ksisler

Used to be a rule that there was no such thing as a stupid question....

Maybe its time to readdress that point???

Gravity Aided

Haven't seen anything stupid so far, just a lot of heat transfer and thermal dynamics .

Burton

Cool! Someone that's actually interested in USING their cookware rather than just talking about it!

The fiberglass stuff sounds interesting, but there may be another approach to heat control if you're interested. Fondue alcohol burners use a ring to control oxygen to the flame. The original penny stove (are you familiar with it?) used a 'simmer ring' that effectively did the same thing - reduced the heat by limiting the air flow to the burner. The output of most alcohol stoves is determined by the number of jets and the size of the jet holes. A simple ring that covered half of them might be another option.

rifraf

Cast Iron pans? Holy Mother of Dog! Reminds me of my first few weeks of my crossing Australia tour. It was reminiscent of Grims "Hansel and Gretal" with instead of breadcrumbs, I left a trail of excess clothes, books etc. When I arrived in Perth, Western Australia, I had less than half of what I started with (posted a lot home). Much as I like "proper" cooking, I leave the pots and pans at home and stick with a Trangia alcohol stove system with hard anodised alloy pots and dont look back. Occasionally I miss the speed my triple fueled Optimus could whip me up a cuppa but I believe I've seen the light. Now I'm even careful to plan my route before hand so I take just enough food and water allowing for 2 extra days of very careful imbibing only in between towns which can be many days apart here. Honestly, going light as possible makes the journey much less of a chore. Good luck and more power to the people who see otherwise. I was there a while back but now my mindset is different and my touring less of a burden. I'm sure if your cycling hours daily and distance ridden is short then its less of a concern. My journeys are extended and long distance so I've changed the way I did things and enjoy myself more. However you do it - enjoy yourselves and happy spinning.

fuzz2050

There are a number of 'simmer' features for alcohol stoves, my favorite is the Pack-a-feather, which is actually adjustable as you're cooking, without having to remove the pot and do all sorts of awkward fiddling.

Of course, I've even known people to carry two stoves (ok, well only one person), one to boil, and a second to simmer. Because the stoves themselves weigh so little, there isn't much of a disadvantage.

Of course, neither addresses the problem of a poor flame pattern, which, when coupled with a thin camping pan can lead to uneven heating. I ought to try the flour test with a few of my stoves, just to get a good visualization.

Burton

Chore? Burden? Concern?

Its always interesting that some people look for ever increasing challenges to make their life interesting and others try to minimize effort. I don't think either is better than the other - it just kinda highlights that people are different.

Climbed a fairly popular mountain while visiting Vancouver a number of years ago. My brother and I used backpacks and the well established trail that wound up the back of the mountain to a granite outcropping that overlooked the lake. Another group set off for the same point but insisted on scaling the near vertical front face using climbing gear to get there.

I think we all picked the path that we thought would be the most fun that particular day.

jedijon

I'm interested in the cooking aspect - love to eat; that's why I cycle!

Here's my background research, and thoughts. Used a DIY penny stove [the bottoms of two aluminum cans w/6 holes poked around the edge, starts out with a lake of burning alcohol which then boils the interior alcohol and creates six medium sized jets of burning vapor] this weekend in cool weather in a MEDIUM thin aluminum pan (thin enough to get bent some but not wafer thin like camping specific junk!) to cook A) stir fried veggies...1.5oz alcohol to cook the carrots in a fair bit of oil to a nice texture then start fresh with another 1.5oz alcohol [reloading the stove after it burnt out] to cook the onions and get a nice light char across everything, cabbage added near the end of the second cycle and not charred quite as much as I'd prefer...like it all cooked just past crisp with some edges burnt = a smashing success. Then I cooked B) bacon / hashbrowns / eggs. The high initial heat of the alcohol burner put a lot of bacon bits on the bottom of the pan. The eggs cooked evenly and released well.

All this was done in a ~7" aluminum 2qt pot with high sides. About the worst tool for the job...but it was laying around. Weight is ~12oz.

What I REALLY want to know is how a clad steel pot [tramontina tri-ply from Walmart...2nd best ranked by America's Test Kitchen and obviously best value because 'All Clad' is well; pretty expensive] handles an alcohol burner or a whisperlite liquid fuel stove or a well controlled campfire/backpacking wood furnace like an emberlite.

If anyone has any experience let me know!!

