Car Camping vs Backpacking Cookware

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The right cookware depends on how it travels, not on how many pieces are in the box. Car campers get a luxury backpackers do not: the car carries the weight. Backpackers pay for every ounce.

Weight Decides First

Compare the maker weights. GSI's two-person Pinnacle Ceramic Backpacker weighs 28.8 ounces and serves two. The four-person Pinnacle Ceramic Camper weighs 58.1 ounces and serves four. The Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker weighs 12.85 pounds on its own: one piece, ready for a campfire, but you carry every pound of it.

How It Packs

A good camping set nests: the pan becomes a lid, the smaller pot stows inside the larger one, and the whole kit packs into one bag. The GSI Camper packs to 9.1 x 9.1 x 5.8 inches and its storage bag doubles as a camp sink. The GSI Backpacker packs to 8.2 x 8.2 x 5.4 inches. For car camping, packed volume matters more than grams; for backpacking, weight comes first.

Material Trade-Offs

• Hard-anodized aluminum: light and heats fast. This is what the GSI sets are made from.

• Stainless steel: heavier, but nearly impossible to damage. This is what the Stanley sets are made from.

• Cast iron: the best sear and the best heat retention, and the heaviest by far. It needs seasoning care and dry storage.

• Titanium: the lightest of the four materials, and the most expensive per pot.

Heat Source Matters

Check what your set is made for before you put it over a fire. GSI's ceramic camper and backpacker sets are for camp-stove use only: the maker says the pots are not for use with open campfires. Lodge cast iron works on any stovetop, including induction, as well as in the oven, on the grill, or over a campfire.

Group Size

Match the pot to your group. A two-person set with a 2 L pot suits a pair. A four-person set, like the GSI Camper or the Stanley set with its 3.7-quart pot, feeds a family in one go. A 6-quart camp Dutch oven feeds six.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." — John 13:34 (KJV)