does anyone hike with their partner and carry two instead of one cook kit?

When I'm with my wife, I carry one cook kit, specifically because I am obligated to provide coffee, hot meals, wine, and whatever else she commands. Such is my lot ;)

However, when with any of my other buddies, it can vary from no-cook (my favorite) to a 4quart pot and fresh cheese scones, depending on the trip.

I guess my point is, if you suggest to your girlfriend she needs to carry her own cook kit because you want to carry 6oz less, you may not have to worry about cooking for two…

How does 2x foster compare to 1x evernew?

It's a false goal to get yourself down to a target SUL weight if the shared gear weight is increasing or merely redistributed.

Also there's some fuel efficiency in boiling one pot instead of two, though not sure if it's enough to make a significant difference.

Sounds like the other shared gear is a good target.

If you (and she) haven't already, take a wilderness first aid class, then pare the kit down to only the items you know how to use.

Can you dial back the quantity/container size on the hygiene items?

Everyone carries their own cook kit when I go out.

I feel weird eating in front of people that aren't eating.
I'd rather eat and share with friends rather than have everyone waiting to get a shot at the stove only to eat separately.

I think it comes down to your priorities, depending on the trip.

Do you both have to eat at the same time?

Do you need a meal that requires 900ml each?

When we're really concerned with weight a friend and I will just bring one setup, and take turns for freezer bag cooking. We are cooking dinner only anyway, so just boil water for one and then boil for the other, in practice both of us are eating within a few minutes of each other. Other trips that 8oz extra weight is worth it (cold weather, where we may be making broth/tea at lunch and dinner).

You ask about TWO lighter kits. I think for you and your lady you need not have that redundancy. Compare the wieght of your 900ml with a 400ml mug, (stove/fuel/etc being equal) is that worth it?

When I go with my wife I carry a larger pot and one stove. We eat the same cooked meals and I do all the cooking. I carry all the cooking stuff. It is a small price to pay to get her to come with me.

If going with non-family they carry their own stuff. I might share something, but they expect to provide their own meals, and to prepare/cook them.

I think the key words in OP's entry are :

" I'm working on getting down to SUL "

easy solution … no cook kit.

cold food is functional.
SUL is all about functional, not comfort.

Depends on the trip and who I am with.

…

"cold food is functional.
SUL is all about functional, not comfort."

LOL. You are in the wrong forum. Backpacking does not have to be bland and painful.

glad you enjoyed a good laugh.

but isn't SUL something like 5-6 lbs of total gear.
maybe we are just talking semantics, or relative comfort.
but please show me your cushy 6 lb gear list.

my point was that there are those who live to eat,
and those who eat to live.
for me fueling the engine is simply a necessary requirement for adventure,
not the adventure itself.

thread drift, but…

I don't find no-cook to be bland or boring. Who doesn't like eating cheese, salami, and payday bars?

of course you are right about tasty no cook items.

my definition of functional referred to minimal to no preparation rather than tastiness.

I / We carry 2 of everything now.

Also I don't have to use my brain when I pack gear for a solo trip vs. going with my partner (my wife)… it's the same thing either way, all the time. Easy peezy. While taking the planning logistics out of things it also just makes everything easier, if one of us wants to heat up tea, they don't have to get into the other person's pack or ask them for anything.

Self sufficiency, and less pitfalls due to complete redundancy.

Non cook food is heavier than dehydrated foodstuffs.

Art, you make me laugh.

deleted

When I go with wife and kids, I typically pack everyone's packs initially or at least spread out the weight according to age/ strength. I will bring one cooking system and each will carry their own cup or plate.

When I go with others, I'll just quickly find out who is bringing what and share. Usually only need 1 water filter for the group and 1 stove.

…

I've found the notion that dehydrated foods are "lighter" than non-cook items mostly false, in terms of cal/oz.

Ex- Backpacker Pantry Beef Broccoli Stir Fry- 720cal/7oz, or roughly 100cal/oz

Payday Bar- 240cal/1.9oz, or roughly 120cal/oz

Aged Cheddar- 110cal/oz

Almonds- 160cal/oz

Its easy enough to stay above that 100cal/oz mark, and then you add on the weight for cookwear/fuel…

Anyway, I like no-cook for the simplicity. No dishes, no cook time, no setup.

What were we talking about?

It's hard to do much better than almonds, or especially macademia nuts and pecans at 200 cal/oz., but you can also do pretty well with certain dehydrated meals. For example, the following is a short list of my current favorites:

A dehydrated can of Stagg's Silverado chili: 520 cal, 3.4 oz. packaged > 153 cal/oz.

10 oz. of Bush's Best beans + 6-7 links of Hillshire Farms thinly sliced smoked sausage:
551 cal, 3.8 oz. packaged after dehydrating both ingredients separately > 147
cal/oz.

A full pouch of Tasty Bites Jaipur vegetables, dehydrated + .7 oz. of Mountain House FD diced chicken:
453 cal, 2.8 oz packaged > 162 cal./oz.

These do require a bit of prep time, mainly soaking the sausage (or dehydrated Spam) beforehand, but otherwise a few minutes of simmering will reconstitute most ingredients. Still, it's not a no-cook arrangement. Also, I might add 1/2 oz. of olive oil or ghee to any meal to boost the calories considerably (and enrich the taste).

By contrast, one of my favorite lunch combos is 1.5 oz. of cheese, 1.7 oz of fresh sausage, and a pre-buttered thin bagel. This weighs 5.0 oz. for 520 cal., or a mere 104 cal/oz. (but tasty).

Some things that don't work are packaged tuna or salmon (27-40 cal/oz.) and English muffins (60 cal/oz.).

I walk with my wife. We share all the gear.
Also, what Ozzie and Katherine wrote.

Cheers
(Katherine spelling corrected – sorry!)

My wife and I have 2 different cook kits, depending on need.

For solo use: 0.9L Evernew pot and its Caldera Cone + 1 Esbit tablet per cooked meal

For both of us: 1.3L Evernew pot and its Caldera Cone + 2 Esbit tablets per cooked meal

We don't separate on the trail and both will go back if one decides to do so.

I carry my own kitchen. I've used an alcohol cat-can in the past, and currently am experimenting with solid fuel and a ti-wing stove. When my husband backpacks with me, he brings his jet-boil. He routinely offers to do the cooking but I prefer to be self-sufficient. We have completely different trail-food preferences so it's easier to cook separately anyway.
Kelly

When hiking with my buddy we usually each travel as soloists, with our own cooking setups, I use a snow peak TI minimalist setup,0.5l cooking mug, spork and stove, and it nests a pair of mini fuel cannisters, one inside and one on top. We had a section where we each caught a bug and sharing our cook setup was a big possible infection/transmission point, so we each segregate our kitchen and hygeine stuff now.

When my lady comes along I carry the same stove setup and do the cooking but she carries a GSI halulite kettle, packed with our coffee kit, utensils, seasonings, a little scouring pad, and hand sanitizer, plus I snuck a couple of esbit's and a mini bic in there.

We boil using the kettle and my mug, my ti mug functions as a measuring cup (it is graded on the side in oz and 0.1L increments) and once the water for rehydrating our meal is poured the ti mug becomes our coffee/tea vessel.

If we get seperated she has a couple of esbit's to start a wood fire for boiling or warmth or signal, etc.

The only real changes I am looking to make is find a different mug, I really like the GSI halulite solo mug, it has the nice insulated sleeve and sip-top but they really failed to include any sort of measuring cup functionality.