Best Backpacking Cookware Set

When it comes to backcountry cooking, Primus is a household name. From camp and backpacking stoves to plates, bowls, pots, and pans, Primus can outfit you with all the tools to be the ultimate camp chef. Primus’ award-winning PrimeTech 2.3L Pot Set is a mainstay amongst backpackers due to its rugged, straightforward design and fast boil time, but is more than capable of serving as a frontcountry kitchen. This $79.95 set includes two 2.3L anodized aluminum pots, one lid, and locking pot tongs, all in an insulated storage bag. Its enviable cooking performance and reasonable weight earned the Primus our award for Best Backpacking Cookware Set.

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See Our Best Camp Cookware Review HERE!

Cooking & Cleaning

Both of the 2.3L pots in this set are constructed with thick walls of hard-anodized aluminum, alongside a ceramic nonstick coating. These two elements combine to produce an exemplary cooking performance that’s matched by few other stoves in our review. The PrimeTech pots distribute heat evenly and are more than capable of tackling everything from scrambling eggs to sautéeing vegetables with minimal risk of hot spots. The closest comparison to the capabilities of the Primus would be the MSR Ceramic 2-Pot Set, which is available for the same price. Although the MSR is half the weight of the Primus, it also offers slightly less cooking volume (its pots are 2.5L and 1.5L). While we loved how the PrimeTech pots’ ceramic coating makes cleanup a breeze, it will scratch and deteriorate with time, which will compromise the nonstick element but without the health concerns that come with a Teflon coating.

The Primus PrimeTech also beats the MSR on boil time, and is capable of bringing 2L of water to a boil in around 3 minutes 10 seconds. The PrimeTech is able to achieve this impressive time due to the integrated heat exchanger on one of the pots. For those unfamiliar with this feature, a heat exchanger is a ring-shaped heat sink on the underside of the pot. It boosts the pot’s cooking performance in a number of ways:

• It improves the pot’s efficiency by avoiding lost heat around the sides of the pan; this helps to conserve fuel, a precious commodity when deep in the backcountry. 
• It keeps the bottom of the pan hot for a longer period of time but the heat exchanger itself cools down quicker than a normal pot, enabling you to transfer it from the stove sooner.
• For smaller backcountry stoves, the heat exchanger adds a bit of stability because the burners are small enough to nest inside the ring.
• It assists the pan in keeping its overall shape by adding a bit of reinforcement and rigidity. 

Both pots will require either a backpacking stove like the $24.95 Primus Essential Trail Stove (read our review here) or a camp stove such as the Tupike Portable Stove, which retails for $249.95. Alternatively, you can upgrade your PrimeTech Pot Set to the PrimeTech Stove System for $149.95, which has everything you need for outdoor cooking besides a fuel canister.

Weight & Packability

The Primus PrimeTech Stove Set is the heaviest backpacking stove set in our 2021 review, with a total weight of 2.2 lbs (1 kg); some of this weight can be attributed to the heat exchanger. By comparison, the next heaviest set that’s designed for backpacking is the Sea to Summit X Set 32, which is roughly 160 g lighter but packs down to an impressive 9″ x 9″ x 1.8″. The Primus’ packed size is relatively average at 7.9″ x 7.9″ x 5.3″, but unlike the Sea to Summit, which has collapsible silicone walls and uses the entirety of its internal volume to store the X-Pot and X-Kettle, the Primus can be used to store additional items. It’s spacious enough to stash the pot grabber as well as your fuel canister, backpacking stove, utensils and more; just make sure that you line the inside of the pan with a towel of some kind so that these items won’t scratch the ceramic coating.

Durability

The PrimeTech performs reasonably well on the durability metric; its hard-anodized aluminum is not quite as rugged as stainless steel or titanium, but it is rather thick and should hold up to dents. Because both pots nest tightly together, they increase the overall durability while packed away. As previously mentioned, it’s important that you make an effort to conserve the integrity of the nonstick ceramic coating, so avoid using any metal utensils that could scratch the pots while cooking.

Features

While not loaded with bells and whistles, the PrimeTech does have some well-thought-out features that boost its overall appeal. Along with the aforementioned heat exchanger, we also appreciated the Tritan® plastic pot lid’s integrated strainer and heat-resistant silicone handle, which are perfect for cooking pasta. The other accessory that caught our attention is the smart gripping tongs. Although both pots will share the single set of tongs, they can be easily locked and released from the pot rims using a button on the top; it can also be used to secure the lid to the top of the pot. We found this system to be superior to comparable handles from MSR; the Alpine 2-Pot Set uses a pot grabber that lacks the ability to lock in place and must be actively clamped close while in use. MSR’s Ceramic 2-Pot Set uses a locking handle system that’s similar to the PrimeTech but isn’t quite as elegantly designed and is slightly more difficult to lock and unlock.

The Bottom Line

Primus has produced a top performer with the PrimeTech 2.3L Pot Set. Although there are lighter and less expensive backpacking pot sets, few can compete with the PrimeTech’s impressive cooking ability as well as its balance of durability and packability. Its unique features make it incredibly versatile. If you’re a fan of the PrimeTech’s features but looking to cut down on weight and packed size, Primus also offers a 1.3L set that’s 6 oz lighter (and $15 cheaper); Primus states that the 2.3L set will feed 2-5 people while the 1.3L will serve 1-3 people.

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