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Owner Review: GSI Hard Anodized Boiler
Cookset
Date: July 17, 2005
Owner
Information:
Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in
(1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77
kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western
West Virginia, U.S.A.
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Backpacking Background:
Last
year I finally acted on a long time
interest in backpacking, starting out slowly by day hiking, researching
backpacking products and
techniques, purchasing gear, and doing a few
overnight trips, including one solo. So far this year I’ve taken
several
overnight trips, a weekend trip, and am hoping to make at least one
longer trip before winter. I hike and
backpack mainly in the
hills and valleys of West Virginia, and use a hammock sleeping system.
For a two-day
trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg), and I am working on
lightening that a
bit. |
Product Information
-
Manufacturer: GSI Outdoors
Year of manufacture: 2003
Manufacturer Website: http://www.gsioutdoors.com/
MSRP: $26.50 US (current cookset, including lid not provided with
my older cookset)
Items included in my cookset: 1.25 qt (1.18 L) pot , 16 fl oz
(0.47 L) pot, mesh storage bag
Measured weight of components: larger pot 5 oz (142 g); smaller
pot 3.5 oz (99 g); mesh bag under 0.5 oz (14 g)
Dimensions: larger pot 4.75 in (12 cm) diameter, 4.75 in (12 cm)
height; smaller pot 5.13 in (13 cm) diameter, 2.5 in (6.5 cm) height;
mesh bag approximately 8 in x 8 in (20 cm x 20 cm)
Material used: Hard anodized aluminum
The manufacturer explains the hard anodization process as altering the
cookware surface making it harder and very resistant to abrasion.
Benefits reported are that the material is twice as hard as stainless
steel, transfers heat quickly and evenly, and prevents direct contact
between the softer aluminum core and the food.
Physical description:
The pots each have a dark gray interior and exterior surface and two
long curved heavy wire handles which fold compactly against the sides
of
the pot. The handles are approximately 4 in (10 cm) long and held
in place by a small piece of what appears to be stainless steel
plating, attached to the pot by rivets. When open, the wire of
the handles interlaces together, providing a sturdy gripping
surface. The smaller pot will fit on top of the larger pot to
make a double boiler set for cooking, or can be turned upside down to
fit over the top of the larger pot like a lid. The larger pot
will also stack inside the smaller pot, but does not sit completely
flat when stacked this way.
The selection process:
When I first started researching backpacking products, I was amazed at
the variety of cooksets on the market, and somewhat uncertain of what I
really needed. Would I actually cook food on the trail, or just
boil water & dump it in a freeze dried meal?
Should I get titanium? While I leaned toward the boiling water
method for which titanium is well suited, what if I ended up wanting to
fry an egg or cook something else? From everything I read,
titanium was less than ideal for actual cooking due to a tendency to
burn and scorch foods easier than other metals. Plus it was very
expensive compared to aluminum or stainless steel. Stainless
steel seemed to cook well, but was relatively heavy. Past
experience with aluminum had led me to the conclusion that if it wasn't
teflon coated on the interior, food would stick and burn. Then I
read about anodized aluminum. Hmmm.... this was something that
seemed ideal. Relatively light, durable, and mostly non-stick.
Shopping around, I found the GSI Anodized Double Boiler Cookset.
I liked the thought of two pots if I wanted to boil water and cook at
the same time, the price, and the reviews of its performance on various
websites, so it became my very first backpacking cookset.
Field Information:
I have used the GSI Anodized Double Boiler Cookset in
various areas of West Virginia and in the Shendandoah National Park of
Virginia, in elevations varying from around 550 to 3,000 ft (150 to 900
m). Temperatures have
ranged from lows in
the 40 F (4 C) range to highs around 80 F (27 C). Humidity levels have ranged from low to high.
Field Use:
I've used at least one component of the GSI Anodized Double
Boiler Cookset on each backpacking trip I've taken. Sometimes I
will use both pots, and sometimes only one. I've enjoyed being
able to select and carry just what I need for each trip. When I
first started using the cookset, I often left the mesh bag home and
just wrapped the cookset in a Handi-wipe which could also be used for
washing and drying the pot set, but lately I've used the mesh bag for
most trips as it is more durable.
