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Part 2. Light cooking pots for backpacking

This post is about the lightest practical large cooking pots for backpacking. They are available as food storage containers from multiple online stores and the larger ones (~1.0 -1.4 litre) can weigh as little as 69g (2.4oz) and are very suitable for shared dinner cooking for two or more people. “In fact, these pots are so light and compact you can have one for dinner and another for hot drinks and snow melting.”

For more context for the use of these pots and other pot combinations, please see Part 1. Unusual light cooking gear.

Background to my use of light cooking pots

While backpacking, I usually share a tent and evening meals with others and this efficient and enjoyable arrangement means that two or more large and squat-shaped light cooking pots of about 1-litre capacity are very suitable. Such squat pots are more stable, easier to stir and less prone to spilling. They also gather more heat from a given flame or heat source than a narrower pot of equivalent capacity.

Whether on foot or skis, I take at least two light cooking pots. This means that I can boil water, melt snow, sterilize water and make abundant hot drinks for crucial evening rehydration while also preparing a dehydrated meal.

I usually cook outside on a tiny wood gasification blower stove that fits closely inside a special matching custom squat 1-litre pot while backpacking. When required, I like my ‘extra’ light cooking pots to nest around the custom pot with the stove inside.

Some of my stoves can even provide the luxury of allowing two pots to be cooked at the same time if required, but two pot luxury is good any time.

A blower wood gas stove can have a rigid fire bowl in the shape of a pot as shown in the photo below. The fire bowl is slightly smaller than the pot that is sitting on it. This allows the stove to be stored for backpacking within the light cooking pots.

A blower wood gas stove with a rigid fire bowl. It can heat a second light cooking pots supported by a V-wire that is attached to the fire bowl and also two rocks. The fire bowl can be converted into the fire dome of a tiny tent stove (shown below). — A blower wood gas stove with a rigid fire bowl. It can heat a second light cooking pots supported by a V-wire attached to the fire bowl and two rocks. The fire bowl can be converted into the fire dome of a tiny tent stove (shown below).

When snow camping or in very heavy weather the above outdoor stove converts into a tent stove so that somewhat slower cooking can be done in the comfort of the tent, but the same pots can be used one at a time.

A view of the KISS tent stove at night, looking down on the small cooktop. It can also be transformed into a blower wood gas stove for cooking outside. This stove, including the roll up stove pipe can efficiently fit inside a 1-litre squat light cooking pot along with all the blower stove parts. — A view of the KISS tent stove at night, looking down on the small cooktop. It can also be transformed into a blower wood gas stove for cooking outside. This stove, including the roll-up stove pipe, can efficiently fit inside a 1-litre squat light cooking pot along with all the blower stove parts.

Storage containers used as light cooking pots

My best supplementary cooking pots come from an unusual source. I purchase those ubiquitous and cheap sets of five food storage containers with press-on plastic lids. They have nominal diameters of 100, 120, 140, 160, and 180mm. I think there are at least two manufacturers of apparently very similar bowl sets. If there are more, it is hard to tell by the photographs provided with the advertisements. Here are some examples from Amazon (US) or Ebay (AU).

When nested with other pots, they can become a game-changer for light, efficient, flexible, convenient and pleasurable backpacking cooking.

A set of five stainless steel food storage containers that can make light cooking pots. When I refer to them as pots, they are shown as Pot 1.......Pot 5 from left to right — A set of five stainless steel food storage containers that can make light cooking pots. When I refer to them as pots, they are shown as Pot 1, Pot 2…..Pot 5 from left to right (Later abbreviated to P1, P2……P5). “I will call these the ‘A-series pots’ to differentiate them from the ‘B-series pots’ in another post about even more magical backpacking pot combinations.”

The advent of high-tech titanium pots such as Snow Peak Trek 1400, SCS-009T (209g and 887cc capacity) may have caused these cheap alternative thin stainless steel light cooking pots to be overlooked. This is despite the SS pots being lighter and cheaper than titanium pots of the same capacity. “Maybe the real reason is that food containers are not really cooking pots?”

In the following discussion of my use of these containers as light cooking pots, I will call them P1, P 2…. etc in order of largest to smallest.

Light cooking pots for a two pot cooking kit

P2 is one of my favourites in the set. It holds one litre of water and weighs only 69g. “Yes, it is paper-thin but strong enough for camp cooking and with moderate care will last forever.”

Carelessness and abuse will easily dent the thin pot, but its saving grace is that it is quite easily ‘pannel-beaten’ back into shape with a stick or a strong thumbnail. Also, when carrying it within a backpack, I always put it within another pot or preferably over another pot to protect against crushing distortion.

DIY light cooking pots for backpacking. The pot on the left (68g) is new and is included for comparison. The pot on the right has been well used and sometimes abused but is still totally serviceable after many trips. I have deliberately beaten down the two curved ridge rings as seen in the new one to make the bottom flatter for cleaning after cooking in it. I don't know if this helps much so this may not be needed? The bead around the rim makes the pots stiff and they are easy to grip and lift with normal pot lifters. The beaten-up pot has been on a three-week walk along the Hume and Hovell trail and many more trips and is still perfectly functional. — DIY light cooking pots for backpacking. The pot on the left (68g) is new and is included for comparison. The pot on the right has been well used and sometimes abused but is still totally serviceable after many trips. I have deliberately beaten down the two curved ridge rings as seen in the new one to make the bottom flatter for cleaning after cooking in it. I don’t know if this helps much so this may not be needed? The bead around the rim makes the pots stiff and they are easy to grip and lift with normal pot lifters. The beaten-up pot has been on a three-week walk along the Hume and Hovell trail and many more trips and is still perfectly functional.

By chance, P2 neatly fits over my custom one-litre cooking pot (That also isn’t really a cooking pot!). My wood burning KISS tent stove or my wood burning blower stove (or both at the same time) fit inside my one-litre pot. Then P2 fits over all that. “Yes it all must sound like disappearing Russian Dolls and there is more to come!”

A bowl-style blower stove (left, also made from a bowl) and a custom made nesting one-litre pot (centre) and a slightly larger light cooking pot (right). They are ready for the 'Russian Doll' disappearing trick. — A bowl-style blower stove (left, also made from a bowl that pretends to be a pot). A custom made nesting one-litre pot (centre) and a slightly larger Pot 2 (right). They are ready for the ‘Russian Doll’ disappearing trick.

The stove packed into the custom one L cooking pot. All the stove components, including the stove pipe, fit in the stove. — The stove is packed into the custom one-litre cooking pot. All the components of the blower and tent stoves, including the stovepipe, can fit in the stove that fits in the pots.

The nested stove within light cooking pots to form a packworthy shape. "Not a single item is used as intended, but they are light, inexpensive and work so well together." — The nested stove in its pot is covered with Pot 2. They form a strong and smooth packworthy shape. “Not a single item is used as intended, but they are light, inexpensive and work so well together.”

More nesting pot magic

If you like the above approach to light nesting pots, you may like my post on similar super nesting pots that can have four large pots that weigh only 300g.

Lids for the light cooking pots

These containers/pots come with nice plastic snap-on covers. From product reviews, they don’t last long in normal domestic kitchen use. They may be used to cover dehydrated meals while backpacking. They can be used as a plate for serving pre-dinner treats, but they are not suitable for use where heating is involved. For more information on suitable ultralight lids, please see Part 3 Light foil cooking pot lids and Part 6. Pot lids and frying pans.

For more context for the use of these pots and the four similar super nesting pots, please see Part 1. Unusual light cooking gear.

Tim

Ultralight Backpacking Gear

Part 2. Light cooking pots