New Cook Kit

Have you seen these? I've got no experience with them, so I can't comment on their durability, but I'm going to be purchasing one soon. There was a discussion on this board a few days ago about aluminum vs. titanium pots. These aluminum ones are a lot cheaper than the ti ones though, and they've got no handles like you want.

http://www.antigravitygear.com/products.php?cat=113

Here's the link to the alum vs ti thread.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=13180

If you want to go cheaper here's what I'd get:

http://www.rei.com/product/401067

Just remove the handle if you want.

Also, I've had bad luck brewing coffee in titanium mugs and prefer either polypropylene mug (http://www.rei.com/product/401090 – also cheaper than titanium) or a wooden mug. Coffee brewed in titanium tastes off.

EDIT: The Evernew 1.3 L pot is closer to the volume and weight of the BPL 1100. It has handles, but they pop off very easily. I've seen the super thin pots like the BPL one and I think the Evernew pot would be more durable.

Justin:

I too like to cook in my pot. What that typically leads me toward is a shorter/wider form factor…..and either non-stick or anodized aluminum. Travis' link to either Antigravity Gear's 2qt or 3cup aluminum pots fit the bill nicely. They are actually made by the same "Open Country" outfit that David linked you to…..only George at AGG has them specially made for him by Open Country to his specs without the handles or all the gadgets to hold the handles. Really good value.

Since you mentioned the Ti-Tri, both of these (the AGG pots) work very well in the Ti-Tri, and given our relationship with George, we could bundle them up with your kit if you want to go that way. We also have all of the Evernew pots we could bundle up with it as well if you see something there (the REI Ti-Ware pots are made by Evernew btw)…..and the BPL pots are great too…..let me know.

Rand :-)

>>They are actually made by the same "Open Country" outfit that David linked you to…..only George at AGG has them specially made for him by Open Country to his specs without the handles or all the gadgets to hold the handles

Huh. Interesting. I wish the AntiGravity Gear pots were available without the nonstick coating though…

I just bought my first titanium cookset. I too like to cook in my pots. Tibetan, the company that makes the Ti stuff for BPL I believe, makes a 1300ml cookset that I got. The pot weighs 3.6 oz, the frypan lid weighs 2 oz, and the removable handle that works for both pieces weighs .4 oz. You can make a light lid and leave the frypan at home, and the handle if you want too. I love using the frypan on top to cook a sauce while I boil water for noodles or whatever. The price is right at about 35 plus S&H.

Here's a link to that set;

http://www.lighthound.com/Tibetan-Titanium-Cookset–1300ml-Pot-and-combination-Pan-Lid-Plate-with-detachable-handle_p_2569.html

That's a great website, as far as customer service goes. I order Thursday after midnite (so friday). They sent it Friday and I received it Monday.

For a while, he was having them made in anodized….not-non-stick. That was pretty sweet. Probably even have a couple of those old anodized pots laying around here somewhere. I guess the reason it went away is that doing anodizing takes a bunch of nasty chemicals that aren't all that good for the environment. Consequently, with Open Country being a US company, anodizing got really expensive considering the US environmental laws/restrictions. So, what you see now is all the anodized aluminum pots on the market being made in China or Korea where the environmental concerns aren't as "expensive".

FYI

Rand

Thanks for all the input thus far!

Rand: I'll definitely look more into the AGG Al pots and might take up the bundling offer, though I'm not entirely sure at the moment. I really like the aesthetic of the Firelite, I'm just not sure I can justify the purchase to myself seeing as there are questions regarding the pot's durability. I'm also not the most informed person when it comes to what materials are most suitable for backcountry cooking, though I haven't heard anyone voice serious concerns about the suitability of titanium. More just generalizations along the lines of "Aluminum distributes heat better".

I also have to admit that I think Ti just looks plain sexy!

If the difference between Al and Ti is really as negligible, when using the pot for cooking, as I'm thinking then I'd rather get a Ti pot. The only question is which one.

My criteria for pot selection at the moment are a mix of durability, suitable volume for in-pot-cooking during longer trips and simplicity.

Again, thanks to everyone for the suggestions and help! I've been doing more research based on those and I hope to be getting some more ideas.

Justin

Looks like you got your arms around it!

Let me just throw out a few other physics/engineering type facts between the two metals since you are wrestling between them…..just to confuse the issue!

1) Ti, by all measures, is MUCH stronger than aluminum. Just no comparison. The only reason anybody ever says a titanium anything is weak or flimsy is because the wall thickness was made VERY thin to reduce weight.

2) Ti has a melting point of 3135 deg F. Aluminum is 660 deg F. No matter what you do, you will never melt your titanium pot (unreasonable efforts aside). Aluminum however can be melted if you boil off all the water and let it sit on a wood fire for a while. If you always keep food or water in your aluminum pot, it is in no danger of melting.

3) Titanium is WAY heavier than Aluminum…..actually about 1.8 times the weight of aluminum….almost twice as heavy. Typically, people think it is lighter because it is so strong, you can make things like pots much thinner and get a similar weight. However, at the end of the day, one cubic inch of titanium will weigh a LOT more than a cubic inch of aluminum.

4) Aluminum is a MUCH better conductor of heat than titanium. In general, aluminum is about 10 times more conductive….of heat. This could be good or bad. Wall thickness plays a role in that, and titanium's wall thicknesses are typically thin. Also, a metal that conducts heat INTO your food, will conduct it OUT of your food just as quickly. So, while titanium might be a bit of an insulator, that is "bad" for heating your stuff up, but "good" for keeping it warm after cooking.

5) Titanium is MUCH more expensive than aluminum. Check out pretty much any comparable pots, the aluminum version will cost you at least half the money…..just the price of the material.

Anyway…..that last one probably drifted off of the engineering stuff…..sorry.

Rand :-)