One of the things when we go out hiking or camping is that we tend to burn some good energy and as a consequence – we get hungry. Anyone can live off cold tins of food or quick rehydration meals, but just because you don’t have a kitchen doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat well.
What is undoubtedly a great addition to your camping stove has to be a hiking pan. Backpacking cookware has come a long way these days too with specific designs and lighter and durable materials to keep your load light and small.
So instead of cracking open a tin of baked beans and eating it cold, throw it in your pan, add some more ingredients and you will have a far more satisfying meal on the trail.
Keep reading and check out some of the best hiking pans on sale right now in Australia.
| JetBoil Summit Skillet | Sea to Summit Alpha Pans | MSR WindBurner Ceramic Skillet | GSI Outdoors Bugaboo 10" Square Frypan | Primus Campfire Frying Pan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Best Value  | Lightest  |  |  | |
21.6L x 21.6W x 4.8H cm | 16cm Handle | 20.3W x 20.3D (+Handle) x 3.8H cm | 37L (inc. handle) x 21W x 7H cm | 42.5L x 27W x 12H cm | 50H x 21 cm | |
Aluminium Base, Ceramic Non-Stick Surface | Hard Anodised Alloy Base, Stainless Steel Handle with Silicone Grip | Various | Aluminium Base, Teflon Non-Stick Coating | Aluminium Base, Stainless steel | |
1.5 L | 1.5 L | ||||
300 g | 245 g | 220 g | 700 g | 400 g | |
1 Year | Lifetime | 3 Years | Lifetime | ?? |
Best Hiking Pans Australia
JetBoil Summit Skillet
Best For Use With Jetboil Stoves
The Jetboil Summit Skillet is a compact and handy hiking pan to take with you on a long trek. It’s fairly light coming in at 300g and has a handle that folds in on itself to save space, a spatula that tucks in into the handle and is also bright orange so you won’t lose it.
While not included, the pot support, which costs another $18, is pretty much essential for use with Jetboil’s range of canisters and integrated stoves like the Flash or Genesis.
You can use it on other canister style stoves without this extra support no worries, but if you have bought into the Jetboil brand then you will need it and it lifts the overall price a little higher than advertised.
Customer reviews are solid and people love actually cooking in the pan as it doesn’t stick and cooks evenly. One big issue is that many of Jetboil's integrated canister stoves are designed to boil water super-fast, while this skillet is better used at a simmer.
So while is a great pan, it's better used with a simpler canister style stove you can control the heat on than an actual Jetboil one, and you will save $18 on the extra support.
Sea to Summit Alpha Pans
Best Budget Option
When it comes to hiking cookware, it’s hard to go past this well priced, lightweight and versatile cooking pan. The Sea to Summit folds in on itself and has a locking mechanism to keep it safe while cooking, has nice high sides so you can reduce down liquids and can be used on any canister or liquid fuel stove, or even a campfire.
It was hard to find negative reviews about this as it is pretty much universally loved, however, there were some reports of the handle not locking properly while cooking creating an issue and some uneven cooking (which can be mitigated by stirring more frequently).
This is a no-nonsense, light and capable piece of camping cookware that is great on the trail and perfect for a couple’s dinner cooking or making nice reduced stews.
MSR WindBurner Ceramic Skillet
Lightest Option