GSI Outdoors is known worldwide for their high quality, innovative camping products. Whether you’re hiking out to nowhere and back, or camping right out of your car, they’ve got your cooking and eating needs covered with ultralight gear as well as everything for the “outdoor gourmet”. We mentioned their Pinnacle Dualist last month as an excellent choice for both camping and as part of your 72 hour kit, and this month, we’re bringing you a full review of the Glacier Stainless Dualist.
The Glacier Stainless Dualist is an integrated cooking and eating solution for two, packed full of thoughtful design and clever features. It’s comprised of a pair of 20 ounce insulated mugs with tight-fitting sip-it lids that nest inside 20 ounce bowls. They’re color coded blue and orange, and include matching telescoping fork/spoons that GSI refers to as foons. There’s even a stove bag. All this fits inside a 1.8 liter, 18/8 stainless pot with a strainer lid and a handle that hinges over the top and locks, keeping everything in place. The welded carry bag serves as a sink when it’s time to clean up. Total weight is 24.7 ounces.
As someone who enjoys cooking, I really like this set. My stove includes a 1.0 liter cooking cup, and when combined with the Dualist, whipping up a meal is easy and efficient. The pot is sized just right for quickly heating stew or chili, and the built in strainer makes cooking pasta or rehydrating food hassle-free. We can enjoy soup in the mugs while serving up some pasta in the bowls, and the low, flat design makes them easy to handle without knocking a meal over. The lids on the insulated mugs snap in securely, so there’s no fear of getting a lap full of cocoa or soup. And hands are kept a safe distance from the heat by the pot’s simple wire handle that locks solidly in place. Burns are never fun, burns while camping even less so.
On the side of the pot is a handy diagram, showing how everything gets packed back in. The mugs nest in the bowls, with the lids off. When the bowls are stacked in the pot facing each other, there’s room between them for a spare gas canister, or extra food/gear. If you cook with spices, you’ll find more than enough room for all your favorites. For the pasta lover, throw a few small bread rolls in there, and you’ve got something to mop up the sauce with, further simplifying cleanup. Speaking of cleanup, the stainless pot can be wiped down or even cleaned with sand. Unlike coated aluminum, there’s never any worry about being too abrasive. While the foons do an acceptable job, they’re likely to get replaced if you’re the type of camper that is easily seduced by the latest “do everything” or “aerospace grade” utensil.
For the minimalist camper that boils water to cook their meal in a bag, this isn’t the set for you. But if your culinary tastes extend beyond traditional camp fare, it’s hard to go wrong with the Glacier Stainless Dualist.
GSI offers other systems and individual components to satisfy the needs of the solo camper looking to travel as light as possible, a family setting up base camp, and everything in between. See them all at www.gsioutdoors.com
– Brian