GearFlogger

Primus EtaPower Pots

We always thought Primus was the only band ever to get its own ID3 genre tag. Yeah, they're that strange. Turns out there's another Primus in town covering the not-so-heavy metal scene. They're primarily into aluminum, with a titanium coating.

Primus the gear company is known for its stoves and cookware. We tested the EtaPower aluminum pots with titanium nonstick coating. They have a flux ring around the bottom to transfer heat more efficiently to the pot, speeding up boiling times and distributing heat more evenly through the pot contents. Sounds great; does it work?

Kind of. The pots boil marginally faster than other aluminum models. They do seem to distribute heat more evenly, important for non-water contents like soup. They're definitely tough thanks to the coating and solid build. They weigh a bit more than advertised: 9.4oz for the 2.1L pot, plus another 3.5oz for the lid and 1.6oz for the sturdy little pot grabber. That's a total of 14.5oz for the 2.1L, 12.6oz for the 1.7L. All in all it's a solid if weighty package, but you're paying a premium for only marginally better performance, and you're not even getting a fry pan lid.

$50.00 at REI

GSI Dualist cook system

The clever little hobbitses at GSI are up to their tricksy ways again. They make many small (and some large) useful items related mostly to eating and drinking outdoors. Their solutions range from ultralight to basecamp, but all benefit from highly thoughtful design.

The award-winning GSI Dualist (also comes as a Soloist) cook set is a lovable little setup that will allow you and a partner to do the mostest with the leastest. For 20oz on your back you get two bowls, two mugs (basically an insulated nesting bowl), two sippy lids, and a pot with a lid. But wait; that's not all, the whole thing stores inside a Sink Sack that can haul water, wash dishes and hydrate Fido.

The details really set this set apart. The Lexan pot lid has steam/strainer holes and the pot handle folds over the top to lock everything in.The sippy lids on the mugs protect both adults and kids from spillage, and the bowls and mugs are color-coded so you don't mix up your oatmeal with your chipped beef. You can even store a 220g fuel canister and ultralight stoves inside, and/or cookware, spices, etc. The Dualist is fairly tough, and it cleans up nicely. The only thing we would add is a handle strap for the Sink Sack to make carrying water easier, but that's really a minor quibble with our new favorite cookware.

$49.95 at REI

MSR XPD heat exchanger

MSR has alpine cooking dialed in. Stoves, cookware and accessories guarantee you the shortest path possible between you and another crappy, bowel-cramping meal on the mountain.

Yet for all its practicality you just don't see enough alpinists using heat exchangers. So as a public service, as the poet-philosopher Eminem likes to say, let's do the math. The XPD heat exchanger will increase efficiency "up to 25%." Let's say it's only 10%: a quick two-week jaunt up Denali works out to at least 6oz of fuel per person per day or 6*14 days = 76oz per person. At .75 dry ounces per wet ounce that's .75*76 = 57oz of weight.

10% of that is almost 6oz per person, coincidentally what the XPD weighs. For a larger party and more time you just save more weight, especially if its the difference between carrying another fuel bottle or not. Plus cooking is more efficient, saving precious time and allowing you to collapse into your fart sack faster. The XPD fits even a 2L pot and collapses to fit inside. What's not to like?

$39.00 at REI

MSR Titan cookware

Much better looking than its sisters Scandium and Vanadium (if you get that reference you've probably had intimate relations with a slide rule), Titanium is not just for body piercing anymore. The MSR Titan cookware is sized right for alpine use, and if you're not on a budget the weight can't be beat.

Significantly lighter than both steel and aluminum the big Titan 2L tips the scale at a feathery 8.4oz, plus 1oz for the pot grabber. Like all MSR cookware it has all the right details, including a rounded bottom (baby got back!) for better heat distribution and a rolled top edge to resist warping and ensure consistent lid fit.

The downsides of titanium are that it costs an arm and a leg and heat dispersion is not as good as aluminum or even stainless steel. That said, if you take a little care in how you cook it shouldn't be a problem. MSR sizes its pots to nest, with the 1L holding fuel canisters, the 1.5L holding stoves like the XGK EX, and the 2L holding just about anything. The lid doubles as a plate, and the lid handle even has a little notch to keep it upright.

$89.95 at REI

GSI Deluxe 11-piece kitchen set

My idea of cooking involves boiling water and pouring it into a foil pouch. Believe it or not there are people who go beyond these heroic measures to prepare - wait for it - actual meals!

For those people there is GSI Outdoors, makers of all things gastro-outdoorsy including kitchen sets like this 11-piece setup in a hard case. They also make the must-have Lexan wine glass.

First the good news: the telescoping ladle and spatula are ingeniously designed and ideal for soups, pancakes and the like. They weigh basically nothing and pack small. Other useful items include a double-ended salt/pepper shaker, small whisk and grater, and cutting and cleaning items.

The bad news is the case itself weighs 1lb 2oz of the 1lb 12oz total weight, and you really don't need it. But wait! GSI is an American company, and that means consumer choice: you can buy the 11-piece set without the case, and it's even less expensive although you might have to look around for it.

$24.00 at REI

Bic Lighter

Hear me now, believe me later: do not spend your ducats on some fancy-schmancy "stormproof" lighter for high-altitude mountaineering. They will have their way with you and leave you with nothing. No fire. No food. No love.

On Denali my partner had his Brunton stormproof lighter and I had some cheap imitation; both failed completely by 14,000 feet. We had brought about six back-ups, plastic push-button gas-station types, but they failed as well.

Luckily there was an all-woman expedition camped next to us and my partner, who is only marginally better looking and has much looser morals, went over and prostituted himself for a 99-cent purple Bic lighter with the mechanical wheel. This low-tech wonder got us to high camp. As Lenin said, quantity has a quality all its own. He was talking about tanks, but it also applies to lighters.

Bic lighters

Nalgene Easy Sipper

"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?" If the answer is no, pick up one of these. It will be a few bucks well-spent when you're trying not to spill while drinking out of your Nalgene bottle in your down sleeping bag.

This handy little piece of insurance protects against that block of frozen sports drink crashing against your face as well. It removes easily for chipping away said frozen drink, and has a little tab to assist in that maneuver.

$2.95 at REI

REI Ti Ware spork

Behold, I give you a dork spork! REI advertises its Ti Ware Spork as being half the weight of stainless steel. Sounds great until you wake up from your titanium-induced gear coma to realize it weighs in at all of .62oz. So you're sporking over $8 to save a little more than half an ounce over stainless.

For comparison the trusty old REI Lexan soup spoons run $1.25 for a pair. Cost savings = burger + beer. Plus, the Lexan model weighs a quarter of an ounce, doesn't bend or stick to your lips when cold and is more comfortable to hold. Metal does have the advantage of being more fire-resistant, but the only real reason to go Ti is a pathological need to secure alpha-gearflogger status.

Recommendation: Get the Lexan and save the Ti for pots and pans.

$8.95 at REI