Top-rated camp cooking gear that will spice up your meals

Hot, cooked food simply tastes better outdoors. Whether you’re grilling a feast or preparing an easy meal, this top-rated gear will get you cooking fast.


PinnacleDualist1. Pinnacle Dualist Ultralight Cookset by GSI Outdoors
$65, gsioutdoors.com

A complete cook kit that weighs just 1.3 pounds, this backpacking-oriented set of pots, dishes, cups, a strainer and cutlery offers a no-brainer solution for the trail. All pieces nest together for easy transport. Bonus: GSI includes a watertight case for the entire set that doubles as an ad hoc “kitchen sink” for cleaning up.


LightMyFireSpork

2. Spork Titanium by Light My Fire
$12, lightmyfire.com

All you need to eat in one light, indestructible utensil, this spork has tines, a spoon base and a stealth serrated edge for sawing off bites. I’ve kept this model in my pack for years. At 20 grams, it’s so light I never notice it’s there.


JetBoilSumo

3. Sumo Group Cooking System by Jetboil
$130, jetboil.com

The all-in-one design of the original Jetboil stove is popular with backpackers. For larger groups, the company offers its Sumo version, which has a 1.8-liter integrated pot. Fill it up and boil the water in a little more than four minutes. You’ll have enough to make a half-dozen bowls of instant oatmeal with water still left over for a mug of joe. Shown with fuel canister, sold separately.


PrimusGrill

4. Profile Dual Stove by Primus
$139, primuscamping.com

Grill a burger on one side; heat a pot of beans on the other. The Dual stove offers the best of both worlds with its open-flame burner set next to a grill with a nonstick drip tray. Uses canisters as fuel (not shown) and has a no-matches-needed piezoelectric lighter to fire up the stove at the push of a button.


SawyerMiniFilter

5. Mini Filter by Sawyer
$25, sawyer.com

Use a water-purifying pump or filter system for large liquid quantities. But for a backpacker in need of a lightweight personal water-purification product, this “straw” from Sawyer can do the trick. It weighs just 2 ounces and filters to the 0.1-micron level as a person sucks water straight from a lake or stream.


VegaOptimus

6. Vega by Optimus
$95, optimusstoves.com

Made for four-season use, this minimal backpacking stove weighs just 6 ounces and can jet a flame rated at 12,000 Btu. (Yes, that’s hot.) Standard pressurized gas canisters serve as fuel, and the Vega can boil a liter of water in as little as three minutes. Its low-profile design includes support arms that unfold wide to hold large pots. Shown with fuel canister, sold separately.


FireSteel

7. Swedish FireSteel 2.0 by Light My Fire
$12.99, lightmyfire.com

Spark a camp stove to life without matches. This magnesium fire-starter stick comes with a tethered striker for ready-at-will flying sparks touted to crest at 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit and light any stove fast.


MacaroniCheese

8. Macaroni & Cheese by Mountain House
$7.19, mountainhouse.com

Tear open the bag, pour hot water inside. Now, wait a couple minutes. Your steaming, cheesy meal will be ready before you have time to set up a tent. There’s nothing like the taste of cheese after days on the trail. I’ve brought Mountain House dehydrated food along on trips for years. I never get tired of the savory, hot, easy-to-make meals. (Not photographed.)


Stephen Regenold writes about outdoor gear at gearjunkie.com.


FIND MORE GEAR REVIEWS AT SCOUTINGMAGAZINE.ORG/GREATGEAR


3 Comments

  1. I use my Sawyer mini every single day. I bought mine on Amazon but recently saw them at Walmart and Dicks Sporting Goods. By far, the best filter I have ever had and the price is amazing.

  2. The Sawyer is perfect for individuals but we bought the Platypus Gravity Filters for our troop/ group hiking trips. They’re not cheap but they give you the ability to carry extra water and no pumping or squeezing is involved.

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