Open Country 2qt pot 7.8oz. (a 15 dollar aluminum pot vs. 60 dollar 7.9oz titanium pot!)

It's always nice when you find gear that's better than you thought it was. In my teens I was given a grab-bag of old gear, including a large, stiff, oddly shaped headnet. Years later I looked at it again and realized it was a 10×18 mesh stuff sack that weighs less than one ounce.

Titanium really only has the edge over aluminum if you use a campfire to cook with.

Edit: that wire bale is pretty slick. Too bad they don't make an Open Country 1 quart pot.

Isn't there some danger in using aluminum cookware if it's uncoated?

Michael
The weight is often discussed but some get Ti simply because it is more dent resistant than aluminium.
I would not recommend Ti to anyone that cooks .( I only boil)
Franco

I have the 2 qt and 4 qt aluminum pots, they're awesome. My 4 qt pot is almost 20 years old and besides one good dent is in great shape. These pots are fantastic for cooking in the fire. … And yeah, a one quart would be nice, but I use a Brunton IB cookset to fill that gap. Also great pieces of aluminum cookware.

Texsport also makes a 1.5qt aluminum pot. Note that the lid is very heavy, but a grease pot lid works. I simply remove the handle (substituting a piece of the handle and a smaller alum screw) and cut off the flange leaving a thicker disk for a lid. The pot, bail (aluminum) and lid comes up to about 5.875 oz. I use a K-Mart grease pot for solo work at about 3.75oz. I think they still sell their set for $17, though most parts, except the pot, are pretty worthless.

Aluminum is not toxic. It is found in all sorts of stuff and common alloys of Titanium actually have aluminum in them. You really don't get away from it. Acidic foods like spighetti sauce will cut into aluminum leaving a LOT in your food, however.

As others have said, the big advantakge is ti doesn't dent as easily. It is also more brittle. I cracked a ti pot one time unbending it. Aluminum generally takes a few dents amd bends with little effect.

At the thinness we are talking, nothing makes a good cooking pan. Aluminum is slightly better than ti, but it really doesn't effect heat transfer that much.

For boiling water, making soups/stews, breads, etc at camp, I prefer aluminum because it is just lighter. Thanks, Michael!

http://www.opencountry.com

2 Quart Aluminum Kettle Item Number: 4368-0085

This traditional straight-sided aluminum kettle with plated wire bail handle has a flat cover lid with a riveted "D" ring on it. Simplicity, durability, and light weight make this a great value!

Dimensions: 6 1/4" DIA x 4 1/2" 0.26 Lbs. (4.1 oz)

I don't know how REI went from 4 oz to 12 oz. (Mistakes were made)

Congrats on the newfound enlightenment! That's always a nice surprise.

As far as REI's listed specs, take them with a grain of salt. They are often wrong. For more accurate results, scour the web for actual users measured weights. Especially if weight is a big part of the reason for the purchase in the first place.

The pot that comes in boy scout mess kits is about 0.9 liter and probably made by open country or texsport.

It may be more of a 0.7 liter pot, so my volume may be off.

My Open Country hard anodized 2qt. pot and lid weighs 6.25oz. Costs a fraction of titanium and performs just as well, if not better (I like to have the option to cook in my pots). I also own the 3 cup pot. I just don't see the benefit of spending (at least) twice as much on titanium. They don't make the hard anodized anymore but you can find them over on the Trail Designs site.

I got my non-stick two quart and three cup pans as a set with a pot lifter off Amazon for about fifteen bucks. They are a great value made in the US. I think it's called the Sierra piece set.

I see absolutely no advantage of using ti over aluminum for cooking utensils.

1. Ti is VERY expensive
2. Ti does not distribute heat well or evenly
3. most Ti is not non-stick
4. size for size Ti usually weighs more than aluminum

I have Ti in my CC Sidewinder/Inferno woodburning stove B/C it withstands the higher heat of a wood fire.

Ti tent stakes? well, maybe but generally I prefer MSR's Groundhog aluminum stakes.

Ti in the frame of a .44 magnum revolver for Griz protection, great.

Ti in the case of a watch, OK.

Apparently a lot of folks are getting smart about the marketing hype that has been pushing titanium cookware and I am encouraged to see folks pushing back against that hype and pressing forward toward a return to the idea of practical application and the fundamental principles of price/value.

It's about time.

I'm one of them. I've found no advantage to Ti pots, other than having been able to say I own a few. Yeah, I used to be a lemming, on some levels I probably still am one but just don't know it yet. The miracle of marketing.

Whatever, now those titanium pots sit on the shelf.

The bottom line is that even at four times the price of lightweight hard anodized aluminum Ti is not superior cookware.

I've been using an Open Country hard-anodized 2 quart pot, supplied with the Trail Designs Sidewinder setup, for a couple of months. $60. That setup has performed very well and is the principle reason that my Ti stuff is collecting dust.

In any case, of course, pack what makes you happy. Always HYOH and so forth. But $60 for a pot to bring a liquid to boil is ridiculous.

The Bush Pot is a great little 1.1 liter (5 cup) pot that come in plain aluminum and hard anodized with a bail handle. It is 6.8 oz but could be made even lighter with a lighter gauge bail handle and a MYOG aluminum lid.

Four Dogs sells them as well as Ben's Backwoods:

Hard Anodized:
http://fourdog.com/1-1-liter-bush-pot-hard-anodized/
http://www.bensbackwoods.com/servlet/Detail?no=687

Plain Alum:
http://fourdog.com/1-1liter-bush-pot-plain-aluminum/

Those are nice-looking pots, glad to know about them.

Titanium, in terms a specific gravity is 71% heavier than aluminum.

Here is a post I made on another thread:

Have you considered an aluminum Stanco Grease Pot? It works well for two people.

40 fluid oz = 1.3 Liter capacity

3.7 oz (for both the Pot & the Stock Lid combined – definitely very light)

$ 6.14 in cost (definitely more affordable than the Open Country or other pots on the market).

… It also comes with a grease strainer, which can be left at home.
Or if you like a Bakepacker type insert for baking, then you can trim the rim off and turn it upside down into the bottom of the pot, where it will nicely approximate a Bakepacker at zero cost.

You can also shave off almost 1 oz from the lid by getting rid of the large plastic knob. A bead, or paper clip are two of the possible substitutes.

The pots are available here: