cooksets, revisited

[Bobbie Mayer]

I know the idea of stackable nesting cooksets has come up before, but I'm looking for one now. Specifically, I'd like to know what kinds people have and of them, which pots get used the most. My ideal set would have the following

largish pot (enough for a soup or stew for two)
Probably NOT a frying pan as I want non-stick for that
teakettle or other pot for boiling water
smaller pot
not too heavy, metal lids, some kind of lifter

it would also be nice if they nested with a plastic or metal mixing bowl and maybe a measuring cup.

What do you use, is it compact, and would you buy it again?

[Jim Bennett]

Just this year we have been using a set of stainless steel Magma Nesting Cookware. While not cheap, they are very well made, and of excellent quality. If fact, they are likely better cookware than many of the ones we use at home. As well, they are not real light, but the heavy bases works well for controlled heating, and they excell there. The set comes with two removable handles, which are well made and work great.

It is amazing how compact they pack up too, leaving more room for other items.

The only negative about them is that the knob on the lids is made of the same polished stainless steel as the lid, and it can get quite warm, and if used on high heat for an extended time, a pot grabber is kinda needed to take it off.

We have cut discs of fake chamois to fit in the bottoms of pots to protect them from the next pot in the nest. Not absolutely sure if it is needed, but we are just taking simple precaution.

We are considering also getting the colander that stacks with the set as well.

Another thing we have found with this 6 pan set, is that we took a couple larger bowls out of the trailer, as we never use all the pots at once, and the extras work great for serving or mixing bowls.

I would definitely recommend them given our pleasure using them for about 7 days so far.

Do a web search for them, and you will find a lot of competitive pricing, many boat supply places carry them. I bought mine at Binnacle.ca for around $240 with free shipping.

[Bobbie Mayer]

That looks nice, but too many pots for me.

However, do you cook on a fire or propane grill? Or both? How does the nonstick coating hold up?

[Jim Bennett]

We cook mostly on a propane stove. Anything we cook over a fire is either on a grill or on sticks.

The coating world's great. To early to tell how well it will hold up, but all the reviews I have heard are very positive.

[Rene]

That is a nice set of pots, nice frypan too. I have never found the perfect set yet. I use a thick walled non stick skillet (frypan with lid) in the 12" size along with a 8quart stockpot good for soup, boiling pasta and heating water, 3 quart saucepan for cooking potatoes etc and a 1quart sauce pan for smaller items. So 3 pots and a frypan cover most anything I want to do. Unfortunately they don't nest but they also cost a lot less than $250. Heavy pots cook the best, cheap pots are light and do a poor job. Nonstick coatings vary in their lifespan. The new ceramic non stick coatings should be better because they stand up to higher heat without peeling. There are two main causes of non stick coatings failing. One is using sharp metal utensils and the other because the pans are forgotten while heating on a hot stove empty of food. Don't overheat your pan and it will last a long time.

[Cyndi B.]

I use a cook kit that is older then me. I think that makes it an antique.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I may have to give up on the teakettle nesting, too- though I found an MSR one that does, but I think the pots are too small. I'd like nonstick for frying pan but can probably forgo it for everything else. Maybe... I'd like to be able to cook on a fire, too, though, and that doesn't work well with nonstick unless you are watching it closely (hence, the frying pan is okay.) I'll keep an eye out.
I also want metal lids, and I've seen a lot of sets with glass lids lately.

[Jim Bennett]

I have a set of smaller Teflon MSR pots I have used for many years for backpacking and canoeing. Not a nice for controlling heat but the do work well.

[Rene]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

I may have to give up on the teakettle nesting, too- though I found an MSR one that does, but I think the pots are too small. I'd like nonstick for frying pan but can probably forgo it for everything else. Maybe... I'd like to be able to cook on a fire, too, though, and that doesn't work well with nonstick unless you are watching it closely (hence, the frying pan is okay.) I'll keep an eye out.
I also want metal lids, and I've seen a lot of sets with glass lids lately.

