Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot > Owner Review by Thomas Vickers

Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot  Owner's Review

January 17, 2006

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Description:
The Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot is a basic, uncoated cook pot.   It is large enough to cook meals for four adults and is also large enough to be useful in other roles around the camp.  The pot handle is attached to the pot and stands 3.75 in (10 cm) above the top of the pot when folded up. In its storage position the handle lies against the side of the pot.  Other than that, I can only describe it as big, useful, and durable.  

Usage:
My current hiking group began taking group hikes about six years ago.   Before that it had always been two or three of us hiking together and the cooking situation was a bit less complicated.  It wasn't too long before we realized that carrying two pots to cook for four people was a bit crazy, especially when we all tended to eat the exact same meal at dinner time.  After some discussion I decided to go with the Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot after visiting a large outdoors store and conducting some research.  First off, it was within a couple of ounces of weighing the same as a titanium pot of the same size.  Secondly, it was priced way below the cost of a comparable titanium pot.  So it was off to the checkout line with the biggest pot I had ever considered carrying on a trip.

I have carried one of these pots on all sorts of trips. Every where from California to Arkansas with several stops in between.  A group of four adults can make one group meal in it easily enough, but four is about the breaking point.  When my hiking group grows to six people, then the second Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot comes out.   It is very efficient to cook for six with two of these pots.  I have used mine on many different types of stoves, including a MSR Simmerlite, MSR Dragonfly, MSR XGK, MSR Whisperlight, and a MSR Pocketrocket.  I will not recommend using this large of a pot with a canister stove like the Pocketrocket, but in a pinch of last second insanity, it works well enough. 

Best of all, the combination of price and durability has led to the Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pots being abused far beyond what I would do with a more expensive pot.   This has allowed me more flexibility in how I use the pot, since I am not worried about destroying an expensive piece of cookware.  On more than one occasion I have boiled water by setting the Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot directly in the coals of a campfire. This leaves it very black and sooty on the outside, but the pot was not damaged in any way.  It does mean that the outside has to be scrubbed very heavily before sticking in a pack, but when out of stove fuel, it is nice to know that I have no qualms about tossing the pot into the fire to get the job done and the pot will survive. 

On more than one occasion I have also had to tie cord to the pot handle and use it to access a hard to get at stream. Toss the pot in, scoop up some water, and drag it out with the cord.  Again, probably not the best use of the pot, but dinging it on a rock or six isn't going to cause me to dive head first into the water to save my expensive pot. There have even been instances of the Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot being used as a portable sink to wash dishes in.  I dislike washing my dirty dishes in my cook pot, but sometimes things like this cannot be avoided.   

Since the year 2000, I have owned four of these pots and due to some extreme situation or another, I have had to replace three of them.  None of these issues had to do with pot quality, but with its inability to be backed over by a car, left in a fellow hiker's car, or being thrown away by another hiker who didn't want the sooty pot stuck in his pack.  What all of this goes to show is that the Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot is reliable enough to keep getting replaced. I can't think of another piece of gear that I would have kept replacing as I destroyed or lost it. 

Final thoughts:
If I were going to suggest a light weight and durable pot for trail cooking, it would have to be the Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot.  I cannot see paying huge amounts of money for a more expensive titanium pot when this one will do the job and more.  I imagine with a little more care in its handling, I could get more mileage out of this item.  I am very impressed by the level of abuse I have heaped on this pot without it ever failing in the field, just don't leave it under the back wheel of the car.

As long as I have to cook for four to six people, this will be the pot that I carry on my trips.  There is just not a better alternative in my view, especially when the size of my group calls for two large pots to be carried. Do not let the price be deceiving. This is a quality pot that deserves a lot more respect than I tend to give it.    

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cook Sets > Open Country 4 Quart Aluminum Cook Pot > Owner Review by Thomas Vickers