Stanley Adventure Base Camp Review

The Stanley Adventure Base Camp makes a great, fully nesting, and nearly comprehensive car camping cookware set. All you need to add is a knife for chopping and drinking vessels of your choice. It excels in terms of durability, cooking performance, and overall value. Though the design is one of the heavier sets we tested, the features included are a worthy exchange. This cookware set quickly became a favorite of our testing team, especially when considering the amazing durability that'll last for many adventures to come.

Performance Comparison

Cooking Performance

All cooking surfaces of the various parts of the Base Camp are comprised of stainless steel. When considering cooking performance, the thick stainless steel evenly distributed the heat within the pot and frying pan, though it required some extra elbow grease (and sometimes steel wool) for cleanup. The frying pan deserves special mention. The thick, 3-ply construction spreads heat evenly across the pan, dampening the temperature regulation swings of your camp stove and wind effects. It was one of the best cooking surfaces we've used for pan-searing a steak at camp.

One of the biggest caveats to this cookware set is the sticky surface when cooking eggs. Though we typically fry an egg with a little coconut oil and salt in a preheated pan, the eggs still stuck to the bottom and required a discerning flip with a metal spatula for best results. For attentive foodies, the Stanley Base Camp better approximates high-end home kitchen equipment than any aluminum-designed cookware. Unless you're after a non-stick cooking surface for improved cleanup, the stainless steel pot and frying pan offer a solid performance, whether boiling water or whipping up a meal for your sweetheart.

Features

The Base Camp is designed to prepare and serve up to four people. However, depending on the preference of your group, thanks to the capacity of the main pot, you can easily get creative and cook for even more of your friends – just as long as they bring their own bowls and utensils. The frying pan capacity allowed us to cook up to four eggs at a time. But is small enough that you'll likely have to cook in rotation, depending on the group size.

This high-value set includes one 3.5 L pot, one vented lid, one 7" frying pan, one cutting board, one spatula, one spoon with extending handles, four 6" plates, four 22 oz bowls, four sporks, one dish drying rack, and one heat-resistant trivet (that certainly came in handy when handling the heated stainless steel!) Overall, our testing team appreciated this collection of features and consider this all-inclusive cookware set to be perfect when cooking for friends while on the road.

Ease of Use

With nearly full-size components and an intuitive design, the Base Camp is quite easy to use. Our testing team definitely appreciated the locking feature on the frying pan, which helped add stability to the design, and the single lid that is easily exchanged between the pot and pan. The dual handles on the main pot are rigid, symmetrical, and positive to grip. The vented lid also serves as a pasta strainer. The “drying rack” is an interesting addition that, at first, seems a little gimmicky. However, when we were attempting to air dry slippery little plastic plates, having a feature that separates them was a luxurious addition to the set.

Other backpacking cook sets we tested were designed for easy use while minimizing weight. However, the Base Camp prioritizes performance and durability. Rather than offering hinged and removable handles, the main pot on the Base Camp is sturdy and rigid, while the handle on the frying pan locks into place for additional balance and ease of use. Overall, this is a well-crafted set that is quite intuitive and easy to use.

Durability

Stanley approaches the camping cookware scene from the sturdy insulated beverage perspective, where long-lasting quality is paramount. If you want to invest in one cookware set that will serve you for many years to come, the Base Camp is definitely an option for your consideration.

Though the stainless steel design is about as durable as it gets, the plastic bowls and cooking utensils included with the set can be damaged when exposed to heat. Overall, our testing team was impressed with the thick stainless steel design that is sure to stand up to many future adventures.

Packability

Even though the Base Camp is designed to pack all of the pieces into the largest pot, the order of operations requires some getting used to. Luckily, Stanley included a couple of diagrams you can consult in case you don't remember the exact order from memory.

The entire set packs tightly into the pot and is sealed effectively with a locking bungee that easily stores inside our traveling cooking bin. Though it's not a great consideration for backpacking trips, this cookware set is the perfect companion for car camping. Even if it requires a little extra space in your rig, it will serve a small group very well.

Weight

We were impressed with the overall value of this thoughtful design. But considering all of the additional features, along with the thick and durable stainless steel construction, the Base Camp is one of the heavier cookware sets that we tested.

Weighing in at 4.8 pounds for the entire set, this is far too heavy for any human-powered adventure. However, this is a great consideration for a mule-assisted base camp or an all-inclusive cookware set for car camping.

Should You Buy the Stanley Adventure Base Camp?

The Stanley Adventure Base Camp is ideal for car campers who don't mind trading some additional weight for a durable cookware set. But if you're cooking for a group of friends on your tailgate, does weight even factor into your decision? Although we certainly wouldn't recommend this set for any human-powered adventure, it is actually a great option for pack-animal-supported base camping trips. This high-value cookware set offers excellent cooking performance with an intuitive design, all available at a price that won't break the bank.

What Other Camping Cookware Should You Consider?