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One thing I want to sort out for next season is my cooking set up.
Right now I have a Frankenstein set up of items. All decent quality but I wish now I had not bought my main items individually but something that fit together better and took up less room.
Have been looking at a few options..
Anyone use these or anything similar that they highly recommend?
THX
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Hey Shawn
I have the GSI "Bugaboo" setup, which is the larger 4-person version, and its been fantastic. Not ultralight, but efficient, and given that my trips range from 2-3 man, up to my family of 4, the versatility is the best part.
Only one negative note: the "sink" that the whole thing nests into failed at the bottom seam after a few years. Still holds everything together, but the functionality is lost. I'm going to just get a mesh bag to hold it together, as the sink has some weight to it . . .
The mug/bowl combinations are great, and mine have graduations on the inside, slightly hard to read, but save a mixing cup or other device for measuring the water for meal re-hydration.
Teflon has held up well, I try to keep them on the stove, but spent 5 days on Little Carcajou with the stupid snap-loc butane canisters (and a threaded stove) so we fire-cooked with this set all week.
I see the strainer lid is updated now with a high-temp silicone rim, a nice upgrade. I use the pan as a lid for the pot, although I've cheated and used the strainer lid to speed up boil times when the pan is in use, and had no issues . . .
If it fits your size/weight requirements, you won't be disappointed with the GSI set
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We have an MSR set that I like (I don't see the exact set on MEC). It's got 2 pots, 2 mugs, 2 plate/bowl things and one lid that has a strainer. We also have a deep sided frying pan we bought separately that somewhat nests into it. We do a lot of fire cooking but are careful not to use metal utensils to keep the coating in good shape. There are some plastic parts where the detachable handle attaches. We try our best to keep these out of direct flame and they are holding up pretty good.
Often we'll only bring one of the pots and the frying pan instead of all 3 to save weight. We do have a separate foldable sink but we only bring that car camping. In the backcountry, I wash all the dishes in the big pot.
Our set has lasted moderate use by not-very-delicate people (I've been called "rammy") for about 5 years. The frying pan has a few dents but that's entirely due to me slamming it on a rock on an occasion or 3.
Another thing we added to our cook set this year is a pot cozy ()
It's one of those things where you think it's silly and useless until it keeps your water hot for the second coffee of the morning or lets you turn off your stove while your dehydrated meal continues to cook away.
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Thx Craiger05 likely leaning towards the GSI set but this Sea to Summit collapsible stuff looks really cool too.
Claire I think I know the MSR set you are talking about but wrote it off because it didn't have a nesting fry pan. If you have found one that fits into the set I would be interested to know which one it is.
THX
Shawn
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A Trangia Stove with some added pieces works well for tandem trips. Bit much for a solo. I'm copying this from a post I made years ago. I don't use this set up much any more. In the last couple of years I have been moving to a much more compact setup. Lately, I have been feeling the need to go even smaller, so I currently use a backpackers set up (no frying pan).
Anyway here's some food for thought.
Trangia Kit all packed up (2 pounds 10oz). 
Total kit
22cm frying pan, 1.75 lite pot, 1 litre kettle (not necessary but nice to have).
Inside the kettle are stove, scrubby, spork, gripper, spatula, lighter, cloth.
2 DIY pot cozies. One fits exterior of Pot. One fits exterior of wind screen.
2 DIY cutting boards. One fits inside circumference of pot. One fits inside circumference of frying pan. When the kit is packed up the cutting boards also protect the non-stick surfaces of pot/pan.
Other stuff not shown. Fuel bottle, coffee mug, 2 water bottles, Sea-to-Summit X-Bowl. I use the X-bowl and the Pot for 2 part rehydrating. The pot cozies really help to keep food hot while it's being rehydrated. They are also good for keeping pancakes warm while I am cooking them 1 or 2 at a time. I usually eat out of the frying pan.
This set up can also be used for baking in the pot. The pictures below show the pan resting on Trangia stand with brackets up. Pot is resting on SMALL rocks in pan. For my setup rocks can only be 3/8" thick or so. Large pot cozy over top of pot. Sides of pot cozy tuck inside frying pan to make a seal. This is why the rocks can't be too big. Otherwise the pot cozy is not deep enough to tuck into the frying pan. I've used this for cooking Biscuits and Pizza.
