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Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > GSI Outdoors 5 Piece Cookset > Becki Stacy > Initial Report
Age: 32 Gender: Female Height: 5' 3" (1.6 m) Weight: 150 lb (70 kg) Email address: beckistacy at comcast dot net Location: Royal Oak, Michigan, USA Background: I got bitten by the backpacking bug in 1994 when I was a volunteer at the Grand Canyon. My first backpacking trip was the same week I arrived, with gear borrowed from trail crew supplies. My husband and I enjoy car camping and backpacking (we use a double-wall tent), mostly in Michigan. We've pared down our pack weight a little (a necessity for a recent 12-night trip with no resupply), and we are continually re-working our gear list to cut weight without giving up the luxury items we enjoy (such as food that involves more than boiling water). Cooking Style: I am the designated camp cook. I won't let my husband touch the stove- he has reign over the grill at home, and I have to claim my territory somewhere! We have been dubbed `gourmet backpackers' by others on the trail. For shorter hikes we enjoy bringing fresh vegetables to add to meals. After a recent 12-night trip, we've sworn off any food that requires only boiling water that's not a drink, oatmeal, soup, mashed potatoes, or dessert. Lipton side dishes and various angel-hair pasta dishes make up the bulk of our dinners. I frequently cook up pancakes and fry bread (a bread that is cooked similar to pancakes), and heat up pre-cooked bacon on the stove. I typically cook or at least boil water for all of our dinners, and about 90% of our breakfasts and lunches. With a few exceptions, the only time I won't break out the stove is if it's pouring rain at breakfast or lunchtime.
Website: http://gsioutdoors.com/ Product: Hard Anodized Extreme Cookset MSRP: $59.95 Year Manufactured: 2005 Listed weight: 1 lb 9.1 oz (711 g) Weight as delivered: 1 lb 10.2 oz (744 g) WEIGHT BREAKDOWN: Mesh bag: 1.3 oz (38 g) Elastic strap: .14 oz (4 g) DiamondBack Gripper: 2.4 oz (68 g) 1 quart (0.95 L) pot: 5.6 oz (160 g) 1 quart (0.95 L) lid: 3.8 oz (108 g) 1.5 quart (1.42 L) pot: 7.8 oz (220 g) 1.5 quart (1.42 L) lid: 5.1 oz (144 g)
  The GSI Hard Anodized Extreme Cookset consists of a quart (0.95 L) pot with frypan lid, a 1.5 quart (1.42 L) pot with fry pan lid, a DiamondBack Gripper, an elastic strap, and mesh storage bag. The elastic strap is used to secure the lid to the large pot, with a hook on each end of the strap that latches onto the brackets on the large pot. The DiamondBack Gripper is used as a pot/pan handle, when inserted into a bracket on the pot or pan. The pots and pans are dark grey in color, with horizontal bands that are slightly lighter in color. The brackets are attached to the pots and pans with two rivets per bracket, and the GSI logo is etched onto each bracket. The bottoms of the pots and pans are "spiral turned", to help prevent the cookware from sliding off the stove. When the small pot is filled with one quart (0.95 L) of water, the level of the water is 0.67" (1.7 cm) from the top of the pot. When the large pot is filled with 1.5 quarts (1.42 L), the water is about 1" (2.6 cm) from the brim. This cookset does not have any 'pour spout' indentations to aid in the pouring of water from the pot.  The cookware is coated with GSI's "Extreme™ triple coat non-stick" finish. The Extreme™ finish is about the same color as Teflon®, with a similar speckle type pattern. The DiamondBack Gripper has a matte black finish, and a diamond lattice pattern cut out to help reduce weight. The gripper is aluminum (I checked with a magnet), but the heft of it feels more like steel. The measured dimensions of the pots and pans are listed below:
*Max Volume indicates the amount of water the cookware holds when filled to the brim.
