The Best Camping Cookware of 2021

best camping cookware

Whether you’re going car camping or hiking, with a small group of friends or solo, a cookware kit always comes in handy.

In this camping cookware round up, I’ve got a list of 6 kits that all have great features to them and they are some of the best camping cookware out there.

Every hiking or camping kit needs to be lightweight, compact, and durable. Of course, the weight often depends on how many people will be using it because of the number of things needed.

Depending on what your needs are, I’m sure you’ll find the right one for you in this list.

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Camping Cookware Mess Kit Gear – Camp Accessories Equipment Pots and Pans Set 1L
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Terra Hiker Camping Cookware, Nonstick, Lightweight Pots, Pans with Mesh Set Bag for Backpacking, Hiking, Picnic
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Stanley Even Heat Camp Pro Cookset, 11-Piece Camping Cookware Set with Stainless Steel Pots and Pans, Utensils, Lids, and Cooking Accessories, Outdoor Travel Kit for Backpacking, Hiking, and Fishing
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Best Camping Cookware – Our Top 5

#1 MalloMe Cookware Mess Kit

Whether you’re a novice camper or not, the MalloMe hiking cookware mess kit is an excellent choice.

 You get a good number of items, that are well made, at a good price.

It’s compact and comes in a small nylon stuff sack so that it’s really easy to pack everything away and carry it along with you.

Great for when you’re hiking with your partner or some friends, and I found it useful even on solo trips during the winter. I say only in winter because I’m less concerned about the weight, as I would have other gear that’s heavier than usual anyway. For summer hikes alone though, I can manage with even less than this kit contains.

The pot and fry pan nest together, with the frying pan at the bottom.

There are three different sizes for the pot: 1, 2, or 3 liters. The pot and pan have handles that fold out so that when you’re not using them the handles rest nicely against the pot and it isn’t bulky.

The handles are made with metal and have plastic on the ends, and the knob of the pot lid is made of the same plastic and is shaped in a way that gives you a good grip.

The pot itself is made with aluminum, which isn’t as light as titanium but aluminum is cheaper and it conducts heat more evenly. Being made out of aluminum also helps distribute the heat evenly when cooking. I found that the size of it is great for cooking eggs and sausages.

Both the pot and pan are very durable, and they can handle a few bangs and scratches. Just these two things for the cost is already a bargain, but it does come with other things.

It comes with a little wooden spatula. Due to the material, it will soak up grease and be a little more difficult to clean, but it’s very lightweight.

You also get a small cleaning sponge, only weighing 0.25 ounces, that helps you keep that spatula, and everything else, clean.

There is also a stainless-steel folding spork that weighs 0.75 ounces. It might be a bit too short for some people, but it is that way so that it fits inside the cook kit. I happen to already own sporks that are longer and weigh less (but were not cheap), so it depends on your personal preference.

There are three more items that are included: two small bowls that weigh an ounce and a half together, and a soup spoon weighing at 0.75 ounces. 

Even though the two bowls seem so small, I found them to be really useful because my partner and I like to split and share each meal. They’re also great for appetizers like salsa or guacamole.

There’s no locking mechanism on the lids, so it could come off during transit.

Pros
  • Affordable
  • Convenient
  • Not heavy
  • Very compact
Cons
  • One for 2 people max

#2 Terra Hiker Camping Cookware

Terra Hiker offer two kits depending on how many items you need, and they are one of the best camp cookware sets out there.  

The first kit includes one frying pan, a boiling pot with a lid, a teapot, a serving ladle, a cleaning sponge, a bamboo spoon, and a plastic bowl. Everything comes inside of a nylon mesh bag. This set is suitable for 2-3 people.

The pot is 3.5 inches high, 6.5 inches wide, and the handle is 3.9 inches in length. The pan has 1.8 x 6.7 inches, with a handle of the same length. The kettle is 5.5 inches wide, and 3.2 inches tall.

The other set has two pots with lids, a frypan, a sponge, a bamboo spoon, a soup ladle, a small and a large plate, and a plastic bowl. A mesh bag to fit everything inside is included, and this kit is for around five people.

