My Tramping Gear: A look at my cooking gear

Tramping cooking gear...what I use

I thought I would do a post about the cooking gear I'm currently using. I could be an total outdoor tech head and call this a "cooking system" except "system" implies some planning while this gear simply coalesced over time.

Having a brew at Davies Shelter on the Queen Charlotte Track 2016

How your tramping style impacts on your gear

It is a waste of time talking about cook gear without a brief discussion of tramping styles.

Not lite weight....a more traditional set of gear for tramping

 Obviously, the style of tramping you follow is going to dictate the type of cooking equipment you are carrying. We can break these down into two main styles: traditionalist and lightweight

If you are a traditionalist you may carry some real food, a white spirit stove, larger pot(s) and possibly even a skillet. If you are an ultra lighter you will have a meths stove, one spoon/spork and a small titanium pot (if that, many have started to cold cook i.e. NO hot meals or hot drinks when on trail!)

East Hawdon Hut, 2015...my old cook pot and aluminium cup in use

Obviously, you should only carry what is absolutely essential to get the job done, nothing more. 

My style is constantly evolving, at present I am half way towards ultralight, gradually changing kit as I go. I'm also pragmatic about this, sometimes adding a small amount of extra weight makes cooking easier or more pleasant. I'm not one of  the "cut off the handles just to save weight" types.

I don't carry a plate or bowl, instead I eat from my cook pot or straight from the bag. 

Me tucking into a BCC Tomato Chicken Alfredo straight from the bag!

I still occasionally cook in my pot but the majority of my cooking is heating water to add to dehydrated and freeze dried meals. That and copious amounts of tea of course....

A look at my cooking gear

Because of my tramping style I need very little cooking gear. Here is a list of my cook equipment including everything needed to prepare my typical menu items:

Cook pot, hard anodised aluminium      1     120gms
Cook pot cup/lid                                     1       80gms
or: Toaks Ti 1300ml pot with lid            1       90gms
Kovea Hiker stove, steel + bag               1     140gms
or: Firemaple FMS-116 Ti                      1     48gms/76gms with case
MSR 300gm gas canister                        1     227gms
Titanium Fork                                         1      18gms
Titanium spoon                                       1       21gms
Victoronix knife (including the 'biner)   1       89gms
Bic lighter                                               1       30gms
Chux cloth                                              1       12gms
Nylon stuff sack                                     1       75gms
Total weight                                                  822gms or 620gms

If you take away the fuel canister that is around 600/420gms which is pretty good weight wise.

I have all my cooking kit together in a nylon stow bag, if I stop and want to brew up I have everything readily available in the one place. This includes my tea bags and sugar substitute (more on that later), it is so much easier looking for the one blue bag than searching for gear in 2-3 different places. 

My tramping cook gear packed for my next tramp...a nice neat package!

Tramping cook equipment laid out for viewing

I use the Chux cloth as a tea towel to dry my pot etc., I have one with the cook kit and add another to every second days worth of food. This system works well and allows me to leave cleaning cloths at huts if they need them.

I usually have a 2x2cm square of scrubbing pad in a small plastic bag inside the kit for cleaning my cook gear. My bio degradable soap is carried separately in an outside pocket of my pack.

Cook gear: A Chux cloth and lighter but no pot scrubber!

Some nylon non scratch pot scrubbers...

Sea to Summit super wash: biodegradable camp soap

I carry a spoon, knife and fork; many people make due with just a spoon or a spork (spoon and fork combined) but over time I have found it is more practical to carry light titanium versions of all three. My pen knife (classic Victorinox camper) is the only knife I carry because the only thing I ever need to cut is salami, cheese and vegetables.

There is a small carabiner to keep them clipped together. 

If I need a huge knife for carving a club, hut or rescue vessel then something has gone seriously wrong and its too late already!

Cook gear: knife, fork and spoon (KFS)

One of my cook stoves is a Kovea Backpacker model which I mainly hold onto out of sentimental attachment. It is heavy at 140gms (including the bag) but I brought it in 1993 and have been using it ever since with no problems. Rest assured, I'm not that much of a sentimentalist: if it didn't perform I would replace it, as I have done with a lot of my tramping kit.

