Aluminum mess kits

Harmless, as far as I know. But it can change the color of some highly acidic foods. Red pasta sauce can turn a purplish color. Food sticks unreasonably well on the aluminum mess kits I've used, and they tend to be cheaply made. That may not be the case with a better made aluminum mess kit. Mine was the cheapest kit you can buy at WMart. But it works.
 
I've been eating out of alu mess kits 3 times a day whenever I'm with the scouts, and I've been a scout for 12 years. They might give some foods a little extra taste, but dangerous? hell no.

Alu drinking bottles are often coated with epoxy on te inside which can be dangerous if it gets too hot if purifying water over an open fire.
 
I've read that in the 70's a researcher discovered higher levels of aluminium in Alzheimers patients. This info was taken to the next step in the media, that aluminium causes Alzehimers, that has never been stated or proven. We all ingest metals all the time, cooking with aluminium is harmless.
 
Aluminum is light and cheap. Annodized aluminum is better but more expensive. Stainless steel is heavier but more durable and often has non-stick coatings, still cheap. Titanium is light and durable but expensive. The latter can also be had with nonstick coatings. You pays, you plays. My only personal caveat is warriness over imported cookware and the odd metals it may contain if made from recycled aluminum or steel, which much of it is.
 
maethor said:
I've been eating out of alu mess kits 3 times a day whenever I'm with the scouts, and I've been a scout for 12 years. They might give some foods a little extra taste, but dangerous? hell no.
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No offense but that's not really conclusive of anything. I'm sure people breathed in asbestos for a good long while before cancer showed up.

This comes up from time to time and the answer I'm comfortable with is that it's inconclusive. So I hedge my bets and limit my use of aluminum. YMMV
 
Just dumped some nice old aluminum pans. Consensus is what? Can't remember. Use aluminum for things it should be used for, but not for cooking. Alzheimers is soooooooooo nasty. My grandmother Ruth could not tell the difference between sexes. Every person was a girl to her and for the last 5 years of her life in our house she did not even know her son(my dad), As a teen('76-'81) that was so hard to deal with. It doesn't get any better. Go with SS, an extra $5-10 is getting off cheap.
 
Better safe(and heavy) than sorry ,whats a few extra dollars worth in the long run? Besides the look like crap so fast it makes me sad to use them :)
 
I have been pondering the question as to if it is true or not....I have been wanting to get the Swiss army volcano stove but concerned about this aluminum buisness.
 
I don't personally use aluminium at home which is more about extra caution than belief that it is dangerous, but I think that for casual use on camping trips the risk is not worth worrying about.
 
When backpacking back in the day I would use aluminium, Now my cookware of choice for inside and outside cooking is Cast Iron. To me, if you worry about aluminium, think about eating non-stick coatings.
 
I use aluminum with a non-stick coating. I only use Lexan utensils. So far no health issues. My wife may disagree with you, though.
 
I use stainless steel
If I wanted to taste the flavor of the pot the food is cooked in Id use aluminum .. but i dont , so I got the stainless steel
There is also the higher levels of ally found in Alzheimers brains .. I see no point adding to the levels I allready got floating around in me .. proven link or no . Im gunna die healthy .. I seen people die of cancer and die without being in their right minds for years .. screw that .
 
Couple years ago, I bought an old BSA mess kit, 50's era. Much better craftsmanship and thicker aluminum compared to the mess kits I used as a scout in the '70s.
 
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