Cooking Gear
There are many methods for making a warm meal while hiking and I’ve used several over the years. The lightest cooking stove is a small fire (if allowed). I now mostly use gas canister stoves and have been able to get more than 12 days out of one 230g canister. Always use stoves in well ventilated areas as they release carbon monoxide (clear odourless gas) that can be poisonous (reducing the amount of oxygen in the blood). Tents and hiking gear can also be extremely flammable so take care. Below I outline the three main methods for cooking.
Methylated spirits cookers
The good simple trangia are nice but I think they tend to be too heavy and can be slow. Metho cooking is nice and quiet and it is always pretty easy to find metho in shops even overseas. Only take as much fuel as you need, don’t take the whole bottle of metho. You can make tin can stoves that are very light weight but honestly I tend to just fall back on my easy reliable gas canister stove. I did an assessment of weight of a gas canister and metho cooker and once you are out for more than 3 days the weight of taking enough metho is greater than a gas canister.
Gas canister cookers
Gas canisters are fast, convenient and easy. There are some issues with recycling and disposing of old canisters. A canister costs about $12. I have hiked for 13 days on one 230g canister, including cooking all breakfasts, all dinners and several lunches for one person. The confusing thing for a new hiker can be estimating how much gas is left. I’d encourage you to weigh your canister before and after a trip and perhaps write on the canister how many days you used it and the new weight. Keep doing this, and if in doubt use a new one, but you will start to realise how long these little guys last.
The small stove attachments can be incredibly lightweight and the one I have weighs 45g. Be careful to balance your stove and keep dirt out of it (I store mine in a plastic ziploc bag when cool and not in use). You can’t fly with gas canisters and sometimes they can be hard to find overseas or in small towns (do your research). I don’t use a windshield I just place my backpack in front of the cooker to stop the wind. If you do use a windshield ensure you don’t overheat the gas canister. Gas canisters can also have issues in sub zero temperatures. Different gas stoves come with attachment hoses that can distance the canister from the flame if this concerns you and some even have a loop that pre heats the gas for a more efficient burn, but they will weigh more.
Some cookers come with ignition switches (I’ve seen many fail), I love simple effective bic lighters – I even buy the mini lighters if I’m trying to be ridiculous about weight. I normally carry a lighter with my cooking gear and one on me that I can use to light a fire as soon as I get to camp. I always carry 3 methods for fire making and include waterproof matches and a plastic magnified lens in my emergency kit.
Fire
The lightest cooking stove is a small fire. Use fire pits where provided and keep the fires small, it doesn’t need to be any bigger than a soccer ball. Fire will however blacken the base of your cooking pots so have a plastic bag to store pots in to prevent it from getting all over your gear.
Pots and Pans
I love titanium for my cooking pots they are light, functional but expensive. When hiking solo I just take a 2L pot but if with others I’ll take 2 pots or one large one with an interchangeable lid. Together my 2 pots and a lid weigh 321g, the small pot and lid is 158g or the large pot and lid is 205g. They also have handles built into them that fold away.
Bowls and Cutlery
If you are just stating out use the stuff around you, a plastic bowl from your cupboard or disposable cutlery from your last takeaway meal.
I’ll often eat directly out of the titanium pot, but I also take a lightweight cup/bowl. Be carful in the camping shops bowls and cutlery cost a fortune and can weigh a lot when sometimes a basic plastic bowl from the supermarket can weigh less. I found a bowl that weighs just 53g I love it and use it as a cup and bowl. I use a titanium spork that costs an expensive $28 (I won it in a competition). I kept breaking my plastic camping spoon fork combo so I went with the titanium one.
Knife
I take a large knife (173g Guber) that is a little overkill, but I wear it on my hip and it serves as multiple purpose tool. I cut things with it but I also use it as a trowel to dig toilet holes in hard Australian soil (much to the horror of knife purists). I am sure to clean it properly between different uses and give it a good oil and sharpen when I return from hiking. I also love a large solid knife as you can use it in a survival situation to cut small trees, or as I had to once, cut a heavy but thin fallen tree off the road.
You don’t need a blade bigger than 7-10 cm, but I love the sturdiness of a knife where the metal extends though the handle (full tang). However, I understand the advantages of a smaller folding knife that perhaps has other features like nail scissors or a screwdriver.
Containers
Don’t buy expensive storage containers from hiking shops. I use old mouthwash bottles (great safety lid), soft drink bottles, vanilla essence bottles and small plastic containers from the supermarket.
I clean my gear out in the field using clean toilet paper and wet wipes. Sand can also be great at removing stubborn stains.
