Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > GSI Hard Anodized Extreme > Owner Review by Derek Jones

Owner Review - GSI Hard Anodized Extreme™ Cook Set

Biography

Name: Derek Jones
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 4" (1.9 m)
Weight: 175 Pounds (79 kg)
Email address: nafai@neondsl.com
City, State, Country: Metropolis, Illinois, U.S.
Date: March 5th, 2003
Backpacking Background: I didn't pick up backpacking until I was 19 and found an outdoor center and opened my eyes (and my wallet) to a wide variety of gear that was begging me to incorporate its use into my outdoor recreation. I have completed the North-South trail a few times at Land Between the Lakes (3 days each side, 6 days for the full length), which is a challenging hike due to the steep rolling terrain, and a brief trip in the Rockies and the Appalchians. I have recently taken up a combo of kayaking and backpacking for the Complete Adventure Experience™. The climate of my primary areas is up to 100° Fahrenheit in the summer (38° Celsius) and 0° F in the winter (-17° C). I've done as light as a hammock and food, to as heavy as a camel's load to carry amenities for the wife. I prefer something a bit in-between. ;)

Product information

Manufacturer: GSI Outdoors
Website: http://gsioutdoors.com/

Purchased in 2002
Five piece Hard Anodized Extreme Cook Set (5 piece) - $59.95
Came with 1 quart and 1.5 quart pots with lids, which play a dual role as frying pans, a DiamondBack Gripper & mesh storage bag.
Advertised Weight: 1 lb 9.1 oz (711 g)
Shipped Weight: 1 lb 10 oz (737 g)

What attracted me to this particular set of cookware was the line from their website, and from a review in Backpacker Magazine which claimed: "Extreme™ triple coat non-stick interior for easy cleaning and healthful cooking."

Now, my cooking is as healthy as I make it, regardless of what cookware I use. I have, however, had severe problems with things sticking in my cookware, and being a pain to clean. My old set of Alpine stainless steel cookware from MSR had infuriated me on every trip. My Whisperlite ShakerJet, which only has two settings: off and volcano, was an expert at consistantly fusing food to my pots. I made a decision to try a new set, and a friend had tried Teflon coated cookware and I wasn't too impressed with the difference between his and mine. So, in early 2002, I bit the bullet and ordered a set of this cookware from GSI.

• Did it meet its advertised ease of cleaning?
• Would it withstand my Whisperlite Stove's Inferno?
• Did it work as advertised and fail in some other form of weight, size, or convenience?

Let's find out.

Field Information

March 2002 - Tested at home as soon as they arrived.
March 2002 - Car camping at Lake Glendale, Glendale Illinois.
April 2002 - Land Between the Lakes, South half of North-South Trail
May 2002 - Home
October 2002 - Kentucky Lake, Kayaking tour

The first night I spent with my new cook set was at home. I used a Lipton rice meal like I sometimes do on the trail. I cook it by boiling the water as quickly as possible, stirring in the food, and covering it for 5-10 minutes. After cooking (and eating) the meal, I was pleased that the food hadn't fused itself to the hot interior of the cookware. The hard anodization made the pots seem like they had some type of oily barrier, very similar to my experiences with Teflon on its first use-- cooked foods slid around effortlessly, leaving no noticable residue in its wake. I wiped it out with a paper towel, which got almost everything except a haze out of the pot, and then washed it with soap and water.

On the car camp, I got a bit bolder, and we brought along some Pillsbury croissants. The article I had read in Backpacker magazine had made the claim that such foods would not stick. Using my Whisperlite, I flamed the bad boys to a golden brown. I had to turn them once since I was just using one of the lids, and didn't make any type of oven with it. One side of the croissants got burnt, but the other was just fine. And much to my surprise, they slid right out of the lid, leaving only a few burnt flakes that slid right out with the assistance of nothing more than a paper towel.

On my two trips to the Land Between the Lakes in 2002, I relied only on this cookware to cook for two people, and this was the first time that I would be carrying it and really using it. It felt a tiny bit heavier than my old stainless cookware, but the results so far were worth it, even for an ultralighter. It packs down just as small as my MSR, and had room for my stove inside as one would expect, further keeping its volume in my pack to a minimum. Meal after meal, it never lost any of its ability to resist sticking. It boiled water a bit faster than my stainless, which I expected from the manufacturer's claims. According to their information, the hard anodization process both seals the aluminum core so that your food never actually touches the aluminum, but also transfers heat throughout the surfaces of the pot more efficiently and quickly than untreated metals. I don't feel that those claims are exaggerated in any way. My food stayed warm for a long time, even on the October trip when the temperature dipped down to 50° (10° C) at night. I had to wait for my food to cool for quite some time, and it hadn't lost significant heat by the time I ate my way to bottom as I had experienced with the stainless.

Now, returning to May, and one last home test...I'm a bit of a hobbiest, and at the time I was building a table-top gaming board, similar to what a model railroad would use. What does this have to do with cookwear? Well, there are these small clear pellets used by hobbiests in such applications to simulate water. You have to melt them down, and pour them into your landscape while still hot. My wife was not going to let me melt these in any of her kitchen cookware, as when this stuff hardens, it's a very solid resin. She didn't want to ruin her pots and pans. So, with a great deal of faith, I took the smaller of the two GSI pots I had, and used it to melt the pellets and make my imitation river of clear resin. I poured the resin, and as the air hit it, it began to solidify immediately after being removed from the heat. I was banging my head at my stupidity for even trying it and ruining this cookware that I was so pleased with, as I could see it hardening inside the pot. I scraped as much as I could with a wooden spoon while it was still warm, but there was still some remaining in the cookware. Saddened, but with a nice looking river, I set the post aside, considering it a loss. A few hours later I returned to it, (I guess to pout), and after the resin had completely cooled, it was very hard...and effortlessly released from the pot! I don't think I'll chance it a second time, but this event had me convinced that I had found the Best Pots Ever™.

Summary

The only thing I wish about my GSI Extreme cookware is that it were lighter. To my knowledge, though, the anodization process is not available on titanium, and I really think the non-stick and scratchproof surface of the anodized layer is superior to a Teflon type coating. While a set of titanium cookware of the same number of pieces would be less than half of the weight of the GSI Extreme, the price and performance is hard to dismiss. For me, it will remain the tradeoff item in my pack that keeps me one notch away from being an Ultralighter.

They also offer a 7 piece set with a full size 2 quart pot and matching lid if you need a set for group cooking, and additional Diamondback Grippers (which are very sturdy) are available separately as well. I've found a cook set for life, and they are so durable, I don't think I'll need to replace them unless they get stolen!

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > GSI Hard Anodized Extreme > Owner Review by Derek Jones