Titanium vs Stainless Steel vs Aluminum Camping & Backpacking Cook Pots - Which Is Best?
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Camping & backpacking cookware usually comes in three flavors: Titanium, Stainless Steel, or Aluminum. Picking which cook pot is best for you might seem daunting to those who are new to the backcountry; but fear not! In this video, I talk about the differences of each--price, weight, and durability--and how to decide for yourself, which one might be right for you.
It's an important piece of gear to have in your kit, so make sure you're set with this ultimate guide!
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Aluminum: RioRand Pot & Mug Set
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Good video, but the one factor that wasn’t included is “cookability”. When cooking, how does each perform? It’s not an issue if only boiling water, but it is an issue if searing meat, cooking a trout or making pancakes. I suggest doing a Part 2 video. Thanks.
Indeed, also time needed to cook something. I imagine a cast iron pan on a gas stove takes longer, so i need to prepare more butane? Same for stainless steel?
I'd definitely like to see a fried egg comparison too with all three.
Solved my question with the triangle graph. Thanks putting that in the beginning
You're absolutely right when it comes to aluminum having the lowest melting points of all the metals being discussed here. I have actually melted aluminum in a fire. I made some aluminum cross pot stands for one of Toaks titanium (gasifier) stoves and they melted into liquid form as I used them for cooking. I actually had to break the aluminum blobs that had adhered to my titanium stove as the aluminum ran down the walls of the stove.By the way, that incident didn't leave a mark on the titanium so the stove was undamaged. Bear in mind that the aluminum I used was not aircraft grade aluminum, and I never had this issue with aircraft grade anodized aluminum products.
I thought one of the strengths of stainless steel over Titanium was that stainless steel conducted heat better laterally/horizontally, meaning if you have a gas flame in the middle of the pot the heat is transferred out the sides better than titanium would so your food doesn’t burn in one spot while staying almost raw elsewhere? While I thought titanium was worst for this and therefore really only good for people who primarily just boil water (where spot burning doesn’t matter as it’s just water), but your saying the truth is the opposite and that titanium transfers heat in a more balanced way although not as good as aluminum?
Yeah i was wondering the same thing, seemed to me like cooking on aluminum was worse for hot spots.. could just be how thin it was I don't know.
I'm liking my titanium cook system, I primarily use wood burners though, I've never had an issue.
Been slowly building my cook system, titanium from my wood burners to my pot and pans and cups. My favorite piece is the boundless voyage Dragon Horse folding wood stove, half the price of other Ti hinged stoves and better design. Good video, thanks for the comparison
Best video so far to compare the metalls to each other for outdoor. Thanks for sharing.
Great video thank you for your time and research! 🎉
I hope you seen it on the replay and found the item but you dropped something while you were filming the snow trek shot in the woods. Looked like your gloves.
You should have more views man. Absolutely great comparison!!!
Thanks! I suspect this one will take off in the long term.
I have a new vid dropping this week that compares different stove types--gas canister vs twig vs alcohol
For those using aluminum, a few tips for prepping it for use and maintaining it in and out of the field. For pots and pans, especially used, boil them out the best you can for ten minutes. Pour out or remove from the water and scrub gently with a soft sponge. I personally use a luffa I cut myself, because accidentally consuming it isn't detrimental.
For canteens, remove the cork gasket and any non-metal parts, then submerge and boil them for 10 minutes. YOU WILL NEED A THICK TOWEL FOR THIS NEXT STEP. Carefully remove from the boiling water, leave half-filled and pour in a hand full of steel BBs. NOT copper-coated, ONLY plain steel BBs. Shake vigorously for five minutes. Using a strainer, pour the water and BBs out of the canteen. Allow your BBs to dry and restore for later use. The BBs roll around the inside of the canteen and help wear down rough edges in the weld that create small aluminum splinters, and further grinds them down. This is an essential preparation for all aluminum canteens manufactured with a weld.
For maintenance of both, when not in use, keep them dry and in as neutral conditions as your environment allows. Don't leave them lying about; restore them in your pack once you have cleaned and dried them. Do NOT place aluminum canteens and cookware directly in the fire. Pull your coals aside, and ensure you have enough heat to cook without exposing your cookware to flames. This will increase the longevity of your aluminum and help prevent the suspected leeching. This also ensures that you won't begin to melt your cookware.
There are great tutorials for restoring and maintaining aluminum cookware here on UA-cam, so please peruse those if you plan to use your awesome thrift store finds.
