Titanium Vs Aluminum Pots For Backpacking

#washingtonstateparks #hikewashington #seatosummit #toaks #ultralightbackpacking #campkitchen

[andymytys]

In theory, titanium should be lighter but, in practice, I found both aluminum and titanium options to be about the same weight, given equal sized pots. Compare GSI aluminum cookware to MSR Titan Kettle, for example.

Sure, you can get really small Toaks or Evernew ti pots and cut the weight in half, but those sized pots really don’t have an aluminum counterpart. Aluminum cookware is usually 900 ml+.

I find that I can scorch things in aluminum just as easily as I can in titanium, and stainless steel isn’t that far behind. I feel the biggest issue contributing to scorching isn’t the material of the cookware but that the canister stoves blast a concentrated flame onto one focused area. Research heat distributors to get around this issue. There’s also the “hover” method to cooking, where you hold the pot or pan above the flame and move it around so that the focused flame is more distributed (in the case of a frying pan), or just constantly stir your food in an uncovered pot.

When cooking on a non JetBoil canister stove, if you can hear the jet, it’s on too high. Crank it way, way down. You’ll save fuel and your cooking will be consistently better (less odds of scorching) - here I’m thinking of the case where you’re doing more than boiling water for rehydrating a meal. I cook real rice (not Minute Rice) on a Soto Windmaster, where I have to simmer for ten minutes with the lid on, and I don’t burn one grain of rice using a ti pot. Of course, after five minutes I am nose next to the pot smelling for the slightest hint of scorch, and then quickly removing the pot and fluffing the rice.

The biggest issue I have with aluminum cookware is that most of it is Teflon or ceramic coated, or otherwise anodized) for non-stick purposes. You have to be careful and use utensils only made of plastic/silicone/wood to avoid scratching the coatings. Even then, the first time you burn something in the pot and want to clean that scorch off it’s really hard to do without damaging the coating. No using sand in the field, that’s for sure.

Conversely, it’s easier to find lightweight non-coated titanium than it is nonstick ti options. The thing to understand if you’re going to be making real meals using uncoated, or really any cookware in the field, is that you’re not going to be able to walk away from the stove while you’re cooking, or pay more attention to talking with your camp mates than the cooking task at hand. You have to move quickly and with intent, in a given order of preparation, in order to make restaurant-quality meals in the backcountry using a UL kitchen.

Note that a scratched coating will start flaking and those micro pieces of coating will find themselves in your meal. No thank you.

The solution to it all, in terms of gourmet cooking, is to boil and rehydrate in a pot, and then finish off in a skillet, moving it around like a pro stir/fry chef, using the motion of the pan to distribute heat evenly, and then use the skillet as your plate afterwards. There’s really no reason for your meals to be soupy with a skillet - you can use the time that the skillet is over the flame to get that excess moisture either absorbed into the food, or dried out. Move things into the skillet when they are al dente.

[fredwurts]

I normally prefer my pot to be locally grown ;)

[andrewrollin]

Did some research on this recently and was kind of shocked at how bad titanium is at heat conduction compared to iron. Then I found out stainless steel is similar to titanium. Did not expect that. I'm staying with aluminum bc I'm operating off of a motorcycle, so a little weight doesn't hurt me and the advantages are worth it. The mild nonstick aspect of a hard anodization is a bonus. Thanks!

[Arizona-mbhg]

Use stainless steel, the others release poisons when heated..Into your food or water...

[swordsandsandles]

What about aluminium being really bad for you

[YoutubeStiflesFreeSpeech]

As long as you are going out hiking you are winning.

[samuelfox]

But, counting grams, do you burn enough more fuel with titanium pots to make up the difference in weight of the two? And aluminum is cheaper. But it will dent easier. Strength is titaniums best selling point for me. And no anodizing to come off with titanium.

[David-ebt]

"Thick" aluminum is a nicer, more forgiving cooking experience. Paper thin Ti boils water fine. But for frying onions or meat, I accidentally discovered that a very low heat allows frying to go OK, but with the meat cut small for easier cooking. In a Korean video I saw, they demo'd cooking rice in a Ti pot, with a cut out tin can lid under the pot to act like a heat diffuser.
The can lid trick works great for rice.

[thomasrands]

Very great video nice and informative 👍

[MichiganHiker]

I go to one quart pot has always been heavy stainless steel. But as I have wanted a lighter pack, I have gone to a 1 quart titanium pot. I have not had a lot of problems with scorching I'm just very careful when I cook.

[FinnMcBrisket]

Some aluminum pots, such as the soto 750 ml, are as light as the same sized Toaks titanium pots.

[EspenFrafalne]

Considering i dont go camping very often, its not really a problem to be a bit limited on what i can make on such trips. Thin slices of chicken should work fine in a titanium pan, and instant rice and béarnaise sauce should work great for titanium pots.

By investing in a dehydrator and food processor, you can make your own backpacker meals with minimal effort. Most vegetables i have tried tasted very similar to fresh vegetables - and having various vegetables chopped up in advance also makes home cooking a lot faster; comparable to less tasty and nutritious freeze dried meals. Another benefit is that by making bigger batches at a time, you dont have to clean the food processor (or knife and cutting board) every time you make food 👍

[thecellmtube]

You choose titanium for durability not for weight!

[zedddddful]

Stainless steel cooks the best and the weight isn't even that much more.

[khamen]

I wouldn’t use aluminum for any use of cooking food. If you can’t afford titanium, buy stainless steel. I have several camp mugs, stainless and titanium and to be honest I use my stainless steel mug, more often.

[memathews]

Yep, uncoated aluminum is toxic and will kill you, but it's light and does well transferring heat. I've been using an uncoated/non-anodized aluminum pot for 50+ years and expect to die in fewer than 30 more years. My first 10 years of backpacking I used a coffee can, that poisoned me too.😉👍

[chrishamilton]

Not strictly correct. Use a lower flame and you’ll get superb results using titanium. Better still, use a puck style alcohol burner.

[demonrosario]

Doesn't aluminum cause Alzheimer's

[robinishchenko]

Great short, thank you. But isn't pouring hot water in PLASTIC like really bad for you!!? Heated plastic off gassing chemicals into that food!?

[salmonella]

My titanium pot takes longer to boil water than my aluminum pot. So the question is, do I save weight or save gas?