Introduction
Perhaps you already know about some of the titanium’s properties. You know that titanium is ultralight, anti-corrosive, and durable. But the question you are seeking an answer to is - why should I buy titanium camping cookware?
When we use titanium for our camping cookware, you need to know what difference it will make to our outdoor cooking and how will it make our lives easier.
In this article, we’ll go deeper to inform you of everything you need to know about titanium cookware.
In this article, I’m going to cover:
- Types of titanium cookware
- What features to look for in titanium camping cookware?
- The advantages of titanium cookware
- The disadvantages of titanium cookware
- How to use each kind of titanium cookware while camping?
- How to clean and care for titanium cookware?
Types of titanium cookware
Titanium cookware has many sizes and varieties. There are titanium pots of varying sizes, titanium frying pans, and titanium cups.
Titanium pots of different sizes are awesome for solo or group campers to cook meals as well as dehydrated food. If you’re a solo hiker looking for the lightest cooking solution, titanium cups are good for you. A titanium cup is perfect for a night or 2 with the minimal gear needed. Titanium frying pans are perfect for frying meat, or reheating leftovers. Often a titanium cookware set will combine pots and pans together.
Even though every type of cookware serves a different purpose, they have similar features in common.
What features to look for in titanium camping cookware?
When choosing your titanium camping cookware, there are some features that you definitely need. These are retractable folding handles, nesting design, straining holes, and measuring gradation marks.
Retractable folding handles
Sturdy handles are essential when you want to cook, strain water, or share food. If the handles take up too much valuable space while packing they can scratch other gear or make noise. Retractable handles almost eliminate noise as well as optimize space.
At SilverAnt, we have 3 retractable folding handle designs.
Firstly curved handles that complement the titanium cookware’s shape. This design works best for nesting.
The second design is so you can hang your titanium pot or titanium frying pan over a campfire. This handle design is also retractable. These handles are smaller and minimal. You can hook hangers on each side and elevate your camping cookware above the fire.
The third design is our sturdiest handle made of stainless steel. This handle has a slider locking the handle in position. With this design, even when the pot is full of water, the retractable handle is strong and durable.
Nesting design
For backpackers, packing gear in a limited space can be a challenge. This is what the cookware nesting design is for. With the retractable folding handles, bigger pots can nest smaller pots. Inside the titanium pot, you can store dehydrated food, utensils, and other gear. This utilizes all possible available space.
Straining holes
When you cook pasta, straining holes are super useful. Strain water quickly without pouring out your pasta on the ground. Just be cautious with burns and scalds as titanium is a great heat conductor.
Measuring gradation marks
Measuring gradation marks are essential for pots and cups. It’s a simple feature that makes all the difference. If you need to ration water or know exactly how much water is needed for your dehydrated food it’s perfect.
Each feature we mentioned above has various benefits that make cooking and eating outdoors easier and more enjoyable.
Let’s explore further the advantages and disadvantages of titanium cookware.
Advantages of titanium cookware
Everyone knows titanium is ultralight. However, it has more benefits than just weight.
Titanium is lightweight.
Titanium is 1/3 the weight of stainless steel. When you need to carry everything plus food and water over the course of your trip - weight matters. Titanium is ultralight yet strong. It's the ideal material for ultralight backpacking cookware.
Titanium is durable.
Titanium has a great strength-to-weight ratio, the highest of any metallic element. This means it's built tough for all the elements. When you buy a piece of titanium cookware, you know it will accompany you for a lifetime of adventure.
Titanium is anti-corrosive.
Titanium is anti-corrosive and does not react with acidic liquids. Your food’s taste won't be impaired or have any chemicals present even after years of use.
Titanium has a very high melting point.
Titanium’s melting point is 3,034°F. Stainless steel is 2550°F and aluminum is 1221°F. Even when you have a campfire there is no risk of damage due to high temperatures.
Titanium has great thermal conductivity.
Titanium cookware can transfer heat much better than other materials. This means you spend less time and fuel boiling or cooking. During winter backpacking and camping you will be grateful for this!
Works perfectly with camping stoves.
Titanium cookware can be used with alcohol or multi-fuel stoves, woodburning stoves, and canister stoves. All stoves are suitable as a heat source for cooking or boiling water.
There are many advantages to titanium cookware but also there are disadvantages. Let’s explore these next.
Disadvantages of titanium cookware
Thermal conductivity
The first disadvantage of titanium is also a positive too. As mentioned above, titanium has great thermal conductivity, cooking meals fast. But on the other side, this could be a disadvantage as well. If you can’t control the flame or fire it can lead to overcooking and burning food. You need to be more careful cooking with titanium frying pans because of this.
The most practical methods to avoid this are: use more oil, reduce the thickness of the food, and turn it over more frequently. On a gas stove because you can control the size of the flame this issue is greatly reduced. Cooking with titanium cookware can take some getting used to, but it’s worth the wait.
If you’re boiling water for dehydrated food bags then heat conductivity is your friend with quicker boiling times.
Campfire cooking
A famous chef once said, “Cooking is about how to handle the fire. A consistently steady fire is the ideal one.”
At SilverAnt we agree with this. Whether at home or at the campsite you want to be able to control your flame.
