dlschwarz

Could someone give me a recommendation on this. Lightweight and fairly compact yet functional? I'm looking to cook very simple recipes primarily for one. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

aggro_jo

GSI Pinnacle Duelist. I love mine and my stove and a fuel canister fits inside. 2 cups 2 bowls, large pot and a cover that doubles as a sink/water basin. The included sporks are pretty lame. https://www.rei.com/product/783287

safariofthemind

We can give basic, generic advice with the information you have provided. But to get better recommendations you need to tell us the "mission" you are going on: whether you'll have panniers, a dry bag, or frame bags, how much luggage you want to carry and the number of days and whether you'll be away from resupply spots for long.

Set ups can vary from the ultra spartan, a titanium cup and an alcohol "soda pop" stove, for a few ounces including fuel - ideal for an off road weekend tour - to a full, stacking cookset with room to stuff and MSR Whisperlite type stove inside (see REI's or other backpacking stores for this) which can weigh in at a pound and a half with fuel and can be used for years on end. Also, consider eating utensils, cups, etc.

Personally, what goes on depends on what I am doing. Mostly use 2 stacking pots from REI and a plastic lexan spoon/fork and an MSR Stove. Setup is about a pound not including my Leatherman for food prep.

Tell us more about your "mission"...

REI
https://www.rei.com/category/4500001_Camp+Kitchen

CampMor
https://www.campmor.com/gear/kitchen/cookware.shtml

mrpincher

Mrpincher can make recommedations with no basis in fact at all becuase I give him that power. Here goes -

I have a set that is comprised of an REI .9 liter titanium pot with lid + a titanium bowl that fits inside. These titanium pans are a waste of money in my opinion. I carried a real stainless steel cookset complete with two pans, lids, and measuring cup for years and I biked faster then than I do now.....haha

Just buy a pan and a bowl and an insulated cup and thats enough in most cases. FYI - my gormet days are long past.

There was a gentleman awhile back who was proposing the idea of travelling with a real dutch oven. I wish I had friends like that.

skilsaw

I use this MSR cookset. The two larger pots are most useful. You can leave the 1 litre pot at home.
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...34374302696309
Pack a MSR stove inside to keep it safe.

rothenfield1

I just do weekend solo trips mostly, so I like to keep it simple by using the typical prepared hydrated stuff. If all you need to do is boil water, your options are almost limitless. I use this Snowpeak set-up because it’s light, compact, and durable. Plus the pot can be used for coffee. https://www.rei.com/product/787957

If I’m going to be preparing one-pot meals of dried pasta or rice were actual cooking is involved, I like a wider pot with a versatile lid. I have an old MSR Alpine set and just use the smaller pot with lid. It’s not that light, but it’s tough and easy to clean. Plus the lid can be used as a fry pan. https://www.trailspace.com/gear/msr/alpine-2-pot-set/

Carbonfiberboy 

One 1.5 liter aluminum pot. Some liquid fuel stove. Some broiler foil for a windscreen. I almost bought an Optimus Nova for my last tour, but decided it wasn't enough better than my old Svea 123. Whisperlight are good, too. You don't really need a whole cookset. Buy a plastic bowl and a plastic cup with graduations at the grocery store, the kind with the sort of slimy feel to them. They clean really easily and don't seem to have a lifespan. You'll need a Lexan spatula, fork, and spoon. You can use the blade in your Leatherman for the knife. They make plastic tops that turn 35mm film containers into salt and pepper shakers. They're perfect. I have another one with Bon Ami in it. You'll need a small squeeze bottle for soap - hands, shower, and dishes, and a combi sponge/scrubber.

Never fry anything.

JoeMan

I use and recommend anything from Snow Peak https://www.snowpeak.com/

rothenfield1

[QUOTE=Carbonfiberboy;

Never fry anything.[/QUOTE]

I hear ya Not a big fan either. But, I do carry a small bottle of olive oil sometimes. Putting a little in the bottom of the pan helps keep stuff from sticking. This is more of a hiking-in-the-mountains thing, and I've never tried it; but, I sometimes take some line & hook when backpacking. The idea of catching a trout and frying it is Hemingway-esk and "can't be bettered".

rothenfield1

Just for kicks, for you reader types, here's the link. It is about halfway down.

https://www.hemingwayinmichigan.com/t...arcamping.html

AsanaCycles

+1 on Snow Peak

I use a solo cookset

drmweaver2

I heartily recommend the Dragonfly stove. A lot of people say it's too heavy, but it's awesome.
For cookware, I spent $3 at Dollar General on a large plastic cooking spoon, a spatchula and a 2-tine cooking fork, then went with an old aluminum Boy Scout cookset without the plastic cup, and one 2L aluminum pot with lid. With this setup, I can cook anything from eggs to steak and from spaghetti to boiling water for coffee/grits/oatmeal. A few people I've seen on my current trip (currently on the Natchez Trace Parkway), tell me I don't need the big utensils; to each his/her own. The weight of it all is well within reason and the stove fits within the 2L cookpot while the BSA cookset is designed to be stackable.

johnr783

I used the Optimus Terra. It comes with two pots and a pan but I left one pot at home. It isnt the lightest or smallest but I chose it because I can take it right off the camp stove, place it in the insulated container and eat straight from the pot.