At this point, I'm getting a 10" tri-ply clad skillet and a cheap $8 aluminum "flame tamer" from Amazon to test. The relevant combinations are middleweight aluminum pot with and without flame tamer over burners and wood furnace and clad skilled with and w/o tamer in same conditions.

For what it's worth, the tamer is listed around 4oz w/o the handle and the skillet is about 20oz or twice as heavy as the aluminum pot...and HALF a cast iron.

I'm thinking that unless you're over a campfire the castiron doesn't give much advantage. Even with its greater mass and greater ability to buffer heat from direct flames I've used it camping many times and you need to really manage your fire or put it on a grate you can raise/lower over a tripod because once it's too hot and your food is burning (nice and evenly mind you ; 0 ) that pan is STAYING too hot for a longgggg time.

I backpack too so upgrading my cooking to real food is a big deal! Want to limit the system weight as much as possible. Certainly don't think that 24oz of skillet/tamer + ~16oz of pot+lid for more water oriented cooking is exhorbitant. Those gram weenies with their 7oz of titanium don't seem to be cooking much beyond rehydration. Just wish the clad cookware options included fully clad pans with a little lighter sidewalls or overall lighter construction [yes, this wouldn't be AS good overall cook results] and a MUCH lighter handle. Can't bring myself to chop up a brand new $40 pan just yet!!

fietsbob

Being sagged with a ChuckWagon carrying the Cast Iron cook wear would be Deluxe.. particularly if the Camp Cook has supper ready when you arrive at night.

bradtx

I watched that also. Let us know how well it holds heat.

Brad

Tourist in MSN

Not sure why this is in an vintage thread on cast iron if the topic is pans other than cast iron.

For pots where I am cooking liquids or other things in liquid (sauces, soups, rice, noodle dishes, quinoa, etc.) a thin pot works just fine if you stir it enough. But for thicker sauces like a thick pasta sauce I will use the fry pan. A thick chili however can be a bit too thick for such pans, watering it down a bit may be needed. First picture is a reasonably thin camping stainless steel pan, second is a very thin titanium pan.



I have been disappointed with camping type fry pans, they are too thin to cook well. But I did not want to bring a thick heavy non-stick Aluminum pan from home like I use for omelets either. Then I ran across a $10 non-stick fry pan in a farm supply store that was maybe half the thickness of the good pans, but much much thicker than the thin camping pans, and the handle was held on with a bolt instead of rivets. Removed the bolt and handle, use a camping type pot gripper and it works great as a camping fry pan. Light weight, not as good heat control as the good ones for home use but much better than the camping ones. First picture is the stuff that went into the spaghetti sauce (mushrooms, onions, peppers), the second picture the sauce later. Third picture, home fries topped with onions and peppers.



In other words, I do not need the fancy pans recommended by Americas Test Kitchen. I find a $10 fry pan to work good enough.

I think you will find a better stove to give you better heat and simmer control might be a better financial investment than a great pan on a stove that has minimal heat control.

Burton

This initially started because someone suggested that bringing cast iron cookware on a bicycle tour might be a good idea and a few people dared to agree with him.

But now a question was asked specifically about Tramontina SS cookware so I'll answer that.

Cooking characteristics are exactly the same as you'd get at home and they work really well with an alcohol or butane stove or anything that can simmer. The blast furnace output of most white gas stoves can damage laminated cookware - using them in high heat isn't recommended even on an electric stove at home.

But - The smallest pot or pan made by Tramontina is 7" which is OK for two or more people but larger than I'd like touring one up so there are other alternatives.

These 5" SS clad pots and pans are more versatile then one pot because you can stack them and multitask. They have a laminated base with a core for even heat distribution and have the same heat limitations as the Tramontina. Cast iron doesn't have that limitation, is also available in mini sizes and is also available with a glazed ceramic coating. Cobco made some nice stuff where the lids doubled as frying pans.

Some people here seem to think that a cast iron frying pan has to weigh five pounds. That's a lot like saying a pound of cement weighs more than a pound of feathers. The size and quantity of what you bring is just as important as the material in determining weight. Sixty pounds of lightweight equipment still weighs sixty pounds.

cyccommute 

But, like a pound of cement and a pound of feathers, there is a large volume difference. Iron is 3 times a dense as aluminum. If...and that is a very large "if"...the pans used the same volume of material, the iron pan would weigh 3 times as much as the aluminum one. The "if" part comes into play in that cast iron skillets have to use more volume of iron than a rolled aluminum (or even rolled steel) pan. A 6.5" Lodge cast iron skillet weighs around 2.5 lbs...and that's for a really tiny skillet. A GSI Pinnacle Dualist cookset is about the same size as the Lodge skillet and with all the parts that come in the kit weighs less than 1.5 lbs. And it is far more versatile.

