Source for Patrol Size Cook Pots

[Bob Shuff]

I’m heading a group to refurbish our troop’s backpacking cook boxes.  We have a large troop and separate patrol boxes for car camps, but the troop is doing more backpacking lately, and the backpacking boxes need some new pots.  We’re also planning a Philmont trek next summer and want to encourage patrol method cooking on some treks (anyone can do buddy system cooking).

I’ve been having trouble finding a source.  Much discussion a couple of years ago about the BSA patrol-sized pots going away.  I can’t seem to find anything useful recently.  Open Country still sells 2 and 4 quart pots, but they are non-stick (not my preference).  Anything larger than that looks to be a kitchen pot – not that I’m against that, but there are millions to choose from – info overload.

Anyone solve this problem lately?  What size pot does your troop use on a backpack, and how big is your cook patrol typically?

For reference, Philmont issues an 8 quart pot and a second 8, 6 or 4 quart pot.  You need to have (2) for the hot wash and hot rinse routine as I understand it.  I’ve heard others say they got by with (2) 4 quart pots.  I’m even having trouble finding those.

Thanks for your help,

Slbear (Bob)

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

Try a local Oriental Foods store. They have light weight stainless pots.

[David Thomas]

Walmart has some thin stainless steel stockpots for cheap.   There are some similar ones in aluminum.

Dirt-bag UL option: a large rice maker for $5 at a thrift store has a very light aluminum insert inside.

[Aubrey W. Bogard]

For our 2016 Philmont Shakedowns, I bought an 8-quart IMUSA aluminum stock pot at Walmart.  It was very inexpensive.  I believe that it may be a bit lighter than the ones Philmont uses (thinner-gauge aluminum), but the handles make it a bit bulky.  The Scout that volunteered to carry it stuffed his food inside, so the volume was not really an issue in his pack.  This is a good way to go if you wish to practice the Philmont cooking/cleaning methods.

When I attended the Philmont Advisors Skills School (PASS), the Chief Ranger told us that they were working with MSR to develop new Philmont pots to replace their aging inventory, which is no longer available from the original supplier.

[Clifford Deakyne]

I recently bought some 8 quart pots for my troop that were very inexpensive and very light weight stainless steel from Boscov.  They periodically have the pots half price, which is when I bought them.  I saw the offering on-line but got them at the local store.  Same issue with the handles as mentioned above.

[Jose Beltran]

Hi Bob,
I have 2 aluminum cooking pots that I got for snow melting. I never used them. They are new. They have lids and bails. One is 7 inches deep by 9 inches wide. It is made in Japan. The other one is
6 inches deep by 9 inches wide. It is made in China. If they could be of use to you , you can have them. You only have to pay shipping.
I can send you a picture on your cellular. I am having problems posting pictures on this forum.

Let me know if your interested.

[Bob Shuff]

Hi Jose,

Thanks for the kind offer.  Consensus is gaining momentum for going with medium sized pots for the backpacking boxes, so I’ll have to pass.

I think we’re looking for 2-4 qt pots, and want to buy a few sets at least (we had 6 backpacking cook boxes, but I think we can get with 4-5).  Each box will have 2 stoves and at least 2 pots.

Anyone have experience with the Xylan coating that’s on the current Open Country Pots?

Thanks,

[Jay L]

You might check some of the Ely MN / Boundary Waters area outfitters, most of them sell rental gear at the end of the season.  A few years ago I picked up some patrol cook kits from vnorth.com.

[Bob Shuff]

FYI…I stopped in a local outfitter in San Diego (Adventure 16 in Solana Beach, CA).  They’ve turned this store into more of a travel luggage/apparel store, but they still have a small room in the back with some backpacking equipment.  Anyway, besides a few standard Ti mugs they were stocking some “Liberty Mountain” 2.5L and 4.5L pots, which I’ve determined are made by Trangia.

Here’s the Liberty Mountain website (since that’s how I tracked down more info) for this product.  You can buy them on Amazon, Campsaver, etc.  These are pretty light and wide, which is good for the remote canister or white gas stoves that lend themselves to patrol-style cooking.  Also very reasonable – both are under $30.

I like these better than the Open Country current offering here.  These prices are often, but at least one of the ASMs reminded me that the scouts will destroy any non-stick coating.  He also prefers to be able to clean the pot with sand, which would wreck the non-stick even faster than a tenderfoot.

-Bob

[Jeffrey Peters]

I just arrived home from Philmont on Monday. The current issue pot at Philmont is made by Ace Camp and the link is below.

http://www.acecamp.com/aluminum-tribal-pots/

[Bob Moulder]

 

 

Includes flat lid with a wire D-ring handle
Wire bail handle on pot folds down for packing
Size: 11 x 8.3 in
Weight: 49.5 oz

Ouch!!

