What solo cooking pot and food bag do you use?

[Nar Nar]

My current pot is heavy. My current food bag is heavy. I'm looking into replacing both, and right now I have my eyes set on the MSR Titan Kettle. What does everyone else use? Also, I really have no idea where to look for a food bag, so any suggestions would be awesome for that as well. Thanks guys!

[Hill Ape]

i really like the evernew ti pots.

i use a snow peak ti pot, but if i had it to do over again i would go for a pot with silicone covered handles, its a PITA because the handles get hot enough to burn. i could carry a pot lifter, but its just one more thing. i've read about using electricians heat shrink tubing to solve the issue. i also don't like the lid/fry pan. it doesn't work well as a lid or pan in my experience.

my food bag is a simple granite gear air bag. i always hang. i've got four of those bags; food, clothes, kitchen, hygiene/first aid/misc

[HooKooDooKu]

I've got the MSR Titan Kettle. One of the things I love about the kettle is that it is the perfect size to fit an MSR 4oz Isobutane canister inside the pot. And if you use the SnowPeak LiteMax stove, you can fit the stove inside the kettle (under the canister) as well.

The one negative about this setup is that I discovered the metal rim at the bottom of the canister will react with the pot and deposit rust. So you'll want to do something like place the canister inside a small stuff sack, or cut a piece of nylon (like from an old worn out stuff sack) a little bit bigger than the diameter of the canister, and use that as a buffer between the canister and the pot.

I've also got a JetBoil SOL (aluminum). I love the stability of the system since the pot attaches to the stove. I also like the efficiency of the JetBoil because of the heat ex-changer attached to the bottom of the cup that somewhat acts a little bit like a wind screen. The only complaint I have for the JetBoil is that the stove is pretty much off or full blast.

As for food bags, I use a pair of Outdoor Research stuff sacks. The larger one is a dry bag (the type you roll the ends down so that the bag stays sealed even if it was under water). The smaller one is a basic stuff sack lined with a small trash bag for a place to stuff trash. The smaller bag is NOT the roll down type dry bag because I want to squeeze the air out of the trash bag before stuffing it inside the dry food bag.

[Onedawg]

I use a Snow Peak Ti 700 with a jetboil top lid. For a food bag, I use a Sea to Summit dry sack.

[HooKooDooKu]

...PITA because the handles get hot enough to burn...

This isn't an issue with the MSR Titan Kettle, IF you remember to fold out the handles before you start cooking (including the handle on the lid... there is a notch you slide it into so that it remains upright while in use).

[daddytwosticks]

I use a Titan kettle also and am very happy with it. For shorter hikes when using an Esbit stove, I carry a Snow Peak 600 as a pot/mug. An Ursak Minor is used as my food bag for protection against micro-bears. :)

[QHShowoman]

I've only ever used the Titan Kettle and have no complaints. The only time the handles get hot is when I am cooking on something like a camp stove, where the handles are directly over the heat source. But when cooking over a backpacking stove like the pocket rocket, the heat source is pretty much contained under the bottom of the stove and the handles barely get warm (with the handles folded out).

I also use a Snow Peak Trek 700 mug sometimes because it's nice to have a separate pot for cooking and one for making hot beverages in, if it's cold out. But I probably wouldn't carry the extra weight on longer trips.

[Hill Ape]

I use a Snow Peak Ti 700 with a jetboil top lid.

i'll have to give that a shot, can you but just the lid from jetboil i wonder?

[squilax]

I use the smaller pot from my MSR blacklite cookset and lid. My stove, a Primus Yellowstone Lite, fits right inside along with the pot lifter, a stainless double walled mug, lighters and a tripod that snaps onto the bottom of the fuel canister for stability.

My food bag is a black nylon sleeping bag stuff sack. A week's worth of food and the cookset all fit in nicely.

[Drybones]

24 oz beer can for pot, 13L silnylon food bag...Sea to Summit I believe. I dont recommend the beer can for anything other than heating water, if you're cooking food directly in the pot I'd use something else. Pot, stove, windscreen, potholder, huggie weigh about 3 oz.

