Cooking system for four

For 4 people I would recommend a bigger pan or perhaps even 2 pans. I usually take 2 pans from Trangia (1,5+1,7L) when I go hiking with a group. A single pan full isn't enough most of the time (sometimes it's just enough for 3 people). I use a simple box that used to contain potato salad as my eating bowl. Lighter than anything else I've found so far and it's pretty cheap too. It even comes with free food ;)

Thanks, Mark. I am looking at weight & volume a lot more carefully now because we are moving from base camp hiking to following multi-day trails.

I thought 1.8L might be cutting it a bit fine, so I'll look at one bigger pot or two pots, as you suggested. Thanks also for the potato salad container tip. I hadn't thought about those. They are stronger than a regular takeaway container and will nest nicely (and are very LOW cost!).

Check this out: http://ryanjordan.com/blog/2011/05/group-gear-for-lightweight-wilderness-travel/

it is about group gear in general but there is a nice section on the cooking set up.

cheers,
jim

Since you have teens I would consider two stoves and two pots – so that there is a flexibility in heating up water if the kids want to eat before the adults. It is also easier to pack two smaller pots in 2 packs.

The other thing is that after you boil the water for the meals you may want to go back and then make hot drinks, so you can stagger boiling.

For two people I like to be able to boil 4 cups at minimum each time but that is me….YMMV.

@James Thanks for giving me the link to Ryan's blog. The article was perfect timing for me! I have signed up so that I don't miss anymore of his experience gems.

@Sarah. Your tip on 2 cups per person is a great guideline, ie. 900ml each. Two pots of 2 – 2.5L will allow us to heat drinks and cook dinner at the same time, or just cater to different tastes. My kids have been well trained at home and school, so I look forward to putting my feet up and supervising their hiking meal preparations! :-)

For my family of four we take a dualist and a Halulite Ketalist. My kids are small though 8 and 4 and we haven't gone on many multiple night trips YET so ymmv. On our overnighters I do take a cat stove specifically for the kettle to simply boil water for drinks. As of late, we have been cooking in the dualist, so we'd have to clean it out before boiling water for coco or tea.

Why not a Jetboil Sol with an extra 'cup' or two? Very quick boils, not overly heavy, easy to spread the weight around.

@Cesar. The Dualist and Ketalist combination sounds good. You are obviously happy with the GSI brand. I started looking at the Ketalist because the kettle design would be easier and safer with kids. Shame they don't make a 1.5-2L version. Do you find it on the heavy side? Does the lid lock in so it can't fall off when you pour.

@ Douglas
I have just starting noticing the Jetboil Sol in posts and the stability aspect of it sounds like it could also be safer around kids. There have been some interesting posts over the last few days talking about the efficiency, weight and cost compared to other canister stoves.

So many great options and not enough money or storage space to try them all :-(