GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Fry Pan (14") - Gear Review

There is something special about a meal prepared over an open fire. Steaks infused with the smokey goodness that is only achieved when cooked to a medium rare over glowing orange hardwood coals.  It may seem like a simple thing, but as with anything having the right tools make life easier in this case for sure. For me, you can just throw a steak right on the fire grate, but that isn't true of most food items.  It's tough to fry up a shore lunch without a good fry pan.

For years our ultimate camp fry pan has been a giant, 20ish pound, cast iron behemoth.  It does do a great job, but lugging that thing into the back-country is akin to water-boarding.  On this years BWCA gear test we had the chance to test out the GSI Outdoors 14" Pinnacle Fry Pan, and to start with the thing only weighs a mere 3lbs 12 oz...

In spite of the weight savings, you get an incredibly rugged pan that packs away easily and cleans up like new with almost no effort.  The little "helper" handle is riveted in place, but the large primary handle is easily removed via 3 wing-nuts for quick stowing.  Coated with a non-slip silicone, it doesn't get hot even after hours on the fire and provides a solid grip when trying to cook in a downpour. 

Made from a hard anodized aluminum and sporting a non-stick coating that is touted to be as hard as stainless steel, we didn't put a scratch in it after dozens of meals.  The bottom of the pan has a spiral etching to both improve heat dispersion as well as to prevent the pan from sliding off whatever you have it sitting on.  This worked out well, as the fire grate at our last campsite was far from level making pots and pan tip and slide, except this bad boy.

There are times when grandpa's gear set the standard for all things to follow; this is not one of them.  Do yourself a favor, upgrade your camp cookware. Check out the GSI Outdoors 14" Pinnacle Fry Pan and their entire line of Camp Cookware, you won't ever think of camp cooking the same way again.

MSRP: $54.95



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