One of the oldest types of camping cookware is stainless steel. These camping pots and pans are tougher and often very resistant to scratches. They conduct heat well but are a bit heavier than their aluminum counterpart. Plus, if you don’t stir your food often enough, you’ll get singed sustenance.
Another variety of camping cookware is aluminum. Once more popular because of its lightweightness, affordability and heat transfer, it’s not as tough as stainless steel or titanium. Plus, if you fall on top of it, for example, it crushes and scuffs easily.
Believe it or not, camping cook ware is also made of a durable mélange of plastics. Plastic is popular for a lot of hiking needs, but for cooking, it’s just not as durable or as impervious to heat. Yes, it’s lightweight, cheaper than any other set of camping cookware, but it can hold that onion or garlic flavor for months.
Titanium camping cookware probably gets most hiker’s vote. It’s the lightest of all your camping cooking ware, not to mention its more durable than almost any other metal composites. However, you must use plastic utensils as titanium can scratch and peel effortlessly. It doesn’t conduct heat as well as stainless steel, but grades equally with aluminum as far as heat conduction.
If you find other composite metal camping cookware, then they’re most likely lined with a non-stick coating. This makes that rice, pasta, and other foodstuff pare without a hitch. However, a standard metal surface is more durable because all these non-stick veneers scratch off easily with metal utensils. If you’re a hiker that takes very good care of your camping gear, though, you won’t have too much trouble making your camping cookware last for a very long time.
