Choosing Your Cooking Gear

This article will focus on the key items that make camp cooking a breeze. For information on cooking stoves and fuel, see our Camp Stoves page.

When choosing cooking gear for your motorcycle camping trip, the most important thing is to choose compact and versatile cookware. Most camping specific cook sets are multipurpose. For example, some cooking pots have a lid that also doubles as a cooking pan. There are many options available on the market sold both individually or as cook sets in a wide range of prices.

Individual Cookware Pieces

Individual Cookware Pieces are a great option to build your own cook set or find one key piece to fulfil your needs. Cooksets have the advantage of including all the essentials for either individuals or small groups of campers. They can include pots, pans, bowls, cups, mugs and even cutlery. They are a good way of saving some money and are designed to nest inside each other, which saves a lot of asking space.

Cooking Pots

Choosing the right size cooking pot or pan for your trip comes down to both the size of the group and the storage space available on the bike. Keep in mind that some stoves are designed for small to medium pots and can be unstable while cooking large meals for bigger groups. Using a lid while cooking reduces cooking time and thus saves fuel. Some cooking pots feature a lid that doubles as a frypan, while others have a more traditional lid. Some cook sets have one detachable handle or a gripper that is used for all of its pieces, saving on both space and weight. Some pots that conventional lids feature built in strainers that make them much more versatile.

Cookware Materials

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is a very common material used for camp cookware. It is durable, easy to cleaning won’t scratch. However, food will tend to stick to stainless steel, so be prepared to use appropriate cooking techniques. Stainless steel is also heavier than aluminium or titanium.

Aluminium

Aluminium is one of the lightest and most affordable option for camp cookware. It can affect the flavour of some acidic foods, and thus a model with a non-stick coating* is a preferable option. Aluminium is more susceptible to scratches and dents than stainless steel.

Anodized aluminium

Anodizing an aluminium alloy creates a metal that has the same characteristics as aluminium, with the added benefits of increased corrosion resistance and a non-stick, scratch resistance surface. This is usually the best compromise between price, weight and performance.

Titanium

Without a doubt the lightest cookware material available, titanium is also very corrosion and scratch resistant. Titanium also conducts heat very well but is more expensive than aluminium or stainless steel.

*With the exception of anodized aluminium, extra care should be taken to avoid scratching cookware that has a non-stick coating.

Kettles

Kettles are not only great for heating up a hot drink. As they are designed to boil water as fast as possible, they are an excellent option for lightweight campers who forgo more elaborate cooking and chose simple dry storage, freeze-dried and other add water type meals.

Plates, Cups and Mugs

Using a pot or pan as dinnerware is a good way to eliminate the need for dedicated plates or bowls. For groups however, a wide bowl or a plate with a high brim makes a good multi-use dish. Choosing a lightweight mug with foldable handles is one way to save space. Collapsible dinnerware is gaining popularity as it takes even less space when not in use. If you really want to maximize on carrying capacity, collapsible dinnerware and origami plates and bowls are the perfect solution.

Cutlery

There are a few different options for motorcycle camping the most common of which are a durable set of lightweight plastic utensils, including a fork, spoon and knife. Other options such as Sporks which are both a fork and a spoon save valuable space and weight. For many meals, eating utensils can replace cooking utensils, but sometimes a dedicated spoon or spatula is a worthwhile choice. Make sure these are compact or foldable.

Miscellaneous

It is also worth considering whether you need to bring other items such as a whisk, a strainer, measuring cups or spoons, pot scraper or marshmallow roaster.