No need to wait for it to cool down, no need to burn your fingers, no need to get another plate or bowl dirty. Straight from the stove to your hand, bam!

Digga

Trangia, trangia, trangia! Been around for 60 odd years, be around for another. The sort of thing you give your grandkids when you're too old to ride anymore. I have the 27-2 but there will be one to suit you.

MichaelW

Ive used the Trangia 27, it is simple, reliable and rugged but overkill for Just Add Boiling Water recipies. Ive cooked 3-course gourmet meals on it. The kettle is useful for keeping boiling water which you need for a later stage in your cooking.

Bekologist

1 pot with lid, 1 cup that can go on stove, 1 spoon. Any combination of manufacturers, your choice, aluminum.

compact and simple stoves? go with one of the trangias that has a small windscreen.

staehpj1

That is the same set I use. I leave the smaller pot home and carry only the larger one. This has worked well cooking for 1, 2, or 3 people. I have cooked mostly one pot meals, but have also cooked multi course meals one course at a time.

This set is a little heavy, but I have grown kind of attached to it. If I were buying new, anodized aluminum would probably be my first choice.

Carbonfiberboy 

You just need a hook and a small bottle of salmon eggs. Thread from your sewing kit works fine for line. This is a parable of the fishes. One bottle of salmon eggs can feed a multitude. The only time I tried taking commercial freeze-dried food backpacking, we ran completely out a couple days from the road. Illegal fish were just the ticket. I did fry them. Living in the PNW, I can take a can of butter and have it last 2 weeks. Trout fried in butter tasted pretty good after that crap.

So when the freeze-dried package says "feeds 4" on the label, but the net weight is 4 oz., that means you are lucky if it has 500 calories. This puts a couple down in the concentration camp calorie range. So frequent (daily?) resupply is a huge convenience in bike touring. It's a completely different way to live for me. Even at home, I only shop every 2 weeks. Nice to have more time to live.

Cyclebum

Another angle to consider here.

After trying several "lightweight" pots/pans, I'm now looking for a 8/10" skillet with a clad bottom and a lid. Tired of dealing with the poor heat distribution in lightweight stuff, as well as flimsy handles. I'll pay the weight penality.

Trangia makes a skillet close to what I'm looking for, but it doesn't have a clad bottom. I'll keep looking.

Cyclesafe

+1 on the Dualist. Leave the bowls and sporks at home. My MSR XGX-EX fits inside; the windscreen wraps around the outside.

Carbonfiberboy 

Thanks for that! I hadn't read it before. In my mind, the world is full of black flies. These take many forms and are just part of life. How we cope with our black flies defines how we see our lives.

BigBlueToe

I use the standard MSR stainless steel set - 2 pots, one lid, one potholder. It's lasted me 20 years and should easily last another 20. I like having two pots - one for cooking and one for coffee water. Or one for Ramen and one for chili. Etc.

Erick L

I use a soloist and love it. Mine didn't come with a spork (prefer a spoon anyway) and I leave the bag home.

markf

The MSR Alpine cookset with a Whisperlite or Dragonfly stuck inside is a good setup if you like cooking with white gas. Leave one of the two pots at home if you want to save weight, both pots if you want to cook fancy meals. White gas is cheap here in the US, and if the stove is running properly it puts out a lot of heat. MSR sells three different size fuel bottles, so you can choose your bottle size according to trip length or group size. I wrap the windscreen around the fuel bottle. I use an Alpine cookset with a heat exchanger and a Dragonfly for backpacking trips where I expect overnight temps to drop close to or below freezing, it's a good cold weather setup.

Trangias are nice and simple to use, and alcohol is easier to find than white gas in a lot of countries. It's expensive in the US, though, and it takes more alcohol to cook a meal than white gas, so your fuel cost will be distinctly higher. Alcohol doesn't contain as much thermal energy as white gas, so boiling times are longer and you need to bring more fuel for a trip.

Snow Peak makes a really nice, compact, lightweight gas cartridge stove called the GigaPower. They also make really nice nesting titanium pots and titanium tableware. You can store their double wall titanium mug, a GigaPower stove, and maybe a small gas cartridge in the smallest cookpot. My objection to gas cartridges is that you can't always find the right style to fit your stove, and I don't like throwing away all those disposable cartridges. Snow Peak does make really nice stuff though, light weight and well thought out (but not cheap). https://www.snowpeak.com/cookware.html

LeeG

yep, or plastic cup, I like to hold a cup with two hands when it's cold without burning them.