All the pieces of the GSI Hard Anodized Extreme Cookset appear to be well constructed. All of the brackets are tightly secured to the pots and pans, the spiral turned bottoms create even ridges, and the Extreme™ coating is applied evenly on all interior surfaces. The DiamondBack Gripper has a "wavy" underside, an apparent attempt at ergonomics to help my grip on the handle. Although the "waves" don't match up with my grip, it's not uncomfortable and does help keep my hand from slipping.  
The pictures above show my typical setups for storing gear inside the cookset when backpacking. The top picture shows the large pot with my twig stove, two steel bowls, my canister stove, matches, and the gripper. The twig stove is a backup stove (in case I run out of fuel or can't get a compatible canister at my destination) I made from the bottom of a coffee can. From prior experience with the twig stove, I use a paper towel or some facial tissues to keep the stove from scratching the pot's coating. In the bottom picture, I have the small pot nestled inside the large pot, with two steel bowls, my canister stove, matches, and the gripper nestled in the small pot. One thing that I have noticed already is that I'll have to use a paper towel inside the large pot to protect it from the small pot while I'm not using them. After only a few days of casually carrying the set around without padding, the coating of the large pot has already started to wear. In the center of the bottom on the small pot, the spiral turning created a "dot" that is slightly higher than the surrounding ridges. This dot has already scratched a ring into the coating of the large pot. There are also some markings on the large pot where the bottom edge of the small pot has rubbed against, and areas are worn near the top of the pot, where the lip of the small pot has rubbed against it. The coating on the rivets has also started to wear.
My trips will be in Michigan's lower peninsula, with the terrain varying from relatively flat to moderately hilly, with plenty of tree roots and rocks tossed in to boot. Daily mileages will probably be from 6 to 10 miles (10-16 km), with weather ranging from 23 to 85 F (-5 to 29 C) and from sunny to rainy to a light snow. I will also test the cook set at home on a canister-type backpacking stove and my twig stove. As part of the testing plan, I will report on: 1. How well does the non-stick surface perform? How much abuse will it take before it starts to see signs of wear? How easy is it to clean the inside of the pot, with either the gooey remains of a Lipton side dish or something burned on? 2. How evenly will the pots and pans cook? Will I be able to quickly adapt to the new cook set without scorching my pancakes or fry bread? 3.How well can I handle the pots and pans with the pot gripper? Will a pot full of hot water be awkward to handle? 4. How sturdy are the pots? How well will they survive being stuffed in a backpack? Will they survive minor knocking around without getting dented or scratched? 5. How easy is it to clean the outside of the pots/pans? Will the black coating prevent me from noticing a sooty spot, and will I end up getting other gear dirty as a result? The normal highs and lows (monthly average of the average daily highs and lows) and rain/snowfall for the months I would be testing the cookset: October: 61 F/16 C (high) 42 F/6 C (low) Normal Monthly Precipitation: 2.23"/5.66 cm Average Snow this Month : 0.3"/.76 cm November: 48 F/9 C (high) 34 F/1 C (low) Normal Monthly Precipitation: 2.66"/6.76 cm Average Snow this Month : 2.7"/6.86 cm December: 36 F/2 C (high) 23 F/-5 C (low) Normal Monthly Precipitation: 2.51"/6.38 cm Average Snow this Month : 11.1"/28.19 cm January: 31 F/-1 C (high) 18 F/-8 C (low) Normal Monthly Precipitation: 1.91"/4.85 cm Average Snow this Month : 11.9"/30.23
1. I like the balance between even heating and relatively low weight that this cookset offers. 2. Since I make pancakes and actually cook inside the pots, a non-stick surface is definitely a plus. 3. The pots are a good size for me, and I can stash my stove and other gear inside the pots.
The non-stick coating appears to scratch easily, and I'll have to use a paper towel to protect the pots from anything metal I store inside them. I would like to thank GSI and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test the Hard Anodized Extreme Cookset. Read more reviews of GSI Outdoors gear Read more gear reviews by Rebecca Stacy Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > GSI Outdoors 5 Piece Cookset > Becki Stacy > Initial Report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||