View Full Version : Cast Iron and Backpacking?
Are these realistically two incompatible things??
Like, does anyone who walks to their sites carry a skillet, or worse still, the actual oven: which looks like it weighs about 5kg :O
if only iron didnt have that rustic, immortal charm!! :(
wentworth
01-01-2010, 22:25
I use ultralight gear... but I love cast iron so much that I have to admit I've been considering it for shorter walks.
If you're Conan then it should be good...
Seriously, backpacking is a very broad term, and if you shave off ounces (pounds) off other stuff there's nothing from preventing you to take a cast iron oven with you...
You gotta think in szstem and if your system works for you, then thats all that matters!
Try it and keep us posted :)
ATB
Mike
For mule trains, native porters or static camps okay.
For multiday trips on the move? No way.
Jaysurfer
01-01-2010, 22:54
It's not carrying the oven thats the problem! if you took out your trangia / gas burner and fuel it would counteract t weight!
the issue would be taking the food you would cook in it, u wouldn't use lightweight packet meals like walkers do...
and also extras for cleaning it cos the last thing you want to do is put a dirty cast iron pan in ur pack....
rancid badger
01-01-2010, 23:14
For mule trains, native porters or static camps okay.
For multiday trips on the move? No way.
He's right you know?
the heavy cast iron stuff is great for pack horse trips and the like.
In other words, at least in this country, you need a vehicle to carry that kind of gear.
If your on an extended canoe trip maybe?
otherwise its for fixed camps.
R.B.
It's not carrying the oven thats the problem! if you took out your trangia / gas burner and fuel it would counteract t weight!
the issue would be taking the food you would cook in it, u wouldn't use lightweight packet meals like walkers do...
and also extras for cleaning it cos the last thing you want to do is put a dirty cast iron pan in ur pack....
Very good point, saved me a wasteful purchase!! Many thanks
It's not carrying the oven thats the problem! if you took out your trangia / gas burner and fuel it would counteract t weight!
the issue would be taking the food you would cook in it, u wouldn't use lightweight packet meals like walkers do...
and also extras for cleaning it cos the last thing you want to do is put a dirty cast iron pan in ur pack....
Hi BushEd well my 2p's worth says that seasoned right cast iron is more non-stick than any teflon coated non-stick, for me the food out is part of the reason for going out in the first place
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/QDanT/steakonions.jpg
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50475
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/QDanT/ThornsGilldinner.jpg
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50231
but each to there own I've a "tour" planned maybe today if so I'll take more cast and post up some pictures
cheers Danny
"Cast iron" and "backpacking" shouldn't be used in the same sentence. :0
If a pack weighs more than about 30 pounds, you can't enjoy the trek. You're just a human mule, looking at your footing and wondering how much farther it is.
Old-fashioned stamped steel pans are a good compromise. They become seasoned just like cast iron. The most recent pics on my blog are of a bannock cooked in one. They're still being made by at least one company in Mexico, but I've found several old ones at flea markets and yard sales.
ghillieman
03-01-2010, 18:06
Hi BushEd well my 2p's worth says that seasoned right cast iron is more non-stick than any teflon coated non-stick, for me the food out is part of the reason for going out in the first place
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/QDanT/steakonions.jpg
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50475
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/QDanT/ThornsGilldinner.jpg
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50231
but each to there own I've a "tour" planned maybe today if so I'll take more cast and post up some pictures
cheers Danny
I like the idea of teddy, very nice way to show us your adventures, someone in Holland once stole a garden gnome ,he was a sailor in the navy and send pictures from the gnom from all over the world to the people who had owned the gnom.