If you’re anything like us, you might need a good excuse to buy new camping gear from time to time. So we’re offering this tip on how to get your purchase approved by the home CFO. Since the cooking systems listed in this article would be just as much at home in your 72-hour emergency kit as they would in your backpack, now is as good a time as any to replace your equipment with some of the latest and greatest. Being that it’s National Preparedness Month, you’ll look like hero, making such a wise purchase. That is why we are giving you a look at the product lines by MSR Cookware and GSI Outdoors Cookware .
Both of these companies have products that are designed for the modern camper and backpacker. Compact and lightweight design combine with convenience and utility to give you the flexibility to cook pretty much anything you want without taking up too much space or weighing you down. Plates or bowls, cooking pots, and even mugs are included in a good amount of the products offered by GSI Outdoors and MSR, so you won‘t forget to bring them along. Many of the sets offered by both companies weigh less than 2 pounds and will take up a very small amount of room in a backpack, ensuring that they will be packed and ready whenever you head out.
There are several products from each company that look like they would be perfect for a huge range of situations, but there are a couple that deserve special attention. The Quick 2 System from MSR comes with 2 pots (one of which is non-stick), 2 plates, 2 mugs, a lid that does double duty as a strainer, and the ingenious pot handle that also locks everything together. All of this stores inside the biggest pan, making it just 5 inches high and less than 8 inches in diameter with a weight of only 1.75 pounds. The Pinnacle Dualist from GSI Outdoors comes with 1 pot, 2 bowls, 2 mugs that can also be used as bowls, 2 telescoping foons (or epic sporks, as we like to call them), and several other goodies. At 5.9 inches tall and 6.4 inches in diameter, this set is even more compact than the Quick 2 System, but with much less cooking capacity. It does only weigh a bit over 1.25 pounds, though. Overall, both of these systems look like they would be almost ideal lightweight backpacking cookware, but that is not the only use they could have.
Keeping one of these cooking systems with your 72-hour kit would be great insurance if you were ever to have to leave your home. You will need something to boil water and cook food in, but you probably won‘t have time, space, or strength to bring many of your pots and pans with you. Remember, if something were to happen, you may only have what is on your back; make sure that you are carrying as much as possible by packing smart and having the best equipment you can get your hands on. The Quick 2 System from MSR and the Pinnacle Dualist from GSI Outdoors will both help you meet those needs, not to mention being amazing for your normal, less harrowing camping trips.
If you’ve used cookware from either of these companies, we’ve love to hear your opinion. Feel free to comment here, or leave us a message on our Facebook page.
– David