I recently read a book by someone who says he does all his trips without a stove (and thus no need for fuel, cleaing implement, etc.). Anyone do this regularly? If so, what are your thoughts about the best approach to getting needed nutrition. The thought of not having to carry a stove is appealing but I wonder if I would go crazy not having the broader food choices.

This has been discussed before. The gist of the discussion usually comes down to this being perfectly possible. Over a time period as short as most backpacks nutrition is not an issue so much as simply getting the calories your body needs. Getting some fiber can become an issue if you rely mostly on junk foods. No fiber or low fiber leads to constipation.

The main issue is whether you personally find a diet made up of nothing but uncooked, ready-to-eat food to be palatable. That is purely a matter of taste. The more you are the kind of person who considers food merely as fuel, rather than as a pleasure in itself and a central part of your day, the more easily you'll adapt to the no-cooking approach. But the only way to know is to try it and see how you like it.

Great summary by aimless.

I've gone stoveless for about a month straight on one trip, and I liked it just fine. I had my stove mailed to me as I assumed that after a month or so I would be sick of eating that way, but I really wasn't.

Nevertheless, I tend to take a stove on (a) longer trips, (b) some trips where I'm hiking with others who are cooking their food, or (c) trips I do with my wife. But for trips of a couple of weeks or less I like the simplicity of not messing with a stove and fuel. Fuel can be a particular hassle on trips that you fly to.

A good way to try this is to first wean yourself off of a hot breakfast. Dinner is typically more difficult, but there are a lot of options really. It's mostly about just adjusting expectations, IMO.

I haven't yet tried this, but I've read that you can rehydrate dried food without heating if you allow more time. This probably involves adding the water to your dinner in the morning, which means you're carrying the extra water all day. Of course that would cancel out most of the weight savings, which is why I haven't tried it.

I'd want to experiment with cold water rehydration at home before being stuck on a trip with unpalatable (or unchewable) food.

What about one of those mini wood burning stoves? Yes it will require more effort and makes the assumption you can find (dry) fuel local to your campsite, but it would eliminate the weight. Has anyone tried these? I would think the cooktime would be longer but perhaps worth the weight savings...

At my home, I often prepare oatmeal (with raisins) just by adding water and letting it sit overnight. Tastes fine to me. Of course, that still runs into the problem you discuss about having to carry the extra water that you put in the oatmeal.

Not in the West in times of high fire danger, or in high traffic areas, or at high altitudes--all circumstances in which campfires are forbidden or wood is in short supply or both. A wood stove is considered the same as a camp fire (it puts out sparks). Even where there are no restrictions, there's still the problem of trying to burn soggy wood in wet weather!

As for oatmeal, I can't stand the stuff cooked, which makes things simpler. My breakfast is muesli, which is raw oats plus nuts, dried fruit, etc. I rarely use my stove at breakfast unless it's unusually cold and I crave a cup of tea. I guess that gets me halfway to no-cook meals!

The thing I think I would miss the most if I went without a stove is coffee (Ok, yes, I here admit I have a drinking problem). Don't know how I would manage that without a stove. Anyone have any ideas on this? I wonder how bad the taste would be just to put instant coffee crystals in water and wait for them to dissolve. I drink cold coffee all the time so I don't need to have it hot. But I DO need to have it. Everyone has their quirks...

That would be pretty easy to try at home first.

I second that emotion.

My limited experiments (sadly, on-trail out of necessity) with this hasn't worked out well. It depends on how you do it and what foods you do it with. In general I think that taking your average dehydrated meal (a la Mountain House) or a grocery store side dish (rice or noodle based) isn't going to be very palatable.

What does work for me is mixing up dehydrated mashed potatos cold.

I also like dehydrated refried beans. Some will do the same thing you talk about: have a dedicated container to rehydrate them over a couple of hours as they hike. I don't do this, as I don't want to carry the water weight (that's not available to drink) and then have that container to have to clean. So it doesn't rehydrate as well for me, doing it sort of "on the spot", but well enough for me.

But while I've eaten a lot of cold meals on backpacking trips, I nevertheless DON'T have much experience at trying to rehydrate random backpacking meals without hot water. I'm not optimistic, but there might be particular meals and/or techniques with which I'm unfamiliar.

