The Ultimate Guide to MSR Cookware

It’s often said that the best gear in the world is gear you don’t notice. It’s the stuff that works so remarkably well, it’s unremarkable. It just does its thing, and you get to focus solely on the task at hand, whether that’s having a ball with friends or pushing for a summit.

Camp cookware falls squarely into this category. It’s not the coolest gear you’ll ever acquire, but since it will play a key role in keeping you fueled up for your adventure, choosing the right cookware for each style of trip is essential to making the most of the experience. Some trips demand the lightest and most packable option to keep you moving, while on others, you might choose a bit more luxury for cooking like you’re at home, with a cooler full of goodies at hand.

At MSR, cooking is in our DNA. Over fifty years ago, we developed the Model 9 stove. Its unprecedented performance boosted the hydration and performance of climbers at altitude, and we haven’t stopped searching for better solutions since. Today, we offer a comprehensive selection of materials, shapes, and sizes of MSR cookware and accessories to meet the needs of any outdoor adventure.

Trying to figure out where to start? To help you navigate it all, we present the ultimate guide to MSR cookware. We’ll start with some basic information on selecting the right cookware including a comprehensive listing of all our options for easy comparison.

Finding the Right Cookware: Initial Considerations

One way to find the right cookware for your needs is to visualize a Venn diagram composed of Cooking Style, Size/Weight, and Materials. These are the three primary considerations to determine the best tools for the job.

1. Cooking Style

Are you cooking for seven at a campground, or do you mostly travel solo and only boil water for coffee and freeze-dried meals? Do you like to keep things light enough for backpacking but still appreciate a decent meal with some homemade flair? Simmer or sauté? What you need your cookware to do will dictate what size and materials fit your needs.

2. Size/Weight

Beyond group size, you’ll need to think about what you need your cookware to do. Are you melting snow? Maybe the larger size pot will make more sense and be more efficient. Do you need the lightest titanium cookware imaginable? Are you a heavy user who prefers the durability of stainless steel, or is the happy medium of light-and-durable hard-anodized aluminum the right choice?

3. Material

This one circles back to the previous two, with choices like ceramic nonstick coatings for more epicurean cooking options, titanium for minimalists, or stainless steel for the most even heat distribution and ultimate durability.

Each choice impacts the others, so let’s organize MSR cookware by material and you’ll get more clarity on the selection process.

Titanium

Ideal for: Ultralight and ultra-simple meals

The titanium of our Titan™ line of cookware and accessories is the top dog for going ultralight on minimalist adventures. It’s the lightest material we use and the ultimate choice for “fast and light” gram-counters primarily boiling water. The downsides to titanium are cost and, believe it or not, its extreme efficiency at transferring heat. While it is excellent for boiling water, it also means that it struggles to spread heat evenly, potentially resulting in scorched food if care isn’t taken to manage the heat.

Stainless Steel

Ideal for: Maximum durability and even heat distribution

The material of choice for professional chefs, the stainless steel found in our Alpine™ cookware is a top performer when you need great heat distribution and even cooking for things like sautés and simmering. Our stainless steel Alpine Fry Pan even has a multi-layered aluminum and steel base that distributes heat like the finest home cookware. The other big benefit is durability. While it’s not for anyone concerned about weight, these pieces are truly heirloom quality and perfect for standing up to heavy use (guides and outfitters) or handing them down to your kids.

Hard-Anodized Aluminum

Ideal for: The best blend of durability, light weight and cooking performance

By far the most popular choice of backcountry travelers, hard-anodized aluminum is an excellent compromise between all the pros and cons of stainless steel and titanium. The anodization process protects from scratches and corrosion, resulting in incredibly durable cookware while remaining very light. A bit denser than titanium, aluminum also spreads heat relatively well, making it more versatile for a wider variety of cooking. This material forms the foundation of most of our cookware and is ideal for most users.

Nonstick Hard-Anodized Aluminum

Ideal for: Easy clean-up and complex cooking styles

Our premium nonstick cookware uses a PTFE- and PFOA-free nonstick ceramic Fusion® coating applied to hard-anodized aluminum cookware, while our Quick Skillet offers a budget option for nonstick performance in a smaller, more compact form. Nonstick is excellent for all the reasons it is at home: easy clean-up and worry-free cooking of all things that tend to gum up regular pots and pans. From eggs and meats to long saucy simmers, we made these so you can release your inner chef anywhere you like. Note: as with any nonstick cookware, you should use only non-metal utensils when cooking. It’s also a good idea to use a small PackTowl® (or cut a piece of an old one) as a protective layer between pots when nesting them for packing. Then you’ll also have a handy wash rag along.

Building the Perfect Kit: Cook Sets, Pot Sets, and Accessories

Most MSR cookware is offered two ways: a la carte options for building your customized kit and comprehensive cook sets that include pots, lids, cups and bowls. (All our cups, bowls, utensils and clear lids are BPA-free). Cook sets offer the grab-and-go convenience of knowing everything is in one spot. For your initial investment, these are the best options. You’ll get a comprehensive base of cookware, plus cups and/or bowls and plates in a super-packable nesting design, and you can customize your kit as you see fit for every adventure. Pot sets include only pots and are ideal for people needing to replace old or damaged cookware or who already have cups, bowls, and plates.

Of course, pots and pans are only half of the cookware equation. Utensils, bowls, cups, cutting boards, and spices are all essential parts of even the most bare-bones camp kitchens.

Our camp kitchen utensils and accessories comprise everything we’ve found essential beyond cookware. From spoons, sporks and forks in varying styles and materials to our smart DeepDish™ plates and bowls, we’ve done our best to engineer everything to be multi-functional and nesting for maximum efficiency.

A Word on Stove Systems

Reactor® and WindBurner® stove systems are renowned for their best-in-class windproof performance and efficiency. There’s plenty of detail on their performance and technology. However, it’s worth noting that these stoves perform as well as they do thanks to specially designed cookware that integrates with and shields the stove’s burner from the elements. This means that they exclusively work with cookware that bears their name. DO NOT use Reactor or WindBurner cookware on a regular camp stove, and don’t use flat-bottomed cookware with either of these stoves. If you do, you risk damaging the pot and/or the stove, which can be extremely dangerous.

That said, if you own a stove system, you’ll find both hard-anodized aluminum and nonstick options. The same benefits mentioned above also apply to MSR stove system cookware.

Related Posts:

• Backpacking Cookware 101: Titanium, Aluminum & Stainless Steel
• Backpacking Cookware: Making It All Fit in Your Pack
• Best Camping Cookware & Stove Pairings