Cooking and Eating Gear for Hikers and Campers

The Right Camping Cookware Helps Backpackers Feast

Jul 24, 2009 Karen Berger

Outdoor cookware doesn't have to be fancy to make a great meal. Just combine combine a little creativity, some outdoor cooking equipment, a hiker's appetite and a view.

One inarguable fact about backpackers: they love food. Outdoor cooking can run the gamut from sticking a hot dog over the fire to cooking mac and cheese out of a package to whipping up a full-fledged gourmet creation on a complete set of premium camping cookware.

Backpacking is great exercise, which means it builds appetites. At the end of a day of hiking, the question of “what’s for dinner” eclipses just about everything else. To make tasty outdoor food requires some culinary creativity and the right outdoor cooking equipment, ranging from very simple cooking pots to outdoor cooking sets including everything but the kitchen sink.

Camping Cookware, Pots and Pans for Outdoor Cooking

Fancy equipment makes sense for car campers and base campers who don’t have to hike very far to a campsite. Backpackers, however, who are (or should be) aiming for a lightweight backpack, need to be a little more selective about their equipment. Here are the basics:

• A pot: Aluminum cook pots are light; titanium, although expensive, is even lighter. Make sure the pot has a lid, for retaining heat and cooking more efficiently. Most solo long-distance hikers use a single pot for cooking and eating, whereas hikers with partners usually carry bowls.
• Pot sets. Pots designed for outdoor cooking are sometimes sold in sets, but very few hikers use all the elements. The fact is that a nested set of three pots is probably two more pots than are needed. However, one especially useful configuration is a set of pots that includes a pot for boiling water and such jobs as cooking common backpacking foods such as pasta or rice, and a shallow pan. The pan can be used either as a pan (for cooking up eggs, or frying a trout), but it can also be set on top of a deeper pot to act as a lid.
• Pot grabbers are metal implements that can be used to safely remove a pot from a heat source. Some are sold along with the pots, and are designed to work only with those pots; others are generic. Choosing is merely a matter of making sure the grabber can hold the pot securely; beyond that, select the lightest pot grabber available.
• Pot scrubber: A simple plastic dish scrubber is fine. Plastic mesh scrubber is strong enough to get off some of the inevitable burnt-on crud, and won’t hold as many food odors.

Bowls and Utensils, Essential Outdoor Gear for Camping Trips

Once the meal is cooked, there has to be a way to eat it. Solo hikers, of course, can just eat from the pot, but most hikers travel in pairs or groups, so each person needs some utensils.

• Utensils: Most hikers simply use spoons, also “sporks” (combinations of spoons and forks) make one utensil do two jobs. Hikers who have aspirations of creating outdoor gourmet meals should bring a lightweight spatula.
• Bowls and plates: In recent years, manufacturers of outdoor equipment have come up with some interesting variations on plain old plastic bowls, including plates made of silicone, and foldable, squashable lightweight cups and bowls. You’ll find some of these at outfitting shops such as R.E.I and E.M.S., or independent outdoor retailers.
• Storage containers: Plain old storage containers from the supermarket can act as bowls. Many hikers like them because they find that containers with tight-fitting leak-proof lids allow them to soak dried foods like beans while they are hiking, or carry left-overs.
• Cups: Cups can be used for measuring different amounts of food, for eating side dishes or deserts, and of course, for hot beverages and soups. Metal cups such as the classic Sierra cup don’t hold the heat, which means that hot drinks and soups quickly turn cold, and at the same time, they are hot to the touch (sometimes hot enough to burn fingers). Plastic or Pyrex may be a better choice.

For more on hiking and backpacking gear: Gear and Accessories for Beginning Backpackers

For more articles about outdoor equipment: List of Outdoor Gear Articles.

The copyright of the article Cooking and Eating Gear for Hikers and Campers in Backpacking, Hiking & Camping is owned by Karen Berger. Permission to republish Cooking and Eating Gear for Hikers and Campers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Outdoor Cooking