Gear Review (Cooking and Sitting Edition)
We made some purchases for our trip a few weeks ago. They were all centered around ease of cooking for our large family and for comfort. I’m going to break this down into 2 parts. First we’ll review the camp kitchen equipment we just got and look at photos of them in action. Afterwards, we’ll talk about our new sit pads and see pictures of them as well. Let’s go!
The new food preparation setup features a kettle, spaghetti pot, and two cups. The Frontier Ultralight Collapsible Kettle Cook Set with Cups from Sea to Summit is currently $84.95 and weighs 10.8 oz. The kettle is 1.1L and we thought it would be ideal for breakfast hot chocolates and oatmeal. We didn’t use the kettle on this trip because it was just too hot for a hot breakfast. The kids preferred an energy bar and water instead. We made our coffee in our Stanley cup and moved on. However, we did pour our coffees into those collapsible cups that come with the kettle bundle. They are to hot to casually hold and I wouldn’t trust the kids with them. The stainless steel collapsible pot is available on sea to summit’s site for just under $100. This was a needed purchase. We made about 1.5 lbs of tortellini with a sauce component in it for dinner with room to spare. Again, we are a family of 6 that eats like a family of 10. We need a spaghetti pot. The cute aesthetically pleasing cookware just isn’t practical for us. It would take hours to make a meal! This pot weighs nearly 2 pounds and works perfectly with our tiny pocket stoves. The only thing you need to mind is that it can not be preheated and the silicone pots have a clear line on the bottom side where the flame can NOT touch. Between the two adults, it’s minimal weight to add on and everything collapses so small, it’s not a hassle to stuff into a pocket somewhere in the bag.
Ignore my dirty stove….please.
Cooking with the big pot!
Please ignore my stove!
A perfect amount of coffee.
Next up is our comfort selection for your consideration. We bought more sit pads! Jutom 12 piece camping foam pads were about $33 for the dozen. According to their description, each sit pad measures about 15.4 x 10.8 x 0.4 inches. They fit and fold into just about every pack we have, from toddler size to Derek’s 70L overnight bag. They came in handy for our lunch breaks, water stops, and at camp. The babies used them as faux sleeping pads to put their stuffed animals to sleep on. Honestly though, during the morning, Derek and I just dragged out our sleep pads for the kids to sit on for breakfast. Our older two like to sprawl out in the A.M. and this just made more sense. I will still pack these sit pads for even our small day hikes. At the very least, they fit where your hydration bladder goes and it’s a nice distraction for a kid to sit on while you bandage a knee. No regrets. Will buy more. I do wish that they came in all vibrant colors though.
The color variety is great but kind of muted.
Big enough for a heckin’ chonker of a sub.
Lunch spot.
Big sleep system energy.
That is that! If you have any specific questions or need links, let me know here or on Facebook/TikTok/Instagram/email. I’m trying to learn to keep up with all of these social media apps but it’s hard. I’ll get there though and appreciate your patience! We hope you all are having a fun summer! Happy hiking! xoxo
