A few
members of the Real Man Travels team recently went on a four day portage trip in Ontario's beautiful Massasauga Provincial Park. This was our first real portage
trip together with no coolers, luxuries or special amenities, so we had to be smart
about the items we packed. The decision to mostly use just add water food for
our meals made the most sense for weight and convenience. Enter the
GSI Pinnacle Soloist cook set to boil all of the water for my meals. I bought
this set at MEC for $45.50 + tax and put it to the test. Here are the results I
found:
1. What You
Get
The GSI
Pinnacle Soloist comes with a 1.1L pot with an attached handle that swings up
and down, a lid with an integrated strainer and spout, a 590mL cup with a
removable insulation strip, a “foon” (telescopic spork), a stove bag made for an
MSR Pocket Rocket style stove (stove not included), and a stuff sack that can
double up as a wash basin.
 |
| Included in the set: A 1.1L pot, telescopic foon, cup with insulating strip, a wash basin and a strainer/lid. |
2. Look and Feel
When I
first went to MEC and looked at this set my initial reaction was that it is
small... much smaller than I thought it would be. After unboxing it at home and
seeing how it all stacks up within itself I realized that this was a well thought
out product.
The pot
feels sturdy and light and the rubberized handle sits firm in its locked
positions. The plastic bowl has a little bit of flex but not too much to be
nervous about squeezing out your contents while holding it. The pot lid is a
hard plastic and I was skeptical about it not melting when in use. The stuff
sack has a rubberized interior which allows it to stand on its own making it believable for use as a wash basin. The stove bag was a generic pouch made of canvas
material. The telescopic foon (spork) felt flimsy and cheap in comparison to
the rest of the superior contents.
3. Ease of
Use
Unpacking
and packing up the stove is a breeze as all the components fit into each other
perfectly. As for actually using the product, it’s as simple as: fill the pot
with water, set it on a lit stove and let the water boil, add food, fill your
bowl with your cooked food, eat with the foon and clean up.
 |
| Simple stove to boil water! |
4. Actual
vs. Advertised
The GSI
Pinnacle Soloist is advertised as a trail solution for one person, but I found
that if anyone else in the group has their own mess kit it could actually be
beneficial for two people. 1.1L of water is enough to make two Knorr Sidekicks
or two of most Mountain House meals, two cups of coffee in the morning etc. And
if there isn't enough water in the first boil, it doesn't take very long to boil
another full pot.
All of the included
components work as advertised, my only gripe is that the telescopic foon is
flimsy, cheap feeling and retracts itself under the pressure of you scraping
the edges of the bowl for the last little morsels of food.
5. Value
Priced at
$45.50 CAD at MEC, I believe this was a steal as some big box retailers offer
crappier products that are bulkier and don’t include
everything you need for a similar price. This complete storage system allows for a small fuel
canister and a stove to be packed into it so the space and bulk savings in my
pack is well worth the price tag.
6.
Practicality
500mL of water took, on average, three minutes to boil, and a full pot took about five to seven minutes (under
perfect conditions). This meant I wasn't waiting too long to eat my meals. I
ended up sharing the pot with a buddy and it worked well for the two of us. This
set is small and took up very little real estate in my pack. I’d say this is a perfect
set for a backpacking or portage trip where the luxuries are left behind. It
could also be used on a car camping or “glamping” trip where you would want
instant coffee or instant oatmeal in the morning.
7. Overall Impression and Final Score
 |
| Ain't nothing like a bowl of noodles after a long day of portaging! |
7. Overall Impression and Final Score
Overall I
am very impressed with this set. The pot boiled the water quickly, the cup held a generous amount of
food and was soft enough to grip yet firm enough to not spill contents. The
foon, unfortunately, was junk and I would recommend grabbing something else that
is a similar size to keep the integrity of the way the set packs up. I never
used the stuff sack as a sink, but it is capable of the function, even if it seems a
little small. The entire set packs up tiny, and is pretty cheap. I will definitely be using this set in the future for my
adventures and would definitely recommend it for your next adventure.
 |
| A well deserved score of 4.5/5 for the GSI Pinnacle Soloist |
