Choosing your backpacking-cookware

titanium cookware

Choosing the right backpacking-cookware for your needs is not a hard thing to do. There are so many different brands, shapes and sizes to consider. However, what you need to decide is how much money you want to spend, which type of metal are you comfortable with and most importantly, what are you going to be cooking while on your backpacking adventure?
The answer to those questions will help you decide which pots and pans to purchase.

Let's talk metals. There are three basic metals that are used for camping cookware: aluminum, stainless steel and titanium.
Aluminum is by far the cheapest, even heating cookware. It is lightweight and can be found at any department store or speciality camping store. Aluminum pans need to be dried immediately after washing or else the surface will pit and not look as pretty as the day you bought it. Pitting does not affect the cooking performance. Aluminum pans are not durable and can be bent easily. Too much heat can cause an empty pan to warp.

Stainless steel is mid range in cost and usually heats evenly especially if it has an aluminum or copper base. Clean up is fairly easy with a pot scrubber and the durability of Stainless Steel is excellent. However, it is heavy weight and not very ideal when you are going to be lugging it around on your back for a few days.
Titanium is upper range in cost. It is extremely lightweight and almost indestructable. Cooking in titanium requires stiring due to the fact that it does not heat evenly. However, most titanium cookware users arent discouraged with that aspect. They feel that the benefits of being lightweight and indestructable makes up for the heat distribution issues.

Backpackers cookware is specially designed with folding handles. When stored in your pack, you don't have to worry about handles.

The sets of cookware are usually more cost effective to purchase instead of buying each individual piece. You'll find that you won't always take the complete set on your trip.
Don't forget about the utensils. They also need to be lightweight.

Each square inch of the pack is important. Be sure to load the inside of the cookware and utilize every bit of space. Also, each ounce added to the pack is essential. Over loading will have you over exhausted. Take only what you need according to what foods you plan to prepare.

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