I always taken cast iron to fry in, but at 61 I'm getting tired of portaging all that weight. I've been looking at stainless steel or anodized aluminum. My concern is that I've never been able to keep the food from sticking to either one unless it's got teflon on it. I'm concerned about using any of these on an open fire.
I know this has been discussed many times, but could some of you tell me about their experiences on this subject?
Thanks

I purchased a GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless 10' pan earlier this year. Have used it on 2 trips so far, and so far I really like it. Nothing sticks to it, and it cleans up real nice. I like that it does not have any teflon; the surface is laser etched.

GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless

I hated our current fry pan. I considered cast iron because I love it at home. I hate Teflon. So we decided to invest in a Alpine FryBake pan.
Pricy, but based on information from this site, we went for it.

Alpine FryBake pan

I'll let you know how it goes after our trip.

Second for the Banks Frybake- though I like the expedition model. I let water come back to a boil after the meal and use the spatula they sell to scrap the bottom of the pan. I’ve read a lot of people also scrub with sand. Spendy, but worth it for me.

Captn Tony: "I always taken cast iron to fry in, but at 61 I'm getting tired of portaging all that weight. I've been looking at stainless steel or anodized aluminum. My concern is that I've never been able to keep the food from sticking to either one unless it's got teflon on it. I'm concerned about using any of these on an open fire.
I know this has been discussed many times, but could some of you tell me about their experiences on this subject?
Thanks"

I have a Lodge 12" Fryer that stays on my stove top and gets used daily. However, when I have to carry my cookware, I have a Banks FryBake Alpine Deep for Solo or two person trips and a Banks FryBake Expedition for group trips.

Alpenglow Outfitters offers free delivery and occasionaly extends sale prices on everything on their site. I bought both my FryBake pans through the Alpenglow site.

Good Luck

straighthairedcurly: "I hated our current fry pan. I considered cast iron because I love it at home. I hate Teflon. So we decided to invest in a Alpine FryBake pan.
Pricy, but based on information from this site, we went for it.


Alpine FryBake pan


I'll let you know how it goes after our trip."

The frybake is an outstanding option! It is spendy, but oh, so worth it. Doubles as a lightweight Dutch oven; cannot go wrong with this toy!!

I really liked the Frybake pan as well. It really has a great nonstick performance even though it isn't nonstick.

We switched from cast iron to the Banks Fry-Bake several years ago and have had no regrets whatsoever! We fry in them as well as use them as a dutch oven for baking......They clean up very easy....You can order cosmetic "seconds" from them direct at a nice savings which is what I did (see below link)

Mike

Banks Fry-Bake cosmetic seconds

Here is link to the cosmetic seconds:

Cosmetic Seconds

Frenchy19: "I purchased a GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless 10' pan earlier this year. Have used it on 2 trips so far, and so far I really like it. Nothing sticks to it, and it cleans up real nice. I like that it does not have any teflon; the surface is laser etched.


GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless "

Got the same one last year it has become my go to fry pan. Easy to clean, lightweight, and works just fine over the fire.

Frenchy19: "Here is link to the cosmetic seconds:


Cosmetic Seconds "

Thanks Frenchy19! Not sure how I goofed up that link.....oh well

Mike

You can also get carbon steel pans. Lodge makes several. Similar to cast iron in that you season them to nonstick, but much thinner and lighter. I use one most days at home.

You could try a restaurant supply for a heavy uncoated aluminum (not cast ) and saw off the handle or not. I don't get along with teflon, and cast iron is hard to beat on fire.

See if you can find an old cold handle steel frying pan. Cooks great and much lighter.

AtwaterGA: "See if you can find an old cold handle steel frying pan. Cooks great and much lighter."
Another solid choice. I have a couple I got on Etsy.

Another vote for the FryBake. I bought a deep alpine and expedition as seconds and other than a small scuff on a lid or edge I can't see what is that wrong with them. They do clean up nicely and work great as an alternative to a dutch oven. I made meat loaf for me and my boys at a state park last weekend, just mixed at home in a ziplock and spread in the pan when needed. Extra tent spikes make a great make shift trivet as well to help control heat.

I just bought a Lodge 10.5" griddle. It seemed to be the right size for camping with two. Sides on a pan are great when lots of grease or oil is needed for frying but add weight and make using a spatula harder. Being flat also helps packing it.

I love how this thread turned into a frybake highlight reel. I had never heard of them and now I can't live without one...

pastorjsackett: "I love how this thread turned into a frybake highlight reel. I had never heard of them and now I can't live without one..."

This website is why I have 2 Fry-bake pans, an Agawa Canyon Boreal 21 saw and a tote full of CCS products.

GSI just released a new Bugaboo 10" square frypan with folding handle. I have used this recently on our trips and it works great. We particularly like the heavy duty aluminum construction, teflon coating and folding handle for packability.

We liked its so much we decided to add it to our product lineup along with a heavy duty nylon carry case.

You can see this on our website:
Voyageurs Outdoor Gear

Or on the
GSI website

I believe REI will also be carrying this.

