Cycling UK Forum

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on cooking pots. I have a proper JetBoil clone but have recently decided to try something different. I have carried a little folding BBQ that I got in the states for years. Sometimes it's just nice to have a BBQ or a little campfire at the end of a day and eat something that requires more than a JetBoil style stove to cook.

I've bought one of the cheap Meths stoves recommended on a recent thread here, and fashioned a method of hooking it just below the grill on the folding BBQ - out of the wind and with a built in Pot stand above.

But Now I need a pot. Must be suitable for use with the little Meths stove and with a wood fire without warping. (Happy to use the old Scout trick of rubbing washing up liquid around the outside to make it easy to clean once sooted up). Does the weight saving of Titanium outweigh the heat transfer of stainless steel? Would I be better off with an old school Billy Can? Are there any good value brands I should look out for?

To my mind Trangia pans take some beating.

I would avoid titanium pans for cooking food. Its poorer conductivity relative aluminium means that you get hot spots that food readily burns onto. Needless to say, removing burnt-on food is a pain especially if camping.

I like stainless steel because it cleans easily, even stick on food - usually. It can be expensive, but I have often thought about a cheap alternative. Asian shops usually have stainless steel bowls; tiffin sets (stacked pans with lid all clipped together; and other small bowl like pots. I think you could use one of these for cooking with maybe a Trangia clip on handle.

Not sure about prices in the UK, but much cheaper than camping specific stuff.

Just a thought.

I prefer the Trangia UL Hard Anodized pots. They are about as light as titanium pots, distribute the heat much better, and because of the anodized surface they are easy to clean, and are even a bit non-stick.

I spent a few months going through the same process and opted for Trangia Duossal.

Stainless steel on the inside and aluminium outside. Aluminium is a good conductor of heat whilst the stainless is more durable for cleaning.

Duossal would be too heavy to my taste, and the hard anodized surface of the Ultralight HA version provides enough durability.

hamster wrote:To my mind Trangia pans take some beating.

Original Trangia here. But I'm always interested to hear if someone's come up with something better.

Jonathan

Jdsk wrote:

hamster wrote:To my mind Trangia pans take some beating.

Original Trangia here. But I'm always interested to hear if someone's come up with something better.

Jonathan

I seem to remember that there was at some stage a titanium panned Trangia. I Can't remember if it was just the pots or the whole thing, someone here may remember.

At the present time I use titanium pots with a titanium "clikstand" that was bought for a very good price in the USA several years ago. Suits me as I tend to pub-pack on long tours anyway.

K

KTHSullivan wrote:I seem to remember that there was at some stage a titanium panned Trangia. I Can't remember if it was just the pots or the whole thing, someone here may remember.

The history, although not very complete and without dates:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trangia

and the current materials:
https://trangia.se/en/choose_the_right_trangia_stove/

Jonathan

Yes there were titanium pots (only pots and pans) once upon a time. They were discontinued I think when the UL version was introduced. This was almost as light, cheaper, and distributed the heat rather better.

Just had a quick erg around the interweb: This seems to be a bit more comprehensive, sort of an unofficial Trangia fan club. LOL

https://www.trangia-central.com/trangia-models.html

It appears to be everything you wanted to know about Trangias but were too afraid to ask.

K

I have the Trangia titanium pots and lid/pan - they are lovely to use. I actually got them when there was all that concern about stewing rhubarb in aluminium above 10000ft or whatever it was, rather than to save weight. It's a spirit burner so how much heat transfer are you worried about but yes you can burn stuff to them. But you can use gravel out of the nearest beck to clean the pan without worrying about scratching off any coating or furring up the insides.

My Trangia was a 21st present from my brother, a Model 25 with the plain aluminium hardware.
I'm now 56, the pans are still going strong.

They're light, they work, I don't have to worry about scouring them with gravel, they nest well with no handles to get in the way and the Trangia pan grip holds them very securely. I use them on the Trangia, gas burners and occasionally on the liquid fuel stove. They occasionally get a bit bent, and I bend them back.

While I'm a bit of a gear junkie I'm not generally that fussed about fixing things that really, really really aren't remotely borken, and the basic Trangia pans fall in to that category.

Pete.

If you're not after super fast boil time, then adding a little water to the meths gives you a cooler/cleaner burning flame.
Around 5%-10% water stops soot build up on the bottom of the pan.
You can go as high as 33% water if you want to aim for a slow simmer boil and no food being stuck/burnt to the pan at all.

Luck ..........