My Kovea backpacker model camp stove and carry case

I also like the wide burner head (a lot of the newer lightweight stoves have very small burners) and long pot support arms it has. It seems a lot more stable than some of the super lightweight stoves I have seen in use.

This is "olde school styles" i.e. no piezo starter, you have to use a match or lighter to fire it up, this is no disadvantage in my opinion. This stove has seen some real use, still works like new!

Kovea is solid gear, at least the old stuff is.

A Kovea Backpacker stove in operation...

In early 2018 I brought myself a new lighter titanium stove, it is a Chinese brand called Fire Maple, the code for it is the FMS-116T. It has survived a couple of outings now and I am impressed...it works really well. It only weighs 48gms (76 gms in the supplied carry case). It is super efficient and has a wide burner head and cost me $50 from the online retailer Gearshop.

This is my main stove now.

My new Firemaple FMS-116Ti stove

In the photo below, my cook pot has the MSR gas canister inside, as well as my brew kit of tea bags, lighter and Splenda sugar replacement. Not shown are the supply of water purification tablets I carry in the kit so I can make potable water without needing to hunt through my pack.

My cooking pot and ancillary gear packed ready for the carry bag

The pot above is a Element brand1 liter hard anodized aluminium one with folding handles, the lid/cup is made of the same material. I have recently brought a Toaks Titanium cook pot as I continue to lighten my gear. This is a 1.3 liter pot and weighs a mere 90gms including the lid. The Toaks pot is much lighter and given I mostly just boil water it fills its role well.

My newer Toaks Ti 1.3 liter cook pot and carry bag

I tend not to carry the supplied bag as it just adds to the weight, instead I wrap the pot in an old bread bag as these are light, waterproof, disposable (as a trash bag) and easily replaced.

Close up view of the Toaks 1300ml Ti pot

My Toaks Ti cook pot in use on the Abel Tasman Inland Track, March 2018

Both of these pots have a measuring scale up the side in cups and 200ml graduations.

The bread bag is what I use for rubbish collection, I usually hang it from one of my rear facing pack straps while I am walking. One bag will usually last me for a 3 day tramp.

I also carry 3-4 small freezer bags for storage purposes; like keeping my KFS off the grotty hut benches etc.

Cook pot and the gear held inside it

The cup/lid/frypan/plate of this kit will hold about 450ml of liquid, it fills all four stated roles as required.

Ancillary Gear

Flame-less Ration Heaters

The other heating method I sometimes use is one of the Back Country flame-less ration heaters, these produce heat through thermo-chemical action to warm your food.

Originally these heaters were developed for the US military in the late 1980's to heat their MRE meals. An MRE is a single meal with an entrée in a therm-stabilised retort pouch, a Flameless Ration Heater (FRH), various snacks and an accessory pack.

A US military grade Meals Ready to Eat (MRE)

Contents of a US MRE pack: Chicken, vegetables and noodles MRE

The FRH's are excellent for the defence services as they do away with the need for fires, cookers or other obvious cooking methods.

The salts in a FRH are activated by water, you chuck your retort pouch in with them and viola... one heated meal. No mess, no fuss but horribly disastrous to the environment.

These are good with anything in a metallised or thick plastic retort pouch, such as the Back Country range, Kaweka meals and the MTR Indian curries.

Some of the MTR Indian mains I sometimes carry...Panner Butter Masala and Jeeri Rice

Just handle the pouch carefully when heated as they are goddamn hot!

Esbit cubes

Esbit produce solid fuel tablets made from hexamide, I usually carry a couple as an emergency heating options or as a fire lighter. These burn long and at a medium heat so they are best used for heating water for dehydrated meals.  Two tabs weigh a minuscule 30 gms!

Esbit brand solid fuel tablets

You can also buy special stoves to use these tablets on but I usually just find two flat rocks, light the tab and perch my cook pot over the flame. Works a real treat!

An Esbit solid fuel cooker...this is the famous Tommy Cooker

Water Bottles

I have long ago given up on using heavy metal or rigid plastic bottles for carrying water in. Instead I use empty juice or water bottles which I refill, and then discard after a couple of months or when they start to degrade.