Excellent summation of the the relevant pro's and cons of each.
Thanks,
- Martin
SR71 Blackbird spy plane was made of titanium because it was the only material in the world that could withstand the repeated and very high temps of flying so high and fast , so yeah it's apparently fine on a campfire lol :)
Loved the part were you melted the handle off . I couldnt stop laughin 😂🤣 Great video by the way. all the best😎👍
Exactly what i was looking for, spot on, thanks
Simple and exactly the information I was looking for
This video was extremely helpful, thank you. Subbed
Titanium actually doesn't conduct heat as well as Aluminium, some stoves concentrate heat which is OK for a small diameter water pot but not good for a wide frying pan, ceramic coated aluminium is best for that.
Good video very educational. Thanks from Arizona!
solid vid, all the info I needed
Thx for video. This was helpful
Great video! I use a mess tin set and a cheap Amazon cooking pot (the ones with green handles). i did some tests with the teg modules to make something similar than u made to charge your phone! I think imma use boiling water instead of an open flame
This is very informative. Thank you!
Great video man, I'll be subscribing 👍
Hi from Australia 👋 Great video mate! Your channel is highly under-viewed/subbed.
Thanks! I think it's because I was too spread out in terms of content. Really trying to reign it in
Honestly, now that I'm rarely backpacking with the thing, the best material is the one that comes in the size I want, the shape I want, with the handles I want and also comes with a stuff sack.
Best thing I have found is a copper vessel to boil water. The soot isn't a problem because it seems to be repelled once it get blackened. It's like anodised. You just give it a light wipe and its clean enough to put in the back pack.
But wait there's more. The water boils 25 % quicker
This is an extremely well made video
Very practical advice. Thank you
Thanks Mike
Great presentation in details and facts. But I think you missed the sweetspot material of hard anodized sluminum or ceramic coated aluminum. Durable, light and cheaper than Ti or heavy steel. Takes high heat better too.
Went straight in on the durability test! 😂
I think, there is a fourth aspect: The thermal resistance. The higher, the better the material protects from heat, meaning that more time and fuel is needed. The figures: Aluminium 15 W/(mK), Air: 40 W/(mK), Steel 50 W/(mK), Titanium 160 W/(mK), all values slightly depending on the alloy used.
Awesome video man !
Mike, Nice job! Thanks for sharing. One concern more and more people are talking about is health factors. Aluminum seems to have a question mark hovering over it. Is it as safe as stainless or titanium? I have the same question. My aluminum pots and plates have served me well. Stainless has been nice too (for car camping). Titanium is super light, but in the end, is one safer than another? Thanks again!
Great video!
Great words of advice mike.
Excellent vid, well explained and in depth
Nice video first. But I have to argue that the melting point might not be so important if you are boiling water or cooking food. Since the water might absorb most of the heat and keep the temperature near 100 C, there's no need to worry about melting the pot
I use all three metals. I use a Stanley boil and brew SS I need real coffee. A Tomshoo Ti double walled cup for coffee and if I bring it i don’t always do a Bodkar 9” aluminum crepe pan as a skillet. My stove cup and a 100g gas canister fits perfectly in the Stanley. BTW titanium can become unstable above 572F I seen a old titanium cup crack from repeated heat cycling. Not sure how many times it was used had to be a lot.
Advocate a combination of materials, depending on the trip and intended use. Mostly, i prefer stainless and titanium. The only aluminum i use is a thick frypan with a nonstick coating. That is only used while in our camper or at a basecamp for a larger group.
Durability is a big concern for us, then weight...in that order.
I am personally more of a minimalist with regard to my gear, and a simplist with regard to how i use it.
My wife, on the other hand, isn't...lol
We balance out.😊
thank you! good analisys
Well done!
love tho intro?😂 great video thumbs up.
Awesome!
Thank you 👋🏻
Great explanation
i suffer from analysis-paralysis. i'm looking at a tatonka mug set (expensive but durable, no pouch) but i could buy an anodized cup set for half the price with pouch (not sure if i can put this directly into fire even though it is claimed to have fire resistant coating) or i could go with the ever popular toaks titanium cup. my gas cannister (diameter of 10cm) fits only into the anodized aluminum cups. anybody has any thoughts or suggestions? i want to buy something that i don't have to care about and is verstatile enough while not breaking the bank. tough nut to crack.
anyway, this video is very informative yet concise and deserves more views!
