Calphalon #1307 Omelette Pan

Heavy weight, but if frying things evenly is your thing, you might want to carry one like it.

This is not traditional backpacking/camping cookware, of course, but nothing works like aluminium for even heat transfer on a backpacking/camping stove that can come anywhere near the light weight. The problem, of course, is that the lighter you make the pot, the less evenly it will cook.

The Calphalon #1307 7" omelette pan is to my knowledge the smallest hard-anodised aluminium, uncoated skillet/frying pan that Calphalon ever made. The company has discontinued its uncoated line, but you may still be able to find these in good shape used on auction sites, as I did mine (which was actually BNIB, never used).

A hard-anodised aluminium surface gives good browning/fond and is relatively resistant to damage. It will not allow aluminium ions to leach into your food, and contains no toxic nonstick ingredients. It is simply an electrochemical reaction applied to the metal which changes its surface properties.

This pot weighs 462 g, as measured by me. While there are a few nonstick hard-anodised frying pans of similar size made for backpacking on the market, most of them are of much lighter weight material, coming in around 200 g for the MSR Ceramic Flex Skillet and 375 g for the GSI Outdoors Pinnacle 8" Frypan, you will not find any uncoated hard-anodised fry pans specifically made for backpacking/camping that I am aware of. The lighter weight is of course easier to carry, but doesn't cook as well.

Toting such a heavy pan is obviously not for everyone, but if you care about food more than anything else, you might want to consider one of these, or similar. The other downside to this pan is that the handle does heat, so you will need a pot holder. It does not balance that well on my MSR Rapidfire stove (ironically, because the flat part of the bottom is not that wide), but if you are careful not to knock it over, it works fine.

I treat this pan much like I would a cast iron skillet, cleaning it with water only immediately after use, and drying it thoroughly and wiping it down with oil before storing it (I store it in a plastic bag to keep the oil off other things). If you heat the pan and add a little oil only after the pan is hot, even eggs won't stick.