I no longer carry heavy Nalgene style water bottles

It is well worth considering this alternate:  recycled bottles are cheaper, lighter, easier to replace and the recycling is good for the environment.

My criteria for potential bottle sources are:

Must be less than 100gms empty
Easy to replace
Wide mouth on bottle, 1+ litre capacity
Made of a food grade or non BPA plastic
Easy to remove any labels for ease of cleaning

What I have been using for the last three years are Fresh Up juice bottles, these tick all my boxes and I even like the juice they contain when new. These weigh 70gms empty compared to 175 for a medium sized Nalgene bottle.

Fresh-Up Juice bottle = instant water bottle

Set up for use is easy, strip off the label, wash them and fill them with water. Simple!

Juice bottle re-purposed and ready for the field

My Brew Kit

When I am out tramping I drink tea for a hot drink. I prefer Dilmah Earl Grey but anything is acceptable if I am running short of supplies. I usually have a brew with breakfast, occasionally one at lunch and 1-2 at the end of the day.

Delicious Dilmah Tea: and its ethically grown as well...

Teabags of course...too much hassle to use leaf tea, lots of mess, cleaning problems etc. With a teabag you chuck it in your cup, add sugar and water and Bob's your Uncle...

Tucking into a brew at East Hawdon Hut, 2014

I used to carry sugar for tea but it is very heavy, so I switched to a sugar substitute. Splenda is the tastiest sugar substitute I have found, it doesn't have that bitter after-taste others have.There are 200 tablets per pack, the total weight is a minuscule 12 gms! 

One tablet = 1 teaspoon of sugar

I am aware of the controversy about these sugar substitutes but given that I only use it for 20-30 days a year or less I figure I'm probably o.k.

Splenda sugar replacement..it tastes o.k.

I have also used sweetened condensed milk as a tea sweetener...it makes for a really sweet, milky but moorish brew. Buy it in the shelf stable plastic tube as they are lighter and can be securely closed after use.

Delicious Nestles condensed milk....yum!

I will also occasionally take Latte coffee sachets from Jarrah/Nescafe and also hot chocolate sachets when the weather is cooler.

Isobutane Canisters

I regularly both the small and medium sized isobutane gas canisters, a small one (110gms) will last for 1-2 nights depending on use while the medium version (227gms) will see me for 3-5 days. I only carry the larger canisters (450gms) on extended week long trips.

I usually boil water 3-4 times per day for tea, drinks and meals.

Three sizes of MSR gas canister

My favourite gas brand is Kovea, but the MSR version is also good and far more widespread. All of my gas stoves will accept screw on type gas canisters. 

227ml MSR Isobutane gas bottle

Most of the loose cook kit fits inside the cook pot; this is good as it is a smaller packed space as well as protecting it from knocks. The stove in its pouch goes into the bottom of the bag with the chux cloth, KFS and scrub pad, then the pot ensemble goes on top. A nice neat package.

The cook pot with gear stored inside: gas canister, lighter and brew kit

Stove Wind-shields

One thing which I occasionally carry is a wind-shield to protect my cooker flame from wind gusts.  A wind gust can extinguish your cooker or at a minimum make it much less efficient.

I have two different wind-shields, the first is a commercially produced version made by Macpac. This is a fold out screen with connectors so that it can be shaped into a circle. The main problem with this is the weight (110gms) so has been relegated to base camp cooking duty.

Macpac brand cooker wind-shield

My other wind shield is home made from an heavy foil roasting tray. This version weighs hardly anything (37gms) and if damaged can be easily and cheaply replaced. There are a set of instructions on Lotsafreshair's website about how to make one of these at home. 

A foil wind shield from http://lotsafreshair.com

 If I'm in a hut or camping in thick bush I don't usually bother with a wind shield or I will make an expedient one from rocks or chunks of wood. I would carry a wind shield if camping out on tops or a ridge as wind is more of a problem there. 

Miscellaneous Gear

 The other thing I carry is a support for my stove gas canister. These cooker over gas canister stoves are notoriously unstable, mainly due to the small diameter of the gas bottle at its base. What a pot support does is increase the diameter on the ground, making it much more stable. 

