Camping Cookware For Backpacking In Enamel, Cast Iron
Get outdoors and discover camping cookware. Better than a mess kit, high tech titanium camping cookware offers light weight, strength and in-field performance.
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Gear For All Outdoor Uses. Camping cookware means different things to different people. If you're backpacking, then camping cookware converts into "more pack weight". If you're driving your motor home to a campground, camping cookware cost reflects yet another factor. If you're a reenactor on a wagon train, tradition is most important when selecting the right camping cookware.
Cast Iron And Enamel Gear Choices. Camping cookware used to mean either cast iron cookware or spatterware (enamel cookware on a carbon steel body), both of which are still available. If you're cooking on an open campfire and are not concerned with weight, then look for iron pots that have hearth-style tripod legs.
The old school version of lightweight camping cookware was spatterware (boiled coffee, anyone?) and you still see it around, although now it is mostly decorative, with thinner steel and thinner, more easily cracked and chipped enamel.
Best choices for camping cookware:
Minimizing Weight. Where weight is a consideration, stamped or drawn aluminum cookware is often the first choice. It is low in cost; so it is popular for youth camping (such as scouting). It distributes heat evenly (important on a campfire) and you can get kits with multiple utensils that nest compactly. The mess kit often comes with ingeniously interlocked stainless steel flatware, too, and it is sometimes sold with aluminum water canteens.
Thin Gauge Aluminum And Stainless. The adult version of the kid's cookware kit uses materials more familiar in the home kitchen, hard-anodized aluminum, nonstick aluminum, and stainless steel. All are thinner gauge than you would use in the kitchen; and pan sizes are generally small. While these sets are light enough for casual backpackers, they are not the lightest available material. For applications where weight is critical, many people choose a titanium set.
Titanium And Hot Spots. Titanium camping cookware is not an ideal cooking surface for general use, because it doesn't distribute heat well, and food can scorch and stick if you're not careful. On the plus side, if you scour off the oxide surface, exposure to air or water will restore it; and exposure to sunlight will sanitize it, which makes titanium ideal for camping cookware.
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