Stoves and Cookware

Here is a problem that has been vexing me for a long time – safe isobutane canister disposal and recycling. The recommended way to dispose of a used canister is to vent all of the remaining gas in it and punch a whole through the sidewall using a screwdriver. After …

I started car camping with my wife this year and the spartan cook system I use for solo backpacking quickly proved to be insufficient for cooking more elaborate meals. That point has been hammered home by my wife, particularly since she is a foodie, with a wall of cookbooks at …

Don’t throw away the plastic cap that comes with an isobutane canister and don’t lose it. It’s the only thing that will keep the Lindal valve from rusting. When the valve rusts, it can start to leak gas. I had this happen to me last year after a backpacking trip. …

I’ve been using a canister stove as my primary cook system for the past 3-4 years. I like the fast boil times, and the fact that you can light them and turn them off in seconds. While there have been endless debates about whether canister stoves and fuel canisters are …

Note: This is a cautionary tale. Propane is a highly flammable and potentially explosive gas. Backpacking stoves are not designed to operate on 100% propane mixes. Use at your own risk. Risk includes loss of property, serious injury, and death.  I have been pondering the use of propane for winter …

Ultralight Titanium Camping Pots I use an Evernew Titanium Pot (1.3 L) for melting snow for winter hiking and camping. It only weighs 4.8 oz, which is pretty respectable for a winter cook pot. It’s a little larger than the 900 ml Evernew Titanium Pasta Pot (Medium) that I normally …

Every backpacker or hiker should carry a fire steel with them in their emergency gear repair kit. This is one emergency preparedness and survival tool that you should never be without. If you’re not familiar with fire steels, they consist of two components a metal striker and a magnesium rod. When …

Brain Vargo makes some really nice Titanium camping cookware that’s lightweight and very functional. This little pot has a capacity of 0.9 Liters and weighs 3.9 oz on my digital scale, but a 1.3 Liter model is also available for $10 more that weighs 4.9 oz. You’ll notice that the …

Some people will debate whether you need an insulated mug for winter camping and argue that you can use a cook pot instead. This may be true, but it’s not practical. When I get to camp and start to melt snow for water, I want to be able to have …

No Backpacking Stove Fuel I’ve had my eye on wood gas stoves for a while because I Iike the idea of having a stove where you don’t have to carry fuel. If you’re going to be out for 4 or 5 days the amount of denatured alcohol or isobutane canister fuel …

? Here’s a nifty new ultralight wood stove that I found on London Backpacker’s blog over the weekend that is manufactured and sold by backpackinglight.co.uk, (which has no affiliation with backpackinglight.com.) I recommend that you visit their site. They have some cool gear that is not available in the US …

If you’re into Freezer Bag Cooking, then you should consider bringing along a freezer bag cozy to keep your food warm while it re-hydrates. This it particularly helpful in the early spring, autumn, and in the wintertime when colder weather will quickly cool hot water in an uninsulated Ziploc bag. …

If you are like me and eat a lot of freezer bag or dehydrated meals out of plastic bags, chances are good that you are going to drop some oatmeal or curried chicken down the front of your shirt. That’s not good, because the bears will come for you at …

I’m into freezer bag cooking. It’s fast, it’s easy, you can prepare healthy and hearty meals, and best of all there is no cleanup. So when I cook breakfast or dinner on a backpacking trip all I need to do is to boil water and use it to rehydrate my …