Gas bottle support, Macpac brand

My version is from Macpac, it will accept all three sizes of canister & weighs 20gms, again it is carried if I expect to be camping out.

Other cook gear I use...

My previous cook set in use Lake Christabel Hut 2014

I used to carry a lightweight stainless steel pot and a separate metal cup but exchanged these for my current set up last year. Stainless is great for clean up but it is a lot heavier.The stainless pot weighs in at 227gms (no lid), the cup weighs 90gms so that is 317gms as opposed to my current 210 gms.

I also have a fry pan made from the same material (they were a set) which weighs only 97gms. 

I still use both if part of a larger tramping group or for base camping as you need your own cup etc. and the pot (at 1.2 litres in volume) is much better for cooking real food in.

Brewing up on the bed of the Blue Grey River 2014

Just one other item I'd like to mention, if you use isobutane gas canisters then like me you will end up with a lot of hard to dispose of empties. Normally these cannot be recycled due to the chance of residual gas causing an explosion so you need to get one of these:

The Jetboil Crunchit

This is a Jetboil Crunchit!

A Crunchit is basically a big can opener,...you use it to pierce empty gas canisters. The canister can then be placed in your usual metal recycling bin. They cost $16 NZD and will be one of the most useful pieces of gear you will ever buy. Mine stays at home so that after a trip I can recycle the metal responsibly. 

Find them online, at any Macpac/Kathmandu/Bivouac Outdoor/Hunting and Fishing store in New Zealand and at most other good outdoor retailers.

 The cook gear in use...

Here are some assorted photos of the current cook kit in action....

Brewing up at Rod Donald Hut, March 2016

Cooker and cook pot in use, Packhorse Hut 2016

Cook gear boiling water at Mid Robinson Hut, 2015

So there you have it, a short introduction to my cooking gear!

Tramping Food: Pimp that meal- adding extra taste to your freeze dried experience

More flavour in your freeze dried meal...

I'm sure most of us have tasted a freeze dried meal before, they are light weight and easy to prepare but often the taste is less than ideal. There is no reason why eating a freeze dried must be a chore, with a few choice additions you can make it into food worth savouring.

Jon at Mid Robinson Hut, 2015, with freeze dried meal in hand

Tramping food: freezer bag or freeze dried?

I have previously covered suggestions for tramping food in another post, what I am concentrating on here is how you can improve the flavour of Freeze Dried (FD) meals.

When I am out for a overnight trip I generally carry two types of main meal. The first is the home-made "freezer bag" type which I make from store brought ingredients. These consist of a carb (rice/noodles/pasta/instant potato/pearl barley/cous cous/instant stuffing) with the addition of vegetables, protein (meat/chicken/fish/TVP) and some herbs and spices.  

A selection of home-made dehydrated freezer bag meals

Generally these require some "in pot" cooking time although it is possible to make meals that simply require hot water. I eat them from the bag or straight from the pot.

 The second type is the ubiquitous freeze dried (FD) meal to which you add hot water and wait for it to re hydrate. My typical breakdown would be two home-made to one freeze dried meal per trip. If the trip was 5 days or more, when food weight becomes more of a factor, FD meals will dominate.

Enjoying some freeze dried Spaghetti Bolognaise at Hawdon Hut, 2014

The advantage of freeze dry meals is their low relative weight (less than 200gms) and the ease of preparation which negates a whole lot of mess and bother at the end of a long day.

Some notes regarding freeze dried tramping meals

In New Zealand the three main freeze dried ranges are supplied by Backcountry Cuisine Absolute Wilderness and the Outdoor Gourmet Company. These are available at outdoor stores and some supermarkets. There will be a company in your locale which produce these type of meals, check your local camping/outdoor stores.

A Backcountry Cuisine freeze dried meal

Both companies produce a range of 1 and 2 serve meals including breakfast, lunch and dinner items. People will often tell you these rival products are different, i.e. one is better than the other, but in reality the differences are minimal.

Absolute Wilderness Bacon Mash

Outdoor Gourmet just pips Backcountry as their meals look more like real food. 

