Vango messs kit

[The General]

My parents bought me the model 2 mess kit by Vango the other day after I mentioned that my Army issue tins were a little worse for wear.

I have used the set in my place and it seems quite good, well thought out and a sensible size. The only major complaint from me would have to be that the frying pan ought to have had a teflon non stick coating of some kind?

Comments?

 

[leon-1]

Wayne, I tend to use stainless pans at home (none of them have non stick coatings), but they all have heavy bases (allows the heat to dissipate more evenly across the base).

I note that the Vango pan set is stainless and has a copper base (for conductivity and more even dissipation), if you use a lower heat with these they should be quite easy to keep clean and things will not stick to them (try not to scratch them).

Overall though they look like quite a good little set for the cost, 2pots + lids, 1 pan and 2 measuring cups in thier own carry case is a good deal. :biggthump

 

[Lithril]

I've used teflon coated pans when camping and havent found system yet where you don't end up non-stick food! I'm actually about to bin the set I've got, at least with stainless etc even if it does stick you can apply brute force methods for cleaning them

 

[stevec]

i used to have stainless pans for cooking at home, they were great pans, if you accedently welded dinner to the bottom, and couldn't get it out easily, then it was no problem to use wire wool etc to clean them. i left them at my last shared student house, as someone had welded a cheese sauce to them both and hadn't been bothered to clean them. was looking at that set myself, quite cheap, i saw them at Cave and Crag. just try and keep the heat low i suppose
steve

 

[Ed]

I've used teflon coated pans when camping and havent found system yet where you don't end up non-stick food!

I spend alot of time outdoors and I found that the teflon coating doesn't last long. The worst I've seen is the stuff flaking off... probably not good ofr the food you are cooking ;-)

I'm actually about to bin the set I've got, at least with stainless etc even if it does stick you can apply brute force methods for cleaning them

sea water and sand work a treat.... just dont forget to rinse out with clean water as salt water will still corrode ;-)

Ed

 

[ScanDgrind]

Teflon coatings are hopeless on camping pots and pans, they get worn and scratched in no time.

Plus they are really difficult to get clean in the field as you don't often have nice warm soapy water to do the job with but usually end up scrubbing the pans with gravel from the bottom of a stream bed. Well I do anyway. :shock: And that really doesn't do the teflon any good, makes the pans shiny though. :-D

Cheers,

Tony

 

[Martyn]

Wayne, was looking at the Vango pots today and damned near bought a set. Did you get the 1, 2 or 3 person set? If it was the 1 or the 2 person set, could you measure the widest diameter for me? The reason I ask, I have a zebra billy can (12cm) and I couldn't work out which of the two sets looks as though they best fit inside the billy - or even if either of them do. But if they do, then I could have a really nice and compact, stainless cookset. I think the 1 person set was £15 and the 2 person set was £17, so just really a question of deciding which one fits best.

 

[The General]

I had the 2 person set, I will look into it!

 

[giancarlo]

right...

I have the vango 3 person cook set and a Tatonka 1.6 billy.
Just been fiddling with it.

Vango 3 comes with:
3 small cups
Frying pan: 17cm
Large Pot: 1600ml
Small Pot: 1200ml
2 lids to cover these
Saucepan handle

details here:
http://www.amg-outdoor.co.uk/vango2004/products/accessinfo.asp?typename=111

The Tatonka billy is 17.5cm in diameter
and the lid can be used as a saucepan.

i can get:
the smaller of the 2 Vango pots in there and the saucepan under the billy.
the cups inside the pot, and the pan handle.
The other larger lid can go on top, but doesn't "sit" as nicely as it does inside the proper setup.... plus the billy lid won't close properlly like this..

The other lid might be worth taking since it does fit the vango saucepan too....hmmm

All that would get left is the larger pot, which is replaced by the billy ... which is great substitute i think.

I usually put lots of other stuff in my billy rather than that lot.
But i guess if I had to take a setup for 3 people, i'd use it over the standard vango setup i guess.... a billy gives you a lot more options.

Anyway, that's what' i think

Cheers
Carlo