 

[Bob Shuff]

It looks like these specs are for the 12L.  It doesn’t change when you select 8 or 4 liter pots.  As has been reported seprately, most stoves spec a 10″ max diameter, which the 4 and 8 liter pots would meet (but the 12L would not).

That’s not to say Philmon’s pots aren’t overly heavy.  Like their tents, I assume they are specified to take abuse every day for months if not years.

the price of the 4L pot is pretty good at $24.99.  I wish I knew the weight of that.  Might be worth getting one to try.  I have an older un-coated aluminum open country pot that I think was 4Q, but so far I can only find them with non-stick coating.

-Bob

[Bob Moulder]

For comparison purposes, I have an old-style OC 4qt pot and it weighs 12.6 oz, so the Trangia you linked above is a reasonable weight.

[Gerry H]

Very late to the game but the Ace Tribal 4L and 8L pots are out of stock everywhere. I wonder if Philmont has all of Ace Tribal’s production line tied up?

[Bob Shuff]

FWIW…I went to the Philmont leader workshop and they clarified that the new rules require each crew to carry (2) 8 quart pots.  There are no longer 6 and 4 quart pot options even for smaller crews.

I didn’t push them on it, but if you bring your own gear you might convince your ranger you have it covered with whatever pots you brought.  They will only be loaning out 8 quart pots going forward.

BTW…I eventually got in touch with someone at AceCamp via email and was essentially asking for the boy scout good guy discount.  His reply…
<p style=”padding-left: 30px;”>We don’t offer a prodeal program, but happy to extend wholesale pricing to you. On a side note, we do offer volume discount pricing and the details are below. That is calculated off of wholesale price which is $11.48 for the 4L Tribal Pot.</p>
I may still take him up on this, since 4L is a better size for our troop campouts.  We re-did our backpacking cook boxes and now have (1) 1-2 Qt pot and (1) 3-4 Qt pot in each bin, so the cookmaster for that cook patrol could decide which he takes.  The pots aren’t matched or even consistently sized, but they are close and the condition is usable.  We essentially decided to spend our funds elsewhere for now and get what we can, however the 4L Tribal pot is a good deal at this wholesale price so we may take them up on that offer.  The volume discount was 3% for >$300 and 5% for >$500.  That might work for a camp, but our troop doesn’t need that many new pots at one time.

[Brad P]

Ugh.  Giant pots and backpacking really don’t go together.  Oh well.

[Tony Ronco]

If the cooking duty pair is doing the Philmont version of the patrol method, then everything will be hydrated in a single large pot (8 qt).   Without getting into the issues about this particular interpretation of the patrol method, here are several alternative sources to the Ace Camp pots that still have the capacity suggested:

Smart & Final has an aluminum VMI (Sazon) 8 qt stock pot at $9,  Walmart has an aluminum Imusa 8 qt pot at $14 (the handles make this heavier than the VMI pot),  and if you are willing to try something a little smaller (and much lighter overall) –  the pot from a Wabash Whirley Pop popcorn maker is a very lightweight aluminum 6 qt at $20.

One can cut weight from all of these candidate pots by replacing the lids with homemade ones made from disposable aluminum turkey roasting pans.  The handles on the VMI & Imusa are more of a challenge to shave weight from them … while the Whirley Pop pot handle is fine as is.

[SFOldManClan]

This is an option.  Weights 30 ounces, pricey… for 6 LitersKeith Titanium Ti8301 Pot – 6.0 L
by KEITH TITANIUM
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XZBXF9Y/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_dJetCbW152SA8

 

[SFOldManClan]

Right after I bought the Keith Titanium, I found these. for a quarter of the price and 2 L larger..

<span class=”” style=”font-family: Times;”>Fire Maple FMC-215 8L Outdoor Picnic Cooking Cookware Hanging Pot Kettle</span>

<span class=”” style=”font-family: Times;”>Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G3HYZWW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_PUotCbKJ4FJEH</span>

 

[Bob Shuff]

Nice find.  Interested to know how much it weighs.

 

[Brad P]

This is an option.  Weights 30 ounces, pricey… for 6 LitersKeith Titanium Ti8301 Pot – 6.0 L

Holy frijoles!  Just shy of $200.

[SFOldManClan]

The Fire Maple 8 Liter Pot is $48 and 28 ounces.

[SFOldManClan]

And the weight winner is….. 19.6 ounces @ $10 per ounce!!! — the 5.8 Liter Evernew Titanium Pot…

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