PCT 2018: Camp Cooking Gear

More Upgrades!

For the past 16 years we have been faithful to our MSR Pocket Rocket and some variation of an MSR pot set. While both have been more than serviceable, I have always been annoyed by the size of the cook set. The weight at 36 ounces (with fuel) was also concerning. Since we really only boil water at camp, there wasn’t much need for us to have the bowls and cups that came with our cook set. This seemed like the perfect place to shave some weight and reduce bulky items from our packs.

Snow Peak Litemax Titanium Stove – 2oz $60

While we have been quite happy with the MSR stove, we really liked this Snow Peak offering. The biggest selling point was the size, nesting into the cup along with a fuel can. Stove weight savings was negligible against the MSR, so that wasn’t a factor. Although the boil time may be a nearly a minute longer vs the updated Pocket Rocket, it wasn’t a big concern for us. Patience is a virtue, grasshopper.

Toaks Light Titanium 650ml Pot – 2.80z $37

Knowing that we didn’t want to carry a pot, bowls and cups our research led us to the Toaks pot. We tend to only use the pot for boiling water (not cooking and eating), so smaller was fine for us. I really love how the stove and fuel can nest inside of this cup. Since having a more compact set was part of the priorities, this was a win!

Sea To Summit X-Mug – 2.4oz $13

This cup offers us some versatility; we can enjoy our hot coffee in the morning and still boil water for breakfast. It is light, compact and fits right over top of the pot inside of the stuff sack. Seems like a no brainer for size and weight.

Sea To Summit Alpha Light Spork, Long – .5oz $9

The spork works well overall, but the fork portion is not as useful as I would like. We really like that the spoon gets into the deepest recesses of the food pouches keeping our hands from getting messy.

Fuel Can – 7.5oz, cost varies

Having a stove means needing fuel, a necessary evil. I am not ready to ditch a stove yet since I really enjoy hot coffee and warm food while traveling trails.

Final Thoughts

The new set up with fuel comes in at 16 ounces, which is well over a pound weight savings. That weight includes a homemade can cozy for the Toaks pot and stuff sack to keep it all together. The footprint inside of the pack is also much smaller, which is a nice bonus too.

Total Cost – $119

Total Weight – 16oz