The frying pan can hold a liter and is 2.17 inches high and 8 inches wide.

The small pot holds 1.05L, is 3.5 inches high and 6.7 inches wide, whereas the bigger pot can hold 2.2L, is 5 inches high, and 7.7 inches wide.

All of the handles extend 4 inches out.

The pots, pan, and kettle from this outdoor cooking set are made out of imported hard-anodized aluminum, which is non-toxic, safe, durable, and water resistant. They even have a non-stick coating to make cleaning even easier.

All handles are foldable so that it’s really easy to store and carry this kit, and they have thermally insulated plastic for protection against heat. They even have an anti-slip design for a firm grip.

The bowls and serving ladle are made from food-grade PP plastic, and the pot can boil 400ml of water in a matter of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

The handle of the kettle’s lid folds down for when you’re not using it, but this comes at a price. That little handle gets hot because it’s made of metal so, forget about removing the lid after using the kettle. This kettle can hold about 27 ounces of water.

This kit has been designed to pack up small and compact so that you don’t even notice it in your backpack. Not only does it not take up much space, but you won’t even feel that you’re carrying it because it’s so lightweight.

Pros
  • Foldable handles
  • Compact & Lightweight
  • Non-stick
Cons
  • Handles still get hot

#3 Stanley Cook Set

The Stanley Adventure Base Camp is a four-person stainless steel camping cookware kit with nineteen pieces. 

This one is ideal as car camping cookware, and not really for hiking because of its size and weight.

The first feature that I noticed is the elastic part/rubber band on the top that works like a locking mechanism so that the lid can’t come off. This way, you don’t have to be super careful about the pot staying upright at all times so that everything doesn’t fall out. It just makes life much easier, especially when going by car.

The lid of the pot has some small holes in it, which are great because the pot doubles as a strainer. This is really handy when cooking pasta, for example. The pot itself can hold 3.5L, which is massive, and the 3-ply frying pan can hold up to 32 Liters to give you an idea of its size. Not a lot of cookware kits have big pots, and having a multi-layer base on the pan helps with distributing heat evenly.

Both the pot and pan are made with stainless steel so that they’re really easy to keep clean, are scratch resistant, and will last long.

One of the main reasons this kit is great for four people is because it comes with four plates, four sporks, and four bowls.

There’s also a ton more things included; a large spoon and spatula, a cutting board, a hot pot holder, and a drying rack. You only need a knife and some cups and you have everything you need.

The drying rack and cutting board can become one piece, and you can keep the sporks inside.

Also, the drying rack has slots that fit the size of the plates and bowls perfectly, so it holds them up until they dry.

Obviously, it is a bit bulky and heavy, even though everything can fit inside, the pot is quite large. This is to be expected from a 4-person cookware kit though.

Pros
  • Large pot and pan
  • Locking mechanism on lid
  • 4-person
  • Lots included
Cons
  • Takes up quite a bit of space
  • Not lightweight
  • Not for backpacking/hiking

#4 Redcamp Mess Kit

The Redcamp camping cook set has multiple different sets: 9 pieces, 12 pieces, 13 pieces, 18 pieces, or 23 pieces.

Let’s go through what each set includes, starting with the 9-piece.

You get a frying pan, a small pot (1000ml), two bowls, a survival bracelet, a tool card, a stainless-steel folding spork, a loofah sponge, and a mesh bag that everything fits inside of.

The 12-piece comes with the same items as the 9-piece, but it also has a lid for the pot, a soup ladle, and a soup bowl. Both of these sets are great for a single person.

The 13-piece set has a frying pan, a medium pot (1600ml), a pot lid, a ladle, two sporks, a scouring pad, two bowls, a soup spoon, a survival bracelet, a tool card, and the cloth bag. This set is ideal for 1-2 people.

The 18-piece set is great for 2-3 people because it comes with a small and a medium pot (1000ml + 1600ml), one frypan, a fork, a table knife, three bowls with one soup bowl, a survival bracelet, a tool card, two stainless steel folding sporks, a sponge, and a bag.

