MSR Alpine Fry Pan

This is by far the best fry pan I have seen available for outdoor cooking. I love going to outdoor stores and especially checking out their selection of cookware for hiking, backpacking, and camping.Along with my wife, kids, and several of my brother-in-laws, we have accumulated a pretty good variety of mess kit-type cooking supplies, and MSR, in my opinion, has the best all-around selection. I have found success in purchasing individual components and compiling my own "mess kit", instead of purchasing a pre-assembled kit. Along with MSR's Stowaway pots, their Alpine series stainless steel cookware is great. I have had my pan for a couple of years now and have just purchased two more for my family.Along with cooking eggs and meat, I have used this pan several times to make bannock, a camp bread, over a fire, and it turns out great. The pan is about 8" in diameter and will make enough bread for 4-5 people to have with a meal. 2 cups of flour and other ingredients bake into a loaf that fits very nicely into the pan. The handle is detachable, and fits nicely into my other mess kit pots. When locked in place, it would be hard to tell the handle isn't part of the pan itself - it's very solid.One distinct advantage this pan has over others it the aluminum base that disperses heat over an even area instead of the flame being exposed to just one area of the steel. There is spout for draining oil, also.I value the durability of stainless steel over the lighter weight, smaller pans. I wouldn't consider using a different pan - even if it saved space and weight.The pan cleans up nicely by using an SOS pad. If it's real grimy from the fire, it takes some elbow grease, but can be cleaned up to be shiny again.I'd snap one of these up in a heartbeat if you're serious about cooking over a fire.

I read the reviews on the MSR flex fry and the Alpine fry pan, and I would have to say this is definitely better. the stainless steel is thicker, and while not 'non-stick' it can be considered maybe minimum stick and will serve you well if you take care of it and of course, if you know how to cook.Receiving the pan, it was packaged as others had mentioned. "I can't get the glue off!" was what I read in the others. It's true, the glue is sticky, but my useful knowledge of chemistry told me that a common solvent such as Goo-Gone will soften the glue enough, and dissolve it, allowing you to wipe it away with a paper towel. Problem solved.Heating is rapid and consistent, thanks to the aluminum disc welded to the bottom of the pan. I think the disc also helps to preserve the integrity of pan. WHen camping, you may not want to creating culinary masterpieces right away, especially if you cannot control the fire (wood fires will be hot, while a firefly or pocket rocket type stove will be much more suited to this pan) because what you really need is to maintain a nice, low-medium heat for such things as eggs or who knows, Spam singles or something. I carry Olive oil with me, and on my last trip out we foraged for fiddleheads and ramps, and sauteed them with some olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar (yeah, I carry that too). Cooking outdoors takes some experience, even with the prepackaged Knorr pasta sides or whatever you happen to be re-hydrating at the moment.I bought a scraper at the outdoor supply store, the kind that has a rounded side on it to fit the rounded sides of this pan. It works well, although with the rounded sides (a plus IMO) you could also get away with a piece of scotch brite.Details of the 'egg' test. (a typical test to test non-stick as well as characteristics of the pan) The pan was heated over a pocket rocket type stove on LOW heat (about as low as you can get) with about a tablespoon of olive oil. when the pan is barely hot enough to sizzle (drop of water boils in the pan) the egg was emptied into the center of the pan. As the pan continued to heat, the egg cooked evenly with very little sticking -- a silicone spatula was used and it was able to free all of the stuck pieces. After a minute or so, the egg could be lifted and flipped using the spatula. It did have a couple of spots where it stuck, but if could be freed to be lifted out and put on a plate. (I just realized you can use this as your plate if your'e doing solo camping etc.). Following frying and egg, I tried two pieces of thick sliced applewood smoked bacon, on the same heat setting. The bacon cooked slowly and as it rendered, it cooked a little faster. What was noticeable here is that a spot began to develop where bacon residue was sticking and browning. The flame from the camp stove was about 3/4 inch in diameter where it hit the bottom center of the pan, and the developing spot was approximately 4 inches in diameter -- so the aluminum plate on the bottom of the pan does diffuse the heat, although it may not be perfect with such a small flame. WIth more grease in the pan from the rendering, the bacon finished cooking towards the outer edges of the pan, and the done-ness was very even.Cleanup of the pan in this case was fairly easy. WIth the stove off, the pan was cool to the touch after 5 minutes and water could be added. A piece of scotchbrite removed all traces of food with very little effort. Overall, cooking anything in this pan should be a breeze. I don't know how many people would want to do something as delicate as bacon and eggs on the trail, but it's always a good test so that if you can cook the delicate stuff, any other food you have out there on the trail will be easy too.

This is really an excellent camping/backpacking pan as long as your are looking for a comparatively luxury pan and are fine with the extra weight. If you are even considering a pan then you are looking for some luxury. I probably wouldn't take this with on a solo trip but if you have people to share the weight this is nice.The two metals up against each other really require watching how hot you get this thing. The aluminum bottom can warp and detach due to dissimilar metals expanding at different rates. It is worth the weakness for the luxury of heat distribution. The textured bottom makes this pretty difficult to clean if cooking over an little twig stove or some form of wood fire.The fact that it has a pour spout should really be mentioned someplace. By pour spout I mean there is a crease in the side of the pan. I thought my pan was bent until I noticed that the picture of the pan had the crease in it as well. IMO this is a selling point so I don't know why it isn't advertised.The pan comes with the handle taped to the bottom of the pan. The tape does not come off cleanly meaning you get the pleasure of cleaning the pan with adhesive remover. This is the main reason for me deducting a star. A product that I must immediately fix in some way (cleaning adhesive off with caustic chemicals counts - especially on a cooking surface) is not a five star product.