Burton

You seem to have a real problem with anyone's option but your own. It's the TOTAL weight of a pack that needs to be looked at and by traveling with fewer items I travel lighter than you do according to your journal posts.

I could probably afford to drag along half the pots and pans in the kitchen anyway just because I weigh that much less than you do. It really is the big picture that counts. Suggest you just live with it.

Walter S

Is it time for your medication?

cyccommute 

I'm not sure what "options" you are talking about. But when it comes to opinions, I get to express mine just as you get to express yours. When it comes to "facts", we have to share and iron is 3 times as heavy as aluminum. You can't get around that.


I don't know that I've ever listed what my touring weight was. It's certainly changed over the years as lighter equipment has become available. I used to carry a 7 lb tent but I use a 1.2 lb tent now.

And, yes, I agree that it's the TOTAL weight that needs to be looked at but the utility of the items carried should be considered. Carrying around a tiny little skillet that is quite heavy for its size and can really only be used to fry things isn't going to be useful for most people.

I'll be the better man and let the insult lie.

Burton

No Walter - I just find attention *****s that feel they need to make a career of of posting their opinion about other people's opinion petty and annoying. Particularly when their on-line journals indicate they travel with 20lbs MORE equipment than I do and weigh 40lbs more to boot.

Walter S

The Internet and BF are all about people posting about what other people have to say, and how that compares to how they see that or similar issues. If you take offense to somebody differing with your opinion or somehow finding it less than unified and complete, then you've got a lot of frustration in your future.

His post challenges yours in some ways but not with personal insults. What are you looking for?

Centaurious

I'm not going to address how much fuel it takes to cook or how heavy it is to carry around. I'd rather address the ability to cook what I wish at the end of a long day. I like cooking on cast iron at home for all the reasons stated before. I also like cooking on my old copper clad Revere Ware. It reduces the chances of burning food like the cast iron will and is lighter. I prefer using it on camping trips for its durability and while it is less non-stick than my cast iron the food that does get stuck is easy to release.

Because it diffuses the heat I don't have to micro manage it like TI when I'm tired and the assortment of different sizes means that I can bring the smallest size I need if it is just me or a group of twelve.

If i don't want it eating up room in my panniers I hang it off the back of my rear left bag and let it catch drivers attention, something that never hurts.

Just my thoughts on this.

kpfeif

What tent do you use? I have a 3# sierra designs 1 person tent and I am thinking about upgrading.

cyccommute 

It's a Big Agnes Fly Creek. I was a little off on the weight...just shy of 2 lbs...but it's still light.

tmac100

Thank you group for giving me humor today - and perhaps now switching to another totally useless topic: tent weights. Me? I just got a Hilleberg Akto to use instead of my Hennessy Hammock because my next long tour will be in essentially treeless terrain.

MichaelW

I can't be bothered to read all the posts but a more recent entry in the "cast-metal cookware" market is cast titanium. This looks like cast iron but is better and lighter, so all you Dutch oven fans can do your thing for about half the weight. It is not like thin, ultra-light camp-cooking pots.

I have lived in an Akto for 3 months, camped on sand and rock, survived storms. Akto is better for cool climates and more comfortable in a breeze, so I would often avoid a sheltered location unless the wind was up. The footprint is useful in wet, muddy conditions and keeps your kit in the porch clean. The porch is not really safe for cooking inside. Some people improvise a small porch extension.
You have to improvise when tent pegs can't be used. The Soulo is self-standing.
Akto is a bit old fashioned and heavy but a solid performer.

tmac100

Sounds like the choice of the Akto will be quite suitable for touring in the next Australian winter (July-Aug 2015 in southern WA and SA). Thanks for the + vote. Oh, I am old-fashioned too (66+) and ride a heavy steel framed touring bike with tough (and heavy) 48-spoke 26" wheels. No CF, Ti nor Al for me. I also LIKE the Volvo symbol (for Fe)