Now for the largest; the 23-piece set. It has one frypan, a small, medium, and large pot (1000ml + 1600ml + 2800ml) and each pot has its own lid, two dishes, five plastic bowls, a soup spoon, a rice ladle, a sponge, a survival bracelet, a tool card, and a foldable fork, spoon, and knife. It is perfect for 4-5 people.

All of these sets are very affordable – you can get all of the essentials for outdoor cooking for a small price. Redcamp have some of the best backpacking cookware out there.

The pots and pans are made with anodized aluminum, which is easy to clean and very lightweight.

Redcamp offer a 100% money-back-guarantee and a 360-day limited manufacturer’s warranty.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t wash the cookware in a dishwasher, as they are handwash only.

Overall, these are excellent ultralight backpacking cookware, and it’s really great that there are multiple different sets to choose from depending on how much stuff you want/need.

Pros
  • Lightweight
  • Different sets
  • Easy to pack
  • Affordable
Cons
  • Not very non-stick

#5 Overmont Camping Cookware Set

The Overmont cookware set is great for camping or hiking because they have some of the best backpacking pots out there. There are two sets that you can choose from; a set with 13 pieces, or the 15 piece set.

The 13 piece set comes with a 1.15L pot (6.8 x 3.6”), a frying pan (7.1 x 1.7”), a 0.8L kettle, three plastic bowls, a spoon, a spatula, a cutlery set, a cleaning towel, and the bag that it all comes in.

The difference between the 13 piece set and the 15, is that the 15-piece also comes with a D-shaped buckle and flint.

The wooden spoon is extremely lightweight, and this is the first set I’ve seen that comes with flint.

Having a cleaning sponge comes in handy, especially before you pack up to return home because you don’t want to pack away your pot and pan all grimy and dirty.

I thought that the plastic bowls were too tiny to bother taking along with me, but then I decided to use them as cups instead and that worked out well for me.

The pot, pan, and kettle are made out of aluminum and have gone through an anodic oxidation process. Everything nests together nicely, is easy to clean, and lightweight. These sets are ideal for 1-3 people.

They are not non-stick though, so do use oil before cooking.

If you prefer to go backpacking with very few items for little weight, but you’d still like to take this set with you to give it a try, you could split the contents between your bag and your friend’s bags. That way, the weight is distributed.

The pot and pan’s handles have thick plastic to help protect you from heat when using the pot, and they are foldable but they aren’t that great. When you fold the handles in or out, they’re rather floppy because they don’t index quite as well as some others I’ve used.

Pros
  • For 1-3 people
  • Compact & lightweight
  • Durable
  • Kettle included
Cons
  • Not non-stick
  • Floppy handles

#6 Texsport Kangaroo Camping Cookware Set

The Texsport Kangaroo camping cookware set comes in seven pieces; a 6.5-inch frying pan with a lid, a 1 qt pot, a 1.5 qt pot, and a 7.5-inch frypan that also has a lid, and a pan gripper. Everything nests together inside the largest pot, and that comes in a nice mesh bag which keeps the lid from coming off during transit.

You might be wondering about the price… because when you compare this set with others – it’s just pots and a pan. Other sets come with additional things like spatulas, sometimes plates, and other little bits. This one only has a pan gripper and the cookware. The price is because these are one of the best camping pots out there.

Everything is made with durable and lightweight aluminum, and they do have a non-stick interior for easy cleaning and less hassle. Aluminum is an excellent conductor that distributes heat evenly and therefore reduces your cooking time. The exterior has a two-tone heat-treated finish, which helps make the pots and pan even more durable and resistant to scratches.

The only things that I didn’t like about this set are quite silly. Firstly, if you drop one of the pans as an example, it will dent. Secondly, the exterior paint chips off rather easily. These are small things, but they’re still issues nonetheless.

Pros
  • Non-stick
  • Durable
  • Lightweight (2 pounds)
  • Compact
  • Good quality
Cons
  • Dents easily
  • Exterior paint chips off

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