What size pot for solo hiker?

[plurpimpin]

Hey guys, first post here. Been lurking for a while but figured it was time to register and contribute some. I'm in the preliminary stages of planning my 2012 SOBO through hike and am working on getting the few pieces of gear I need together.

I've done some searching and haven't been able to find an answer to my question. What size titanium pot is good for a solo hiker cooking real food (not dehydrated meals). Everything I've been able to find online (mostly backpackinglight.com) has been for people just boiling water and rehydrating a meal. I'm cheap so I prefer to just cook myself; lots of pasta, rice, couscous, lipton noodles, that type of stuff. 700ml just seems to small to me for this... I'm also a big guy that likes to eat.

So what size pot do you guys that actually cook in it use? I plan on going to an outfitter and playing with some myself to get a better idea but I wanted to get your guys input.

[sixhusbands]

I like your thinking on doing your "own" cooking. the pre packaged trail foods have way to much sodium and other stuff which you can ad if you like for a much cheaper price. What kind of stove do you plan on using? Some are better than others for simmering.
You could most likely get by with a 2 litre pot but a 3 litre would be much nicer and you can put a lot of suppiles in them. I would get a non stick type for all that pasta and use a wooden spoon or plastic spatula to keep from scratching the bottom. by the way my wife and I use all dried, homemade pasta sauces from our own garden and herbs. a little bit of that goes a long way. Going SOBO this October myself ... counting the days and drying fruits , veggies, jerky and anything else I can think of.

[30 Large]

I use the Snow Peak 4pc. set. It has a 15oz pot, 25oz pot, and the lids are frying pans. All 4 pieces come in at just 11oz.
It works great for all my cooking needs.

[Bags4266]

sp700 for me. It boils plenty of water for my meal and I use it as my mug too

[stars in her eyes]

I know a lot of people I know use a Snowpeak mug (I think it goes up to ginormous 1400 size, which I believe is about 47 oz). I have a .9L titanium pot from REI that I'm happy with. MSR Titan kettle is popular too.

[Rick500]

I have an MSR titanium 850 ml pot with lid. That and a titanium spoon and some freezer bags are my entire cooking kit. Works out well for me. Your results may vary, as always.

[Ender]

700ml just seems to small to me for this.

I also like to actually cook food, with a large appetite, and I totally agree with you that 700ml is just not large enough. I've found that a full liter pot works very well. My set actually has both a 1.0 liter and a 0.7 liter pot, though I usually only bring the 1.0L, at least in the past. More recently I've also been bringing along the 0.7L pot to use as a second pot for large meals, doubling as my coffee maker/cup, tripling as a cup to scoop water out of shallow water sources.

So, my advice would be if you're only bringing 1 pot, make it a 1.0L pot. That's what has worked for me.

[rsmout]

The stove you plan to use is an important consideration. Most homemade and commercial alcohol stoves have a wide flame spread that typically goes up the sides of a 1 liter pot, and sometimes a 2 liter pot. Flames going up the side of a pot are wasted energy and wasted fuel. Whatever pot you get, be sure the bottom captures all of the flame spread. There isn't a huge weight penalty with a larger titanium pot, and SixHusbands is correct, you can use it to store supplies that might need the protection.

[stars in her eyes]

rsmout is correct: check out this video by Jason Klass for more info on what he's talking about. It deals specifically with alcohol stoves, but the knowledge can be applied to any stove.

[sbhikes]

I and others I have known have found a 1L pot to be sufficient. You can always cook a second meal, which is what my friend would do. I was always full enough (with room for dessert) with my liter pot 3/4 full of food. A 1L pot is a little more compact for your pack, too. A 2L pot would also work but most of the time you would probably never fill it all the way unless you were doing freezer-bag cooking or something similar so you could split all that hot water among several different dishes (gag -- 2L of mac and cheese would be way too much.)

