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Stock your on-the-go outdoor kitchen with the best camping cookware

Whatever type of camping you're into, you need cookware that's durable, lightweight, and easy to clean

GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper Cookset
GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper Cookset
Best full-featured camping cookware set
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GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist II Cookset
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist II Cookset
Best solo camping cookware set
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Full Windsor The Splitter Titanium Multi-Utensil
Full Windsor The Splitter Titanium Multi-Utensil
Best lightweight camping utensil
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MSR Whisperlite International Backpacking Stove
MSR Whisperlite International Backpacking Stove
Best backcountry camping stove
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GSI Outdoors - Pioneer Cutlery Set
GSI Outdoors Pioneer Cutlery Set
Best cutlery set for car camping
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Gerber Devour Titanium Spork
Gerber Gear Devour Titanium
Best ultra minimalist camp kitchen tool
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Camp Chef Mountain Series Teton 2X Two-Burner Cooking System CSA
Camp Chef Teton 2X Camp Stove
Best front-country camping stove
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Full dinner grilling on a metal grate over an open campfire with a blurred couple in the background.

If you’re cooking in the woods, chances are you fall into one of two camps (pun intended). Either you’re packed with car camping gear (including everything and the kitchen sink) or you're backpacking with lightweight camping cookware. Whichever mode of camping you're into, you need the right gear for the job. Nobody wants to carry a twenty-pound, two-burner propane grill up a mountain or feed a family of four with a single coffee mug.

So, we did the legwork to research and compare the best camping cookware and portable outdoor kitchen supplies for both the car-camping crowd and the minimalist campers out there. This includes a list of pots, utensils, stoves, sporks, and more. Because no camping trip is complete without a legit mini kitchen to make you feel right at home.

Assorted cookware from GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper Cookset.
GSI Outdoors

GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper Cookset

Best full-featured camping cookware set

GSI has been developing modular camping cookware for a long time, and its Bugaboo Camper Cookset is the best we’ve seen thus far. It's our favorite full-featured, soup-to-nuts set with everything to feed four people, including color-coded plates, bowls, and mugs (with sipping lids), as well as two cooking pots and a nonstick frying pan. Each pot includes a slotted lid that doubles as a strainer, making boiled foods like eggs and pasta a breeze to whip up.

What makes the Bugaboo kit even more impressive is that all of these items nest neatly inside one another and pack down into a single carrying kit that doubles as a dishwashing bin. Talk about convenience!

GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper Cookset
GSI Outdoors Bugaboo Camper Cookset
Best full-featured camping cookware set
GSI pinnacle soloist backpacking cooking gear.
GSI Outdoors

GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist II Cookset

Best solo camping cookware set

Think of the GSI Pinnacle Soloist II as the Bugaboo’s little brother. This set was made for ultralight backpacking setups where minimalist camping cookware is essential, so it’s got everything you need in a super-compact package. The 1.1-liter cookpot includes common measurements conveniently stamped on the inside, and it's been treated inside and out to resist scratching (which means no more worrying about damaging it with metal utensils). The 14-ounce insulated mug/bowl nests down neatly inside the cookpot, as well as the included folding spork.

And because all the best backpacking gear should serve two purposes, the strainer lid for the cookpot even doubles as a sipping lid for the food bowl when you flip it over.

GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist II Cookset
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Soloist II Cookset
Best solo camping cookware set
full windsor splitter backpacking utensils.
Full Windsor

Full Windsor The Splitter Titanium Multi-Utensil

Best lightweight camping utensil

Yes, “The Splitter” is an exorbitantly priced piece of gear where a simple plastic or titanium spork will (mostly) do, but it’s just too cool to leave off our list. The Splitter is a superlight titanium utensil set that features a long-handled spork (which is perfect for digging into backpacker-friendly dehydrated meals) and a spatula with a serrated end that doubles as a cutting tool.

Lock the two together with the pin and keyhole system and ta-da! You’ve got a pair of tongs. The whole kit weighs in at a scant 1.8 ounces, but you can always leave the spatula at home and take the spork by itself if you’re looking at packing ultralight.

