So what’s your current kitchen setup?

Douglas, I noticed you do not carry a windscreen; consider Caldera Cones by Trail Designs; It is an integrated pot support and windscreen. I gave up on the 'Jenga stack' of alcohol components like beer cans and mesh holders; the Cone is only one piece.

To answer the question, I have three setups for a pair of hikers:

1. Alcohol/Trail Designs soda can stove/Snowpeak Trek900pot&cup/Caldera Cone/BPL long handled Ti spoon x2

2. Canister/Snowpeak Gigapower/Snowpeak Trek900pot&cup/Caldera Cone/BPL long handled Ti spoon x2

3. Canister/Jetboil/same/same/BPL long handled Ti spoon x2

Which setup I consider depends on the number of meals, since the fuel x efficiency leads to different starting weights, as shown here:

You can read the 'base weight' of each system at the left hand side of each line (I forgot to say on the graph title, weights are in grams) Since esbit is the weight equivalent of alcohol I do not carry it except as a backup, due to the residue.

I ususally use commercial cook in a bag type meals, supplimented with cans of meat, couscous, and spices.

Alcohol/Tea Light/Heineken Keg/Walmart Oven Liner/BPL Long Handled Titanium Spoon

2.15 oz for the stove etc
0.40 oz for spoon
=======
2.55 oz

Currently:
Tealight stove
Modified cat food can for pot stand
Fosters can pot
Oven liner windscreen
Al foil lid for pot
SP Ti spork
Total weight: 2.04 oz

I accidentally forgot to bring the spork on my last trip and had to whittle some chopsticks to eat my Ramen noodles.
Total kitchen weight on last trip: 1.44 oz.
Won't forget that again :)

Adam

Adam, curious what your cat food pot stand looks like/weighs.

Its really nothing special… I had a failed Supercat laying around and needed a pot stand to use with the tea light. Unfortunately I had no hardware cloth so I just hacked the bottom out of the cat food can to make it more of a metal ring and punched some more holes in it to let more air through. I intended it as a temporary solution until I could get some hardware cloth, but here I am, 3 months later and still using it because I'm not motivated enough to get something different. Weight= 6 grams.
Like I said, its nothing special and looks even worse. But it seems to work moderately well. One of these days I'll make a 'proper' pot stand.

Adam

For freezer bag cooking, I use a minibull designs ssbit stove, hardware cloth pot stand, heiny can pot, and an aluminum wind screen (from a flimsy grocery store cookie sheet). Total weight ~3 oz. As far as cooking food in a pot, I use a minibull designs nion #2, hardware cloth pot stand, walmart grease pot, and a similar aluminum wind screen. This kit is ~6 oz and with the addition of a very small (albeit heavy ~3 oz) spring form pan that nestles in the grease pot, I can even bake biscuits, pizza, cinnamon rolls, and the like. For dishes, I use the Orikaso solo set (bowl, plate, and graduated mug). For utensils, I use a light my fire spork, my buck knife, and a iced tea spoon for reaching down into the freezer bags.

On most trips it is:
Primus canister stove w/fuel, MSR Titan Kettle, MSR Ti cup, spoon, lighter, clear measuring cup (it is a 1 cup size) and paper towels. I also at times carry my Fauxbaker setup (weighs 1/4 of an ounce), that I use in my Titan for baking.
I don't "cook" of course, and only do freezer bags.

(Why do I carry a measuring cup? I don't know…I could save 1/2 an ounce, but I like it.

Canister/Gigapower/Snow Peak 700/None/Polycarobnate Spork

1. ESBIT/BPL titanium wing stove/Firelite 500 (no handles)/BPL titanium foil windscreen/BPL long handled spoon

This is my standard go to setup

2. Caldera Cone/BPL Firelite 500

Never had any luck with and generally don't like alcohol stoves. The Caldera cone system seems to work the best for me and might get me to start using alcohol.

3. Bushbuddy Ultra/BPL 1100 pot.

My favorite setup, but I can only use it (legally) where fires are allowed.

I have two kitchen set up's:

Light – 14.6 oz:

Snow Peak 600 pot/mug with homemade lid – 3.4 oz
Snow Peak Gigapower canister stove – 3.7 oz
Snow Peak 110 (small) fuel canister – 7 oz
Brasslite (Tibetan) titanium folding spork – 0.5 oz

Lighter – 3.7+ oz:

FireLite 500 pot/mug with lid – 2.4 oz
Homemade alcohol cat stove w/ windscreen – 1.1 oz
Denatured alcohol fuel – varies
Plastic spork – 0.2 oz

Douglas,

I use the same setup whether I'm going solo or with my wife. For 9.4 ounces you get the following:

> Evernew 0.9 L Titanium pot (with standard heavy lid)
> Pot cozy
> Aluminum flashing windscreen
> Stainless steel bike spokes to support pot on windscreen
> Redbull alcohol stove
> Measuring cup for water
> Measuring cup for alcohol
> Lexan spoon
> Wood matches
> L'il Nipper for alcohol storage
> Aluminum foil heat reflector

For pictures and more information check out our website:
http://caseyandemily.com/Backpack/2006/2006_09_Kitchen/Kitchen.htm
> Al foil heat reflector

I've been collecting for a while, so I have several options:

*Esbit beercan stove
*Esbit wing stove (non-Ti)and aluminum foil windscreen
*Standard Esbit folding stove and aluminum foil windscreen
*Home-made aluminum flashing/gutter nail/cat food can Esbit stove and pot stand
*Home-made aluminum flashing windscreen and Brasslite Turbo IIf alcohol stove
*Coleman F1 butane stove
*Brasslite 600ml Ti pot

Utensils:
Snowpeak Ti bowl
GSI plastic mug
REI plastic thermal mug
Lite My Fire Spork
Generic Lexan Spork
BWM long Ti spoon
Small wooden spoon (kitchen store)
Victorinox paring knife
Orikaso bowl
Chopsticks