A campfire is difficult to start and also to handle, especially on windy days. The flames can become erratic leading to different amounts of heat in different areas. You can imagine how hard it is to cook the food evenly. When cooking on a campfire you need to be even more vigilant in preventing food from burning or cooking unevenly.
To protect your campfire build a rock fence around the fire or dig a fire pit when no rocks are around.
Dents and scratches
Titanium cookware can get dented if the pots or pans are dropped on a hard uneven surface. Nevertheless, don’t worry about the dents. Titanium cookware will continue working the same for years with no problems. The dents can become part of the history of your gear.
Also, titanium cookware is not non-stick. If scratched, it will stay there forever. When cleaning, don’t use an abrasive sponge or cloth. Once again scratches won’t affect the titanium camping cookwares performance.
Even though titanium cookware has a few drawbacks. Overall it is the best material for camping cookware!
How to use each kind of titanium cookware while camping?
Titanium cups, titanium pots, and titanium pans all serve different purposes. Let’s go deeper to find out which one is good for what and more.
Titanium cups
A titanium cup is the ultimate one-person cooking solution for backcountry hiking or camping. With many functionalities, you can do more than just your morning coffee.
When you’re hiking and want to have a rest and have some tea, you can make it in the cup. You can also use it to cook meals while camping like oatmeal. A titanium cup with a lid is also perfect for dehydrated food. Boil water with the bag inside and lid on the cup and wait. If it’s really cold, having a cup of soup can also work wonders.
Titanium cups come in a variety of sizes but for ultimate functionality, you want a larger cup. Aim to buy one that’s at least 600ml/21fl oz and above. At SilverAnt we've found 750ml/26.3 fl oz to be the perfect ultralight gear companion.
Titanium pots
Titanium pots have varying volumes to meet different needs and the amount of people. The popular ones are 26.3fl oz/750ml, 35fl oz/1000ml, 56.3fl oz/1600ml, 73.9fl oz/2100ml, and 105.6fl oz/3000ml, etc.
Titanium pots under 35fl oz/1000ml
When you’re camping alone, a titanium pot with less than a 1000ml/35fl oz capacity is perfect. They are compact to carry for solo backpacking and roomy enough to cook a hearty meal for one person without adding loads to your bag.
After a long trek and you’re starving, light up the fire, boil your drinking water, put the dehydrated food in, and you can have a hot meal in no time. After your meal, you can use the water and make tea or coffee.
Titanium pots under 35fl oz/1000ml work great with alcohol stoves, canister stoves, and campfires. The flames are evenly distributed reducing food sticking or burning.
Titanium pots above 35fl oz/1000ml
For more than 1-person a bigger titanium pot makes sense. Everything you cook is shared and a larger pot means you can boil 2 dehydrated food bags together.
35fl oz/1000ml to 70fl oz/2000ml pots work great for 2-3 people when cooking. With this size, you can prepare meals like pasta pesto, casseroles, or even a hearty chili. But when it comes to camping with a group of 4-6, you will need a bigger pot.
Large titanium pots are around 8 inches/20.32cm in width. They work with all kinds of fires and are great for campfire cooking. If you have a small gas stove these larger titanium pots and frying pans aren't suitable. This is because the gas-powered flame will struggle to heat evenly. Tripod gas-powered stoves are a better heat source in this instance.
Titanium frying pans
From the information above, you can easily see titanium cups and pots are super versatile cookware choices. But what if you’re a frying food person? For this, you can use a titanium frying pan.
A 17.5fl oz/500ml pan is good for a solo camper and a 35fl oz/1000ml one is for a couple. You can fry beef, potatoes, sausages, etc on it. Because of titanium’s fast heat transferring, cutting down the thickness of food before cooking is helpful.
These titanium pans work best with gas canister stoves but are also compatible with alcohol stoves and campfires. Remember to be patient and keep your eyes on the food when working with these two.
When choosing titanium cookware it’s all about functionality and personal use. Often in this case a nesting 2-pot or 3-pot titanium cookware set will provide the best value.
How to clean and care for titanium cookware?
Titanium cookware is durable and easy to care for but like everything, it needs some TLC. Here are some basic tips for you on how to clean and care for your titanium cookware.
1. Cleaning - After using your titanium cookware, you want to make sure to clean it thoroughly. To do so, use a non-abrasive cleaner and a sponge to remove any build-up of food particles and grease. Then rinse it out with water.
2. Drying - After cleaning, make sure to dry your titanium cookware completely. This helps to ensure that your cookware stays in good condition all the time. And when storing food or gear inside during hiking nothing gets wet or dirty.
3. Storing - Store your titanium cookware in a clean and dry place. To keep your cookware in the best shape possible, you may want to store it in a drawstring case while backpacking. This keeps all pots and pans together and makes storing stuff inside simpler. Every SilverAnt titanium cookware set comes with a drawstring case. You'd be surprised how many people have asked for replacements after a few years of use!
Conclusion
Titanium cookware is the best choice for hiking, backpacking, and camping. Even though it has some disadvantages, it is still hard to beat due to its weight, strength, durability, and biocompatibility. With its many functionalities, titanium cookware can meet all your cooking needs.
If you found the article helpful, feel free to comment to share your own experience. To your next adventure.