The Best Camping Cookware

Buying Guide

Camping is an activity that many people partake in as a means of escaping the hustle and bustle of modern-day society for a night or more. Pulling up at a campsite, or hiking to one with a backpack, begins the process of unpacking the equipment you need to sleep in like a tent or a hammock, setting up your camp chairs or getting out your cooler to find a relaxing beverage of your choice. When all this work is done, you might find that you’ve worked up quite an appetite and need some grub. You won’t find many nearby restaurants at your new weekend home, so you’re going to have to make some food for yourself.

Assuming there isn’t a functioning kitchen in your campsite, you’re going to have to either cook food over an open fire or set up a camp stove or grill that runs off of a fuel like propane or charcoal.

If you were to bring the same pots and pans that you like to cook with at home, you will find yourself fighting with an awkwardly heavy and cumbersome load of camping cookware that will leave you feeling frustrated.

“You need to find cookware that can go through high temperatures over the fire,” says travel and outdoors expert Thena Franssen, the brains behind the blog HodgePodge Hippie.

Instead, think of investing in a compact set of camping cookware that is designed with the specific intent of making food at a campsite. Using the right tools for the job will make your camping trip less stressful and give you more time for enjoying nature.

Stainless steel is the most common metal that you will find in your kitchen at home and it is likewise the most common material that you will find camping cookware is made from. Another top pick for camping is cast iron, says Franssen.

Stainless steel offers the benefit of being rustproof, naturally BPA free and also providing an antimicrobial environment that hinders bacterial build-up. This makes the metal ideal for camping cookware sets like the Stanley Base Camp Nesting Camping Cookware Set, that boasts a set of pots and a pan along with plates and cups, all made from stainless steel. The stainless steel coloring can change a little bit if you cook directly over a hot fire while some soot can build up to leave a black coating on the pans, but the color change isn’t bad for you or the pans and the soot can be washed off with a wet rag or paper towel. Stainless steel is often dishwasher-safe as well, giving you an easy way to thoroughly clean the set of cookware between camping dates.

Efficiently packaged sets of camping cookware stand out in the world of camping cookware. A small package can expand into multiple cooking surfaces and can oftentimes fit the necessary utensils and dishware needed for one or two people.

When you’re packing all your gear, it can be overwhelming when things start spilling out of the bag or tote that you’re using, but having a full set of cookware packed nicely into a carrying bag makes it that much easier on you when do start the packing process for your next camp outing.

If you’re the type that would rather cook all your food on a stick, directly over an open fire, maybe you don’t need all the pots and pans that come in some of the more robust camping cookware sets. To accept that someone might not want all the pans but might still want a vessel for a hot coffee in the morning some sets like the Bulin Nonstick Camping Cookware Mess Kit step up and offer a fantastic package. The fact that the insulated cups fit snugly into the stainless steel vessel mean the entire package is contained within itself. The graduated pot has a collapsing handle and can boil enough water for a couple of hot cups of tea or coffee with little fuss.

As we mentioned earlier, campfire soot can find its way onto your cookware if you choose to cook over the open fire with it. This is not a problem to most, as the soot can be cleaned off, but it still adds an element of cleaning or dealing with the messy soot that some people would rather avoid.

A common way of cooking at a campsite is by the use of a canister of propane or butane that has a small stove attached to the top where you can set your pot or pan. Most models have a stove that expands out to hold the included pots or pans in the set. Utensils are even thrown in to make the package a mostly all-in-one set that won’t leave you lacking in much. It will be necessary to supply the fuel canister separately and it’s always a good idea to take a backup canister, or two, until you get a really good feel for how much cook-time you can get from one.

• Meal prepping at home is a great way to set yourself up for success at the campsite. Chopping vegetables or portioning spices and meals together can be done easily in the comfort of our home-kitchen, then you can use the prepared foods at your campsite without the fuss.
• Have a plan for washing your camping cookware. Carrying a large tote of water with a spigot can be handy for a lot of people camping near their car and the spout can be cracked open to drizzle water over the dishes that you’re cleaning. Another method is to have a bucket of some sort, sometimes they are even collapsible for compact storage, and to head down to a nearby creek to collect water and bring it back to the campsite for dish washing.
• Be wary of local wildlife and the rules regarding them. If you are in bear country, there will be specific steps to take when you’re done with your dinner at the end of the night so as to not attract bears to your campsite. Raccoons and other critters can also come hunting for your dirty dishes and food scraps, so read up on proper etiquette and help protect both yourself and the wildlife.