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Stanley Adventure Camp Cookset Review

Stanley Adventure Camp Cookset Review

The Stanley Adventure Camp Cookset is an inexpensive 24 fluid oz camp cookset that can be used to form the basis of a nice compact backpacking stove system. The unit includes a stainless steel cook pot with a collapsible handle that locks over the lid and the inside has graduated volume markings. The lid has holes drilled into it to prevent boilovers and can also be used for straining. The base unit comes with two nesting insulated plastic cups, but you can leave them at home to make room for your stove, canister fuel, and other essentials.

Specs at a Glance

  • Capacity: 24 fluid ounces
  • Material: Stainless
  • Weight: 7.7 oz
  • Measurement markings: Yes (ounces and ml)
  • Interior Dimensions: Width (at top) – 3 and 5/8 inches; Height – 5 and 5/8 inches.
  • Locking lid: Yes
  • Folding handle: Yes
  • Price: $14-17 (w/ Amazon prime)
The pot has a locking retractable handle and colander holes in the lid
The pot has a locking retractable handle and colander holes in the lid

At 7.7 oz, this cookpot isn’t the lightest cook pot that you can carry. But it’s very sturdy, it won’t rust, and holds heat well because it’s made with stainless steel. Marked volume measurements, in both ounces and ml, take the guesswork out of preparing freeze-dried or freezer bag meals, soupy concoctions, and drinking coffee or tea. The pot handle is very robust and doesn’t get too hot to hold when I boil water. When closed, the handle locks all of your cook system components inside and packs up small. I think it’s a great little system that’s low cost and durable.

The Brs3000T stove’s pot stand provides a stable surface for the Stanley cockpit
The Brs3000T stove’s short height and folding pot stand provide a stable surface for the Stanley Adventure cockpot.

Being tall and narrow, the pot can be a little tippy, so I recommend using a canister fuel stabilzer stand ($7-9) and a short stable stove like the BRS3000T ($17) that has a solid retractable pot stand built into it. This built-in pot stand is perfectly sized to work with the Stanley cookpot.

The Adventure cockpot fits a small fuel canister, a stove, canister stand, and lighter with room to spare.
The Adventure cookpot can hold a small fuel canister, a canister stove, canister stabilizer, and butane lighter with room to spare.

For example, the cookpot fits a small isobutane fuel canister perfectly (turned upside down), a butane lighter, a fuel canister stabilizer, and a BRS3000T stove or a Pocket Rocket 2 with room to spare: I wrap the stove in a very small cloth bag to mute any metal on metal noise. I don’t hear a thing.

The entire stove system packs away in the pot with room to spare
The entire stove system packs away in the pot with room to spare.

I’ve seen some reports that the plastic tap on the lid can melt. I haven’t had that issue, but the favored remedy is to replace it with a metal key ring.

The Stanley Adventure Cookpot is highly packable
The Stanley Adventure Cookpot is highly packable

While I own “a few” other backpacking cookpots, they all have a wider diameter than this pot which makes them a bit more difficult to me to pack in my pack. One of the things I really about the Stanley Adventure Cookset Cookpot is how narrow and tall it is, which makes it more packable, especially when I stick it in the open front pocket on my pack.

Highly Recommended!

Disclosure: The author purchased this cookset and all of the stove components in this review.

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30 comments

  1. Are the measurement markings easy to read and does the handle lock down tight on the lid? I have seen these in the past and kind of ignored it because of the weight, but your comment of it fitting in the front pocket hit home. I have started using that area for my cook pot as well lately and am always worried about the pocket ripping.

  2. It’s nice to see reviews of “budget” items like this. I’ve had this Stanley cook set for several years now and couldn’t agree more on the high recommendation. I, too, leave the plastic nesting cups at home so I can fit my Esbit stove and fuel cubes in it as well as a lighter, plastic spoon, napkins, take-out salt and pepper packs, a couple of tea bags, and a small sheet of aluminum foil that I use as a wind screen. It fits nicely in my Exos 58 with all my other gear. Of course, while there are fancier and lighter options out there, you will be hard pressed to beat the value of this set.

  3. David and Moose

    I have one of these also. A great little setup for very little money. They make a great little gift to a friend just getting into hiking/backpacking. I bought mine in the camping department at WalMart.
    I agree with Dan G. ,nice to see a review of something everyone can afford.

  4. We have an older two version person of this kit (complete with serving bowls) that I bought at Wally World almost 4 yrs ago.

    We don’t use it for backpacking but it became a great piece of kit for a quick camping trip the night before we backpack. Well designed and affordable.

  5. If you can find it at Target, they sell it in store for $9.99. My only dislikes are that the fuel canister fits so snugly that it makes a vacuum and is hard to get out. And, even though I’ve never tipped mine, it’s so tall and narrow, it feels like it’s going to tip at any minute while it’s on the burner.

    From reviews I’ve seen, people who say the pot lid handle melts are cooking on a camp fire, not a stove.

  6. For you old timers, this mug also is perfect for the SVEA 123 as it will fit inside the mug. Makes a great little kit.

