[BASS]

If we are talking BOB cook kit you are going to hump for miles and maybe every day then your needs are light and duriable. Mine is a stainless steel Mirro with stuff sack. It works OK for one person but if you are with others it will not be able to provide all the needs. The pots are small and purifying all your drinkling water by boiling takes a long time. One big draw back is mine don't have bail wire handles so they can not be hung over an open fire.

Your needs may differ if you are not by yourself. In camp and possibly a long term camp you may want larger sized pots. I carry a two liter pot w/lid and a one liter pot w/lid. Both have bail wire handles. I also carry a teflon fry pan with a folding handle. The pots hold many small items in my pack. Packages of: soup; tea; sugar; salt & pepper; crackers; cheese; salami and many other food items. This way the space is put to use and when I take the pot out I have many of those items I want to eat or use.

If you plan to catch fish or harvest animals you certainly may want larger pots and a good non-stick fry pan. In a group of maybe four to six people or larger, pots and fry pans can be carried by various members of the group. I have seen groups of eight carry a full BSA patrol cook kit.

Only you can decide what your needs are or may be later. You should consider your needs may change and you don''t have the ability to re-supply. I know what works for me and I have winter camped in the Adirondacks in NY State. "Better to have and not need than to need and ........"!

 

[BASS]

I would like to add this to my original post:

If you have a small mess kit it may work OK with small amounts of food. It is ceratinly workable for one person.

I have a friend who backpacks and she uses food cans all the time. Some are large juice cans and she has smaller ones that nest inside. She puts bail handles on them. She also has a pot lifter and hot hands, a good idea. They work very well and when she is done just recycles them and makes new ones.

I have a suggestion for you to consider. Buy a good quality Fizzbee. Not one of those cheap give-a way models. You now have a cutting board and a durible plate. They are easily cleaned and pack well.

As I mentioned in my earlier post. Cooking larger quantites of food or harvested animals is much easier than trying to cook a larger amount of food in small pots. If you harvest a deer and need to cook it to preserve it, large pots and fry pans are a big help. A large pot with a tight fitting lid becomes a food storage container. BASS

 

[BASS]

I clean my cooking gear with a nylon Scrubbie and Camp Soap. I can use sand if needed on the metal pots but the Scrubbie works fine on the Teflon fry pan. Not the type that are part sponge.

I also carry a Packtowl. Look for them at the site below. The spelling is correct for your search BTW. These towels are light in weight; dry very quikly and durable. Many competition swimmers use them just for those reasons.

Also look for Camp Soap and cooking gear while you are searching Campmors site. When you are looking for lightweight items the prices climb as the weigfht reduces. That isn't confined to cooking gear but tents and clothing also.

Do a search for: www.campmor.com
Campmor is a company that caters to the backpacking/camping/kyack groups. They are a reputible company and I have bought a lot of items from them foer r over 30 years. They stand behind what they sell.
I have no stock in this company BTW.