Frying pan angst

They are out there, somewhere. I have one that I purchased about 25 years ago.

I can't put my finger on it right this minute, but it is aluminum, coated on the interior, and about 7" in diameter. No handles, so I carry a pot-gripper.

It is just about the right size for a personal-sized pancake, and I use a sharp wooden spatula with it.

–B.G.–

Iv'e been looking for a nice small fying pan or skillet too. A bit small but better than nothing, I baulk at the comments about the non stick ti skillet, pity they dont put the 900ml pot set ceramic alum skillet on the 900ml non non stick ti pot, I'm not buying both sets ; )

"I WISH some company would make coated aluminum lid/frypans in maybe 4 sizes that would kinda-sorta fit several different sizes of pots. They would only need to be about 1 cm. to 1/2 in. deep to work well and no handle would be needed, maybe just a metal "loop" riveted to the side so a pot gripper could get a grip on it. "

That does sound more like a lid.

Antigravity Gear has some of the Evernew non-stick Ti fry pans at 4,7 and 5.5oz and 6"-8" diameter. You can do more kinds of cooking in a larger pan. I don't know if I'm enough of a trail gourmet to justify dropping $48 on a fry pan. http://www.antigravitygear.com/fry-pans-and-kettles.html

I want a Ti wok with a mating burner ring/stand. Wok cooking takes advantage of small heat sources and quick cooking of food that is in small, easily cooked pieces. You could get pretty crazy with pre-chopped goodies on an overnight trip. I'm salivating at the thought :)

Might not be UL enough but I LOVE the MSR http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/cookware/fast-and-light-cookware/quick-skillet/product

It is a very nice frypan/skillet.

Anyhow….for years though when I want a skillet I have used the ones that come on GSI pots – my main 2L pot has the option of that or a plastic lid and I can take what I think I will need and leave the other half at home…..

I have an old frypan from the MSR Duralite Gourmet set. Sadly they don't make this set anymore but I found the pan to be the best balance between being light and being practical. It's coated aluminium.

+1 on the MSR Aluminum, Worked great for pancakes and scrambled eggs on a simple overnight…

Were a person to carry an actual frying pan, the current MSR one is amazing. It is a deep sided skillet really and cooks enough for 2 easily. It fits under the 2L pots in the new sets as well. Not small though. I do also carry a single egg frypan at times…some of them are very UL.

Sarah,

That sounds just like the one from my Duralite set. It fits just nicely under the 2 L pot. It makes sense with the 3 or 4 of us going to have this set as our cooking equipment especially on longer trips. I love the versatility of a frypan for everything from rehydrated hashbrowns, ham and egg scrambles, fritattas, pancakes, frypan baking (cakes, cookies, biscuits, and bannock). It just allows so much more versatility in the menu.

It is a very nice update IMO. It is Duralite as well. http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/cookware/basecamp-cookware/flex-skillet/product

The only real issue I have with it is the handle – which fits all the pots – so that is a bonus – but the handle isn't fire friendly. Although one could use an old school metal handle (pliers) for it.

I picked up an MSR Duralite frying pan on campsaver a few months ago and it looks like they still have them. They were (and are) on sale for $17. I really like the Duralite set (I have the "mini" set with the 1L and 1.5L pots) though I've used them more on car-camping trips.

Same problem here.

I have a Trangia mess kit. the lid is big enough to invert and cook an egg. Lots of room inside for an Esbit stove, sauces and stuff.

Trangia's 27 UL hard anodized cook set comes with a hard-anodized aluminum frying pan that's a nice size (7.4" wide x 1.2" deep), and pretty light (per Trangia's recent specs, weighs about 2.8 oz; my old one weighs 2.99 oz).

The 27 frying pan is apparently available separate from the Trangia 27 cook set, per google turning up these sites:

http://tinyurl.com/6uccbsd

http://tinyurl.com/78vzkk8

There's no handle attached to the 27 frying pan. The 27 cook set comes with an aluminum pot lifter (about 1.71 oz); other potlifters work also, like MSR (1.0 oz).

The potlifter that comes with Trangia's mini 28 cook set probably works with the Trangia 27 frying pan, too, and weighs only about 0.68 oz.

Weight of Trangia UL hard anodized 27 frying pan w/Trangia 28 handle: 3.67 oz.

Compare to Evernew Titanium 7.25" frying pan w/folding handle at 4.80 oz (which may not be available anymore),

and with MSR Duralite 7" Quick Skillet w/folding handle at 5.9 oz,

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/cookware/fast-and-light-cookware/quick-skillet/product

Having you ever thought about getting a pot that is flat enough to fry but tall enough to hold water? My friend uses one like that, and I stole it on a trip to fry a small fish.

a

I'm new here, but periodically skulk through the discussion forums.
I need to replace the fry pan from my Trangia set (22 cm) and have been looking at the Manpans 9 inch round cake pan.
Not interested in coated aluminum; I understand these are anodized.
http://www.manpans.com/products/9%22-Round-Cake-Pan.html
Anodized, solid, nor particularly light.
Opinions?

The specs on that pan indicated that it is safe up to 700*F. Campfires can get the pan much hotter than that (up to ~1600*F), depending on how close the pan is to the coals and what type of wood you are burning.

As stated, it's to replace my Trangia fry pan, so chances are slim that it would get that hot. I'll be using the canister adapter with it. No campfire use anticipated, I'm not really in the lightweight backpacking category.

Buy a pan that is for frying/cooking in. Cake pans are for baking and hence much lower temperatures (usually topping out at 450* give or take). That is my opinion but I have found over the years it isn't worth messing with.
Stoves have very focused hot points I might add that can warp pans that are not made for cooking in.

HMM, the lid for my snowpeak 1400 is suppose to be a fry pan. I usually leave it at home and only take the set if my wife is going with me. I'll have to check it out. I've seen other cook sets where the lids are fry pans.

On our last trip I watch a very cool trick. One of the guys put raw eggs/cooked bacon in a ziplock ang boiled it in his pot, while brewing coffee. when it was done he had real scramled eggs and a fresh brew.

Enjoy,

Dave

There's this 6 inch nonstick pan/lid: http://climbinggearinc.com/mini-trangia-lightweight-aluminum-burner-p-3908.html. In my case, it's a lid for the Trangia Series 27 pots and MSR 1.0L pot from the Mini-Titan set

Is there a source for comparative max temps of canister stoves? I find it hard to believe that a pan made for home use (albeit oven use) would be less durable than camping pots/pans skirting the edge of usability in the name of weight savings.
Regardless, it's not much dough, so I'll give it a go.

Lol…lets just say I managed to warp a pricey Titanium MSR solo pot last year when I ignored it and it ran dry. Yes, you can warp nearly ANY metal pot,pan or tray on a canister stove. It is the highly focused flame that you have to watch. That Ti pot has a big bubble of metal right where the flame was.

A good fry pan (and it needn't be heavy) is designed to spread the heat (such as the MSR frypans or the GSI ones for example). A cake pan is not going to have that design.

But hey, whatta do I know……

Yah, I see what you mean; when and if I pick up such a cake pan, my report will be unscientific, slanted and incomplete.
But that's just me.
Thank you all for your much more considered replies.

Been enjoying the pan discussion.

"That Ti pot has a big bubble of metal right where the flame was."

I have had luck taking the bulges out of pots by heating the bump to near red and tapping the bulge on something like a granite counter top. Another way is to heat up the bump and wipe it quickly with a damp cloth. The fast cooling shrinks the metal. You don't want to cool it too fast though or the metal can shrink so much that it tears. So don't heat it and stick it underwater or something.