Full Windsor The Splitter Titanium Multi-Utensil
Full Windsor The Splitter Titanium Multi-Utensil
Best lightweight camping utensil
MSR WhisperLite International Stove isolated on a plain white background.
MSI Outdoors

MSR Whisperlite International Backpacking Stove

Best backcountry camping stove

The one stove to rule them all. While the outright convenience of canister stoves makes them an essential piece of camping cookware in their own right, the MSR Whisperlite liquid fuel stove is our pick for the best backpacking stove. That’s because it runs off of white gas, kerosene, gasoline, or even jet fuel (if you’ve got some of that handy).

It also doesn’t struggle at high elevations like canister stoves, which makes the Whisperlite the go-to stove for mountaineering and other high-altitude adventures. The latest version of the Whisperlite weighs just 11 ounces as well, which makes it more backpack-friendly than ever.

MSR Whisperlite International Backpacking Stove
MSR Whisperlite International Backpacking Stove
Best backcountry camping stove
GSI Outdoors

GSI Outdoors Pioneer Cutlery Set

Best cutlery set for car camping

Many hikers and campers put a lot of time and effort into every aspect of their equipment, except when it comes to utensils. Don't leave a handy set like the GSI Outdoors Pioneer Cutlery set out in the dust, because they are simple, effective, inexpensive, and pretty cool aesthetically. Each kit includes four full sets of knives, spoons, and forks, all of which feature full-tang stainless steel construction and rugged kiln-hardened enamel handles.

GSI Outdoors - Pioneer Cutlery Set
GSI Outdoors Pioneer Cutlery Set
Best cutlery set for car camping
Gerber Gear Devour Titanium Spork on a plain white background.
Gerber Gear

Gerber Gear Devour Titanium

Best ultra minimalist camp kitchen tool

Gerber's latest Devour Titanium gives the lowly spork a serious upgrade. This deceptively simple tool is actually nine tools in one, including a deep basin spoon and an offset long-tine fork, plus a flat-edge for cutting and scraping.

A separate tool clips to the backside with six additional tools, including bottle and can openers, flathead drivers, and a pry bar. The entire setup measures barely larger than an old-school spork, making it perfect for minimalist backpackers.

Gerber Devour Titanium Spork
Gerber Gear Devour Titanium
Best ultra minimalist camp kitchen tool
Camp Chef Mountain Series Teton 2X Two-Burner Cooking System on a plain white background.
Camp Chef

Camp Chef Teton 2X Camp Stove

Best front-country camping stove

The Camp Chef brand knows its way around cooking outdoors. We've been enjoying more than our fair share of ribs from one of their best pellet grills for years, and their compact outdoor stoves are just as good!

The latest Mountain Series Teton 2X comes with dual 10,000 BTU burners that run off standard one-pound. propane cylinder tanks (like a classic Coleman camp stove), but it can also be adapted to a standard bulk tank, like a home propane grill, if you’ll be camping out all week. The three-sided windscreen and matchless ignition mean you’ll have no trouble cooking when the wind is blowing, especially since the fully adjustable heat controls work just like your range at home.

Camp Chef Mountain Series Teton 2X Two-Burner Cooking System CSA
Camp Chef Teton 2X Camp Stove
Best front-country camping stove

No matter your preferred camping style, everyone's gotta eat! At a minimum, that means having some sort of vessel in which to place your food, an open flame with which to cook it, and a utensil to get it into your mouth. Whether you're car camping or roughing it in the backcountry, the key is to pack the right camping cookware that's durable, lightweight, easy to clean, and just enough to get the job done.

Editors' Recommendations

Kurt Spurlock

Kurt Spurlock is a writer for the outdoors and motorcycle industries. When he's not busy writing you can find him hoarding backpacking gear, trying not to injure himself mountain biking, or doing literally anything on a motorcycle from track days to dual sport camping. Give him a piece of your mind on twitter @kurtspurlock, or at his website www.KurtSpurlock.com.

Send all editorial inquiries HERE.

Mike Richard

Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South Africa, and survived a near-miss great white shark attack in Mexico. His travel advice has appeared on the websites of industry-leading publications for Forbes, Travel + Leisure, CNET, National Geographic, and Vagabondish. He loves the great outdoors and good bourbon, and (usually) calls Massachusetts home. Mike also enjoys speaking in the third person.

Send all editorial inquiries HERE.

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