Oh no!!! Tom! What are you doing to me?<br><br>In my ignorance, I never heard of GSI hard-anodized DOs. Now I'm drooling. I took a quick look at their web site and read about the product. Do you know anyone with actual experience with them? It sounds as if they combine the lightness of the aluminum with the cooking quality of cast iron. Is that a reasonable assumption? I would also surmise that acidic foods would be no problem, as well as high sugar recipes. Sounds too good to be true.<br><br>Also, I see they have an anodized non-stick mess kit for $32. Pricy, but may be worth the money on a bcakpacking trek.

Willie,<br><br>No, the hard-anodized stuff is pretty new - I do not know anyone with experience with that stuff. Funny; I recently learned how to anodize and hard anodize, and then I got to thinking about cookware, and "poof!" it's been done.<br><br>My guess is that no, it is not as carefree as cast iron - aluminum conducts heat so extremely much better than cast iron, that hot spots seem likely if one does not take care. OTOH, it should take significantly less coals throughout the cooking cycle. Hopefully, I'll let you know first-hand before the end of the summer....<br><br>I remain skeptical of high acid foods in aluminum, hard anodized or not. I'm demented enough without accelerating things via aluminum salts... In theory, properly sealed anodizing should lock off the aluminum. But if it's not sealed properly, anodizing is porous. Then there are scratches... From a practical standpoint I'd say it probably makes no difference overall for weekend type use - if you can't taste the metal, probably don't be concerned about it. I bet there can be a lot of debates held on this - I'd like to hear more opinions, especially links to scientific evidence.<br><br>On a related topic, I noticed that they left everything natural color - too bad. A black dye on the outside before sealing the anodizing would have been a really nice touch...<br><br>Yeah, I am VERY intrigued with the hard anodized no-stick stuff - I foresee at least a skillet, and possibly a kettle in my future...<br><br>Regards,<br><br>Tom

The mess kit interests me. I remember the parents of one scout that came along on a trip to South Manitou Island had a non-stick mess kit. Clean up was a snap compared to regular aluminum surface. <br><br>Heck! I still remember the mess I had to clean up as a youth when we baked bread in our mess kits (we doidn't have DO in our troop). The crust burned to both the top and bottom halves and the outside was caked in soot. Yikes! That's why $32 doesn't seem so bad! ;-)

My kids all use stainless steel messkits/cookkits and they have been simple to clean. YMMV. I use a variety of cookware bits n pieces when backpacking, depending on who is with me, cooking arrangements, duration, etc. Least I carry is a current issue ss canteen cup. In wintertime and/or when I expect to have to boil water I have an ancient battered aluminum 2 quart pot with a bail and a very tight fitting lid - I don't cook in it if I can avoid it - too many dings to be easy to clean, and it's about as lightweight as it gets. Made a lot of water in that pot... Have a nesting ss set of pots and lids (has a "skillet" that I don't think I've ever used) that go from 2 quarts on down - maybe GSI; maybe Evernew - or neither. Anyway, that''s handy for groups up to about 4 provided everyone has some sort of mug and/or bowl and it cooks well. Sometimes supplemented with an old enameled pot with lid - it's a bit larger than 2 quart; maybe 4 quart filled to the brim (?). And then ther's a relatively heavy aluminum no-stick skillet with folding handle - perhaps a 10 or 12 inch? It sees use on weekend trips when I want/expect to fry things. Has held up very well - probably one of the first versions like that to hit the shelves - but it's nearing its useful life, hence I'm considering a GSI replacement.<br><br>Last couple of years have been messing with an MSR ss kettle - probably about 1 liter absolute capacity. Pluses and minuses to it - it's not as versitile as my old 2 quart aluminum kettle and nearly as bulky. Not interested in Titanium for various reasons. All the stainless steel stuff has performed very well and I don't mind the small weight penalty, so I'm eyeing cookware. Like I said, the GSI hard anodized no-stick stuff is very interesting to me, but so are stainless steel pots. Thin aluminum gets dinged so easily... and I am very, very partial to bails instead of no-handles or other alternatives.<br><br>I think I see a hard anodized messkit with your name on it...

One feature that makes me leary about buying it is the "Diamondback Gripper." It appears to be a handle with a proprietary attachment design. If you loose the handle ...<br><br>

One thing that I wonder about - my S/O refuses to use aluminium cookware because of concerns about aluminium flaking off (in minute amounts) and getting into the food.<br><br>This seems a bit far-fetched, esp. with hard anodized but she is convinced she saw an article about this a few years ago - anyone have any thoughts.

I don't have definative evidence, but my understanding is that highly acidic foods, such as tomatoes (Spaghetti sauce), can disolve trace amounts on aluminum into the food. I don't believe the risk is high or that an occaisional contamination is significant. <br><br>Modern saucepans and pots are coated with non-stick material, which would form a barrier between the food and the metal. Once the coating starts to wear away, then the food comes in direct contact with teh aluminum again.<br><br>Aluminum cooksets have been popular for camping for many years. I never cared for them as it's difficult to control the heat. So food tends to be undercooked and/or overcooked, often in the same batch! That's why our chuck box has cast iron skillets. And why most DOs used in our troop are cast iron as well. I believe we have an aluminum DO, but it's only only used after the others are taken.<br><br>We basically car camp, so the weight of the cast iron is not a big concern. If you're tavelling light, then aluminum or the much more expensive titanium gear is essential. If so and the threat of aluminum residue is a concern to you, then plan your menu according without acid foods. <br><br>I don't know if titanium has similar issues or not. I also have the impression, perhaps mistakenly, that aluminim in the small amounts presented by occaisional cooking doesn't present a problem. It's mostly long term, continual use of aluminum that may cause concern. (perhaps one of our resident M.D.s can shed some light on the real medical issues).<br><br>Given all of this, the hard-anodized aluminim DO sounds interesting. The anodized surface would seal the aluminum from the food, make maintenance easier and perhaps dissapate heat better than a normal aluminum DO. A 10" GSI hard-anodized DO weighs in at just over 3 lbs. I wouldn't want to hike too far with that weight, but for a short hike into a camp, say a mikle or so, than 3 lbs. is doable. BTW, A 10" cast iron DO runs approx. 14 lbs.