[plurpimpin]

I'll be using my MSR dragonfly stove. I know it's not the lightest option but I prefer white gas stoves for personal reasons. Plus I fell in love with the way the dragonfly simmers a long time ago and have been backpacking with it for almost a decade now. I figure that's a big advantage for me because I'm so familiar with it I can practically take it apart and re-assemble it blindfolded so repairs aren't a concern. I figure I can splurge a few ounces on the stove since I'm going ultralight with everything else which will more than make up for it.

Sounds like I should be looking at something between 1 and 2 liters. I'll only be carrying one pot because I don't get super fancy backpacking and usually stick to one pot meals. I save the bakepacker biscuits and muffins for when we've got a base camp.

[HiKen2011]

A dime bag should do it.................

[WingedMonkey]

I'll be using my MSR dragonfly stove. I know it's not the lightest option but I prefer white gas stoves for personal reasons. Plus I fell in love with the way the dragonfly simmers a long time ago and have been backpacking with it for almost a decade now.

I can understand completely. When you want to actually simmer food or fry eggs or grill pancakes, white gas spoils you. Sometime you want to cook more than a boil and serve meal. Like you said find other places to cut the weight.

[plurpimpin]

A dime bag should do it.................

I knew this answer was coming eventually, hahaha

But I think I've figured things out. I think I'm going to go with an MSR Quick 1 pot. It's 1.4 liters which should be plenty for me. I just measured out the volume of the pots in my kitchen and cooked a some pasta for dinner in a 1.5 liter pot which was more than big enough so 1.4 liters should be just about right (with alittle room to spare).

[WingedMonkey]

I knew this answer was coming eventually, hahaha

But I think I've figured things out. I think I'm going to go with an MSR Quick 1 pot. It's 1.4 liters which should be plenty for me. I just measured out the volume of the pots in my kitchen and cooked a some pasta for dinner in a 1.5 liter pot which was more than big enough so 1.4 liters should be just about right (with alittle room to spare).

The kit I use most often is 1.5 quart pot with a fry pan lid. Aluminum non stick. If I'm base camping for a few days or more I add the .75 quart pot, seldom bring the lid for it, but I have.

[hikin_jim]

rsmout is correct: check out this video by Jason Klass for more info on what he's talking about. It deals specifically with alcohol stoves, but the knowledge can be applied to any stove.

Thanks for posting that video. I have known for a while that a wider shorter pot will catch the heat better, but that video shows it super well.


Titanium pots are super light but they're not all that great for "real" cooking. Titanium doesn't conduct heat all that well. What happens is that right where the flame hits, the pot gets really hot, but an inch or so away, the pot is far cooler. Typically these "hot spots" often result in burnt food.

If I were going to cook "real" food, I'd go with aluminum. I personally prefer about 1L to 1.25L. If I were just going to do simple meals that only require boiling water, I'd go with a smaller, titanium pot, probably about .85 L to 1L.

HJ

[Amanita]

I use a Kmart aluminum "grease pot." cost $8, weighs 3.5oz holds 1+ liter (I poured a liter of water in and it wasn't full, my best guess is 1.25 liters). I seasoned it in the oven before setting out, took about 2 hours, and now nothing will stick to to the inside if you wipe it with a cloth/paper towel after soaking. It's shorter and lighter than it's walmart counterpart, with a bigger base to "catch the heat" better. Does not have a handle though, so you may want to get a small pot grabber tool. Also it's kind of thin... it picked up a few small dents during my section, I wouldn't wan't to accidentally sit on it, but the dents don't impact it's use as a pot. Check the kitchen section of your nearest Kmart!

[magneto]

Hey - I used to think the same way about going to an outfitter and looking for solutions to things like this. Then I learned that outfitters are not there to help you solve your problems, but rather to sell you what they carry.