  7. El Diablo Amarillo

    I had one of these for a few years and I used it when backpack hunting. I used it because I wanted to like it and couldnt find anything comparable to replace it at a reasonable price. I have since moved on. For me the upsides you have noted did not outweigh the downsides so I finally got rid of it. 1) I found mine very unbalanced and the tapered bottom really made it tough to fit on just about any stove because of that goofy bottom 2) The lid would jangle and rattle in my pack unless I had rubber bands holding it tight 3) Final deal breaker for me was the handle. After the 3rd time it didnt lock and I went to pick it up off the stove and dumped my lunch all over my stove because the handle folded up that was the end of the trail for that thing. I do appreciate your reviews but for me this was a worthless purchase

  8. This is about the most inefficient pot shape I can imaging you could set on a camp stove. If saving fuel is important to you then your pot should be WIDER than it is tall.
    It’s just physics.

  9. This is what I started off with and still keep in my day pack during the winter. FWIW, Walmart sells a 5$ 18 oz stainless steel cup with folding handles that the bottom of the pot nests into perfectly giving you a cup and pot cook set.

  10. One “hidden” feature that I love is that the Stanley cook pot can nest inside of your typical folding stainless steel mug (olicamp-space-saver-cup), even though they have the same lid diameter due to the tapering width of the cookpot, allowing you to cook for two without taking up any additional room in the pack. Due to its shape, I often pack it in one of the water-bottle pouches of my pack.

    It’s far from the lightest pot that I own, but it is one of the most rugged, and I find myself carrying this pot more often than many of the others. I agree that it’s not the most stable on a small stove, and the high sides make it not as efficient as a pot with a wider base, but it works fairly well if I’m cooking with a twig stove or over an open fire.

  11. How tippy (or not) was it with the Pocket Rocket 2?

  12. In addition to preparing meals and boiling water I use this cookpot to make excellent cowboy coffee.

    With a grind just coarse enough, the lid strainer will hold back almost all the grounds. I boil 12 oz water, stir in 25G coarse ground coffee, bring to a boil again. Shut off the heat, wait 4 minutes, then drizzle a little cold water over the coffee surface, which causes any floating coffee grounds to sink. Slowly decant the coffee through the strainer lid !

    Some will use the press section of a French press, but I think the results of this method let you leave that part at home, and still be able to pack the stove and fuel in the pot.

    • To add to my previous comment, this works well with the Soto Amicus, which actually cautions you not to use a pot that’s very wide, since excessive heat can be reflected onto the stove, damaging it.

      As to cons, the taller and narrow proportions do make cleaning a chore, just ask me how long it takes to remove the residue from Mac and Cheese with tons of Parmesan cheese.

      • Agreed, it works well with my Amicus and My first gen Pocket Rocket. I’m still on the fence about the second gen one.

  13. What is that little tab piece of metal on the end of the handle, looks like it slides? Is there a purpose for it?

    Don’t laugh, I still using a 1950s Boys Scout mess kit, with the thumb screw, nut fry pan handle, it has a standard pot, lid with wire handle.

    Do you find the Stanley hard to clean, getting your hand inside? I have big hands.

    For a twig burner like a Fireboxstove Nano, this smaller diameter, taller profile is probably better as the flame is small in area and under the bottom, concentrating the heat up, you probably would get some flame licking up the sides, but what is worse is too big of diameter pot for a small diameter fire, like a 3 inch Nano.

  14. Love mine, I own a few. Even the plastic cups are not bad for kids hot cocoa. When taking it backpacking, I put a small canister and my Msr Pocket Rocket inside. It is the best budget pot out there. I’ve seen them as cheap as $7, but recently I’ve seen them as high as $24. Stanley also makes some great wider pots for a few dollars more. Walmart, Target, Amazon all sell it.

  15. As an update for 2023, Walmart no longer sells them – just as I got interested. Amazon has them for $14 but shipping is iffy depending on free freight, which is not guaranteed unless Prime. Target has discontinued them, too. Academy is the only store I can locate locally – for $25.

    As for efficiency the ratio of bottom diameter to fire ring size is important – this is a small backpacker stove, using it on a larger camp stove like a Coleman propane for skillets would be a poor choice. A single burner propane camp stove – suitable for tailgating – might still be too large altho I’ve warmed up cans of chunky soup directly over one. Use compatible sized gear intended to work together and it should be fine. Because of that I wouldn’t recommend this for household stove use – unless you have a tiny burner or hot plate. The stoves that fit inside are the entire point – Stanley had something in mind for optimal use.

    If it is just yourself the there is a series of mods on video but the best recommendation I’ve heard it just go use it first. Then as an issue peculiar to your style of use crops up, fix it. I’d like to dump the large coleman cylinder and burner in my tailgate kit and this gives me incentive to down size.

  16. Love mine, use it with a BRS3000 and it is very stable. I use one green cup and the rest of the pot holds a 100g canister, stove, lighter, coffee singles, etc. I keep in in my bag always and whenever the urge strikes I pull over and fire it up. Great for dehydrated meals, canoe camping, really anything. I ditched all my other gear and love the simplicity of this set up!!

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