Joe
Voyageurs Outdoor Gear

Hmmm, I've been looking to upgrade to a lighter pot and pan and the Fry-Bake gear looks to be on the right track. The only thing is that their biggest pan is 10.5" and I would like one in the 12-13" range, anyone know of a similar style pan that comes in a 12"?

Re: the Frybake, I didn't really understand what anodized aluminum cookware was. Sounds amazing to me now! See the follow from the interweb.

What does it do?

Hard-anodized surfaces resist abrasion and corrosion. A hard-anodized pan is the most durable pan you can buy.

Anodized materials have an extremely long life span. Anodized surfaces do not chip or peel. In fact, anodized aluminum is used to protect satellites from the harsh environment of space, to harden automotive racing parts against friction and heat, as well as for display cases, coolers, and grills for the food industry.

An anodized finish is chemically stable. It does not decompose. It is nontoxic. High heat levels will not damage the anodized finish. Anodized surfaces are heat-resistant to the melting point of aluminum (1,221°F).

Most important for cookware, hard-anodizing makes cookware surfaces so ultra-smooth that they become virtually nonporous (without pores). Pores in metal cookware are one of the leading reasons why foods stick while cooking.”

Thanks for all the info. I ended up purchasing a gsi stainless steel skillet. I will be trying it out in about 2 weeks!!

I use the GSI and am very happy with it. Dont worry about the open flame stuff and non-stick pans. I did a bunch of research on that a couple years ago. The coatings used today are not a problem. Even old coatings were only a problem at very high temps - like 700º which you won't be cooking at, and being outside the fumes dispersed easily. Forget about it and enjoy your new pan.

I use stainless steel and have had issue with stuff sticking. Just use more oil or butter :)

fry bake is a good option, but i prefer a Paderno Carbon Steel Skillet works like cast iron and weighs less, and costs less than fry bake. Lots of size options.

This thread is killing me (or my wallet). I thought I had my gear all lined up for my 10th trek to the bwcaw.

Question:
Which of these pans work best on a whisperlite (with no temperature control). Seems like a thicker bottom pan would work best.

I wish I had the balls to take my cast iron from home (I love it) but I don't want the weight.

The two aluminum frypans are nearly identical in thickness; 0.10” for the GSI Bugaboo and 0.09” for the Frybake.

I don’t know the exact thickness of the GSI Stainless Steel frypan but it is likely thinner than the aluminum ones given the weight specifications of each.

My view is they are all good frypans, you can’t really go wrong with any of them.

here is a link https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=1036712&forumID=15&confID=1 to a post I put up on the pan I use...

Still use the heck it of it camping. I did have a mod done to it not mentioned in that post. A couple beads were layed by my welding guy on the under side to keep the pan from sliding when lifted using the handle (handle does come of still).. I don't like the idea of it moving uncontrolled with hot oil in it, I don't want my fish in the dirt.

Frenchy19: "I purchased a GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless 10' pan earlier this year. Have used it on 2 trips so far, and so far I really like it. Nothing sticks to it, and it cleans up real nice. I like that it does not have any teflon; the surface is laser etched.


GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless "

I ordered one and it arrived today.
Do you use a metal turner or plastic turner? It has teflon but the grid appears to be designed to protect the teflon from scraping.

--after posting, I found a note on REI says to use a non-metal turner--

Over a normal stove, disperse the heat with a metal/steel plate under the pan. User a good non-stick spray and you should be set as far as sticking is concerned if you can control the temperature at all, you should get along fine whether you are cooking pancakes to fish.

If you have to clean a pan because of sticking, remember to season it again before your next use. I use oil and boil the oil for several minutes if that happens.

Time for an oddball. Anyone use a wok? Steel woks available in many sizes and finishes as carbon steel and hammered steel. Lots of accessories are available. They work very well over a fire and with a little inventive thinking can be turned into an oven.
I don't use them for most trips as I go solo, but for a group they work very well and I have used my 14 inch round bottom carbon steel wok for bacon and eggs over the fire.

butthead

butthead: "Time for an oddball. Anyone use a wok? Steel woks available in many sizes and finishes as carbon steel and hammered steel. Lots of accessories are available. They work very well over a fire and with a little inventive thinking can be turned into an oven.
I don't use them for most trips as I go solo, but for a group they work very well and I have used my 14 inch round bottom carbon steel wok for bacon and eggs over the fire.


butthead"

I have taken up a wok when I doing very little portaging, and they work great especially for cooking fish over a fire.

The GSI worked well and had no problems with food sticking. I definitely liked the reduced weight factor. Not as good as cast iron but still will definitely be in my pack in the future when doing a lot pf portaging.

TechnoScout: "

Frenchy19: "I purchased a GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless 10' pan earlier this year. Have used it on 2 trips so far, and so far I really like it. Nothing sticks to it, and it cleans up real nice. I like that it does not have any teflon; the surface is laser etched.

GSI Outdoors Glacier Stainless "

I ordered one and it arrived today.
Do you use a metal turner or plastic turner? It has teflon but the grid appears to be designed to protect the teflon from scraping.

--after posting, I found a note on REI says to use a non-metal turner--"

I used this pan on my trip earlier this month. Was very happy with it!!

To clean, I simply boiled water and wiped clean using a Scotchbrite pad held with tongs. Very effective.