I'm still changing and refining my backpacking "style", but I've found
this cookset can change and adapt as my needs do. I began by
taking mostly commercial freeze-dried meals, which were very convenient
and lightweight, easy to prepare, and required virtually no
clean-up. With backpacking with a group, I usually took both
pots, using the large one to boil water for the meals and the smaller
to use as a cup for hot or cold beverages. I can fit a
Handi-wipe, pepsi-can style stove, windscreen/potstand combo, 2 small
bottles of denatured alcohol fuel, a small lexan spoon and fork, a
mini-tea strainer, matches, scrap of foil, and small lighter inside the
larger pot, cover with the smaller pot upside down as a lid, and have a
compact and lightweight complete kitchen set in one package.
Last fall I started a controlled carb diet, and found packaged
freeze-dried meals didn't work well with my new eating habits, so I
began carrying foods that required either warming or cooking in the
field. The Double Boiler Cookset worked well to cook what I
needed. I used both the larger and smaller pots to heat foods
such as packaged pre-cooked hamburger mixed with salsa, which I then
sprinkled with cheese. Once I even heated hamburger in the larger
pot on the bottom and heated water at the same time in the smaller pot
on top. Cleanup was easy and fast, using only a few drops of
biodegradable soap. I have also fried bacon in the smaller pot,
and scrambled eggs. I did find the eggs a little harder to clean
out, requiring a scrubby sponge to get the cooked on egg out of the
bottom of the pot. Although I have used the pots mainly for solo
cooking, the sizes are large enough to use for 2-3 people. A few
times I have boiled water in the larger pot and reconstituted four
servings of freeze dried food, and I have made 2 generous servings of
hamburger mixed with salsa in the larger pot. The smaller pot
would hold enough scrambled eggs for 2-3 people.
This spring, I decided I wanted to avoid cleaning pots on my trips, so
I began dehydrating foods at home to take along. I packaged
things like low-carb pastas, dried meat, dried or powdered sauces, or
dried vegetable soup in freezer Ziplock bags. I've found
the small pot is usually sufficient now to heat up enough water to
reconstitute the food inside the freezer bag for a no clean-up meal, or
to heat water for some instant low-carb cappuchino or hot tea, and I
just wipe the water out of the pot before packing it away.
I can pack the smaller pot into the mesh bag, store an 8 oz (227 g)
canister of isobutane fuel inside the pot nestled inside a Handi-wipe,
add my Pocket Rocket stove to the top, and still fit in a scrap of foil
for a makeshift lid, some matches, and a small Zip-lock bag with some
Clorox Clean-up Wipes for a different style kitchen, still complete in
a small lightweight, and compact package.
Recently I made a new style stove out of a cat food can, and have found
I can pack the cat food can stove, two bottles of fuel, matches, and
scrap of foil for a pot lid in the small pot for a very light and small
kitchen.
So far the pots show little
sign of wear. A few very light scratches are noticeable on the
bottoms and rims of both pots, some slight darkening/discoloration has
occured on outside of the bottom of the larger pot and on the inside
bottom of the smaller pot, and the dark surface has chipped off the
center of the rivets on the smaller pot. I do usually use a
Handi-wipe to line the pots to protect them from abrasion from whatever
I've packed inside. The handles remain tight and still easily
fold and unfold. The handles do sometimes get hot when cooking,
so I usually either wear a glove to protect my hands from the heat or
use a piece of a pack towel or Handi-wipe as a potholder. The
handles and pot rims usually cool off in a reasonable amount of time,
so I can heat water, add tea or instant drink mix, let it set a minute
or so, and then drink directly from the pot if I want.
The only real problem I have had with either pot is that the larger pot
is difficult to stir with a small spoon (5.8 in or 15 cm long) due to
the height/diameter
ratio.
Summary: I've found the GSI Anodized Double Boiler Cookset a
valuable addition to my backpacking gear, which I plan to use for many
years to come. This set strikes a good balance between price,
weight, versatility, and durability.
Likes:
Lightweight
Durable
Easy to clean
Compact
Dislikes:
The height of the larger pot makes food difficult to stir with a
small spoon.
Read more reviews of GSI Outdoors gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant
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