23024

[Turk6177]

I use the GSR Soloist pot. I store my stove and wind screen in the pot along with a plastic measuring cup and a bowl. I use a cuben fiber food storage bag from Zpacks.com. I even started replacing some stuff sacks with cuben fiber bags. If you really want to save even more weight, buy 50 feet of dyneema cord to hang your bear bag. That saved me 4 ounces over para cord.

[DeerPath]

i'll have to give that a shot, can you but just the lid from jetboil i wonder?

You can buy the Jetboil Lid seperate http://shop.jetboil.com/spare-parts , but I just tried my Jetboil SOL lid on my Snow PeaK Ti 700 and it would not snap on and stay on. Maybe the lids are different sizes.

[Dogwood]

Mostly a Snow Peak Mini Soloist Ti pot w/Ti lid. I've also made pots from the Heineken Barrel cans and Fosters(Oil cans). They have all worked well with a Smow Peak Lite Max, MSR Micro Pocket Rocket, or a few home made alchy stoves. Zelph came up with some adjustable flame DIY alchy stove designs that I find work GREAT too. He also sells them cheaply if you aren't into DIY.

http://www.rei.com/product/668926/snow-peak-titanium-mini-solo-cookset

http://makezine.com/2011/01/23/how-to-ultralight-camp-pot-from-hei/

http://www.woodgaz-stove.com/foster-ridgeline-cans.php

[Odd Man Out]

I'm still looking for my ideal pot. It would be 1 quart, lightweight, anodized Aluminum with fold out handles, a lid, and about a 1:1 height:diameter ratio. Any ideas?

[The Ace]

I use the MSR Titan Kettle also, and have added heat shrink tubing to the handles (weight: 4.5 ounces). I have been happy with it, although sometimes it's a little trouble to get the lid's tab handle to stand up in the notch. However, if I were in need today, I would purchase the Evernew instead because of the weight difference. Stove and fuel go inside the kettle, the kettle goes into a Zpacks cuben fiber custom cook kit draw bag (weight: lighter than the wind) . For my food bag, I use a Zpacks roll top food bag (weight: 1.2 ounces), first placing all odor emitting items inside of an OPSak (weight: 1.2 ounces).

[The Solemates]

am i the only one that uses plastic grocery sacks for food bags? free and ultra lightweight.

[Odometer]

I use cheap plastic bags (doubled) for 2-3 day outings. Otherwise, it's Granite Gear silnylon bags with draw string closure.

[Sky2013]

A Ursack will be the best food bag, a little heavy but totally worth it when it comes to critters and bear!

[Hikes in Rain]

am i the only one that uses plastic grocery sacks for food bags? free and ultra lightweight.

Definitely not! As you said, free and weightless. And the checkout clerk puts my food into them for me.

[Onedawg]

You can buy the Jetboil Lid seperate http://shop.jetboil.com/spare-parts , but I just tried my Jetboil SOL lid on my Snow PeaK Ti 700 and it would not snap on and stay on. Maybe the lids are different sizes.

I'm using the jetboil flash lid. It fits perfectly.

[Ezra]

am i the only one that uses plastic grocery sacks for food bags? free and ultra lightweight.

I'm with ya Solemates....and I don't bear bag.

[Drybones]

If you really want to save even more weight, buy 50 feet of dyneema cord to hang your bear bag. That saved me 4 ounces over para cord.

Better yet ...dont hang and you need no cord.

[Another Kevin]

GSI Dualist pot, 'coz l like cooking enough to share. Stove, windscreen, simmer ring, pot stand, Fauxbaker (the disk doubles as an under-stove heat reflector if I'm not baking), mug, spork, coffee filter, lighter, a couple of foil muffin cups, some spices, and an 8-oz fuel bottle can all pack in the stove with a little bit of fiddling. I can often stuff a few tea bags and a few pill envelopes of coffee in there, too. The only permanent part of the kitchen that doesn't pack there is the freezer bag cozy.

Sea to Summit drysack, with a keychain 'biner threaded on it so I can do a PCT bearbag hang.

