Camping Cookware

Camping Cookware Comparisons: Which Is Best For Camp Cooking
By: Marc Wiltse

What type of camping cookware is best for you Camp cooking and cleanup can be easy or a hassle it all starts with great camping equipment.

Camping cookware like any camping equipment should be versatile and tough. A lot of campers have a set of cookware just for camping because they dont want to risk damaging their good kitchen set and/or its easier to keep all your camping gear organized and readytogo in big plastic bin(s). Kitchen cookware usually wont last long in the field anyway. Camp cooking outdoors can be a lot more demanding than what most kitchen utensils are made for.

Heavy duty camping cookware is not only a good idea its almost a necessity. If youre camp cooking and your only pan cracks or burns through making it unusable youre either going to have to find a way to use tin foil creatively or eat cold sandwiches the rest of your camping trip.

Remember to get camping cookware with tightfitting lids to help heat food on your camping stove more quickly and to help save fuel this is especially important to hikers that carry everything. Id stay away from nonstick coatings as it only takes overheating them once and the surface is junk. Also once the surface is scorched the chemical makeup is permanently changed and Im not sure how healthy it would be for you. Nonstick surfaces can also scratch its hard enough keeping them in good shape at home let alone camping or hiking.

Some pots/pans come in sets that mate together or nest for storage and even allow you to tuck a canister of fuel inside them. This comes in handy when youre looking to save room while camping.

Look for camping cookware with rounded corners/edges to help reduce hotspots and for ease of cleaning.

Remember that most camping cookware

handles can get hot so bring something you can use to protect your hands. For quicker boiling and heating look for camping cookware with black colored bottoms because it will absorb heat better and save you some fuel.

Backpackers: One liter pots are a good size for two people who dont eat much if you and youre buddy have a normal appetite youll want to use a 1.5 liter pot. A two liter should supply about three hikers with a bigger appetite each with a goodsize meal. If youre in a bigger group youll want to bump up the size.

There are several different types of camping cookware and they have different advantages and disadvantages...

Aluminum pans and cookware: Advantages: Lightweight heat quickly and cheap. Disadvantages: Possible link to Alzheimers food has a tendency to stick hot spot heating can easily burn food so youll want to stir it hard to clean can taste bad pans can get bent/dinged easily and aluminum has a tendency to react with foods. Ive seen tomato sauce eat through...

If youd like more information on camping cookware please click here for the whole article. You may also want to take a look at this related article on how to pick the best camping stove for your use.

Marc Wiltse learned how important good quality hiking equipment and camping gear were after his pup tent flooded with over 3 inches of water forcing him to sleep in the front seat of his 2seat Honda CRX (translation: research is a good thing). His hiking equipment & camping gear guides & reviews save you time & money. Subscribe to his camping & hiking newsletter & get the most usable information FREE! Marc Wiltse. Reprint permission if author copyright links & this notice are intact.