For me, the only point in doing so would be if my only resupply options are that sort of thing. It's why I do carry a stove sometimes, to have a wider range of things I can buy at a limited store, but with creativity and flexibility it's almost always do-able, even buying several days worth of food at a gas station mini-mart.

I just tried a product http://barniescoffeekitchen.com/pages/brewsticks, as we did a trip using 20 liter packs. I added some creamer and it was fine for me. Mixed easy, taste is good. No- cook works for us for shorter trips, I do like the stove more than 3 days.

Have you tried cold-brewed coffee? It couldn't be easier: put grounds is water bottle before retiring and decant in the morning. If you pour slowly and don't mind a few grounds there's no need for a filter. If you do decide to heat it up it's easier to warm the prepared beverage to drinking temperature than it would be to take the water up to brewing temperature and then wait for the brew to cool.

As for hydrating times work at lunchtime is my laboratory time. I dehydrate lots of different stuff and practice re-hydrating it at work. Everything's different: mashed potatoes re-hydrate instantly with even cold water and are very satisfying. Sweet potatoes, squash, etc. are pretty good in a few hours if you drink the broth with it. A lot of stuff is fine as is, especially stuff that's dried to leather rather than crispy stage.

I would add that we brought not an extra ounce of cook set with us, and I made my coffee in a recycled Gatorade bottle. The weight saving was pretty considerable, as was space.

I've gone without a stove and fuel ( forgot them) and made very small fires with twigs to boil water. From that experience learned I don't need a stove here at all. In fact, I felt rather silly for ever thinking I did all these years.

Obviously you can't do that everywhere, but most days you can here in the Ozarks.

+1 for instant coffee dissolving in cold water, no problem. If you like shakes, consider a coffee or mocha "latte" as a breakfast option,

Hot food is such a comfort issue for me that I would not think of going without cooking, except for very short trips. Many times I have ended the hiking day super-chilled and hot food really warmed me. I have even stopped on the trail to cook soup to warm up. Hot coffee in the morning and hot cocoa or tea at night is non-negotiable for me! Plus, what to do with all the fish I catch if I cannot cook?

I spent many years cooking on fires only. As Bill said, his location is suitable for this, as are many others. In our drier conditions and the fire danger here in the Sierra, campfires are currently banned. Plus much of my trips are above timber. Stoves are also simply very convenient.

I also maintain that a "cook" ration is less bulky than a non-cook ration- a consideration when you are trying to cram 10 days food in a bear can.

I would rather shave weight off other ways than eliminating my stove and fuel.

It all depends on where you are and what time of year. In hot Texas summer, the last thing you want is something hot.
Different story in winter, but I stopped carrying anything bigger than an Esbit stove, years ago, mostly to save weight. If there are twigs around, then Esbit stays in the pack. I've had too many alchy stoves flash over from bumping them, that I don't carry them.
Full sized camping stoves stay in the car for "base camp".
A tiny cook fire from hand fed twigs gets the job done just fine and leaves no trace.
For some reason, I'm less hungry on the trail and am happy to snack through meals as long as it's a balanced diet.

The Esbit stove sounds very appealing. However, I just read a review that said it "starts to smell like fish after use".
Since in bear country, Sierras and elsewhere, I believe we are advised not to use anything with noticable scent, would the Esbit stove maybe be a hazard by drawing hungry or inquisitive bears? Anyone have thoughts on this?

Usually when there are fire bans, both alcohol and esbit stoves are banned. Here in the Pacific NW during fire season, the USFS and the states allow only stoves with an on-off switch and that are certified by Underwriters Laboratories.

While some large wildfires have been started by careless use or accidental spillage of alcohol stoves, I've never heard that esbit caused a problem, especially since the flames can be blown out and the partially burnt tablet can be reused. Chalk this one up to the same bureaucrats who claim that "jellied gasoline" is an OK fuel, obviously not realizing that jellied gasoline is napalm! However, your trip will definitely be more pleasant if you avoid unpleasant ranger encounters and fines.

Any stove, of course, can start a fire if you use it in or near tall vegetation (see the photos in the "evil cows" thread, not that I'm implying any wrongdoing, but just as an example of where not to use your stove) or on organic soil such as pine needle duff (the top-mounted isobutane stoves can tip over, and liquid-fueled stoves can flare up when lit). In other words, find a gravel bar in the creek or at least clear the vegetation and organic material around your stove.

