The Cook Box Contents
The back of The Millennium Falcon in brewing up mode.
Our gear is constantly evolving & also depends on what we’re up to. Here is what we are currently using & why, listed below the relevant picture from a recent trip car camping & walking on Dartmoor. (Links & comments if I have them.)
From top left to right, fixed in with readily available shock cord or zip ties:
Recyclable rubbish bags. Leave no trace & take it home.
Small grip seal bags. Lots of uses.
Coffee sachets in a small grip seal bag.
Hand sanitiser. Useful if water is short - wash your hands when preparing food & avoid getting ill.
Mora Companion Spark. Actually in the sheath from a Companion SRT (S) as I wanted it to stand out. A sharp knife rattling around in a cook box is inviting injury, especially in the dark, so it seemed sensible to use one of these. Stainless steel for easy/sloppy care. The "Spark" refers to the ferro rod in the handle which is an alternative means of lighting the Trangia.
The strap from the Trangia.
One of two microfibre towels used as teatowels.
Matches in a small grip seal bag.
Pan scraper. Never used it as I strive not to get pans dirty in the first place.
Brabantia swing bin liner - no idea why.
Army issue tin opener. Simple, light & effective.
Kitchen roll.
From left to right, fixed in with readily available shock cord or zip ties:
Bottlegreen Elderflower Cordial (quite concentrated so lasts) in a bottle from the versatile & ubiquitous Nalgene Leakproof Container Travel Kit - Medium.
Various brew kit items - coffee, tea bags, sometimes creamer or hot chocolate etc. which we keep in small Tropicana orange juice bottles from McDonalds or supermarket meal deals.
Random spork from a British Army ration pack. (What we were eating on this trip.)
Unbranded cool bag. Just enough for bacon & eggs, butter, ketchup & some bread rolls for breakfast when the rations ran out.
Sistema box. Really useful in various forms to keep food.
Insulated wine bottle. Actually contains milk on this trip & is a really annoying size but it’s what we have so we use it. If we go to the beach it will contain Gallo Family Vineyards White Grenache 75cl.
Wet wipes. Hard to find ones that don’t smell of babies but since I worked with a Royal Marine who swore by them I’ve used them too.
Thermal mugs from The Clachaig Inn, Scotland. A most excellent hostelry frequented by gnarly mountain climbing types. Marks their owners out as proper outdoors people.
Brewing up gear includes:
Trangia 25 with the Trangia Gas burner GB74 for speed & adjustability (or the spirit burner for peaceful early mornings). This is non-stick but beyond that I couldn’t identify it from the bewildering array of materials & weights on the Trangia website. I’ve used them for 40 years & this one is about 25 years old. Bomb proof - get one.
AeroPress coffee maker. Because it’s important to have good coffee wherever you are.
Carte D’Or tub for storing AeroPress filters which comes with a fee serving of ice-cream. This came from Sainsburys but now seemingly unavailable.
Coleman C500 Performance Gas Cartridge. Any 80% Butane / 20% Propane gas canister will be fine at low altitude - these are freely available & last us a while. Coleman are mysterious about their ratios & as not all their canisters are marked I had to ask. They say: “We can confirm the following difference between Performance and Xtreme gas cartridges: • Performance: 80% Butane / 20% Propane • Xtreme: 70% Butane / 30% Propane The higher % of Propane of the Xtreme make it tthat you can use it in colder temperatures”.
Sigg Fuel Bottle. Sigg don’t seem to have fuel bottles on their website any more but they were always good & reliable. The holes in the thread mean you don’t need to take off (& lose) the lid to pour. The loop in the lid means you can apply plenty of leverage is the lid gets stuck.
The rubbish bags hang neatly over the end of the handle so ditching used teabags etc. is simple.
Cooking makes use of the Trangia 25 again but if frying (bacon & eggs on this occasion) moving the Trangia work surface away from the open box minimises the effects of spitting oil & fat.
The bars of the handle make a convenient place to hang the tongs.
Sea To Summit’s Delta Range are excellent & our Goldilocks plates because they:
Stack well enough.
Have high sides so your food doesn’t slide off.
Curve perfectly so your Spork can remove maximum food.
Have a thumb grip which also serves as a hanging loop. (Or a cord on the bowl lids.)
The bowls have a lid to seal in food.
I searched for a long time before deciding on these & they have proved outstanding.
Top left to right:
Delta plate
Delta bowl Lid
Two Delta plates
Two Delta bowls with a lid
Long handled Delta spoon - as we were eating Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) as issued to British troops.
Generic tongs (these from TK Maxx but ubiquitous)
Pencil case containing:
Several Light My Fire Original Sporks - still the best IMHO
TREKMATESÂ Snaxtool 6in1 Camping Utensil - so convenient I had to buy them, though possibly just the Sporks would be fine.
Bamboo chopping board. This one was from Morrisons but they are everywhere - get one the size that suits your box.
Trangia accessories:
Pan Stand
Triangle
A bag I made myself.
We've had several of these blue stacking boxes at home for years. This happy little accident makes moving gear away from the car easier.
The hatches in the lid store, in bottles from the Nalgene set above, from top left to right:
Washing up liquid (AKA Dishsoap).
Cooking oil.
Pan sponge/scourer.
Methylated spirits (for the Trangia if we don't pack the larger fuel bottle).
Always looking for possible improvements - next is a better way to hang the mugs which avoids spillage whilst brewing up.
Share & enjoy.
