What metal is your cookset? Need your guys' input on some choices.

[Wanderlust]

Some pieces of advice I have picked up personal experience and from some friends, Aluminum can leach chemicals into your food if you end up cooking highly acidic foods in it such as spaghetti. Now that is just what I have heard but I obviously cannot prove it, but if you are the type to worry about such things you should be aware of it. Ti doesn't distributes heat well, good for boiling water but sucks if you are trying to cook pancakes on it.

When soloing I usually just rock a SS pot the MSR Stowaway 1.1 L. It is a great pot, I really like pairing it up with a Snowpeak ti cup. I love Ti for the cup because it doesn't distribute heat well so my coffee stays pretty warm but the cup doesn't keep its heat so I can actually drink out of it without burning my lips.

 

[redpoint]

I've used them all.

I use MSR and Snowpeak titanium b/c of the type of camping I do, which generally involves freeze dried food. The pot is used for melting snow for cooking and drinking. Ti is light, tough, and holds-up to this kind of use well. I use it with an MSR XGK EX which is really just a blow torch.

I also have a set of MSR Aluminum pots with a teflon coating. They're fine for relaxed camping involving a more complex menu of foods. Teflon is great for clean-up in the backcountry and it makes cooking easier especially with such thin pots, but you need to handle it carefully - it scratches v. easily. I like to store my stove inside the pot and I can't with these. I rarely use them - car camping or kayaking only. Of the materials often used in camping cook sets, aluminum is the best thermal performer. However, it needs to have some kind of coating as aluminum can be detrimental to your health.

Stainless - they're heavy, but they probably give the best performance in terms of cooking, toughness, and price.

I'd check-out MSR's new anodized Al line for a general camping pot set.

 

[Will_Power]

I've used them all.

I use MSR and Snowpeak titanium b/c of the type of camping I do, which generally involves freeze dried food. The pot is used for melting snow for cooking and drinking. Ti is light, tough, and holds-up to this kind of use well. I use it with an MSR XGK EX which is really just a blow torch.

I also have a set of MSR Aluminum pots with a teflon coating. They're fine for relaxed camping involving a more complex menu of foods. Teflon is great for clean-up in the backcountry and it makes cooking easier especially with such thin pots, but you need to handle it carefully - it scratches v. easily. I like to store my stove inside the pot and I can't with these. I rarely use them - car camping or kayaking only. Of the materials often used in camping cook sets, aluminum is the best thermal performer. However, it needs to have some kind of coating as aluminum can be detrimental to your health.

Stainless - they're heavy, but they probably give the best performance in terms of cooking, toughness, and price.

I'd check-out MSR's new anodized Al line for a general camping pot set.

So, is the hard anodizing a sufficient level of protection for aluminum campware?


I just can't seem to make up my mind at all on this.

 

[Flexxx]

Got a Optimus Solo good set and gsi halulite minimalist.

Both are hard anodized and work excellent, I favor the Optimus a little more...

 

[ThriftyJoe]

......

 

[JV3]

this is my goto setup. i've used them extensively from day hikes to multiple days...tons of pics because i'm a pic whore:

1. msr 775 ml ss stowaway pot. it's the perfect size for the emberlit and cooking ramen noodles with slices of spam without the water overflowing when at a full boil.

i don't carry a water filter during winter so it's perfect for boiling water over a fire (just add a piece of wire to connect the handle to the lock so you can hang it).

2. gi ss cup from canteenshop is perfect for boiling water during a day hike (the cover is a piece of aluminum that i also use to scoop snow for melting):

the shape is also perfect for holding a very hot instant food:

3. paderno 6 5/8" carbon steel skillet (seasons like a cast iron pan):

the msr pot nests perfectly in the paderno:

4. i just bought this one recently though so i haven't used it extensively - msr ss alpine 8" fry pan. the handle is removable. the cup/canteen is for size comparison: