weather blend" fuel too. He'd even slept with it to keep it warm. But just a few moments on the snow and it cooled and would not burn.

My whisperlite however never even hesitated.”

“Here is a good recipie for cooking gear.

Roasted Boot With Thermal Socks.

get one well aged gortex boot and make sure to gut it first and lace it up. rub your seasonings in very well or it could come out a bit tough. Put your seasoned boot into a large roasting pan. Add rolled up thermal socks and add some carrots and onions. pour about a cups worth of water in the pan then cover with a lid. Pop that sucker in the oven preheated to 450 degrees for about 4 hours of untill a hiking pole inserted into the boot comes out clean.”

“...lol..about time!!!..I am so proud of you SC!!!...LOL..

I personally like mine well done!!!”

“I am going to repost this here because it is so relevant to the post on the MSR stove not working in cold weather:

This is an interesting topic for me.

Primus gas is 75% butane/25% propane.

Snow Peak uses a mix of butane, propane, and isobutane. It’s close to 75% butane and 25% propane if I recall (“standard”) but I know they mix a little isobutane in as well… that way they can call it “a proprietary blend”. I fail to see why you would have a problem using this gas in your lantern. It’s basically the same as the Primus gas and the isobutane should make the lantern work better on the final “dregs” from the canister.

Obviously the choice is yours. I can say this much: If it were up to me I would do it. I hate product manuals that say stuff like that. It’s your call, however. I would call Primus if you are really worried about it.

I fail to see why there would be any difference at temps above 40 degrees. All the canisters should perform well at or above this temperature.

Propane is the best gas for cold weather since it’s not a liquid until something like 10 below zero. So you will get the best performance from propane in cold weather. That said, it requires a heavier canister so for backpacking in temperatures and altitudes that are not extreme this is a disadvantage.

Butane works well for warmer weather and requires minimal packaging (you can see the stuff in plastic lighters). It will perform above 40 degrees and in a pinch will work down to 20 if you keep the canister warm. This is my personal experience. Others may differ.

Isobutane is just a modified form of butane that is added to canisters to make them burn better as the can nears empty, so usually the amount of isobutane is small in most “blends”. I wouldn’t look at the isobutane content that closely and just treat it as butane.

Altitude is a significant factor as well, but I can’t speak to this.

I know Coleman uses 60:40 so it has the most propane of any I have seen. I haven’t checked the weight of the canisters, but these should work pretty well in cold weather.

That said, let me say one more thing…

This is my opinion. The "mixing" of fuels in canisters is a bit of a scam if you ask me. These fuels don't "blend" and propane is lighter and so it floats to the top of the canister. So the stove works great until all the propane in the "mix" is burnt and then you are left with the butane. So for the Coleman canisters I mentioned, you are going to get good cold-weather performance for 40% of the burn and then you are left with a lot of butane.

Like I said, above 40 degrees and moderate altitude much of this doesn’t matter. All of these gasses and any blend of them should work well.”

“above 40 degrees the canister should perform beautifully. My above comment about the one that didn't work in winter - it was closer to 5 degrees - and we were camped at around 9,000 feet.”

“I have all mildly cool to Hot temps for the trip, so I am not woried about it.”

“Roam around: I guess I was commenting on your "cold weather blend" comment.

I was trying to point out was that gas "blending" is a bit of a marketing scam. As I said, these gasses don't blend and stratify in the can so you burn off the propane first and it looks like the stove is working properly. Then the propane is gone and you are left with butane and the stove stops working. People will assume since it worked yesterday that they must be doing something wrong. It’s a real scam, if you ask me.

But for Willie’s trip it sounds like it doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, the experience I witnessed with the cold weather blend was that it simply DID NOT work, probably because of the reasons you explained.

I just wanted to clarify how cold I meant - everyone has a different temp in mind when they say "cold weather".”

“That is VERY true.”