Yeah but the definition of a dutch oven is a cook pot with an upturned lip on the lid to allow you to turn what is functionally a cook pot into an oven. If you are not going to use it as an oven how is it any different than a soup pot? Just carry a lighter steel cook pot.

That's awesome. I would love to spend a year in a cabin in the backcountry...then again I sort of grew up like that and the romanticism does trade off with the being many hours from a hospital, having to make a whole day out of getting your mail and grocery shopping, stuff like that, but the nostalgia is strong.

A useful alternative to a dutch oven is a good roll of heavy duty foil and a fry pan. Use the pan to brown anything, then wrap the whole meal in a couple layers of foil and place in fry pan, bury it in the coals. I've often done this without the fry pan for roasted veggies or fish dishes that I would have done in the DO back home.

Haven't yet done much bike tour cooking, yet. . . but having cooked two meals/day for approximately 400 days on long backpacking trips, believe me that you don't need a dutch oven to prepare delicious, even gourmet meals. Total weight of all cooking equipment, not counting fuel, should be between 2 and 3 pounds, max. One of those pounds should be a small multi-fuel stove. Multi-fuel because you might find a quart of paint thinner easier to come by than white gas. Do not, not, not plan on cooking over a fire. You want a stop riding-bed time of less than 2 hours, and similar in the morning. You can camp tour in luxury on your bike with 20 pounds, including rack, panniers, bags, spare clothes, tools, tubes, pump, etc. Then you'll have lots of time and energy to enjoy the touring part.

Edit: someone mentioned a steel pot. Aluminum only. No steel, stainless steel, or titanium. Camp cooking is all about heat conductivity.

The romanticism started to wear thin somewhere around the 6 month point. It's a lot of hard work living like that ... cold cabin, collecting firewood for heat, outdoor toilet, rarely having hot running water (we had a gas powered hot water service that only worked when it felt like it, which was about once a week), running out of water in a dry spells (our water was rain water) and having to collect it elsewhere, limited electricity (only solar power and a small back-up generator - if the sun didn't shine for a few days, the quantity of electricity available was significantly diminished) ...... so when it rained for days on end (winter), it was good because our tanks filled, but bad because there was no sun for electricity ... when it was dry and sunny for days on end (summer), it was good because we had electricity, but ran out of water .......... trekking through several km of mud and dirt to get in and out of the place in order to get to work, shops, etc. .........

Even baking was a challenge ... there wasn't enough electricity for mixers, etc., so it was all done by hand, and we didn't have an oven, so it was all baked in the Dutch oven in the fireplace. Just like, I suppose, the "good ol' days". I learned a lot about baking in a fireplace!!

While I was baking in the fireplace, Rowan cooked most of our meals on a two-burner Coleman stove ... much like he would do with his Trangias. In fact, he travelled and worked a part of the Harvest Trail for a year or so back in 2005 living in a tent and cooking with his Trangias, so he had a lot of experience with that. It's amazing what you can cook without a traditional stove/oven!!

I've never been accussed of being sane I've alwasy tended to do things the hard way just to see what happens. I hunt with traditional muzzleloaders or handguns, Shave with a straight razor, make my own condements for and such. I've been told I fell off the bell curve as a child and never bothered to try getting back on it.

Everyone has brought up sound points about having a DO on the tour, and all I can think of is getting out there and using it Heck I almost bought another one today but my wife had one of thos looks in her eyes that suggested I rethink buying another one today

[QUOTE=Machka;11307785]The romanticism started to wear thin somewhere around the 6 month point. [QUOTE]
Ha ha yeah I bet it did. I think three months is about the cut off for me before it would wear thin

To me bringing a Dutch oven is insane! But to you it might make sense, especially if you're pulling a trailer. I say give it a try - but maybe on a short trip. You'll be able to decide for yourself whether it was a good idea.

I've started bringing a chair, and to me it's worth it. You might think it crazy.

Here is the thing that comes to my mind on this issue. For the same 6 pounds you could probably carry two (or maybe even three) cartridge stoves with a fuel canister for each along with a couple pots with lids, a reasonable saute pan, a lightweight reflector oven, a 9"x9" pan for the reflector oven, and some other stuff of your choice. You could prepare some pretty elaborate meals with a setup like that.

BTW, here is one example of a 9 ounce reflector oven. I have one that weighs a bit more but is able to handle larger pans. I have fixed some really yummy baked stuff on canoe trips, but like to keep it light and simple on bike trips so it stays home.

All that said, I'll stick with a single light weight pot with a frypan lid.

On a trip around Death Vally we had the early reflecter type ovens, Big hotdog oven as well. First three days it was over cast and they didn't work for squat, then they got crushed and we never got them working again... Just that one bad experience has kept me away from flimsy cookware. My friends love em and take them all over the place, but I will never trust them again. I'll try my bricks and go from there haha. I'm sure I'll come across a cooking system I like and is less punishing in the future, till than I'll wear my dunce cap and play Being ex Army Infantry I tend to push my equipment to the breaking point so I KNOW when it will fail, lots of times it's me that fails lol, but I get up and try again with a slightly different slant on the problem...

I love the chair idea

I've toured with a variety of shelters and cooking solutions
wood burning stove, 4 man tipi

I've also been fixated on using a tagine

perhaps a Ti Tagine?

I assume you mean a solar oven. Just to be clear that is not at all what I was referring to in my previous post. The ones I was referring to use a campfire. They work pretty well and can be as little as a 8 ounces or so for a small one.

These do work really well, been around a really long time. Fold up small too if you get one designed to

Correct, I was thinking of Solar ovens, I haven't come across what you have pictured there, have to keep an eye out for those

Tagine sound familier, that the clay ovens?

Ah the civilain model of the Yukon Stove, minus the "Mo Gas" drip line Looks like it folds up? How does it hand warping? Nice shot of the cherry door