I can't link it to you directly, but look up the Boundless Voyage titanium cook pot, that's similar in size to my Stanley. If I had to buy a new one, that's what I'd be getting
Tita iam very costly and not so durable as stainless.
Depends on your priororys and what you want. I also ise cast iron it cooks itself but heavy.
Tend to use all except titainnium due to cost mainly.
it would have been neat to get 3 identical burnes, and do a cook/boil test
Hey I'm from Portugal.
Good review, exactly what I wanted to know.
Just a silly question, at 4m50s didn't you let some gear fell down?
good video!
I haven't seen or heard of coroded titanium. How did you manage to do that?
Once I lost aluminum pot cause of storaged pure water in it few days. Water made pin holes its bottom.
Aluminum can dissolve into your food if you cook anything acidic in it. if you see black spots (that dont wash away) in your aluminum pan i would personally throw it away cause it could be dangerous for your health.
the metals would gather in your body in time, while it wont affect you now it will affect you in the future : )
For sporadic use, aluminium cookware is probably fine. It's only when you use it everyday for years that it can be a problem.
@@gusjeazer Aluminum is fine to use Unless you add anything acidic to it then it becomes an unseen hazard.
If it gets me through the apocalypse I'll take any of them.. personally, I like the all around weight and corrosion resistance) durability of titanium.
Good to know ..thanks god BLESS
How about food safety? I know Alu and cobber can be bad combo with acidic food.
The stainless steel pot looks really burned inside , but as long as it is safe i there are no worries.
The bail handle is good for open fire. For hang it and take out. Size is matter. Bigger serve better.
Yeah I need to get a larger pot for winter (boiling ice/snow for drinking water)
If you get some new cookware,Try cooking at home with it before bringing it out on the trails..The funniest thing to see ,Is a hiker, backpacker or camper break out new gear or utensils and burn ,melt or destroy it, because they were not familiar with how it works...
Unless you're just boiling water for coffee & freeze dried meals it's not just price, durability & weight, it's cooking performance as well!
I bought a cheap aluminum chinesium canteen and theres lots of aluminum oxide coming off the threads at the cap. Is this bad for health?
Google says no, but I wouldn't go licking it. Nonetheless, I would clean it off. Note: This is not medical/health advice
People in Mediterranean countries like Italy especially swear by those mocca/espresso two part aluminium coffee pots which you put on the stove top. But after a few weeks those things insides are covered in al oxide. I don't think it does them any harm though, some regions of Italy have amongst the highest life expectancy in the world.
Aluminum is the one pot and pan construction material I am having issues with trying to justify it. Aluminum is a neurotoxin, that will leach into the food when heat is applied. The only thing preventing aluminum pots and pans from trying to kill you is a thin layer of sealant. Aluminum has a low melting point, and a wood fire can melt it.
Stainless steel is what I consider the "holy grail" of cook ware.
Titanium is better than aluminum but Titanium can get weird.
I agree 100%. Cant beat stainless steel all around. Titanium, if going ultralight and not actually cooking meals (boiling waters for freeze dried meals)
I avoid aluminum because of tomato sauce. They don't play well together.
I have a 900mm Ti pot and as long as you keep the heat low nothing has ever stuck to it.
Huh, TIL about the tomato sauce. Does it have something to do with the acidity of it?
Stainless for me.
Next question.
Did you ever find the mask (I think it was a mask) that dropped?
@@openskyphotography Nope :(
All stainless steel is NOT equal. Some is very resistant to corrosion.
Corrosion is when metal gets oxidized. The definition of corrosion is “metal, returning to its natural state.” IE: we cannot stop corrosion. We can only slow its pace. Only one metal does not corrode, gold. It remains in its pure state. That’s one of the reasons it is so highly valued.
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
Aluminum is only good for boiling wather. You can have aluminum core in your pan, but nothing more. Tytanium pans are extremaly difficult to use.
Titanium is only good if you want to heat a pot of water. Use a titanium fryingpan and you find out that titanium is not a good heat conductor.