One of the  Outdoor Gourmet Company meals

Obviously, anything you add to this type of meal needs to be pre cooked, dried and or freeze dried as well. The idea is to add items that will increase the flavor of your meal while still minimising weight and size. 

Freeze dried Butter Chicken Curry and a big mug of Maggi soup...yum!

A note on serving size

Some people are happy to use the single serve freeze dried meals, personally I find this is too small a portion for me. I always buy the two person serves as I find them more filling especially after a long hard tramping day. You will need to decide which is best for you. A two serve will add an extra 50-75 gms to the weight. 

Backcountry Cuisine size comparison: a 2 serve, accessory pack and 1 serve

Alternately you can "bulk up" your single serve with some extra FD rice, cous-cous, par cooked grain or 2-3 dessert spoons of dehydrated potato flakes. Make sure you add water to allow these to hydrate fully.

Dried potato powder: great by itself, as a thickener or to bulk up meals...

Adding extra taste to your freeze dried meal

Below are some additions I have used to make my freeze dried meals more palatable.

Salt, pepper, herbs and spices

  

Freeze dried meals have a high salt content but given the amount of sweat you expend tramping adding a touch of salt to improve taste is acceptable. Taste your freeze dried  first as some are much saltier than others.

 Pepper is a great addition to any meal and adds a complex depth of flavour. I generally carry the small sachets of salt and pepper from take out restaurants, one of each per day used sparingly.

Salt n' Pepper alright!

A touch of dried curry powder, oregano, mint,coriander, chilli or your herb or spice of choice can add a blast of flavour to any meal.  Adding a good Tex-Mex mixture will maximise the taste of chilli and re fried bean meals.

Spice rack at the local supermarket...go mad!

I carry some small resealable bags with a selection of herbs and spices to add at meal time or you can staple your chosen mix in a small bag to the outside of the freeze dried bag.

Why not make a "spice tin" like the one in the photo below...I'm making one myself.

Small spice tin of a US hiker- from Equip2survive.com

Remember weight is important and a little goes a long way with spices; don't go overboard.

Sauce it!

There are a bewildering array of sauces on the market that you can utilise, here are a few I have used:

 Tomato ketchup/sauce/HP is probably the most obvious type, a small takeaway sachet added to dehydrated tomato dishes will maximise the tomato flavour. I use the McDonald's packets because you always get a fist full of them with your McD's meal and never use them.  

Tomato paste sachets can also be used but the flavour is a lot stronger.

Good old Mickey D's ketchup!

Tabasco hot sauce will give your meal a hefty kick,  it is especially good in stews and casseroles adding complexity to the taste as well as heat. I have a supply of miniature Tabasco bottles brought from an Asian food market but you can decant your hot sauce of choice into a lightweight plastic container.

Miniature Tabasco bottle

Soya Sauce is great with any Asian, rice or fish dish, I use the small "fish" shaped serves you get with sushi, again I found a supply of these in a local Asian food market.

Single use Soya "fish"

Worcestershire: I have taken to decanting Worcestershire sauce into a small plastic bottle as I find it adds great taste depth to any venison, beef or lamb meal. Worcestershire is a piquant fish based sauce with a hint of spice and a warm mouth fill, beautiful with all meat dishes (and on a meat pie...).

Worcestershire Sauce

Muoc Nam or fish sauce is a salty additive which is vital in any South Asian recipe. Again it is best with Asian inspired meals but can be used in a wide range of situations for example to give Bolgnaise an unusual fusion taste, or to add another flavour level to stews and casseroles. 

Muoc Nam or fish sauce I use

Dont spill this in your pack, my gawd it stinks, and it will stay there for years! 

Nuts & dried fruit

 Adding a handful of your nut of choice can add a nice crunch to any Asian or rice dish, including Risotto, the nut flavour also brings out the inherent taste of the rice. I personally favour peanuts, cashews and almonds but any nut can be used.

A selection of nuts for hiker meals

A handful of dried fruit is a traditional essential in any North African inspired meal including tagines, lamb cassolets and any cous cous based meal. Think raisins, sultanas, dates, dried apricots....

My home-made Moorish style cous-cous salad with feta, raisins, nuts

  Craisins (dried cranberries) will go well with any venison or chicken meal, they add an interesting sweet-sour note.