Yes, makes me laugh when I see these pots being warrantied for 25 years with glass lids.

[reetired]

Don't laugh..................I have two Coleman stainless steel kits. Galley and Marine...they are both light weight stainless. Between the two kits I have more than enough pots/pans/bowls. All stacking 8 inches of room and have bags. A measuring cup will fit inside either set.

For frying pan I have a set of three cast iron. Heavy but they can be used on a fire or propane stove.

Looked into MSR and GSI all nice....but they didn't have the combo I needed...not to mention a lot more $$.

Each set was about $25....check ebay or coleman outlet.

Best wishes

[Byron Kinnaman]

We've used an MSR stainless steel two pot stack for close to 30 years. We're still using it in the trailer.
For your needs I can't recommend MSR strong enough. Link to MSR cookware.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Bobbie Mayer

it would also be nice if they nested with a plastic or metal mixing bowl and maybe a measuring cup.

What do you use, is it compact, and would you buy it again?

For Christmas, I bought myself a set of these collapsible bowls (with lids). Collapsible Prep Bowl Set - Progressive CB-6 - Kitchen Tools - Camping World I've seen them cheaper at True Value. These also come in collapsible measuring cups (Target).


Yes, I'd buy them again!

[mary and bob]

Here's some vintage stuff we use. The photo shows a Palco cook set that has 4 pots, 4 plates, 2 handles, and the lid is the fry pan. Made in Worchester MA. The rest of the items are 3 sets of Regal's Picnic Pack. One is together and in the optional insulated bag, one is all together, and the third one is apart. There are 5 sections, a lid, and a detachable handle to use the bottom section as a fry pan. We have 4 sets of these, only one with the insulated bag, and we don't actually cook in them but instead use them to keep snacks in like cookies, chips, pretzels, donuts, cup cakes and the like. I believe they were made in the 60's and are aluminum. The Palco cook set is also aluminum. We also have some vintage coolers, stoves, and water jugs that we collected to go with our vintage teardrop.

[LK Gray]

REI set is pretty handy. The lids do dual duty as skillets. Teflon coated also. It's been a while ago, but I kind of remember $50.

[Gilda]

We, too, use our old aluminum nesting set composed of a larger pot, a smaller pot and a lid. The 2-part handles wrap around the sides to allow for nesting and join together to form the handle when cooking. Our camping teflon pan petered out so we replaced it at REI. We are very happy with it. You really don't need a teapot or a coffee pot while camping. We simply boil water in a pot and can make tea, hot chocolate or coffee from the water. My husband loves the single-serve drip coffee method using a single filter. This website tells you more than you ever wanted to know. Manual Drip Coffee makers He basically uses a $4.00 plastic cone that fits on top of his mug, inserts a single coffee filter, adds ground coffee, adds water and waits for the dripping to stop. Voila! a perfect cup of coffee!
Happy Camping!
Gilda (Jill-da)

[Roger C H]

We had a camping set from our tenting days similar to this:

Texsport Aluminum 4 Person Cook Set New Cookware Campfire Kitchen Camp Hiking | eBay

We found in Homelet that road action caused the aluminum to rub against everything in the cabinet and left aluminum oxide (black) marks everywhere.

We bought a cheap set of SS with SS lids at our local Fred Meyer and have been happy with that. We even use two of the saucepans at home. So in Homelet we have the largest saucepan, the stockpot, the smaller skillet and an unrelated tea kettle. We use the stockpot to heat water for doing dishes, and then for rinsing.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by LK Gray

REI set is pretty handy. The lids do dual duty as skillets. Teflon coated also. It's been a while ago, but I kind of remember $50.

Those look just like the set we use for backcountry travel. Fairly light, and work great.

Originally Posted by Roger C H

We use the stockpot to heat water for doing dishes, and then for rinsing.

You rinse dishes when camping? At best, we just usually towel dry.