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Pot suggestions on new cook kit

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Scott Hayden BPL Member
PostedMay 14, 2013 at 8:30 pm

I am reworking my cook kit, trying to get out of the Coleman Max stuff an into a lighter set. For the most part I have just been freezer bag cooking but I don't necessarily want to limit my self. My plan is to ditch the supercat stove and most likely go with a Firefly wood burner. At 2.55 oz if is not super heavy and I like the idea of wood. I can also bring the super cat and use the Firefly as a windscreen if I need to. Flexibility is nice.

My main stopping point is the pot. Initially I was looking at the MDL 850 at 3.3 oz. It is a slender pot though and efficiency may not be the best. I have looked at the wider pots from Evernew, the ECA251(600ml) and the ECA252(900ml). Both seemed well liked, although I find it odd neither are on amazon at an affordable price. Also looked into the Snowpeak 900 trek and the 600ml mug.

So after collating all my ounces and such I am left with one question. Will I be able to cook in a 600ml pot/mug. The Snow Peak 600ml the cheapest but at 3.8 inches in diameter I am not sure how it will fit on the Firefly without the small pot supports. Most of the other sets are about the same price, although snow peak seems more readily available at places I have gift cards or dividends too lol. Having not done much "cooking" on the trail I wanted to get some input from those that have. Any thoughts? Thanks

Jeff M. BPL Member
PostedMay 14, 2013 at 10:07 pm

What sort of "cooking" are you thinking about doing? I've owned the SP 600 and I personally wouldn't attempt much more than boiling water in it. I'd want something wider if I were going to cook food in the pot.

Also, I don't know how set on the firefly you are but the Trail Designs Sidewinder Tri Ti Caldera Cone might be an option to consider. It can handle wood and alcohol and if you buy it as a bundle with the .9L evernew mug they discount the price a little (around $20 I think).

Scott Hayden BPL Member
PostedMay 14, 2013 at 10:31 pm

I was thinking making a pot of noodles or the such. If I decided I would rather cook things in a pot than a freezer bag. Just trying to keep my options open and stay light. All my stuff is aluminum right now, which is a bit heavier. I really want the wood burning option though.

I will check out that other thread. I have looked at the caldera stuff and it is just too expensive in my opinion. I have a small DIY cone I have used with my alcohol stoves and they work well. Looking for something a bit different for wood burning.

PostedMay 14, 2013 at 11:18 pm

OK, a mug just doesn't cut it for cooking for me. Cooking in cups is for soldiers and in Ti mugs for obsessed ULers. (IMHO, of course :o)

I use an aluminum anodized 3 cup pot. It's wide and low and fuel efficient. It's made for my CC Sidewinder stove but I use it with other stoves too.

Inside the pot nestles a cut down GLAD bowl and a light plastic measuring/drinking cup.
You see I often actually COOK, not just boil water, so I want the bowl. I hate drinking coffee that tastes like spaghetti sauce or Pad Thai, hence the cup, which also measures for cooking.

True, like the side pockets on my pack, it's a few extra ounces but I make up for it with other light gear and food.

I confess, my spoon is a long handled Lexan model, not a Ti spoon and not a "spork". (Mea culpa, mea culpa)

James Marco BPL Member
PostedMay 15, 2013 at 4:44 am

For solo work, I do not think I would consider anything less than 1L or about .75L in use.

A TI pot needs to be considered carefully. Why? Because ti is actually heavier than aluminum. At about 3.8oz I have a the traditional K-Mart grease pot. Hard to beat for 90% of camp cooking. A frying pan is somewhat better for fish and eggs, though.

Fried dough is easy. Mix up a small, dryish ball of flour, baking soda, olive oil, and water. Flatten it out and fry in a teaspoon of olive oil. Soups and stews are a given. Baking is possible, though steam baking in a piece of parchment paper can be different. You need some sort of limiter for the stove, though, often a ti spoon works well over the stove to slow it down some. A caldera cone works well for cooking. The stove needs some modification, like adding a vent closure "ring" on the bottom made with AL foil. Don't forget that bringing ingrediants for this stuff weighs less than the prepackaged, Mountain Souse stuff. Tastes better, too.

