Sorry for the delay and typo's if any, but earning some extra cash for my next walk <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Aluminium is dead, which type of pot ?

After a long walk or bike-ride there's nothing nicer than hot meal. And then there's
nothing more annoying than scrubbing an hour to get the last bits and pieces from
your pot. In short : which type of pot should you take with you on your travels ?

This is not a test to determine which is the best cook-set. This is a test though in
which we try to find out from which material a pot should best be made of. There
are roughly 3 different base-materials.

Most common pot is an AL one. AL doesn't weigh much, is durable and cheap
and conducts heat reasonably. Cons : difficult to clean and vulnerable.
Second most common material is SS. SS is strong, cheap and cleans easily,
but has as biggest disadvantage that it's heavy.
And then you've got TI pots. TI is superlight, strong, expensive and a bad heat
conductor.

Relatively new is Hard Anodised AL : the AL has undergone a treatment in which
the outer layer has been hardened. Hardened AL is stronger than steel, but still
has the weight advantage.

To conclude : Duosal from Trangia. Duosal is a combination of AL on the outside
and SS on the inside.

Just as at home there are outdoor cook-pot with an anti-stick coating. The brand-
name Tefal is obvious, but actually we must talk about Teflon. Teflon is a brand-
name from Dupont for a chemical combination Poly-Tetra-Fluoro-Ethylene or
PTFE. Teflon has the property that other materials don't adhere tot its surface and
thus making Teflon an ideal anti-stick coating. You'll encounter Teflon from
Dupont is pots, but not in Tefal cookware - nowadays the most know producer of
anti-stick coated cookware, has an own anti-stick coating.


The test
Like we said, we're looking for the material that is the easiest to work with, not
which brand is the best. The sets are chosen so we get an idea of the different
materials. From every set we took 1 pot with a minimal volume of 1 litre. The test
consists of 3 parts :
Cook-time : on the home gas-stove we bring 1 litre of water to the boil and note it's
time. Why on a home gas-stove ? Because then we aren't confronted with
diminishing gas-pressure and thus the heat-output is constant for every pot. By
the way, the cook-times should be viewed as an indication and in relation to each
other. A real outdoor stove does deliver considerably more heat-output and thus
shorter cook-times. The faster, the better for the material.

Burnfactor : in the pot, nice softly cooked macaroni was heated with a little bit of
sunflower oil. In most cases heating meant baking and in a number of cases
burning.

Cleaning : After the baking we looked how fast we could get the burned macaroni
from the pot bottom. The easier, the better.


Bo-Camp AL
The test :
AL is light and cheap, but that's not all. When we baked the macaroni, it
immediately got stuck to the bottom and started to burn. Afterwards it was barely
removable. Scrubbing alone, it hurt the fingernails, and with a scrubpad we got the
mac out. Plus a layer of AL, because the dishwater was quite gray.
Our opinion : Light and cheap, these are the only advantages. There are a lot
better pans for sale.


Tefal Bivouac AL + Non-Stick
The test :
These pans are also made of AL but it conducts a bit better than the average AL
pot, therefore the quicker cook-time. The mac to burn didn't succeed ! The non-
stick coating did it's work. The mac got crispy though. Cleaning was child-play :
turn pot up-side-down and the mac fell out. Cleaning afterwards wasn't necessary,
although according to the manufacturer you should. The only con : the pan is as
slick on the outside bottom as it's on the inside and can therefore easily slide of
your stove. Our opinion : Super ! Never again without and anti-stick coat in the
outdoors.

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Gossip and backtalk
Long there has been thought that PTFE in pots was poisonous when the coating
loosened (flaked). This is a fable. As with the story of parts of AL would cause
Alzheimer. Also for this there is no proof and thus falls under the column gossip
and backtalk.
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Trangia Tundra Duosal
The test :
The pot is made of Duossal, a combination of AL on the outside and SS on the
inside. The cook-time was average. The mac burned though and became stuck,
but the cleaning went easily. With a pot-scrubber - that left a bit of scratches -
everything came of in no time. In the same set is a pot and pan with a non-stick
coating. Our opinion : Not the lightest, not the quickest, burned but easily
cleaned. Duossal as pot material isn't all that crazy.


Anodised AL GSI Double Boiler
The test :
Anodising is a technique in which the AL surface is hardened. According to GSI it
becomes twice as hard as the surface of AL. The long cook-time is largely due to
the small diameter : the flames went up the sides of the pot. Pros : a high pot
does retain the heat better. The mac burned quickly and was nicely scorched.
Cleaning was, because of the small pot, a crime, but no AL-flakes came of.
Our opinion : H-A AL is the new material in pots; it combines a low weight with
durability. An anti-stick coating is a definite plus.


Optimus terra anodised aluminium with anti-stick coating
The test :
Just like GSI an anodised pot : the AL surface is hardened. Optimus has also
added an anti-stick coating. The cook-time is average. This is the combination for baking cheese and mac. The mac got crunchy; but didn’t become stuck to the
bottom. Cleaning was a pleasure. Empty the pot and wipe clean. Marginally
better than the anti-stick coating from Tefal. On top of that the pot was more
stable on the burner. Our opinion : Hard anodised AL with an anti-stick coating is
the combo that from now on we will be taking on our trips. Functional, easy in
every aspect, though a little heavy.


Snow peak multi compact TI
The test :
Ti is extremely light and strong and therefore seems an ideal material. Two buts :
It’s expensive and is a bad heat conductor, you have to put more energy into the
pot. And you have to carry this energy with you. The somewhat longer than
average cooktime is explained by this. Baking the mac went quite well : it got
stock rocksolid to the pot. Cleanig was hard, only AL performed worse. There
were black spots left in the pot. Our opinion : TI is extremely strong, and allas,
very precious, or shall we say expensive. Heat transfer is less compared to the
cheap AL. Cleaning could be better, and black spots in an expensive pot.


MSR alpine classic SS
The test :
A fast cooktime and a somewhat higher weight. But to put it in the words of Cruijff
(a famous Dutch football players for you folks who don’t know him), every
advantage has it’s disadvantage. Tip for SS : first heat the pan and only then put
your grease and meat in. Our opinion : fast, reasonably cheap, strong and heavy.
Scorching and cleaning was easy.


Conclusion :
The plain AL pot is finished. Yeas they’re light and cheap, but for the rest it’s a
very old economy. SS pots are an option : durable, not to expensive but heavier
than AL. TI weighs almost nothing, is strong and very precious. But
heatconduction is bad. We’re really pleased with the anodised pots : strong, a
little expensive, a little heavy and with an anti-stick coating easy to clean.

Here's the link to the test (for checking my translation <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />)

http://www.oppad.nl/published/opp/content/binaire-bestanden/testen-2006/op806-test-pannen-294381.pdf

The test dates back a couple of years so some sets are no longer available and i don't agree with all of it.