Smells "like" fish....that's an opinion. I've never noticed it. Never had a bear problem either. I break them up into 1/4's, burn as needed. They are very safe, made of "hexamine" which is also used to treat urinary problems, and blow out easily to stop the flame. They are lighter than hauling fuel bottles around, and the little stoves do double duty with twigs.
I've also used military trioxane tabs but find Esbit much easier to use. Double bag your Esbit, blow out and reuse unburnt tablets.
I've even made a little alcohol burner listed on this website called the Dryer Altoids Stove which replaces the Esbit tablet, burning alcohol instead. But, Esbit and twigs are my fuels of choice. ONLY IN AREAS WITH NO FIRE BAN! I'd rather eat cold food, then risk torching a forest.
My Altoids Stove: (for when you run out of Esbit and twigs)
http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html
Then scroll down to "stoves", then "Altoids Stove"

I do find that Esbit and the like can be a little smelly. AS it has been said, "Bears are very curious animals." They may go after toothpaste, deodorant, food, sunscreen, anything. Hang or bear can your solid fuel as you would your food and toothpaste. Also, using a repurposed snack bag, as from chips, can trap some of the odor, as might a small can with a tight lid.

As to stoveless-good for some people and some trips. Even on the hottest days, I seem to be soothed by one hot meal. During the summer, I might eat cold except for one main meal and get by on half an Esbit per day. Coffee can be "consumed" cold, in shakes, or as beans in a breakfast trail mix. Chocolate covered beans taste especially good to me with craisins, a tip I may have read on this forum. Cheaper is just mixing coffee beans with nuts, chocolate chips (M&Ms in hot weather)and craisins, etc.

Ohhhh...I like the coffee bean idea! Chocolate covered coffee beans will now be part of my mix.

All fuels have their up/down sides. Camp gas/multi-fuel is what I like around the car, or for snow/cold hiking...lots of BTU's but, can get you killed if aren't paying attention, it's gasoline. Butane/propane runs out and is heavy, not always available. Alcohol is heavy, doesn't light well when cold or high altitude, burns clean. Sticks guarantee you and your stuff will smell like smoke and you technically won't have a "stove" by the strict definition in places that require such, soots up your pans. Esbit is light, does the job, can have an odor. Trioxane, fast to light, light weight, toxic, old military surplus sometimes unreliable.
I tend to gravitate toward light weight...or no weight (no stove).

If I have a hot cup of coffee, I tend to linger and want another in the AM. A shake, coffee bean mix, etc., I can eat while packing up or as I hit the trail, so I get out faster. It depends on time available and weight concerns, etc. HYOH, right?

To an extent, I have tried it. I have only tried it for overnights. Summer sausage, cheese, bagels or tortillas.

You can easily do it, if you find that right food that you personally like. Hey, people drink soylent days on end. In fact, a soylentish way of doing it might be best. Just make up a mix of "stuff" with all the right nutrition/calories that you want, and mix it with water when ready to drink.

And, then there is pemmican.

Pemmican, finallyme? LOL Depends on what's in it. Sometimes it so tasty I'll eat the whole stash in one day.
Read "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose. It's about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Some of the most interesting parts is what they ate.

Campermom, I LOVE coffee, cold, hot, luke warm, strong enough to corrode the cup. I'll typically haul instant, drink it ambient temp when lazy, or heat a couple cups worth and just sit and enjoy.
Not a coffee snob, either.

Maybe some of you guys remember a frequent poster from long ago. Like nearly 15 years ago. He was very knowledgeable and so kind to everyone. I think he may have used the handle, "Old Ranger." I often felt as if I were conversing with a kindly uncle. He was older and hasn't chimed in for quite a few years, so I fear he is gone to the big hiking trails in the sky, so to speak.

One idea he put forth for pemmican was using dark chocolate for all or most of the fat in pemmican. Dark chocolate, maybe with some coconut oil, cranberries, possibly other dried fruit, and jerky could be rather palatable. Be careful with coconut oil, though. It is solid when cool, but around 80 F or so, becomes liquid. It is always interesting to me to open the bin and be able to pour out what I had to spoon out the day before...

Found an idea for DIY pemmican with chocolate.

http://www.makepemmican.com/pemmican_not_so_secret_recipe.htm

That is an interesting recipe. But, they don't replace the fat with chocolate, they just add baking chocolate powder to the mix. I enjoyed the link. I will try some of the things recommended.