[rocketsocks]

GSI pinnicle soloist for a pot, (less the lid, bought it on a scratch and dent sale) and I use a 13 L sea to summit dry sac.

[Nar Nar]

So from what I've gathered, the MSR Titan Kettle is worth getting, and a Sea to Summit Dry Sack works well for a food bag. Whiteblaze never disappoints.

[hikerboy57]

So from what I've gathered, the MSR Titan Kettle is worth getting, and a Sea to Summit Dry Sack works well for a food bag. Whiteblaze never disappoints.
stick around

[Nar Nar]

If someone could link me to the exact Sea to Summit dry bag they use, that would be awesome. There is about 1,000 different ones online and I can't really narrow it down. Thanks

[MuddyWaters]

zpacks blast foodbag 0.85 oz
Zelph flat bottom foster pot 1.1 oz w/lid

[Another Kevin]

If someone could link me to the exact Sea to Summit dry bag they use, that would be awesome. There is about 1,000 different ones online and I can't really narrow it down. Thanks

Big enough to hold your smellables. As with any other bag, choose it once you know all of what it's going to hold.

[hikerboy57]

If someone could link me to the exact Sea to Summit dry bag they use, that would be awesome. There is about 1,000 different ones online and I can't really narrow it down. Thanks
http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/7

i use 13L orange

[Nar Nar]

stick around
Have been for awhile now. Now I just need to join the cafe.

[rocketsocks]

Have been for awhile now. Now I just need to join the cafe.you're but a click away!

[Another Kevin]

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/7

i use 13L orange

Same here, except it's a http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/171 13L green, for no better reason than that's what the outfitter had in stock the day I got it. 8L might have been enough, but the weight difference was less than an ounce.

[hikerboy57]

Same here, except it's a http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/171 13L green, for no better reason than that's what the outfitter had in stock the day I got it. 8L might have been enough, but the weight difference was less than an ounce.
5 days of food, i need the 13L.
green? you're doing it wrong.

[rocketsocks]

mines is green

[hikerboy57]

mines is green
there ya go

[Tuckahoe]

For my cook pot I use the Imusa 12cm aluminum mug with a homemade lid.

23034

[Siestita]

Helpfully tipped off by posters here on TT, about a decade ago, during a weight purge, I invested $6 purchasing my current cook pot, which continues going strong. It's a one liter sized Walmart grease pot. Wally World no longer carries those, but K Mart still sells them for about $8. Leaving at home the heavy but very tight fitting lid that came with my grease pot, I get by fine using a lighter lighter lid that I cut cut from the bottom of a disposable aluminum pie pan. The grease pot has no handles, so for a "pot gripper" I use half of a damp bandana. That bandana also serves as a pot wiper. (I tried cutting down to 1/4 of a bandana, but found that size just wasn't large enough to work well.) My aluminum pot, home made lid, and damp bandana together weight 5 ounces.

Life is full of trade offs, so I'd better be frank about a potential drawback of my pot choice. A titanium pot (actually those all consist of an aluminum/titanium alloy) of the same size and weight as my grease pot would be much stronger, potentially capable of providing a backpacker with several hundred years of usage. In contrast my somewhat cheaper grease pot could wear out after merely thirty or forty years of hard use. If only I personally were so durable!

[Siestita]

My weight estimate above for my grease pot + home made lid + damp 1/2 bandana as pot gripper was incorrect. Rechecking, I find that the total weight of those items combined is just 4 ounces, not 5 ounces.

If I were not already very satisfied with my current setup, I might switch to the fine looking IMUSA mug that Tuckahoe64 displays above.

[daddytwosticks]

Whatever food bag you choose, make it a highly visible color so you can find it hanging from the tree on a foggy, dark morning. :)

[Kerosene]

Several years ago I purchased a FireLite SUL 0.9L (900 ml) titanium pot with lid from BackpackingLight.com. Total weight of 2.8 ounces. Don't recall the price, but it wasn't cheap.

[Rocket Jones]

I second the KMart Grease Pot, it's cheap and functional. I drilled two small holes near the rim of mine and added a copper wire bail.

