I figure everyone is sorting through their gear, figuring out what to sell at the swap meet and what to hang on to.  Since the gear is out already, I'm curious as to what's in your cooking kit?

Personally, my kit started as an all-season backpacking setup in the early 90s.  MSR stainless steel mess kit, MSR XGK II white gas stove, an insulated mug, and a plastic spoon.  Since then, it's evolved a little, but not much.  I've experimented with a bunch of stoves and a couple of pans, but haven't really worked out a system that I like yet.

So, what's in your kit and what do you value in a kit?

- Year round cooking with white gas?

- Precise control over the heat?

- Packs down small?

- Easy to clean?

- Lightweight?

- Big stove w/ lots of burners so you can cook for a whole family?

- Boils water at light speed, no matter what the conditions?

- Easy to setup and tear down in minutes for a quick cup of joe trailside?

Craig, how do you want this broken down?  I do truck, motorcycle, and backpack cooking.  Each one needs a different approach. 

Dale

Whatever you would like to contribute is good.  I was looking for an open discussion about the pros/cons of various stove/mess kit/ camp cleaning systems.

Like you, I have several kits.  1 for family camping in the truck, 1 for 1-2 people in the truck or backpacking, and 1 for winter backpacking.  I'd like to get rid of some gear by finding more versatile equipment, lighten up my mess kit, and have a year round stove that can simmer.

Family Car Camping:

I love this cook setup, but it does take up more room than I'd like.  It does weigh a lot, and while I have a vehicle to haul it in, everything adds up to make one heavy vehicle that doesn't behave well on the trail.  Water, gas, heavy cook stuff, chairs, recovery gear, heavy rooftop tents, etc.  Sometimes I think that a backpack per person weighing 30-60 lbs for everything is really the way to go; especially when wheeling.  Still, this is a great setup that works year round and that I can cook just about anything with.

• Coleman multi-fuel White Gas/Unleaded Stove.  GREAT stove.  White gas works year round, easy to simmer on, shares unleaded fuel with the truck if necessary.  Heavy and bulky so it wouldn't work well if I was in a Jeep.
• MSR Stainless Steel mess kit - Bought it in the 90s when titanium mess kits were rare, aluminum caused brain damage (before anodizing), so it's a bit on the heavy side.  I'd like to lighten this up.
• MSR folding accessory kit:  ladle, strainer, spatula, backpacking sized cutting board, spice jars, room for camp suds, and sponge
• GSI non-stick frying pan w/ fold over handle
• Full size cooking knife in sheath
• Good sized cutting board - thin so it stores in my drawers easy, but big enough to chop/dice/slice w/o having stuff fall off the edges.

1-2 person 3 season car camping/backpacking:

This isn't really a *kit* as much as it is what I wind up throwing together when it's just me in the truck.  It's  my Jetboil + whatever pots/pans/utensils I need to cook whatever I have planned.  Overall it is much less bulky than the full on Family Camping setup described above.  It is very adaptable in summer months (Jetboil works poorly in winter) as I can toss the Jetboil in a backpack for a quick overnighter, or use it with the big frying pan if I'm making bacon/eggs at the truck.  It's harder to cook gourmet with this setup, but not impossible.  This kit is what has made me realize what my *ideal* kit is... this isn't it.

• Jetboil w/ pan adapter.  Adapter lets you use a frying pan/pot on the stove w/o requiring the use of the jetboil specific items.
• MSR Titan Kettle - bring it if I need a larger pot for boiling (or one of the pots from the larger MSR kit)
• Jetboil frying pan - bring it if I need a frying pan, or bring the MSR frying pan.  non-stick surface isn't very good.
• GSI non-stick frying pan - this is easier to use, so I bring it instead if we are going in the car.

Winter backpacking/snowshoeing kit:

Quite simply, this setup will always make food but you aren't going to win any Iron Chef contest with it.  Fortunately, Mary Jane's farm makes some outstanding freeze dried food so you can still eat great.  This setup will work great year around, but is awefully heavy for backpacking.  There are lighter cannister stoves or denatured alcohol stoves that work just fine in summer.  The Jetboil being one of the heavier options in that category.

I often wonder if this type of setup is really the best one.  For the cost of the fridge, size/weight of the heavy stoves/mess kits, and overall hassle associated with cooking in the woods you can buy a lot of Mary Jane's farm packets.

• MSR XGK II white gas stove - it boils water, or burns everything else.  It has no simmer, unless you want to hold the pot above the burner.
• MSR Titan Kettle
• Mary Jane's Farm freeze dried food
• Coffee/tea/creamer/cocoa
• Snow Peak 450 double wall mug - 1 per person

I definately have multiple personalities when on the trail.  Sometimes I like to head out, setup camp, and cook great meals.  Other times I like to keep it simple so I can spend more time taking photos, watching sunsets, and hanging out with my son.  I also have this idea that somehow someway there is a cook kit that will meet all of my wishes:

• Stove:  Year round cooking - white gas, simmer setting, and lightweight.  I can handle cooking on 1 burner for all 3 of us.
• Super lightweight mess kit that scales up/down based on the number of people.  I want to be able to pack one mess kit that I can cook anything on, but then pull a part of it out to throw in a backpack for a quick overnighter mid-trip. E..g works with the truck, but doesn't tie me to the truck like the GSI frying pan does.
• Forks, cups, wash kit, etc are easy to scale down for backpacking but still work well in a vehicle based camp.

I"m still using a green coleman 2 burner propane stove that I've had for decades.  Sets up fast, always reliable, nice wind break plus easy clean up and storage.  I can find the 1lb propane bottles everywhere and even on a long week trip I didn't quite burn through 2 bottles.  My cooking is super simple though and usually just requires hot water or a hot pan to grill in.

I used to cart around a small round bbq as I prefer meat cooked over coals on a grill to frying in a pan but for trips where I would like to eat and then move on, trying to put out a bbq is a serious PITA.  I had a small gas/lava rock grill but found it just too messy after a few steaks plus it rusted fast in a single season.

Cooking pots/pans are usually kitchen leftovers that were replaced or el-cheapo walmart non-stick with a mix of real & plastic utensils and sorry folks but I'm a big fan of paper plates, towels & bowls.  The less I have to clean up the better.

A lot of my food choices are dictated by what I think will last in a regular ice cooler and what kind of clean up it may require.

Since I mainly camp with the family My kit consists of:

Coleman green 2 burner propane stove, MSR Alpine pots, El cheapo frying pan steel ceramic mugs... Had a GSI coffee press but it broke after about 10 uses...now back to the ole school percolator. Edgestar fridge,I do have to say that "the fridge" has opened up a new world of camping food as now we can bring much more fresh food with us. We actually have a picinic basket that we got as a wedding present. The plates and silverware are awesome so we bring that along on shorter trips..takes up a lot of room and you cant stack anything on it. But it's kinda fun breaking out the traditional picinic basket.

You should check out the Son of Hibachi. It would solve both your moving on and cleanup problems with grills.

ooohhhh,  I like the Son of Hibachi idea with the snuff out bag...

http://sonofhibachionline.com/howitworks.php