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Proper camping cookware makes it easier to keep eating right...Another one of my favorite things to buy for my camping adventures is camping cookware. I just love it and just like buying tents (or anything else related to camping) I'm almost addicted to it. Camping cookware is the type of thing that in my opinion you can pay a lot of money for unnecessarily. As usual you need to spend some time thinking about the type of camping you'll be doing and make your decision based on that. For example, will you be camping with your family, just a couple of buddies maybe? Even just one friend or possibly by yourself? There are camping cookware sets available that really suit each one of these occasions. Now, you can go to you're specialty outdoor store and spend tons of cash on some name brand set but you need to ask yourself if you really need to. Much like your cookware at home these sets come in stainless steel, teflon coated, even aluminium. This is one area where I think it's OK to buy from a department store type of supplier. As much as I love to camp and buy gear, especially this type of gear, I have a tough time coughing up the money to pay for it at a specialty store when I know I can go to walmart and get a set that will do the job quite nicely for much less money. That is only my opinion though and others obviously like to spend money and buy the specialty items. It's up to you really, but you can go both ways on camping cookware and be equally happy with your decision either way. In general I would recommend you buy a larger set. These sets are usually very well thought out in terms of the way they pack so it almost doesn't matter how many pots come with each set. Basically it will be the same size with only two pots as with four or five pots. The weight would be slightly heavier as you use more pots but only marginally really. Unless you're an extreme lightweight backpacker you wouldn't need to worry about it. At any rate the weight difference would be less than a pound.
A good example of a set I would use on the trail myself is shown below. Be sure to click on them to check them out. They'll each open in a new window so you can compare them easily.
I also went to a department store and bought two teflon coated frying pans with folding handles. They were located in the camping section of course. These thing are great! Now you have to be a little careful about the way you pack them and clean them but it sure does make for easier cooking on the trail. You obviously need to have plastic utensils as well when cooking with them.
A word to the wise, never use your camping cookware on an open flame. These sets are best used on some type of stove. Fire is filthy dirty and will blacken your set to the point of it not being able to be cleaned after only a couple of uses. This helps to get everything else you own dirty when you pack it up. Besides, gases burn much hotter than wood and are usually much more focused and controllable, making the job of cooking go much more easily. I've got buddies that like to cook on an open flame. I think that's fine if you're cooking a steak or something that doesn't require the use of your camping cookware, but I never ever use my cookware on an open flame for the reasons above. I bought a cheap aluminium set for my young lad and I must say I'm not happy with it at all. It's very soft and bends far too easily and was basically garbage as soon as it was opened. I suppose they're a nice toy for the kids but that's about all they're good for really. I found the one I bought even a little difficult to clean. For actually sitting down and eating I have opted to buy some good plastic cutlery and a plate. The cutlery came from a specialty store and the plate came from a department store. I also have a nice big stainless mug to enjoy my coffee in the morning. I pack the plate together with my two frying pans and my camping cookware set, the mug I just lash to my backpack. If you're out on the trail it can demand a lot of energy from you and basically to supply that energy, you have to eat. It's absolutely possible to eat like a king on the trail and I absolutely recommend that you do. It seems to help add to the "this is the life" aspect of camping. You can often find cheap camping gear online at e-bay. Simply type camping cookware or whatever gear you're looking for into the e-Bay search box below and see what's available...
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