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Almost everything GSI makes is very good, I've picked up lots of it over the years. I suggest you look at their glacier duelist in stainless. It's a little cheaper and I find it's more functional then the pinnacle. It will even hold a micro cartridge stove and small cylinder of fuel.
Add the crossover kitchen kit and you'll be cooking in style!
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Martin.. Sweet !! really like the round cutting board idea....
confused now.. will have to go to a few stores on really snowy days this winter and examine everything thoroughly.. will make me feel better..
Also thinking of having a very small solo kit. A few at MEC have just a 1 liter pot and a top that is either a cup/bowl combo or a small fry pan..
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Hi Shawn,
Here is my small solo kit. I use this backpacking or when I'm not planning on frying up anything.
I cook 50/50 with fire and alcohol. Just have to be careful with the handle and flames.
You can fold the handle up or take it off when cooking with fire. 
GSI Halulite 1.1 L Boiler
Lid that comes with the pot but I drilled holes in it to make it a strainer
MSR insulated mug (I will not give up the insulated mug)
Bandana
folding spoon
lighter
4 oz fuel bottle
DIY Pot cozy
DIY Alcohol stove
DIY windscreen
15 ounces
In my experience the Fry pan lids are useless. I feel you need at least 6" diameter to actually use a spatula and fry something. I have another solo kit that I use when I'm cooking primarily with fire and when I want a frying pan. This kit gets the most use. No pics but it is a 1300ml DuoSSAL Pot, 7" DuoSSAL frypan and all the stuff listed above stuffed inside. IT weighs 1lb 6oz.
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I tried my first solo trip this year, and picked up a Primus Litech pot/"pan" combo from MEC that I was really happy with. A small canister and stove could fit inside, but like Martin I won't give up my GSI mug/bowl combo, so packed that in it . . .
Only one trip, but very pleased with the Primus set. . . as Martin mentioned though, the "pan" lid isn't going to fry fish or bacon, it'd do a nice job of an egg or two maybe though.
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this is the one I was thinking of for solo.
Fry pan is almost 7 inches so not bad. Gives me a 1.5 L pot to shove in my stove,lighter, spatula etc.
thoughts?
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That looks great to me! I like the pouring spouts on the pot. and the strainer holes on the lid. Snowpeak stuff is pretty good.
Last edited by MartinG (11/06/2015 1:47 pm)
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Thx Martin. Pot has measurements on the inside too which I like..
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Ok Martin. I'm stealing your DIY round cutting board idea.
What did you use? The non-skid cutting sheets from the dollar store?
Last edited by ShawnD (11/07/2015 11:03 am)
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Hi Shawn,
After a 35 year collection of odds and ends,I just bought the REI pinnacle dualist set, and used it for the first time this fall. Although i actually only need a solo set, I like to have an extra bowl/cup on hand to mix thing when preparing meals. I added a small light weight frying pan that actually fit right around the REI pot.
I use a primus stove,backpacker size (real easy to start) to always cook on. It packs away small, but does not quite fit into set. REI sells a canister stove that does f it in.
I loved the way the cookset is made, very light weight indeed, easy to clean.
However, a word of caution to the collapsible sets: I tried some bowls etc, but found the material, once warm, was not able to hold its shape,and spilling became an issue.
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Dollar store cutting boards and scissors. They came in packs of 4 rectangular boards.
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I use the GSI Glacier set which was awesome until the handle broke off the pot. (actually not a huge deal, I just pack a pot grabber with my stove now.)
Because I am so stubborn I refuse to cook in any pan other than cast iron. So I bring along a #8 vintage skillet, always.
Last edited by token (11/08/2015 1:26 am)
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Hey ShawnD
The Frying Pan I have with our MSR cookset doesn't technically nest. I sit the pots in it in transport but it's wider so there is a 1/2 inch gap around so it's not nested securely and it is a bit awkward to pack.
We settle for this because everything works and we don't need a new set. But if you're buying new, I can see why you'd look for a proper nesting fry pan.
I love that round cutting board idea. We have a rectangular one that just slides in the back of my pack along the spine. But I like the idea of one that stays with your cookset.
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