Over the last several years, I’ve come to really appreciate heavy pans for camp cooking. And while I have a full range of cast iron in my kitchen, the pan that lives in my truck is carbon steel.
Specifically, I’ve been using a 12-inch Made In carbon steel pan for several years. It’s awesome. That carbon steel pan has cooked easily 100 meals in the wilderness. It’s tough as nails, heavy enough to hold heat evenly, but not so heavy as to be ungainly riding among camping gear in the bed of a truck.
Carbon steel, it turns out, packs a lot of the benefits of cast iron at a slightly lighter weight. It takes seasoning well, and when you do inevitably get it charred and very dirty, you can scrub it aggressively without causing damage.
It’s really an ideal material for camping cookware. Enter YETI.
YETI Carbon Steel Pan
YETI quietly unveiled its new cookware this spring, and among the kit is now a 12-inch Carbon Steel Pan, retailing at REI for $180. YETI also makes a 10-inch version for $150.
This is noteworthy because YETI has gradually expanded into cookware over the last few years, following its acquisition of the iconic American cast-iron company Butter Pat.
But unlike its extremely pricey cast-iron offerings, the new Carbon Steel Pan lands at a high but attainable price.
While it does ring in at $50 more than my beloved Made In carbon steel pan, the 12-inch YETI pan adds a helper handle on the front. It’s really nice to be able to grab the pan with two hands when slinging a full pan of pasta sauce around the campsite.
Carbon Steel: Why It’s Great for Camping
At their core, carbon steel pans are fabulous for camping (and home use, too), because they offer the incredible durability and versatility of cast iron at a lighter weight.
While not quite as capable of searing as cast-iron pans, carbon-steel pans offer many of the same benefits. Namely, they take seasoning well and provide a nice non-stick surface once you break them in. And because they aren’t nearly as soft as stainless steel or teflon-coated cookware, you can scrape the heck out of them without causing damage.
Mine literally lives in the bed of my truck, riding next to my trailer hitch, inside a Decked drawer. It’s done tens of thousands of miles, bouncing around over rough mountain roads and gravel washboard. And it’s not a bit worse for the wear.
If you’re looking for a camp pan, I can’t recommend carbon steel enough. YETI’s new pan looks great, although I haven’t used it (yet). I personally love the Made In 12-inch carbon pan. And for the value-conscious, OXO also makes a carbon-steel pan that sells for $60 at REI. Carbon steel is hard to beat. Check out one of those options and be set for years to come.
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