Camping equipment ~ Cookware for camping

MSR cooker

It is simple one, but it is really good quality for backpacking.

There are a few different sizes.

   Today, I am talking about a cookware for camping.  This is a similar concept as a camping stove.  It really depends on how people think about their meal during camping.  It also makes some difference for the size of cookware.

Sharing cookware which is designed for mountaineering / backpacking for a family camping

   Originally, I shared a cookware which is designed for mountaineering / backpacking when I just do camping.   It worked if I cooked only for a small group.  If people need to cook for a large group, it does not work very well.  The reason it did not work very well was the size of cookware.  Most of cookware designed for mountaineering / backpacking is too small.  Actually, it is intentionally small to fit in a backpack.   However if people need to cook for a large group, they are too small.  That is essential problem.

   Most of cookware for mountaineering / backpacking can be stack-able to make them smaller packing size.  Cookware is typically one of hard item to pack into a small size.

 Cookware for backpacking

The packing size is really small with stack-able cookers

Bought a larger size cookware for a family camping

   Because of the problem of the size, I bought a larger size cookware for a family camping.   However it did not work very well.  When I was student, we could find a large size cookware for a large group for backpacking.  It could be used to cook 10 cups of rice.  It worked all right when we did backpacking.  So I was looking for something similar.  However, I could not find such size of cookware in outdoor stores in the US.   It may be all right for up to around 8 people.  But it might not work for a large group something like 3 to 4 families.  Because of size of tents.  I know most of stoves should not be used inside tent.  It is clearly described in the manual for product liability point of view.   However, I guess many people might use them inside the tent especially during mountaineering and backpacking with own their risk.  The typical size of tents is up to 8 people, many of them are probably for 4 to 5 people.  Many groups cooks the meal for each tent.  In this situation, the size of cookware is probably no problem for up to 8 people.

   Even though, I bought one for a family camping.  Then I found another problem.  I think many cookware for camping has non-stick coating.  Japanese people often cook rise even if they are camping.   The problem is it could burn at the bottom of the cookware and it will a cause of the coating is damaged.   Also, it is easy to make a scratch during cooking outdoor.  I realize they might not be a good choice to buy such type of cookware.

 I bought this as a set of cookers,

but it got damaged with a few times of camping

What would be a good choice for cookware for camping?

   First of all, we just think about the size of cookware.  If people cook only for a small group something like 3 to 4 people, then it would be a good choice to pick one stackable cookware designed for mountaineering and backpacking.  It is small and easy to pack in a small size.  However if people usually cook for a large group, something like 3 to 4 families, which could be more than 10 people, I would recommend to use a regular cookware people usually use at home.  Probably a typical cookware designed for outdoor could be too small to do.   People may buy one for camping or may share what people usually use at home.

   For the type of cookware, I would say that if people just boil water to cook, then I think any type of cookware would be all right.  Something like only cooking freeze-dry food during camping, people just need to boil water and it works any type.  However, if people cook rice or something possibly burn, then I do not think it is good idea to pick one with non-stick coating.  It is very easy to get damaged.  Personally, it would be better to pick stainless or aluminum cookware without non-stick coating would be a good choice for outdoor use.  It could be longer life even if it is a bit heavy duty usage.  One I have is already 30 years old and it is still in a good condition.

   So it all depends on how much you need to cook and what type of food you plan to cook.

 I've been using this for more than 30 years!

What would be a good group size in terms of cooking?

   Just thinking about a good group size in terms of cooking, I think it would be good around 3 to 4 people in my opinion.  Since we do not have to use really large cookware for a single meal.  It is easy to cook with smaller amount and I think it would be a small chance to miss something.  Cooking a large amount is not really easy especially in outdoor.  There are some factors which is different from cooking at home.   The big one is efficiency of heating especially under some wind in outside.  If the cookware is large, the area where gets wind is also larger and it will take longer time, sometime it might be hard to get enough heat under windy condition.   It is not really easy cook rice more than 4 ~ 5 cups in outdoor.   In many cases, I could not cook well.

   The best way when people camping with multiple families could be sharing some dishes within the group.  So each family just cook a little extra amount and share within a group.  Then people might be able to try different foods from different families.  For each family, they just need to cook small amount and it might be a less chance to make something wrong.

It is worse to consider menu for camping

   I think it is worthy to consider a good meal menu for camping.   As I mentioned above, it helps for flexibility for the cookware as well as amount of garbage and etc.   It is a good opportunity to think of this creative way and it is different from our life at home.  I think this is a great part people do camping.