Bread dough wrapped on a stick works well over an open fire. I substitute Bisquik or Jiffy for flour, simply to avoid mixing salt, flour and baking powder in the correct amounts. Just a shaved forked stick with the dough wrapped around it works. Cook it slowly, of course. Avoid eating the stick. Or, heat up a thin, flat stone to cook it on. Lots of stuff you can cook, outside. Add rehydrated veggies to the fried dough to make "fritters." Goes good with soup. Pot pies, and, beef or chicken with dumplings. And so on. Dried beef makes good stew, just do not add salt. Pepperoni cut up and added to dried eggs makes OK scrambled eggs. Oatmeal (unflavoured) makes a good substitute for barley in soups and stews. Cooking outside is little more than boiling water with a good imagination and an eye for substitutes. Even if you make a mistake, it will be edible, at least. Everything tasts good outside, even the mistakes…hay, ha.

No matter what you select, it should be large enough to make a soup or stew in. Small enough to heat easily. A good lid will drip INTO the pan, not outside, along the sides. Caldera cones work well. But, so do canister stoves. WG really needs a small stove.

Anyway, a cup is often needed too. It helps to dip out a cup of hot water to make coffee/cocoa/tea while you cook. Cooking takes some time, but it isn't too much. After a 20mi day, it is enjoyable to sit on a log and play with cooking. A pot and cup can be set up for about ~$10 if you get aluminum. It will weigh about 5.5oz, for the two pieces. Trail designs makes a cone for the Kmart grease pot. All together this will weigh about 11oz and makes a very good, light weight, flexible cook kit. But, the pot is wide enough to fit on most stoves with a simple AL foil wind screen.

Anyway, this is only a suggestion…Aluminum is always lighter than Titanium. Ti has more strength for the gauge (thickness)of the metal. But, it gets brittle in very thin sheets. Al is easily dented, but doesn't crack as easily. And, if you try any cooking, aluminum will distribute heat better, even at very thin guages.

Tom D. BPL Member
PostedMay 15, 2013 at 8:06 am

I have one of the larger aluminum IMUSA Walmart pots (1.0 liter I believe) for cooking. I used the 2 cup version on the JMT last year (just for drinking as we brought the JetBoil) and it worked well, although it was "less than round" by the time we finished. It did the job just fine. The Ti mug will hold up a lot better and my wood/alcohol/esbit set up nests inside nicely. I rarely actually cook on the trail, although I've always wanted to surprise the kids by heating up a Cinnabon on the trail, if you can call that cooking (I do…:). I usually cook beforehand (corn pasta with meat sauce, homemade turkey chili, just about anything that will fit in my dehydrator).

Reading James's passionate post on cooking has got me thinking about cooking more often on the trail though. I've wanted to try baking, and may start looking at modifying my gear to try it. On extended thru-hikes though, its gonna stay just me and my mug.

Dan Yeruski BPL Member
PostedMay 15, 2013 at 9:47 am

I agree with Tom D. You want to burn wood, make life easy with a user friendly stove made by BrentD(cadyak) He uses the StarLyte burner for the alcohol burning mode. Brent will teach you how to do the vertical stack for an easy boil of 2 cups with one load of wood. No need to feed twigs. No assembly or takedown needed. User friendly.

PostedMay 15, 2013 at 10:27 am

For years I have carried a 1 liter pot but now I find the 3 cup pot just the perfect solo size.

PostedMay 15, 2013 at 10:43 am

Just boil water โ€“ 2 cups, almost anything will work. SP600 ok but donโ€™tโ€™ come with a lid. In general, a 700 ml to 750 ml mug is a good size.

Making soups and watery stuff โ€“ I like the 3 cup anodized aluminum pot that Antigravity gear use to carry. I canโ€™t seem to find this pot anymore.

Cooking meals in the pot โ€“ Titanium, tough surface that can be cleaned easily with sand and rocks (hard anodized surfaces are too soft for me, scratches easily). Mugs are ok but I prefer wide and low pots like the Evernew 0.9 liter or 0.6 liter pots (easier to stir and clean). I saw a used Evernew 700 recently on this site for $45, great deal.

My two cents – Jon

Scott Hayden BPL Member
PostedMay 15, 2013 at 3:44 pm

Thanks for the input guys. I am guess more would lean toward the Evernew 0.9 over the Snow Peak due to the width? Seems the evernew stuff is hard to find. Most places are showing out of stock. Wonder if the big REI sale coming up will include the snow peak stuff?

PostedMay 16, 2013 at 7:47 am

Have you considered the MSR Titan Kettle, 0.85 litres at 118 (claimed) grams with lid?

Scott Hayden BPL Member
PostedMay 16, 2013 at 1:24 pm

I have not looked at the titan yet. That may be an option. Thanks. I will have to head over to REI and check them out.

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