Kitchen gear

[The Cleaner]

Here's my backcountry kitchen set-up.Although probably way too heavy for most hikers.But HYOH seems to be the hot topic on WB,so I thought I'd put this out there to help answer some folks gear questions.I don't do much warm weather hiking,so I need a stove that works in very cold weather.Also I cook some real foods that can leave a nasty cook pot and need to heat water to clean up with.Quite often when I'm at a camp or shelter I'll offer hot water and a hot drink for others who may be low on supplies or fuel;).The large MSR 1.5 liter cook pot can fix enough for 2 if needed.It cost me about 75$ at a local outfitter 10 years ago.The 1100ml Ti pot on the stove I found on S&C for about 25$.I looked around for a while trying to find something that my Svea stove would fit into and this is perfect for that.The red GSI Fair-share mug I use for instant oatmeal or grits.It has measuring marks on one side,which is handy to have.Also I can mix cold drinks like gatorade in it or use it to scoop water out of a pipe-less spring puddle.The GSI Infinity mug holds 17ozs,has a lid to help keep coffee warm longer and it fits into the Fair-share mug/bowl.The pot gripper comes in handy when cooking on a fire.The P-38 I've had about 25 years and I use for an occasional can of whatever if I have to resupply at some non hiker friendly store.I left out my lexan spoon and ti fork.As for the large cookpot I fill it with food when packing up and put other stuff in it as the food gets eaten. So here it is please feel free to comment either + or - my feelings won't be hurt as to your comments. I just thought I'd share this to help out and give others an idea of what can be put together .:sun18410

[Tinker]

I used to use a P38 can opener until I bought a Victorinox Swiss army Adventurer knife. The can opener is so much better than the P38 that I now refer to the way the P38 and Wenger Swiss Army knife can openers work as "backwards". :)

I like to use a small ti pot as my cup so I can reheat food or coffee right in it if I don't finish it quickly enough, plus it sometimes allows me to dirty it and not the large pot (if I just want to make coffee by itself instead of with a meal).

[FarmerChef]

I travel with two pots, one a 4 quart and one a 2 quart, which lets me do the same as Tinker. The reason for the large size is that I'm cooking for 5 (now 6) and the reason for 2 is that I like the convenience of heating water for drinking in one (the 2 quart pot is exactly enough for 6 cups of your favorite hot beverage) while cooking food in the other (I cook meals rather than simply rehydrate). Oh and I can bake with the two pots together but that's over on a different thread. Our cups are all plastic measuring cups from REI that cost nothing and hold 1.5 cups of fluid each. The measuring marks, like your GSI fair-share, help me measure liquid for puddings and other liquid critical applications.

Overall, looks like a decent kit Cleaner. If it works for you then more power to you!

[Tinker]

Congrats, Cleaner. I just realized that you're 55 years old and have 555 posts. Reminds me of a story a friend told me about a friend's little boy. He turned 12 yesterday - 12 years old on 12/12/12.

I can hardly wait for 12/21/12 :eek:. :rolleyes:

We'll see. Whatever happens, I think I'm ready to go. :)

[The Cleaner]

I forgot to say that the pot the stove goes into is only used to heat water.Any cooking is done in the MSR pot.It is usually only used for the evening meal &cleaned put away.In the AM I use the red Fair-share mug/bowl for instant hot cereal.By keeping some food in the MSR pot,with the mesh bag,I can put this in my pack and mice cannot get into it.I never use the bear lines in this area as mice are more problems than bears.....

[FarmerChef]

I never use the bear lines in this area as mice are more problems than bears.....

Chuckle. Agreed. I spend more time on the trail worried about little nibbling sounds at night than crunching underbrush from Smokey.

[The Cleaner]

Congrats, Cleaner. I just realized that you're 55 years old and have 555 posts. Reminds me of a story a friend told me about a friend's little boy. He turned 12 yesterday - 12 years old on 12/12/12.

I can hardly wait for 12/21/12 :eek:. :rolleyes:

We'll see. Whatever happens, I think I'm ready to go. :) Hey that was cool,I didn't notice.I may try to go hiking on 12/21/12 in case the world ends I'll be in good place to watch.Since I carry a small radio I'll know if it's safe to come out of the woods:eek:......

[The Cleaner]

Chuckle. Agreed. I spend more time on the trail worried about little nibbling sounds at night than crunching underbrush from Smokey. North of Davenport Gap,all of the counties the AT goes through in TN,bear hunting is allowed.I did see a bear a few weeks ago about 1 mile south of Little Laurel shelter.Hiking in the TN/NC section since 1979,I've only seen a bear less than a dozen times and then it's usually it's backend as they don't stick around for photos.Hiking in the Smokies , bears are a problem.I was last in the park in 1990.I've hiked several hundred miles of side trails there and I was more bothered by people than bears.The idea of having to get a permit/reservation kind of defeats one of the reasons I go hiking, which is to get away from crowded places.That's what Gatlinburg is for:rolleyes:....

[CarlZ993]

You could fix stuff for the entire shelter! Haven't seen one of those stoves in a while.

When I hike w/ my wife, I carry more kitchen stuff. Sometimes, I'll even carry a backpacking oven (http://www.backpackeroven.com/) since she likes baked stuff. She doesn't go backpacking w/ me too much anymore. So, this type of stuff doesn't make it into the pack very often for backpacking. Car camping? That's another situation.

When it's just me on a backpack trip, I'll travel much more spartan: ~1L titanium pot w/ home-made pot cozy, a cup (small titanium or the collapsible Sea-to-Summit cup), a spoon, a small bowl (margarine tub), and a canister stove or alcohol stove.

It all works. It's all good. Enjoy your hike.