Going without a stove is easy, once you find what works for you. Use a calorie tracker like myfitnesspal or livestrong to make sure you have all the nutrition you need. Scoobysworkshop.com is a great (and completely free) website to use for calculating exactly what should eat (how many calories etc.)
Personally, I eat right around 1800 calories per day and I consume a LOT of protein. Here's what my daily intake looks like:



-80g of quick oats + 1 cup (after hydration) goats milk, 1 small baggie of organic fruit snacks. Add water and eat directly out of the bag. This tastes a lot better than it sounds.
-180g of apricots
-One 74g pouch of low sodium light chunk tuna. Some people might be concerned with mercury content. If you're unsure, ask your doctor.
-One 196g pouch of chicken breast. Add seasoning.
-One 56g pouch of wild sardines. I can no longer find these in a pouch, so I package them myself with a foodsaver (vacuum sealer).
-85g Turkey Jerky
-28g Beef Jerky
-28g Dried, seasoned lentil beans or snap peas.

This is healthy enough to eat every day (if you need that much protein) and still pretty light. A day's worth of food, not including extra seasonings, is 760g or 26.8oz
That's not the lightest, but (for me) it sure beats having to clean up after every meal!

Hope this helps. Cheers!

I've tried this with the firebox nano . Mine is the first generation and works fantastic. The only issue (not a design flaw) is that the stove will get filthy with soot and ash if you're burning a wood fire. That was enough to turn me off.
I would save a bit of money AND weight by rigging your pot with some picture wire so it can hang above a small fire like this:


Hope this helps. Cheers!

It depends on the coffee and your taste. Instant coffee dissolves, well, pretty much instantly, regardless of water temperature. Powdered "creamer" takes a bit more time and effort in my experience. A coffee shake seems to work quite well. If I am mixing up a batch in advance, I might use Better Than Milk soy milk powder or keep the dry milk/coffee/sweetener mix in the freezer until the trip. One of my unfortunate discoveries was that dry milk can go rancid once exposed to air, as does fat. Instant coffee for cold consumption might also work with Nido instead of creamer, considering its higher fat content. Same advice about protecting the opened Nido applies, of course. If you like mocha, try instant coffee with cocoa mix. Add cinnamon for a Mexican twist.

After doing some more research (I'm no doctor) and field testing my old system, I've discovered a few things.
One: I went overboard on the protein.
Two: I didn't include enough fat or carbs.
Three: The system could be lighter.
Four: The system is too expensive.

I've revised the system and come up with the following daily food list:
-100g of quick oats + 1 cup (after hydration) goat milk, 1 small baggie of organic fruit snacks. Add water and eat directly out of the bag.
-180g of dried apricots
-85g turkey jerky
-28g beef jerky
-56g lentil chips
-100g pouch of sardines (I found some online by Chicken of the Sea)
Total weight: 622.6g or 21.96oz

Maybe one day, I'll find a way to leave the spoon at home, too!

Hope this helps. Cheers!

Food can be another HYOH situation. This plan looks a bit short for me on vegetables, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Supplements can help, of course, but are not the best long-term solution.

Depends on how long you're going to be gone. For a weekend, no big deal. For a week or more, having reasonably nutritious food will definitely make a difference!

I agree, but "daily food list" said longer than a weekend to me. Actually, risking TMI, I can get bound up pretty fast when hiking. It seems I sweat enough that there isn't much water left in my GI tract. Fiber can hold on to some of that

I'm not out longer than a few days, usually. I don't think there's any, "perfect system," unfortunately.
To me, it goes like this:
-Lightweight
-Nutritious
-Tasty
...pick 2

That being said, this is not a bad balance, if you ask me. It'll get tiresome after a while, but I can usually scrounge up something while in the woods to add some variety. Even if it's just some mushrooms.

I hate the idea of supplements. You could always add some roasted, unsalted soy nuts for good measure.

IMO there are at least a couple more criteria, those being
-Cheap
-Easy
(and yes, with the combination of those two items I am still talking about food ... )

Some folks, at least, find that buying special "for backpacking" meals is somewhat costly, and of course requires a trip to a sporting goods store or online order. As opposed to just picking up things as part of a normal trip to the grocery store.