Since I mostly do FBC I only need to boil water, and find the GSI HAE Kettle (http://www.rei.com/product/768513/gsi-outdoors-hae-tea-kettle?preferredSku=7685130010&cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-product-_-7685130010&mr:referralID=cd77914f-f9ef-11e2-9dea-001b2166becc) works great. You could cook in it, but I never have because it would be a pain to clean.

[Another Kevin]

green? you're doing it wrong.

Probably. I'm color-blind, so I do most things with colors wrong.

[QiWiz]

I like the Evernew 900 cc mug/pot, which is similar to the MSR Titan; I like the Ursak Minor for a food bag.

[hikerboy57]

Probably. I'm color-blind, so I do most things with colors wrong.then go with grey

[q-tip]

OliCamp Pot--I tested it and it saves 40% of fuel for a boil.

[Gambit McCrae]

Not cheap setup but I use a evernew pasta pot, a snopeak with petzle ignition and fuel canister, all fits in the pot and then goes in a mesh bag, set my littl eplatic measuring cup upside down on top of pot, pull mesh bag closed. I choose meash beacuse if your stuff is wet your reducing risk for mold and your stuff can breath. oh and i throw a ti fork in the bag as well.

[daddytwosticks]

OliCamp Pot--I tested it and it saves 40% of fuel for a boil. Whoa! What's that? Looks like a jetboil pot. Can it be used on any cannister stove like a Snowpeak Giga? :)

[Odd Man Out]

Whoa! What's that? Looks like a jetboil pot. Can it be used on any cannister stove like a Snowpeak Giga? :)

I'm interested too. I found this review. It says it is not a good choice with an alcohol stove, but I don't see why a center burner like a Starlyte wouldn't work.

[Odd Man Out]

I'm interested too. I found this review. It says it is not a good choice with an alcohol stove, but I don't see why a center burner like a Starlyte wouldn't work.

forgot link
http://sectionhiker.com/olicamp-hard-anodized-xts-aluminum-pot-with-heat-exchanger/

[jimmyjam]

I use the MSR Titan Kettle also, and have added heat shrink tubing to the handles (weight: 4.5 ounces). I have been happy with it, although sometimes it's a little trouble to get the lid's tab handle to stand up in the notch. However, if I were in need today, I would purchase the Evernew instead because of the weight difference. Stove and fuel go inside the kettle, the kettle goes into a Zpacks cuben fiber custom cook kit draw bag (weight: lighter than the wind) . For my food bag, I use a Zpacks roll top food bag (weight: 1.2 ounces), first placing all odor emitting items inside of an OPSak (weight: 1.2 ounces).

+1 almost exactly my set up.

[Drybones]

I'm interested too. I found this review. It says it is not a good choice with an alcohol stove, but I don't see why a center burner like a Starlyte wouldn't work.

I use an alcohol stove with my Jetboil fry pan and works fine...should be the same. I like the looks of that pot but it's a little on the heavy side...one souce said 7.7 oz...another 6.7.

[The Ace]

then go with grey

I wonder how many people understood this post? :)

[Another Kevin]

Probably. I'm color-blind, so I do most things with colors wrong.


then go with grey


I wonder how many people understood this post? :)

Yeah. I think I missed something, myself. :-?

[Gwilli]

I use a GSI Kettalist teapot with an alcohol stove. I use a Sea To Summit EVac Dry bag (13L I think) for my food storage/bear bag. I'm very happy with this setup.

[hobbs]

Snowpeak soloist and Zpacks food bag..

[Hiking Man]

Can't go wrong with the IMUSA 10cm or 12cm cook pots. Priced is right, Lightweight, simple and can take a beating. I got a lid for it from Mini bull.
I use the Zpack Blast food bag. Love the short wide design of the bag. It fits in my pack so much better then tall food bags and that also makes it much easier to access the food on the bottom of the bag.

Below are the links that i got my pot, lid and bag from.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/IMUSA-Aluminum-Mug/15040697
https://www.minibulldesign.com/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=10
http://www.zpacks.com/large_image.shtml?accessories/drybags/dry_bag_large_l.jpg

[mtnkngxt]

MLD 550 with a starlyte, Firefly with a MLD 850, and my current favorite a Jetboil Ti Sol stripped down and used with my Rutalocura CF lid.