At first I thought I also would "cook real meals", but then the reality of hiking distances kicked in. It turned out for me that cooking real meals while camping (like car-camping) was fine, but when going distances solo it was a real pain in the butt. At the end of a long day after hiking for 8 or more hours with an hour to go before sundown, the last thing I want to do is "cook a real meal." Likewise in the AM, when it gets light I find I want to get up and get going, not cook and clean. I do love my coffee and oatmeal though...

As far as the dehydrated thing goes, everything you mention is dry and needs water. The difference is that you are going to get your cook pot, utensils and serving dishes dirty and then have to clean them. If you can find options that only involve boiling water for your hot meals, then you do not have to deal with cleaning or carrying cleaning supplies. Try to find one-pot meals (or just hot water) so you don't have much to clean afterward.

You don't have to go full freeze-dried, dehydrated. Just find things that can be cooked by adding boiling water only. As far as boiling water goes, I have found that a light canister stove is a good thing. I have found that having 3/4 of a liter of hot water is plenty for me. The JetBoil SOL with the .9 liter titanium pot, stripped down to its essence (pot, burner and lid), weighs only 7.05 ounces and when combined with a fuel canister, forms a complete, integrated system that does not need a windscreen.

The size of your fuel canister is up to you (I use a 3.5 oz canister that starts out at 7 oz total weight). Adding in a 2-cup (16 oz) capacity folding cup (2.3 oz) and a spork (.05 oz), my total kitchen comes to 9.85 oz plus fuel. The 2-cup folding cup works well for coffee, mixing hot oatmeal and cereal in and for making cup-a-soup noodle packets. I wipe it out when done. For other hot meals I do use the dehydrated, freeze-dried stuff. I eat it right out of the package and have no cleanup when done. I guess I could make ramen noodles pretty easily in the jetboil pot, but then there is the cleanup issue.

Weight becomes a bigger and bigger issue the longer you are trying to hike. Hauling around a 35lb pack for one or two nights is OK, but doing it for weeks and months at a time is a horror. I have found that keeping my cooking simple, thinking of food mainly as fuel, eating lots of cold stuff and snacks, really lets me keep my weight down and go longer distances while enjoying myself.

The outfitter is likely to try to sell you all sorts of pots, pans and utensils. For a long-distance hike, I found that I need none of it. I do have a heavier stove and a cookset (bought at EMS no less!) that is more appropriate for a base-camp or car-camp. I do use them when I do those sorts of things with my family and friends. But if I am going to be dragging gear 2,000+ miles, I want light, small and fast and I want to think of food mainly as fuel to accomplish my mission. The other great thing about the jetboil is that everything fits right in the pot and stays in with the lid.

I'm not sure my answer is completely on-point, but I hope it is helpful!

[Tinker]

I've been using an Evernew titanium 1.3 liter (litre) pot for about 8 years. I find that I don't lose any pack space, since the pot is stuffed with alcohol stove, coffee in a plastic bag, coffee filter, spoon, cup, and whatever else I can cram into it. Anything stored inside is pretty safe from the crushing that can take place in overstuffed packs (if it ain't stuffed to the gills, your pack is too big, or you have too much stuff). Using a larger pot means much less of a chance of spillage, as a solo hiker doesn't need (though I have, on several longer hikes) to fill it to the brim, therefore stirring won't slop large quantities of food onto the ground (I've eaten food off of the ground, but I much prefer creamy Mac and Cheese over chunky). Another thing I've found a large solo pot is good for is making large amounts of coffee for groups, which would be challenging with a 750 ml. pot like my Snow Peak, which I may sell if I don't find a good use for it soon. Stay tuned.

[jlo]

I easily get by with one pot that can hold 2 cups H2O. Most of the food I ate consisted up heating up water and then I had a small tupperware container where I mixed the hot water and dehydrated food to sit for a few minutes before I ate it.
Most importantly, the Idahoan Instant mashed potatoes (which are by far the best and come in awesome flavors!) require 2 cups hot water, so that's really all you need