There are many methods for making a warm meal while hiking and I’ve used several over the years. The lightest cooking stove is a small fire (if allowed). I now mostly use gas canister stoves and have been able to get more than 12 days out of one 230g canister. Always use stoves in well ventilated areas as they release carbon monoxide (clear odourless gas) that can be poisonous (reducing the amount of oxygen in the blood). Tents and hiking gear can also be extremely flammable so take care. Below I outline the three main methods for cooking.
Methylated spirits cookers
The good simple trangia are nice but I think they tend to be too heavy and can be slow. Metho cooking is nice and quiet and it is always pretty easy to find metho in shops even overseas. Only take as much fuel as you need, don’t take the whole bottle of metho. You can make tin can stoves that are very light weight but honestly I tend to just fall back on my easy reliable gas canister stove. I did an assessment of weight of a gas canister and metho cooker and once you are out for more than 3 days the weight of taking enough metho is greater than a gas canister.
Gas canister cookers
Gas canisters are fast, convenient and easy. There are some issues with recycling and disposing of old canisters. A canister costs about $12. I have hiked for 13 days on one 230g canister, including cooking all breakfasts, all dinners and several lunches for one person. The confusing thing for a new hiker can be estimating how much gas is left. I’d encourage you to weigh your canister before and after a trip and perhaps write on the canister how many days you used it and the new weight. Keep doing this, and if in doubt use a new one, but you will start to realise how long these little guys last.
The small stove attachments can be incredibly lightweight and the one I have weighs 45g. Be careful to balance your stove and keep dirt out of it (I store mine in a plastic ziploc bag when cool and not in use). You can’t fly with gas canisters and sometimes they can be hard to find overseas or in small towns (do your research). I don’t use a windshield I just place my backpack in front of the cooker to stop the wind. If you do use a windshield ensure you don’t overheat the gas canister. Gas canisters can also have issues in sub zero temperatures. Different gas stoves come with attachment hoses that can distance the canister from the flame if this concerns you and some even have a loop that pre heats the gas for a more efficient burn, but they will weigh more.
Some cookers come with ignition switches (I’ve seen many fail), I love simple effective bic lighters – I even buy the mini lighters if I’m trying to be ridiculous about weight. I normally carry a lighter with my cooking gear and one on me that I can use to light a fire as soon as I get to camp. I always carry 3 methods for fire making and include waterproof matches and a plastic magnified lens in my emergency kit.
Fire
The lightest cooking stove is a small fire. Use fire pits where provided and keep the fires small, it doesn’t need to be any bigger than a soccer ball. Fire will however blacken the base of your cooking pots so have a plastic bag to store pots in to prevent it from getting all over your gear.
Pots and Pans
I love titanium for my cooking pots they are light, functional but expensive. When hiking solo I just take a 2L pot but if with others I’ll take 2 pots or one large one with an interchangeable lid. Together my 2 pots and a lid weigh 321g, the small pot and lid is 158g or the large pot and lid is 205g. They also have handles built into them that fold away.
Bowls and Cutlery
If you are just stating out use the stuff around you, a plastic bowl from your cupboard or disposable cutlery from your last takeaway meal.
I’ll often eat directly out of the titanium pot, but I also take a lightweight cup/bowl. Be carful in the camping shops bowls and cutlery cost a fortune and can weigh a lot when sometimes a basic plastic bowl from the supermarket can weigh less. I found a bowl that weighs just 53g I love it and use it as a cup and bowl. I use a titanium spork that costs an expensive $28 (I won it in a competition). I kept breaking my plastic camping spoon fork combo so I went with the titanium one.
Knife
I take a large knife (173g Guber) that is a little overkill, but I wear it on my hip and it serves as multiple purpose tool. I cut things with it but I also use it as a trowel to dig toilet holes in hard Australian soil (much to the horror of knife purists). I am sure to clean it properly between different uses and give it a good oil and sharpen when I return from hiking. I also love a large solid knife as you can use it in a survival situation to cut small trees, or as I had to once, cut a heavy but thin fallen tree off the road.
You don’t need a blade bigger than 7-10 cm, but I love the sturdiness of a knife where the metal extends though the handle (full tang). However, I understand the advantages of a smaller folding knife that perhaps has other features like nail scissors or a screwdriver.
Containers
Don’t buy expensive storage containers from hiking shops. I use old mouthwash bottles (great safety lid), soft drink bottles, vanilla essence bottles and small plastic containers from the supermarket.
I clean my gear out in the field using clean toilet paper and wet wipes. Sand can also be great at removing stubborn stains.