We’re big fans of collapsible containers that use nesting segments to flatten down. While it sacrifices some durability, they’re very efficient for camping, allowing you to pack useful gear that takes up very little space. So far, though, we’ve only seen the design used for plastic vessels, such as kettles, cups, buckets, and even buckets with lights. The SimpleReal Stainless Steel Collapsible Cookware changes that.
A collapsible cooking pot, it uses the same nesting segments design that collapse into each other, allowing the whole thing to pack down into plate-sized dimensions. That way, you get yourself a decent-sized pot to boil water, make soup, and cook a whole load of stuff at camp without adding the usual bulk a similarly-sized pot will put on your pack.
The SimpleReal Stainless Steel Collapsible Cookware doesn’t use folding segments like the collapsible plastic containers we’ve seen in the past, since… you know… stainless steel this thick doesn’t exactly fold so easily. Instead, each segment is made up of individual panels that hook into each other to hold the pot in place, while silicone gaskets in the connecting sections give it a leak-proof seal. According to the outfit, the assembled parts can be easily removed at any time when you need to give the whole thing a more thorough cleaning.
To ensure the pot doesn’t accidentally collapse while you’re cooking something on the stove, it has a pair of fold-out latches at the base that can be anchored to the top edge of the pot. Once secured there, the silicone gaskets end up pressing tightly into the stainless steel panels’ connecting slots, securing the cookware’s watertight seal. Once deployed into its full size, the cooking pot has a volume capacity of 1.1-liters, so you can boil a full liter of water in one go.
The SimpleReal Stainless Steel Collapsible Cookware is made from 304 stainless steel, so it’s acid-resistant, corrosion resistant, and free of heavy metals, while the gaskets are cut in food-grade silicone, making it viable to use for all your camp cooking needs. It comes with a silicone lid that you can use to keep food hot for later, complete with a removable plug for an air vent, in case you want to cook something while it’s covered, like a meat stew or some steamed rice. They also offer an optional heat-resistant handle that can be clamped onto the edges of the pot, so you can easily get a grip on it while it’s heating over fire.
When collapsed, the whole thing measures 7.3 x 1.1 inches (diameter x thickness), so it’s flat enough to fit in the laptop compartment or the front pouch of most backpacks, making it very convenient to bring along. An optional nylon carrying bag is also available, in case you want to keep the whole thing from getting dirtied up by all the other gear in your pack. That same bag can also be used as an insulated sleeve that you can lay down on your camp table to protect it from the pot after it just came off the stove.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the SimpleReal Stainless Steel Collapsible Cookware. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $39.