No Pots, No Pans, No Problems: Making Your Own Mess Kit with Common Items

Last week I discussed the reason why I always carry stainless steel, 1 quart, single-walled, no plastic parts, removable strap, high heat painted; bottle into the Great Outdoors. Check it out Here. With this in your possession you can increase your survival duration by about 2 to 3 week. Where am I getting that number? From, Wilderness Survival Rules of 3, this rule states that a human can commonly go, 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter (meaning escape from the elements), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. Using this idea and assuming I have made it past both the air and shelter stages, my next priority would be water gathering.  

Often we see movies where the character(s) will make some crazy fort, then dust of their hands to find food. Wrong. You leave your camp as soon as it is done to boil some water, then you can find food. However, that was last week’s blog. This week we will be exploring the cooking side.

Now as you can imagine we have be cooking for… ever? I mean, honestly that is kind of how we got here. On the other hand, most camp kitchen gear was only made in the last 30-40 years. What were we doing in the meantime? Well I can’t really go over the entire period, but maybe a highlight reel versus what we still use today. Primitive methods include making clay pots and firing them. These could then be used to boil water with heated stones. You can cook your meat in boiling water killing off any bacteria. Actually in Dave Canterbury’s book “Bushcraft 101” on page 100, the first tip is:

“When you’re cooking any type of meat, boiling will save the most nutritional value from the animal. Drink the broth as well; it contains critical fats.”

Keeping with traditional methods you could use flat stones or planks to fry on, like griddles. And of ‘course we have the option of roasting the meat over the fire on wooden spits.  With these three methods, primitive cooking can get you fed pretty easily. The biggest problems are the lack of durability and conveyance.

With this in mind we move to more traditional methods. Not a lot changes except the clay pots, wooden spits and stone griddles are made out of cast iron. This solves the durability problem however kind of doubles down on the conveyance, because of the weight. What most traditional campers’ use are simple metal skillets that are lightweight, cooking irons which can be used as a roasting spit or placed over a pit of coals to give space between the Dutch Oven (both used for baking breads and making soups) or the skillets. This still isn’t the lightest cooking set, but pretty good for the time being.

Now we get to more modern hikers and campers. We currently use army surplus mess kits or ultra-light camp gear. These can cost anywhere from 5 bucks to 25 some even 50. With the more modern kits the weight and size problems found in traditional kits have been solved. Using stainless steel, aluminum, or titanium to save on weight without giving up much of the durability. Another big success that came out of the modern kits is the smaller size. This helps reduce the bulky nature which makes it easier to pack and move around.

Going back to the price, you may be wondering, “Which should I get?” Well, unfortunately they aren’t all

made equally with the same parts. Some focus more on boiling/baking; others on frying. Some kits can give you the best of both but they get more and more expensive. Fortunately, I have a cheaper option for you. Make it yourself.

Okay so before we even start buying stuff lets see what we will need. From my personal experience a good kit needs to be able to boil water, H. Kephart is sited to have said,

“A pot no bigger than one quart (32oz) is necessary and that it should fit easily into a knapsack.”

With this in mind there are many different metal mixing bowls and even dog bowls made out of stainless steel that you can add flames to and get a boil. Another key factor is it needs to be able to fry meats or batters. Now they make frying pans with folding handle or allow for a handle to be made in the bush. The problem is they can be costly. A cheaper alternative I like is using round baking pans. Lastly it should be able to bake. Not a lot of people I know consider this, but to me it is very important. ¼ cup of flour has about 100 calories. Plus after cooking it can be saved to eat in the morning or at lunch while on the trail. Now to make an oven you only need a container similar to a bowl and a top to hold the heat in, which if you have a round baking pan it could fit over your metal dog bowl. You now have a baking container.

So with these in mind let’s start shopping.  All the parts I got came from Walmart. I would prefer to get the components in person. The reason is the round cake pan must fit OVER the steel bowl. For me it was a 60 oz dog bowl and a 9 inch round cake pan. With this I add a vice grip pliers. They can be found cheap and can be used as a removable handle. Instead you could use a pair of pliers you just couldn’t keep them attached to the container. Up to you. Now like all of my cooking implements that go into the fire I like to blacken them. This time though instead of the camping or rocket stove method, I choose to bake them in the oven at 500 degrees for about 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure you have a fan on because it did cause some funky odors,


but I used my fan to shoot them out the window.


Now this is just the base kit. It still has lots of room on the inside to store stuff. Remember they are still containers even while not being cooked in. To this I would add something for a cup. Now camp cups are easy to come by, the blue enamel metal ones are my favorite, however they can cost more JUST because they are for camping. Without this needless up charge I got a 7 oz steel pet bowl. It can be used as a measuring device and to drink from with the pliers. And instead of the fork and knives sets you can get a set of 4 spoons and 4 forks for about a 1.76, or get one of each out of the drawer. Just ask first. Now a problem I had was that they were too big for my container so, I measured the bottom and taped up the area that was to be removed. Now I could’ve cut it off with a dremel or angle grinder, however the metal was thin enough to just break it off where I wanted it. Then I hammered out the end to prevent it from cutting up my hand. They could even be used as a flat-head screwdriver.Lastly, adding a cooking stand isn’t necessary and could be added to any other cooking set. However, it is the most expensive part. All you need is 3 strap hinges. You see them on outdoor gates maybe barn doors. The ones I purchased where 4 inch. They can fold almost flat and the other way they can kind of lock forming a 90 degree (or 270 degree). This makes it very stable.

To join them together I place one screw through the end hole near what I call the nose on each of them and then place a nut on the other end. Wing nuts are preferred but you just want it hand tight either way.  It the screw is too long you could cut it with a dremel or just ignore it.

Now as shown on the list. You can sort of add to the kit slowly or not at all.  One star will give you almost everything you’ll need. Two stars just gives you more tools to work with, like a measuring device and eating utensils that you won’t have to make. However notice you can’t use the 2 stars items without the one star items. Same with 3 stars items, the cooking stand can be used with other cooking kits but not just by itself. But for the one star kit, if you have to buy all the supplies it will only cost you $5.71. less than most other kits. Even adding the utensils and cup only brings the entire kit to $8.44 by only adding $2.73.

Still less than most other. Finally, adding the cooking stand for $6.98, you get to the grand total of $15.99.  I hope you can see the value in making your own kit. It allows you to free yourself from depending on someone else making it for you. Next week we will be comparing all three of the kits I own and that you find commonly. It’s gonna be enlightening, you won’t want to miss it! As always feel free to comment, share this blog, and check back next week for a new one. Follow me on Facebook: @BPackBushcraft and on Twitter @BPackBushCraft. Until next time, keep those fires burning and put another log on for me.