I’m mostly wondering
if there are really great pots etc out there that people are using. I see titanium, aluminium, cast iron, nickle, etc. Is there anything anyone has used that really beat out the enamel pots and pans, or plain ol’ aluminium pans?
So far I am pretty happy with my two pots and a percolator setup, it does everything I need. It’s all what one might call “junk” though. Should I even consider the fancy stuff, or just cook my mac and cheese in whatever holds water, doesn’t burn, and cost very little? My meals consist of stuff like Rice a Roni, Zatarains Rice and Beans, mac and cheese, oatmeal, boiled eggs, all supplemented by copious amounts of tea or coffee.
I like regular enameled or aluminum
pots, but I have a GSI teflon frying pan and a BIG stainless coffee cup that I really like.
it sounds like your set-up is perfect
for your needs. Rice a Roni, rice and beans, mac and cheese, oatmeal, boiled eggs–enamel or anodized aluminum work fine. When you say it’s all “junk”, that’s just that “keeping up with the Jones’s” tendency in all of us showing through. You answered your own question: if it works, it works. Now, that all said, I’m a fine one to talk because I’ve got the fancy anodized aluminum teflon pot, titanium, etc. But that’s because when I got into it I bought into the hype. Don’t do that in other parts of my life (we must be the last people in America to have a “old fashioned” simple TV; I eat sack lunches; ride my bike to work; our kids have no cell phones and sleep two to a room, etc.) More power to you if you stick with what you’ve got. It sounds like simply a question of happiness. If you want something else, get something else. But the beanie weenies don’t need the validation.
Kelly kettle
I’ve wanted one for years, although never enough to actually buy one.
http://www.kellykettle.com/
A Spork!
Capn, a spork or two in your favorite color(s). Spoon & fork w. a diagonal edge for light cutting too. Sturdier than fast food plastic. Relatively cheap & easy to find.
A great way to ADD weigh to your kit
Is to add one of these fry pans. Really almost a dutch ovem w/o the lid.
Jim
http://www.boundarywatersjournal.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Boundary_Waters_Journal&Product_Code=AFP&Category_Code=CAMPINGGEAR
Bowrudder
Interesting. you sound like us. (no cell phone kids, no cable, etc. Where are you located/
Works great
I’ll second the bank frybake pan, have made many great meals in these. Very durable as well…
Cookset I swear by
The best purchase I’ve made. GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Backpacker Cookset. They have a lot of models but I loved this one. Bought it from REI and wrote a review about it.
Just put an updated review on my site. Amazon has the same one at a cheaper price.
My review:
http://www.milespaddled.com/2010/04/gsi-pinnacle.html
those pot grippers are a pain
with a lightly loaded pot. If GSI just put bails on their pots life would be so much better.
MSR Flex 2
I took this to the Boundary Waters last year and love it. You may need to add a small pan if your meals require. I love the nesting capability and the weight.
Besides my D.O.s
and D.O. table, I have assembled a cook tool kit with my favorite tools, seasonings, and gadgets in a mechanic’s tool box. Its not practical for easy transport, but stays with the truck and travel trailer. For portability I still have two sets of these: http://www.blackmarketantiques.com/vintage-master-craftsmen-aluminum-scouts-official-scout-cook-p-8503.html It is annoying that someone would classify my old Boy Scout cook kit as antique.
cast iron skillet plus lid
A Lodge 10" cast iron skillet weighs 6 lb. and the lid weighs 5 lb. You can do almost all the things you can do with a dutch oven with a skillet. I have had lots of guides who carry cast iron skillets. Properly seasoned they are easy to clean. A lot easier than anything else that is safe to use.
Light-My-Fire for eating
but with s/s flatware… I hate that spork.
Cooking is whatever small s/s I can find at a yard sale that nests. Currently a small pot with lid and frying pan with folding handle and large Sierra cup.
It may not match but it works well.
FWIW
they’d probably classify you as antique too
AARP has been sending
me offers for years. Resistance is futile, yet I persist to resist.
My Kayak Kitchen
Besides my Cookset (Pinnacle Backpacker) and stove (Primus Yellowstone), here’s the rest of my kitchen:
http://www.milespaddled.com/2008/05/kayak-kitchen.html
GSI
I use a GSI set with fry pan (which is a lid for one of the pots),two pots, plastic bowl & plastic measuring cup. I added a large stainless cup.
30+ yrs ago (I’m an old fart) I started with a cheap alum set, then enamel…then to stainless and finally to the hard anodized GSI set. I bought the GSI about 10 yrs ago and still think it’s the best. None of the others compare to GSI.
Kayak Kitchen…
Hi,
Now there’s a cool set-up.
Actually, what I enjoy about what people are writing here is how many of you seem to ‘make-do’ with the tried and true.
I’m planning a two (or three ) week kayak trip from Canada to Lake Champlain next month, and I want to carry as little as possible. Maybe a stainless steel metal cup to boil water in. I was thinking of buying a few weeks supply of those dehydrated meals in envelopes that you just add boiling water to, let sit, and then scoff. Might bring along some dried sausage, peanut butter and trail mix too. Naturally,since it’s the paddling I’m interested in and not necessarily the camping, if I see a B&B for eating and sleeping, I’ll be in there like a diry shirt, but I have a good tent, sleeping set-up, a couple of water bladders and one of those tiny propane camping stoves from Mountain Equipment Coop. In other words, I’ll have everything I need to camp well.
The question here is; what do you think of the dehydrated food idea?
Thanks,
Ken
Kayak Kitchen…
Hi,
Now there’s a cool set-up.
Actually, what I enjoy about what people are writing here is how many of you seem to ‘make-do’ with the tried and true.
I’m planning a two (or three ) week kayak trip from Canada to Lake Champlain next month, and I want to carry as little as possible. Maybe a stainless steel metal cup to boil water in. I was thinking of buying a few weeks supply of those dehydrated meals in envelopes that you just add boiling water to, let sit, and then scoff. Might bring along some dried sausage, peanut butter and trail mix too. Naturally,since it’s the paddling I’m interested in and not necessarily the camping, if I see a B&B for eating and sleeping, I’ll be in there like a diry shirt, but I have a good tent, sleeping set-up, a couple of water bladders and one of those tiny propane camping stoves from Mountain Equipment Coop. In other words, I’ll have everything I need to camp well.
The question here is; what do you think of the dehydrated food idea?
Thanks,
Ken