Gear Review: Quechua 2-Person Cooking Set

When it comes to cooking sets for camping, you can find them in all shapes and sizes and finishes. Finding the right cooking set for you will come down to what you’re doing, how many people you’re feeding, the price range you’re looking at, and personal preference.

If you’re hiking, you want something light and nestable so it takes up less space. If you’re car camping and want something heavy duty, a cast iron set might be best for you. At the end of the day, most of us will end up with a combination of items to serve our different needs, depending on what we’re doing.

For years, Darrell and I used an enamel cooking set that worked great. It cooked our food just fine and we never had a problem. The thing was, none of the pots or plates or cups nested together, so the cook set took up a lot of space. We usually found it easiest to throw it all in a tote with some other camp kitchen stuff. This solution was fine, but it meant that we had to drag that tote everywhere we camped.

As we started doing more backcountry camping with the boat, I got tired of tripping over that tote and all the other things we brought along. I wanted to downsize. Plus, hearing those pots clang together drove me up the wall. I’ve always been sensitive to sound and it triggers my migraines, so something quieter would be great.

We started looking for a cooking set that nested together and wasn’t a crazy price. Many of the sets we found would have pots that nested together, but you had to buy plates, cups, and utensils separately. Or the set would only be enough for one person.

Eventually we came across the Quechua 2-Person Stainless Non-Stick Cooking Set at Decathlon.

What The Cooking Set Has

This cooking set comes with:

• One pot
• One pan
• A lid that also serves as a strainer
• Two plates
• Two cups
• Two sets of utensils
• A table mat
• A carrying case

What We Love

Everything nests together and the whole set packs up quite small (about 5 inches high and 7 inches in diameter). It’s very light and we’re now able to fit the majority of our kitchen gear in a backpack, instead of a large tote.

This one package has everything we need to make most meals while camping, so it’s easy to grab it by itself to head out for an overnight trip. If we aren’t looking to cook something like steak, we don’t need any additional cooking gear. The cups, plates, and pots also have measurements on them, which has come in handy many times.

It’s so quiet! There’s not a bunch of clanging as you shift things around with this set. That was really handy when making breakfast at 5:30am at an event where everyone else was still sleeping.

We used to carry a small colander with us when camping, but now we just use the strainer lid when we’re making a dish that needs to be drained.

The set is easy to clean at camp and often comes clean with just a wipe.

Budget-wise, it fit what we were looking for. It had everything we needed and was meant for 2 people.

What We Don’t Love

The included cups won’t keep any drink warm for long. I don’t mind that if I’m looking to drink my tea quickly, but we bring travel mugs for when we want a hot drink to last longer.

This set isn’t dishwasher friendly, which is the case with most cooking sets. I’m lazy and would prefer to stick everything in the dishwasher when we get home from a camping, but most of what we bring has to be hand-washed, so it’s really not a big deal.

Pouring from the pot is a pain. The pan has a little spout, but it’s not big enough to boil water for tea, so we use the pot. The pot does not have a spout for pouring and water often spills everywhere when trying to fill the cups. We picked up a small kettle to throw in the kitchen backpack and bring it along when we don’t have to worry about space.

Because the pan is small, when we have something like pancakes for breakfast, it takes longer to make them because so few fit in at a time. This is obviously the trade-off you make when going with a small, compact, cooking set. We bring along a larger cast iron pan when we’ve planned for meals that could use it.

Do We Recommend The Quechua 2-Person Cooking Set?

Yes! Absolutely! For a great cooking set that has all the basics you need, in a small, lightweight package, the Quechua 2-Person Stainless Non-Stick Cooking Set is fantastic. Even when we spend more time camping out of the truck, we’ve really appreciated the small size of kitchen gear since the bed of the truck doesn’t give us much more space than the boat.

We’ve been using this set since last summer and it’s held up everything we’ve thrown at it. Considering that includes boating, overlanding, snowmobiling, and our dogs knocking it on the ground, it’s doing well. I’m not sure how long the utensils will hold up, but spare sets can be bought online for cheap. I’ve picked up a couple extra sets and keep them in the kitchen bag in case they’re needed.

Keep in mind that no matter what you choose, you’ll have to either tailor your meals to your cooking set, or tailor your cooking set to your meals. Planning out your meals before a trip will prevent issues with equipment when you’re at camp.

We liked this set so much that we also picked up the 4-person version for when we’re camping with others, or for when we want to make bigger meals. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly, compact cooking set, this is the way to go.