Still not sure about the whole patrol and cooking situation. I know at one point he'll need to make a list and get all of the food for his patrol and cook breakfast lunch and dinner for the whole patrol over an open fire. The meals have to be something that they will all eat and hopefully will be quick and simple. I don't picture them making bread anytime soon although I'm still interested in that part myself so simple and tasty bread recipes are welcome as well. I'm sure I'll know more in a few weeks when he and hopefully me goes on his Man Vs Wild trip. I'm looking for ultralight gear on all levels but I don't want to sacrifice too much comfort or convenience and take a chance at discouraging his love of the outdoors. We've been on several trips and I'm afraid the crew we goes with is the dutch oven style coleman campers. the ones with the 18ft long tent. We went on a 1/4 mile backpacking trip and I got all of our gear in on one trip, It took 2 of them 3 trips to get all of theirs. I don't want him to assume that's the way to do it. I learned the hard way myself with my first backpacking trip being in my 20's and my first heavy duty military pack weighing in at 120lbs!! I learned real fast that 5 miles seems like 90 miles with that amount of weight. I also went to the other extreme with a 20lb winter weekend pack that turned into more of a survival trip. I'm not fussy with food so give me something bland and a little seasoning and I'm good. My son is a bit more picky so I'm wondering how that first backpacking meal is gonna go. Most likely it'll be mac n cheese and hot dogs for him. I'm interested in freezer bag cooking but like some have said, it can be messy and you have to pack out the bags so meals that would be easy to clean up out of the pot would be ideal. So I suppose a coffee can should be my best bet seeing how the ingredients will most likely all be in the pot. So I guess the coffee can stays so what should I work on next for a complete cooking set up that hopefully with all fit inside the can? I'm looking for considerations for both bsa and family backpacking. For family backpacking I'm planning on making a cone and using a tealight candle with denatured alcohol. I have a micro stove n canister set up for bsa camping or I may use a bit of coat hanger for a billy can style campfire cooking when allowed by the bsa which I believe will be quite frequent. So next I guess would be cups and bowls and such. Just so much to choose from its good to hear about different peoples opinions from experience. I really appreciate all the help. This is awesome. Thank you.