What size of cooking pot do you use?

0.9L Evernew Ti, for 3-season solo trips. I don't cook in bags; I boil my 500ml/2 cups of water, then dump food into pot, stir, and turn stove off. I would boil over in a smaller pot. In the morning I boil 700ml, some for coffee, poured off, then rest for oatmeal/cherries. I have boiled over w/oatmeal in this pot. Why do I "cook" in the pot? Super-easy clean up, super-clean eating, and I don't have to carry a grimy, slimy, smelly, heavier bag in my pack.

For winter I use a 2L pot for melting snow. Honestly, I find an even larger pot more convenient… mold up big bricks of snow, toss 'em in, and get a goodly amount of hot "seed" water going. Especially nice w/getting water for the 2 dogs and I, and maybe a friend. I'm playing with a cheapo ~7 oz 4L aluminum pot for this winter.

A cut down Heineken can pot for solo trips. Holds about 700 ml, weighs about 0.8 oz and cost $1.79. I got rid of my heavy, expensive titanium stuff.

I too use the BPL Firelite 550ml (no handles). That pot coupled with the Caldera Cone is my perfect setup for boiling water for solo freezer bag cooking. Love it!
Prior to that I was using an Evernew 900ml wide and short style Ti pot. Great cook pot, but too much for just me.

here is something interesting I worked up to decide on my next pot. I wanted something that would hold 2 cups of water and a bp pantry meal.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnmPyWj7Tau8dFljQ2pwMzl5TTNmZWtYRm5VRVhweWc&hl=en

I use the 1300 Evernew pot at 4.6 oz. and have kept the handles on cause I like them. I got this because most of my trips are not solo adventures. This pot has worked well for cooking for two. A close friend has a 3 liter titanium pot that is great for camping in groups. Used it to make every meal for a group of 6 this last summer.

For cooking food I have not tried the freezer bag method. I like to dehydrate pre-cooked meals at home before I head out. At camp I put the food from a bag into my pot, cover with water, and set it on my stove. They rehydrate quickly (just bring to a boil and let rest) and taste like they did at home. I have found a lot of great recipes in "Backpack Gourmet" by Lind Yaffe. For each dish the author provides the weight of one dried serving. The serving sizes are also true. And by that I mean that one serving will fill you.

I use the Evernew 1.3L Ti non-stick pot. I design my kit for thru-hike types of appetites. I like the 1.3L for cooking a whole batch of shells and cheese and then adding a tuna pack. You can still stir all this and not lose any on the ground. Perfect size for huge thru-hike appetites imo. I occasionally use a MYOG Heiny Pot/stove setup for warm weather soloing utilizing FBC techniques.

Happy trails–
UkuleleBill

For a solo winter trip, I would take 1 liter size. For 2-3 people in the winter, I would take at least 2 liter size. For a large group trip, maybe 4 liter size. Nothing larger, because a single stove can't handle it well in the winter.

All of the pot capacity is due to melting snow. In the summer, reduce everything by half.
–B.G.–

MSR Titan 1.5 L for 2 people, summer and winter. Works fine for cooking dinner and for melting snow.

Cheers

Roger,

You romantic soul. Little bit over evegreen for ambiance; and cheese and crakers? No wonder your wife always goes with you. :)

1.1 litre for solo, 2 litre for couple cooking. The decision really needs to be based on how much volume you are cooking. If you're just doing freezer bag stuff, you can get away with a smaller pot than if you cook in the pot. If you boil up a dinner for two plus enough for a couple of large cuppas, you will need an even bigger pot.
As an example, a meal we made last weekend needed 1140 mls water, and around 3 cups of dry ingredients. It was also a meal that tends to 'foam' a bit, necessitating some extra volume to prevent boil overs.

Firelite 550 w Caldera Cone or Tibetan 900. Walmart aluminum mug in combo with Bushbuddy.

I cook for myself, eat out of the pot. Plus I always want to a have a vessel to boil water with me in case I am lost from, ahead of or behind the group. So a group pot would not work for me. My Snow peak 700 has always been plenty big enough. I suppose a smaller pot would be okay. I will try a single wall cup about half the size of my Snowpeak this coming summer.

Joseph

Hi Nick

That was morning tea. :-) Also keeps my wife happy.

But 'cheese and crackers'? Come on! That is prime Camembert cheese! None of that cheap crappy Kruft Cheese stuff, please!

Cheers

What's the diameter and height of the Titan 1.5L pot?

NM – found in my gmail from Cascade Designs customer service – 1.5L pot:
Height: 3.58"
Diameter: 6.26"

very similar to AGG 1.9L aluminum pot