Need suggestions for camping cookwear

July 6, 2016 7:16 PM

I need cookwear for car camping. These will be used on a 2-burner propane stove. Based on the kinds of things I cook, I need 2 frying pans and 1 pot or kettle for boiling water. I'd like to have folding or removable handles, and at least 1 teflon or other non-stick pan. No cast iron. What specific brands and pans or pots would you suggest for me? I am in the U.S.
posted by OrangeDisk to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total)

Why no cast iron? I ask in case lighter, thinner carbon steel would work for you instead. It's thin enough that you could make a handle removable with a Dremel, a drill, and a wing nut. What kind of limitations keep normal cookware from working well in your case? (I usually just pack normal cookware when I car camp, but I never have to carry it very far.)
posted by supercres at 7:50 PM on July 6, 2016

It's been too long since I last acquired camping gear for me to make specific recommendations except where to buy: Campmor.
posted by Homer42 at 7:53 PM on July 6, 2016

Response by poster: Not to threadsit, but to answer the questions. I have weak hands/wrists and have trouble cooking with cast iron. I do not like it because the weight is too much for me. I need lighter-weight pans. As for why I don't want normal cookware -- it's because I want to be able to keep all my camping cookwear together in a bin and stick it in the car when I am ready to go, without having to fuss with packing and finding the right thing. I live in a tiny townhouse, so this means storage is at a premium, and I don't want my bin to have to be large enough to accommodate a fixed handle. I am trying to avoid spending hours packing, and I have the money (although not the storage space) to solve this problem.
posted by OrangeDisk at 7:56 PM on July 6, 2016

Best answer: I have a small camper van with a 2 burner stove and have this set: GSI Bugaboo

It does not have a full-size pan for cooking, but it has a really useful set of medium size pans, teflon and packs up really small.

It may not be what you need as it only has 1 frypan.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 8:04 PM on July 6, 2016

I've had this little kettle for a while, very light, sturdy, and big enough for a pot of coffee or a few bowls of oatmeal.

If you need something a little more pot-like, this MSR Seagull pot with the folding handle is great for storing the kettle and a small spare compact stove in.

Can't help you on the nonstick though. Good luck. I'll be checking back on this thread for other recommendations!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 8:05 PM on July 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Whatever you buy, check their size against the burner/stove dimensions. I can't fit two frying pans side by side on my Coleman two-burner unless one is an 8-inch pan. Even then it's a squeeze so I'm always ending up reconfiguring my pan set-up.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 10:38 PM on July 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

Snow Peak has a nice lightweight pot for boiling water. Their stuff holds isopropane canisters, which might be useful for future camping trips where you use smaller stoves.

This particular cookset holds a canister and a Gigapower (Snow Peak) stove, which might be useful for minimizing your storage requirements.

I don't have any recommendation on non-stick frying pans, but the Snow Peak kit I linked to includes a small pan that you might be able to use for your type of cooking with non-stick spray.

All of it folds up nicely.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 10:39 PM on July 6, 2016

I've been really happy with the Sea to Summit X Set silicon cookware, though I've only used it for a few weeks of camping and have no idea how it'll hold up over time. I bike tour, and it's compact and neatly packable in a way basically no other sturdy camp cookware I've ever encountered has been.
posted by tapir-whorf at 1:47 AM on July 7, 2016

When I was contemplating buying cookware for my boat, I looked first in the outdoor stores (EMS,REI) and did not find what I wanted. Then I looked in West Marine (doh!) and discovered that they offered different sets. So look around.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:28 AM on July 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: We camp with a GSI Bugaboo base camper set, a small kettle for boiling water which fits nicely inside the Bugaboo set, and a good sized (10"?) frying pan (our is cast iron, but really any frying pan would do).
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:26 AM on July 7, 2016

Best answer: In your case I would go with two frying pans and a pot that doubles as a kettle. I like my tea in the morning but a pot is more versatile.

Since you're car camping I highly recommend GSI's Pinnacle 10" frypan. It's Teflon coated, weights just over a pound, feel sturdy, and the handle folds into the pan itself nicely. The walls are just high enough that in addition to frying eggs, bacon, sauteing veggies, we've been able to cook frying pan bread on it using an adjustable heat camp stove. It did come out a bit burnt on the bottom but I had set the heat too high initially.

Also comes in 8" as well, if you're looking for something smaller.

I also use MSR's Quick Solo Pot. Handle folds over the lid and you can store stuff in the pot when not in use to save space. Not Teflon-coated but relatively easy to clean. Much much lighter at 11 oz. Now there are two of us, I would rather get the larger version.
posted by mlo at 8:44 AM on July 7, 2016

I've got the Bugaboo backpacker which is probably more compact than you will need. I will say that it's worked pretty well and I found the attaching handles to feel pretty sturdy. Maybe get a Bugaboo of some sort and supplement with a cheap little non-stick pan from Wal-Mart.
posted by Foam Pants at 12:36 PM on July 7, 2016

The GSI kettle BlackLeotardFront mentioned above - I came in here specifically to recommend it. Super light, decent capacity, nests inside larger containers.
posted by caution live frogs at 2:09 PM on July 7, 2016

I do a lot of car camping and I have given up on having appropriate skillets. Instead, every year or two I get a new skillet for the kitchen, and the kitchen one goes in the camp cooking box. Yes, I treat skillets like they're disposable;I know this is not ideal.

I have iron skillets, too, which I look after -- I'm talking about the enameled ones. With two kids learning how to cook, they get abused a lot.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:47 PM on July 9, 2016

Response by poster: I ended up buying a Primus 3 liter stainless steel campfire pot (no handles) and a 10-inch Bugaboo teflon frying pan (with a folding handle). I think I might also buy a GSI enamelware coffeepot, but I'm going to wait for one more trip to make that decision. Thank you all.
posted by OrangeDisk at 7:36 PM on August 7, 2016