GSI Cookware Reviews

This 4-part review of GSI Cookware shows how I cook backpacking meals in different-sized GSI pots. Cooking methods include pot-cooking, freezer-bag-cooking, bowl-cooking, and cold-soaking.

Photos: (l-r) .6 L Minimalist, 1.1 L Boiler, and 1.8 L Dualist-HS

Which GSI Cookset is Best for Backpacking?

The reviews consider cookware capacities, packability, and pot construction.

GSI Cookware Capacity

Photo: Fried Rice & Vegetables cooked in 1.1 L GSI Boiler Pot.

GSI Outdoors makes backpacking pots ranging in size from the .6 L Minimalist, to the larger 1.1 L Soloist and Boiler pots, and up to the 1.4 L Microdualist and 1.8 L Dualist Cooksets.

GSI Cookset Packability

GSI Minimalist packed with a fuel canister, GSI canister stove, foon, and pot gripper.

Photo: .6 L GSI Minimalist with fuel canister, stove, and utensils packed inside.

With GSI cooksets, you can fit a canister stove, fuel canister, lighter, and folding spoon inside any of the GSI pots.

GSI Soloist and Dualist pots come with nesting bowls which fit inside the pots.

GSI Pot Construction

Is the pot made of stainless steel, aluminum, or titanium?

The GSI cookware selected for testing are all constructed of hard-anodized aluminum. GSI Outdoors calls this material, Halulite.

Photo: Hard-anodized aluminum GSI Dualist pot.

Hard-anodizing the aluminum makes the pots very sturdy, and GSI pots conduct heat fast and evenly.

GSI cook pots don’t have nonstick coatings, so there’s no issue with coatings getting scratched up from utensils.

Aluminum hits the weight “sweet spot” between heavier stainless steel and lighter titanium. While stainless steel is a good choice for car camping, it’s way too heavy to carry in your backpack.

Titanium is a good choice for ultra-light backpacking situations, but it doesn’t conduct heat as well as hard-anodized aluminum, and the pots are more expensive.

GSI Cookware Set Reviews

I tested the following GSI cooksets thoroughly by cooking dehydrated meals in them, while evaluating boil times and each pot’s strengths and weaknesses.

One of the features I like about GSI pots is their sturdy handles, but in the case of the .6 liter Minimalist pot, there is no handle. That turned out to be a genius design element, so I’ll kick off the GSI cookset reviews with the Minimalist pot.

.6 L Minimalist Pot

The Minimalist is small enough to hold in one hand without a handle, so you can sip a hot beverage from it. But, that’s just a bonus.

Photo: The .6 L Minimalist is the smallest pot in the GSI Cookware Collection.

The GSI Minimalist kit is excellent for freezer-bag-cooking.

After lifting the pot off the stove with the silicone gripper, slip the pot into the cozy. This makes it easy to pour boiled water into a freezer bag to rehydrate the dried ingredients.

Close up the bag, put it inside the pot, place the lid back on, and your meal will stay hot while it rehydrates. Eat right out of the pot by pulling the top part of the bag over the pot’s rim.

My review also shows how to cook a dehydrated meal right in the pot without the food boiling over.

Read the full review: GSI Minimalist Pot.

1.1 L Soloist & Boiler Pots

Both of these pots give you 1.1 liters of capacity, so you can cook large meals right in the pots, or you can boil enough water to make two freezer bag meals if hiking with a partner.

The GSI Halulite Boiler is the no-frills option—just the pot and a mesh sack.

The Soloist kit includes the pot, 1 plastic lid with strainer holes, 1 14-oz. plastic bowl with insulated band, and one water-tight stow bag that you can use for washing up.

Both pots will hold a 230 gram fuel canister, but if you take the Soloist bowl along, then the pot will only hold a 110 gram fuel canister.

Mac & Cheese cooked in pot and freezer bag.

My review of these pots includes how to cook Kickin’ Veggie Mac & Cheese directly in the pots or with the freezer-bag method.

Read the full review: GSI Boiler Pot & Soloist Pot.

1.4 L – 1.8 L Dualist Pots

If you hike with a partner, the larger 1.4 liter Microdualist Pot, or the 1.8 liter Dualist Pot, might be the GSI Cookware for you. You’ll be able to boil enough water at one time for meals and hot beverages.

GSI Microdualist, Dualist, and Dualist-HS Cooksets.

These GSI cooksets come with all the goodies for two people: insulated bowls and cups with lids, folding spoons, and a water-tight “kitchen sink” stow bag.

The Microdualist bowls hold 14 ounces, and the Dualist bowls hold 20 ounces.

Photo above: Cooking and/or serving meals with GSI bowls: mashed potatoes, chili mac, and fried rice & vegetables.

The GSI Dualist-HS pot is constructed with a heat sink bottom which catches more heat from the stove and significantly speeds up boil times—one liter in 2¾ minutes.

My review of these pots includes how to cook mashed potatoes in the bowls, how to cook pasta in the pots, and several recipes.

Read the full review: GSI Microdualist and Dualist Pots.

GSI Pinnacle Canister Stove & Windscreen

I used a GSI Pinnacle Canister Stove and GSI Windscreen to cook all of the meals in the GSI Cookware reviews. The stove has excellent cooking power, is light-weight, and stows inside the GSI pots. With the optional windscreen attached, the stove maintains fast boil times or simmers with ease when the wind kicks up.