I never burn my food because I dont use a open flame, if im heating a can of chili I sit it next to the fire but not so close that it might as well be in the fire just close by and let it slowly warm up over about 10-15min or so and stir it often, for food in the the skillet or for coffee I use ashed over coal bed because if you look inside the pit you will see its red hot between the coals the same color as your electric stove top burner, my pots don't get all black and sooty either, they get just slightly a goldish brown and can be cleaned easily with a paper towel after they cool off without getting your wife's sink all stained with soot. I wish more people would use these techniques instead of just burning shit up, always thinking you have to put shit in a open flame. and for getting cooked- in food out, add water and bring up the temp to a boil or close to it and the food will just wipe out usually as long as it not turned to carbon...of course it can't be burnt on like yours were or it takes a little more effort.
You left out the best material of all. Hard anodised aluminium. Safe, light, excellent cookability and sorta kinda non stick. Titanium, stainless and bare aluminium are only good for the trash can.
I really want to save $$$.... but I am concerned about the health and safety of aluminum. So I have no choice but to squeeze out some hard-earned $$ for titanium. I found out that when cooking with a very small light weight backpacking stove with a vertical flame, in order to prevent burning food, I stop using a narrow-diameter pot. Using wider diameter cookware and stirring constantly spread the heat around. Also, more fuel-efficient since less flame/heat escape from the side of the narrow cookware. Although I am on a very low budget, titanium cookware has been a very good investment. Won't go back to Alum or steel.
I would point out aluminum pots and pans are the backbone of most commercial kitchens because its dirt cheap, has high conductivity, and while it will deform , oxidize, and look ugly its still pretty indestructible at the end of the day. I.e durability of aluminum is fine for backpacking as long as you don't go out of your way to melt it. It will hold up to heat of commercial gas stove fine though. Your nonstick pots and pans at home are usually aluminum with a fancy paint job. I have a stanley stainless pot for tossing into coals, or a fire pit.
Aluminum is toxic
Aluminum is only good for boiling wather. You can have aluminum core in your pan, but nothing more. Tytanium pans are extremly dific
you'll never melt a pot with water in it.
Probably should mention that aluminium is not healthy, kind of important
There's no definitive proof on that subject
@@MikeInTheWoods Get "Hard Anodised" aluminum => best compromise re: weight, price, heat-conductivity, toughness!
Stainless is heavy. Titanium will warp if you heat it empty. Aluminum is cheap and it as reliable as titanium.
I use Vibranium, 150x lighter than Titanium and 200x stronger than stainless steel.
4:30 excuse me, what??? titanium has the worst heat conductivity of the three. by far! s.steel: 15W/(Km), titanium: 11.4W/(Km), aluminium: 237W/(Km)
You're right, but at the wall thicknesses we're talking, conductivity isn't so much of an issue.
@@dsmith9572 it is. high conductivity would mean that the whole mug would actually heat up more or less evenly and give off most of the energy it gets to the water. in reality though, a hot spot forms at the bottom and a lot of the energy gets lost. you can most notably see the difference, when you cook something in aluminium pots for comparison (do not recommend them at all for camping)
Cast iron ftw. If it was good enough for those that headed out west then it's good for me. Those scrawny goat cheese and kale eating hippies can go to the gym instead of complaining. Can't cook a 18oz ribeye in a jetboil and I condemn those that have tried.
Much aluminium camping pots are anodised, so the food or water never actually touches raw aluminium.
Is aluminum cookware bad for your health?
Nope
Got people killing themselves…. Cooking in plastic bags and messed up aluminum cups/pots
Yes, aluminium is cheap and lightweight, but researches show impacts on your health from it, especially, when you cook acetous food or scratching the surface (e.g. steel spoon) while stirring. Aluminium intake is related to Alzheimer's desease and other nasty stuff.
In europe you don't get deodorants with aluminium any more, because your sweat is acetous too and the dissolved aluminium passes through the skin and adds up to your total intake! IMHO it's only acceptable in a short-term survival scenario, not for backpacking, bushcraft or camping.
Stainless steel cookware is available in various gauges. IMHO you don't need "to beat the crap out" of cookware, choose thin walled bottles, pots and cups and they will be nearly as lightweight as aluminium in a usable thickness. If you can afford it, take titanium.
If you insist to be able to "beat the crap out of it" - go for cast iron!
Great video! Let’s all remember that aluminum is very toxic to the body so let’s all avoid that!!
4.53 you lost something :-)
I kinda feel like the triangle diagram applies to a fella' finding a lady.
Definitely not aluminium. I've seen and used many in the past, far too soft.
Hmm do you want some aluminium with your food.
Aluminum toxicity keeps me far from it.
Coat/dip your aluminum pot in melted titanium? 😂🤷😊 Jkjk