Camp cuisine takes even the most accomplished cooks out of their home kitchen comfort zone. There's more heat, flames and smoke to contend with and usually less of the equipment you’re used to. Not to mention no running water or electricity.
One way of getting control over camp cooking is to invest in some good dedicated cookware. With proper pots and pans, you can learn to master this more elemental way of cooking and produce amazing food that everyone will remember, for all the right reasons. The best camp cookware needs to pack up small and be as portable as possible. It should be durable to stand more extreme heat, easy to clean and do everything you’d expect of your pots and pans at home. Here are the sets we’d recommend.
Terra Hiker Camping Cookware
Kitchen cupboard in a bag
Also available in a 16-piece offering, this 10-piece Terra Hiker Camping Cookware set is made from lightweight aluminum, has a non-stick coating and heat resistant handles. The large boiling pot, teapot and frying pan stack together and all fit neatly in the included mesh bag along with lids, bamboo serving spoons, a ladle, plastic bowl and cleaning sponge.
Stanley Base Camp Cook Set for 4
Sturdy stainless steel set in a pot
Stanley’s set is comprised of 21 nested components that take in a pot, frying pan and vented lid made from thick stainless steel and four sets of plastic plates, bowls and sporks plus cutting board, spatula, serving spoon and a dish rack. You secure it all together with a locking bungee. It’s a full kitchen that fits in one pot.
REDCAMP Camping Cookware Mess Kit
Pot, pans and plates too
Coming in 9, 12, 18, and 23 piece sets, these mess kits from Redcamp are all lightweight anodized aluminum and pack up very compactly into a 7.8” by 5” sized unit to go into the included storage bag. As well as the pots and pans, you also get plates, bowls, rice ladle and cutlery set as well as a bonus survival bracelet and metal card multi-tool.
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Camper Cooking Set
Includes everything and the kitchen sink
This should meet all your needs for camp cooking and eating and can be configured for two or four people. The adonized aluminum pots and pans have a Teflon Radiance non-stick coating and join the durable plastic four-piece dish set of plates, bowls and mugs as well as removable, foldable handles in one compact stuff sack that you can use as a washbasin.
Bottom line
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It doesn’t matter if you’re cooking on an open fire or a stove, good camp cooking needs good camping cookware. Trying to make do with mismatched old pans and utensils will only make an already testing cooking environment even more difficult. We would instead recommend investing in the Terra Hiker Camping Cookware set. It’s great value for money and gives you everything you need to make delicious hot food outdoors. Because it nests together and packs down so compactly, it’s easier to keep it all together in the off-season, ready to go again for your next trip.