By 'easy' I mean little effort in preparation. Perhaps some people truly enjoy making special backpacking meals; when I've done these I've regarded it more as a chore, and tend to eschew such effort now.

And while these could perhaps come under the "nutritious" category, there are other nuances such as limiting sodium intake, issues for those with special dietary desires or requirements (vegan, gluten-free, whatever).

So I would submit that it's a little more complicated. But at the same time I'd agree that it doesn't have to be TOO complicated either!

Cheap and easy. Heh.
I've tried the dehydrated meals like mountain house and they're tasty. They're great for camping, but not for backpacking, unless you're willing to give up a significant amount of trail time to cook.
I never used to think about food when I went out. In the past, I would bring a few pounds of food for each day. Shame on me. Now I keep coming up with new revisions... It's like when you make your first ultralight system. I get the same feeling of excitement as I go lighter and simpler.
I made another one that's even lighter and a little higher Calorie for longer hikes:

Super Cereal: 100g oats, 1oz powdered goat milk, one package fruit snacks, 23g unflavored whey powder. Add water and eat directly out of the bag.
Nutrition:704 Calories - 94g Carbs, 16g Fat, 42g protein

Quirky Jerky: 82g Turkey Jerky, 28g Beef Jerky
Nutrition: 319 Calories -17g Carbs, 3g Fat, 48g Protein

Sweet, Nutty Goodness: 84g Roasted Soybeans, 28g Roasted Peanuts, 150g Chopped Dates
Nutrition: 1039 Calories - 144g Carbs, 25g Fat, 41g Protein

Total Nutrition: 2062 Calories - 256g Carbs, 53g Fat, 130g Protein

This new one fits into three zip-lock bags and weighs 540g (19oz)

(Can you tell that I'm excited about this stuff?)

Cheers!

23oz unflavored whey powder

surely you meant 2 or 3 oz?

Eesh. 23 grams. Thanks for the correction.

Hmm! The Mountain House foods with which I am familiar are cooked and freeze-dried, at least for the most part. All that was needed was to add water and wait a few minutes. Some egg dishes-not all-required adding water, stirring, tnen cooking, and some desserts required cooking. Spaghetti with meat sauce, rice and chicken, etc., just needed hot water and a waiting period.

Yup. When I do cook, I'll do a mountain house or something like it. I can't be bothered to do more than boil water, though.

I cook at home. "In the field," I boil water and dump it into a bag with my pre-cooked, dehydrated meal, then let it sit while I do other chores. Some meals are hot, some cold and can be prepped with cold water or eaten as is. Who wants to do dishes in the field?

After years of "traditional" camp cooking over a SVEA 123, I migrated to freezer bag style meals with water heated by an alcohol stove, and more recently took a trip without a stove. While hot food and drinks are nice, I didn't miss them (and didn't miss the weight of a stove and pot and fuel either ; ). Here is a picture of the food I brought (and had a LOT of leftovers).
Food for a four day trip

Have Fun,
-Bob

I have used chocolate covered coffee beans when I need to stay awake (like during long shifts working on an ambulance) or in tedious but necessary lectures.
They taste great and used to be available in multiple flavors, including latte!
I noted recently that you can now get, in Aldi's a gorp/trail food noted as something like "breakfast mix." It contains along with the nuts, fruit, etc, chocolate covered beans. You get calories and a caffeine rush.
I once saw boxes of the chocolate beans sold in a dollar store. The sales pitch on the box was basically that is was a legal form of speed, Which is pretty much what coffee itself is.
How about using a pint or smaller Nalgene bottle adding instant coffee and shaking to mix? Just a thought.
The last version of The Complete Walker has a variety of cunning ways to brew with filters. I have used a single cup Melitta cone designed for funnel shaped filters. I decided it was not worth the hassle. It was also bulky to pack, although light.
I am told that MSR (I think) sells or used to an ultra light version. I just found in the local dollar store a device designed for a single cup, but with a permanent gold plated filter. I tossed the cup it came with but have not yet tried it.

These No-Cook Camping Meals Are So Simple and Delicious
Overnight oats. ...
Granola and milk. ...
Yogurt fruit parfait. ...
Lox bagel breakfast sandwich. ...
Avocado toast with hard-boiled eggs. ...
Tuna salad sandwich. ...
Salami and cheese bagel sandwiches. ...
Chicken salad wraps.