Always use the same MLD food bag.

[capehiker]

Evernew .9L short pot (w/ Caldera Ti Sidewinder system) and my food bag is the Zpacks hanging kit.

[LIhikers]

Another vote for the K-Mart Grease Pot.
Mine works well on an alcohol stove with a tight fitting wind screen that comes 3/4 of the way up the pot.

[Blissful]

Snowpeak 700
http://www.campmor.com/snow-peak-trek-700-titanium-cookset-2.shtml?source=CI&ci_sku=65143&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw= (http://www.campmor.com/snow-peak-trek-700-titanium-cookset-2.shtml?source=CI&ci_sku=65143&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw=)

[Rasty]

Snowpeak Mini Titanium Solo set with a Trail Designs Fissure Ti-Tri Caldera Cone. Only mod was adding a simmer ring to slow it down for cooking rice.

[StichBurly]

I use the 12cm Imusa. It is both lightweight and cheap. You can't go wrong.
Weight 3.9 oz
Cost 4 bucks

[KevinL]

I'm mainly a solo canoe guy, but I use a 700 ml Snow Peak with a Four Dog Ti lid. I store a Sea to Summit X mug in the bottom of the Snow Peak for morning coffee and eat out of the mug.

I use a Ursak for food storage and place the bag inside of a Sea to Summit 13L ultra sil dry sack.













se

[CarlZ993]

On my thru-hike this year, I used the Evernew 0.9L pot (wide one; http://www.antigravitygear.com/evernew-titanium-ultra-light-9l-pot-eca252.html). I use a home-made pot cozy that I patterned after this one: http://www.antigravitygear.com/antigravitygear-pot-cozy.html. I used a Sea to Summit cup: http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/71

I used a Z-packs food bag. http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/bear_bag.shtml

I owned multiple pots for solo hiking. I always gravitate back to the short, squat Evernew 0.9L pot. I believe that the wider profile helps 'capture' more of the heat from your stoves flame. Especially if you use an alcohol stove.

[Trebor66]

I use the GSI Minimalist pot with a Pocket Rocket stove. Thinking about getting a new pot with handles. The whole pot grabber thing is a little awkward and it's one more piece of gear to keep track of and carry.

[wornoutboots]

My current pot is heavy. My current food bag is heavy. I'm looking into replacing both, and right now I have my eyes set on the MSR Titan Kettle. What does everyone else use? Also, I really have no idea where to look for a food bag, so any suggestions would be awesome for that as well. Thanks guys!

I carry a jet boil & a Sea to Summit Dry bag for my feedbag

[wornoutboots]

OliCamp Pot--I tested it and it saves 40% of fuel for a boil.

That's really Nice!!!

[Last Call]

Olicamp & a Snow Peak trek900.....pocket rocket & small canister is usually what I use....

[Rocket Jones]

I've been rethinking my kit lately. Mostly I've been using a GSI kettle (http://www.rei.com/product/768513/gsi-outdoors-hae-tea-kettle) on a Supercat (http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/) alcohol stove for FBC, and it works great. But after reading and trying some recipes from Backpacking Chef (http://www.backpackingchef.com/), I've been experimenting with going back to the Grease Pot and a not-quite-so Supercat (going for a slower burn to the full boil to aid rehydration). That would actually save me a little weight because the kettle is very efficient for boiling water, but slightly heavier than my Grease Pot.

[steve0423]

used the Evernew Ti nonstick .9L and the Zpacks blast food bag on my thru hike this year...
both performed very well

[Shonryu]

I use a Snowpeak 700 or 600 with custom TI lids along with a Snowpeak Mini TI stove. If I wasn't to go UL I use one of Qwiz alcohol stoves or his esbit cook system with a TI windscreen. As for food bag I use an Opsack and a Zpacks Artic Blast food bag.

