Camping Pots and Pans

Four sets here, and the choice comes down to three things: whether there is a coating on it, how much it holds, and whether you will ever put it on an open fire. These are new, unbranded cook sets, described from the maker's specification.

The coating is the thing that fails

The most common complaint in camp cookware is not a dented pot, it is a non-stick surface that blisters and lifts after a few hard uses, and lifts into the food. So every listing here says plainly whether the piece is coated or bare. Two of these sets are entirely uncoated, one is hard-anodised aluminium with no chemical coating at all, and one has a single non-stick pan alongside its bare steel pieces. If that matters to you, and for a lot of people it is the whole decision, buy uncoated and accept a bit more scrubbing.

Material decides what you can cook on

Bare stainless takes direct flame and coals and cleans up after scorching, and it is the heaviest option. Hard-anodised aluminium is far lighter, 260g for the set here, and spreads heat rather than concentrating it, which is why food scorches less on it than on ultralight titanium. A non-stick pan belongs on a stove: direct flame degrades the coating faster than anything else. Grade matters too on steel — 304 resists corrosion better than 201, and both appear in this range, so the listings name which.

Read the litres, not the piece count

A four-piece set is not automatically bigger than a three-piece one. For boiling water and rehydrating a meal, 0.8 to 1.2L covers one person and 1.5 to 2L covers two. The sets here run from a 0.9L pot with a 0.4L pan up to a 1.6L pot with a 900ml kettle. Count the litres against the number of people eating.

Handles are the second failure point

Folding handles are what let a set pack down, and coated or silicone grips are what make them comfortable. Both melt. Keep the handle out of the flame rather than over it, and fold the set away only once it is cool.

Nesting is the whole point

Every set here packs inside itself, with folding handles that lie flat and a mesh bag to hold it together. That is what turns four items into one shape in a rucksack. The pans double as lids and plates on three of the four sets, which saves another piece.

Related collections

For something to cook on, see gas stoves.

Delivery and returns

UK delivery is free. Orders are processed within 3 to 5 business days and arrive within 10 to 20 business days. Returns or exchange within 30 days of delivery, unused and in original condition, approved before being sent back, with the refund issued within 7 days of acceptance. Return postage is paid by the customer.