Ocean Spray craisins...

Adding vegetables to your tramping fare

 There is no reason you can not add vegetables to your freeze dried meal including your choice of fresh ones. There are also a variety of dried and freeze dried vegetables commercially available which can be added to any meal. 

BCC make a freeze dried vegetable mix (as well as rice/potato/beef mince/cheese and egg) which can be added straight to any freeze dried meal. I know that Backpackers Pantry and Mountain House make similar products in the US.

A quick search of your local supermarket will yield dried onion/shallots, mushrooms, garlic, capsicum, peas, beans, olives and sun dried tomatoes. All of these, properly re hydrated, can be added to freeze dried meals.  Better yet, buy a dehydrator and make your own home made dried vegetables to order.

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

Don't forget fresh vegetables; a diced clove of garlic, some sliced ginger,  diced onion or capsicum, freshly sliced mushrooms, carrots and celery can all add a touch of class to your meal.

Preparing vegetables for the dehydrator

Onions and garlic will last a long time in your pack. Do not go overboard with the vege's as the fresh varieties are heavy to carry.

Extra protein for long term energy

 If you want to add extra protein to a freeze dried meal then go ahead. The downside is that adding any form of protein that is not dried will add considerably to the weight of that that meal. Personally I do not do this as I usually find FD meals have more than enough protein already.

Jack Links Jerky is a good source of protein

Good sources include cheese, tuna (or other oily fish), smoked meats (salami/jerky/bacon) and canned chicken and shredded ham. If you are going to use cheese a hard one such as Parmesan, Pecorino, Romano or aged Chedder is best (they last longer) or some form of shelf stable processed cheese.

Olive oil

Long distance "through hikers" in the US and Europe swear by olive oil: they add it too everything. Olive oil is a rich source of fats and anti oxidants as well as tasting delicious.

A local brand of Olive Oil

 A tablespoon of oil added to a freeze dry can make that meal more unctuous as fat is one of the elements the freeze drying process removes.Carry it in a well secured small plastic bottle stored in an outside pocket as it will make a real mess if spilled inside your pack.

Milk powder

Milk powder will add to the creamy  nature of many FD meals, anything with a cheese or cream based sauce will benefit.

A coconut milk powder available in New Zealand

Coconut cream powder is especially good for those who are Lactose intolerant as well as going well with Asian style meals. Make sure you add enough water to reconstitute the powder correctly.

What about crackers?

If you are the kind of tramper who eats crackers for lunch and you have a couple spare, break them up and add them to your freeze dried meal.

Leave some crackers for that tramping dinner...

 Most if not all of these meals are soupy or stew like so anything that adds a crunchy texture is appreciated.

This is hardly an exhaustive list, you should visit your local supermarket or Asian food market and see what they have available.

What about some practical tramping meal examples?

Here a couple of practical examples of how this works using meals from both Backcountry Cuisine and the Outdoor Gourmet Company product lines. I have made all of these additions in the past.

BCC Chicken Tomato Alfredo: add olives, olive oil, diced sundried tomatoes, salt and pepper

BCC Chicken Tomato Alfredo with added olives and tomatoes

BCC Morrocan Lamb: add pine and or peanuts, raisins, olive oil, dried mint/nutmeg, freshly diced garlic clove, salt and pepper (this is my current favourite BCC meal)

BCC Spaghetti Bolognaise: add diced garlic, tomato ketchup, olive oil, olives, freshly shaved Parmesan

BCC Creamy Carbonara: add sliced sautéed mushrooms, garlic, diced salami, olive oil, milk powder, salt and pepper

One of the Outdoor Gourmet Company meals

OGC Lamb and Black Olives: add nuts, raisins, olive oil, mint, garlic salt and pepper

OGC Venison Casarecce with White Wine Sauce: Craisins, garlic, sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper

Absolute Wilderness Bacon Mash: Salami, cheese, oil, chilli sauce, onions

As you can see you could really go crazy with your additions the only limit is your taste buds and imagination. Just remember to keep the weight factor in mind as you could easily negate any initial savings by adding too much to your meals.