Best Camping Cookware Sets

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A camping cookware set is judged by how it travels and how it feeds your group, not by how many pieces are in the box. The sets below cover car camping for four, a two-person backpacking kit, and cast iron for cooking over a fire.

Quick Verdict: Which Set Should You Buy?

• Buy the GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Ceramic Camper if: You car camp with four people and want one nesting set with plates, bowls, and mugs included.

• Buy the Stanley Adventure Full Kitchen Base Camp Cook Set if: You want stainless steel and a full kitchen in one box, and you cook at a car campsite.

• Buy the Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker if: You cook over a campfire and want one piece that is both a Dutch oven and a skillet.

• Buy the Stanley Adventure Even-Heat Camp Pro Cook Set if: You want a bigger stainless set with a stock pot for group meals.

1. Best for Four: GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Ceramic Camper

GSI's current version of its four-person set uses ceramic-coated hard-anodized aluminum pots and a frypan, and serves four people. It includes four 14 oz mugs with insulated sleeves and sip-through lids, four 14 oz bowls, and four plates, plus a pot gripper and a strainer lid. Everything nests into a storage bag that doubles as a camp sink. Packed size is 9.1 x 9.1 x 5.8 inches, and it weighs 58.1 ounces. This set is for camp-stove use only: the maker says the pots are not for use with open campfires.

2. Best Stainless Set: Stanley Adventure Full Kitchen Base Camp Cook Set

This is Stanley's stainless steel set for four, made from 18/8 stainless steel and BPA-free. It has 21 pieces: a 3.7-quart pot with a vented lid, a 7-inch frying pan, a cutting board, a spatula and a spoon with extending handles, four plates, four 22 oz bowls, four sporks, a dish drying rack, and a heat-resistant trivet. It is made for car camping: at this size and weight it is not a backpacking set.

3. Best Cast Iron: Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker

The Lodge Combo Cooker is a 3.2-quart seasoned cast iron Dutch oven whose lid doubles as a skillet, so one piece does two jobs at camp. It weighs 12.85 pounds and is seasoned with 100% natural vegetable oil. It is made in the USA and works on any stovetop, including induction, as well as in the oven, on the grill, or over a campfire.

4. Best Big Stainless Set: Stanley Adventure Even-Heat Camp Pro Cook Set

The Even-Heat Camp Pro is Stanley's bigger stainless set, made from 18/8 stainless steel and BPA-free, with a 3-ply bottom for even heat over campfires, stovetops, and grills. It has 11 pieces: a 4.5 L stock pot, a 1.8 L saucepan, two vented lids, an 8.5-inch frying pan, a collapsible cutting board, a spatula and a spoon with two-piece handles, two trivets, and a locking bungee. It weighs 8.2 pounds.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." — Matthew 5:9 (KJV)