[quasarr]

I use the 12cm Imusa. It is both lightweight and cheap. You can't go wrong.
Weight 3.9 oz
Cost 4 bucks

I just discovered this mug and I'm thinking about trying it. What did you use for a lid? I've seen them online for $10, but that would somewhat negate the cheap price of the mug. Did you leave the handle on? That's a plus for me because I wouldn't need pot grippers. I'm not willing to grab hot pots with a bandanna!! :)

[UofWHusky]

I use the Olicamp XTS pot (1 liter, 6.5 oz w/o lid) and Soto OD-1 canister stove. The pot holds an 8 oz fuel canister. I used an Ursack Minor (5.3 oz) on my AT hike this summer.

[Chef Glenn]

My current pot is heavy. My current food bag is heavy. I'm looking into replacing both, and right now I have my eyes set on the MSR Titan Kettle. What does everyone else use? Also, I really have no idea where to look for a food bag, so any suggestions would be awesome for that as well. Thanks guys!

The MSR Titan Kettle looks like a good pot for solo cooking at .85 liters volume and only 4.2 oz. You might want to take a look at one in a store to see if you like the feel of the handle set-up. The handles on the MSR Titan Kettle fold together close to the pot, so your hand/wrist will be in a position similar to drinking from a mug of beer. The handles of most of the Evernew pots extend further, so you would hold them like traditional cookware from your kitchen. I like handles with insulation; they feel better in my hand.

I use the Evernew ECA-417 900 ml for solo hiking which has the fry pan lid. I cook in both at the same time, using the fry pan lid to rehydrate and warm sides of vegetables, mashed potatoes, fruits, etc. I cut extra pot lids out of aluminum pie pans. The ECA-417 900 ml can also be used for two people if you split the meal in two, cooking half in the pot and half in the fry pan lid... or if you want to cook two meals in one pot then you could go for the larger 1300 ml size (ECA-418).

I have also cooked in the 3-cup hard anodized aluminum pot from anti-gravity-gear. It requires a pot gripper which is too large to store in the pot. If you use a pot cozy, then you can put the pot in the cozy to carry it to another location to eat. Without a cozy, it's a little less comfortable and riskier having to carry the pot while applying pressure to the gripper and it would really be a bummer if you lost your grip. That said, I never lost my grip where supper was concerned.

[cphobes]

My current pot is heavy. My current food bag is heavy. I'm looking into replacing both, and right now I have my eyes set on the MSR Titan Kettle. What does everyone else use? Also, I really have no idea where to look for a food bag, so any suggestions would be awesome for that as well. Thanks guys!

SP700 with Minibull designs lid, I put high temp silcone tubing on the metal handles so I don't need a bandana or something to pickup the hot pot. The SP700 is tough to do cook-in-bag or cooking meals inside, it's perfect for boiling water and drinking out of.

Food bag is a walmart dry bag, cheap but heavy. For shorter trips I use a smaller lighter 1L dry sack.

If I could do it over again or had some cash I'd look for a 800-850ML pot with insulated handles and a light lid in titanium. I have the 12cm IMUSA its a nice pot with a custom lid but you'll add weight by wrapping the handle and/or carrying a pot holder. Still for the price and weight it's a great buy.

-Cphobes

[Gwilli]

Changed up my setup. I'm going with a snow peak 600 with a myog lid made from the bottom of a cashew container, a modified starlyte stove from Zelph (awesome stove and price was great!), myog Ti windscreen and a pot cozy. I treated the handles of the cup with heat shrink tubing. Total weight including mini bic, hot lips, measuring cup, and small reflector plate is 6.4 oz. Going to Mt. Rainier this weekend to try it out. Can't wait!!

[Gwilli]

Still happy with the GSI kettle, but changed my setup. Going with a SP600 with a myog lid and heat shrink handles. I bought a modified starlyte stove from Zelph (awesome stove great price). I made a Ti windscreen and small reflector plate. The entire kit including mini bic, hot lips, pot cozy and measuring cup weighs 6.4 oz. going to Mt. Rainier this weekend to try it out.

[Gwilli]

Sorry for basically the same post. Darn technology, one of these days I'll figure it out. :)