Aluminum Frying Pans

[Toepopper]

A small cast iron frying pan, one of the old style real heavy black ones that your grandparents used to cook with, is too heavy to carry around in your back pack or B.O.B. when getting out of Dodge. It makes more sense to carry an aluminum frying pan but people say there are inherent health risks when cooking with aluminum pots and pans. What are these health risks and is it safe to use an aluminum pan over an open fire for an extended emergency stay in the woods ?

[fern]

Aluminum is mainly stored in the brain so a person will have memory problems although it is also stored in other body tissue. Most folks with Alzheimers have aluminum toxicity. We get aluminum in aspirin, deodorants, shampoos, powders, food additives, the air we breathe depending on where you live, cookware, storage containers and the list goes on.

They make light stainless steel pans and that is what I would carry if you want to carry a pan. Their bottoms are not thick so the food will tend to stick but it is a better option than anything aluminum.

Here is a link to read about it.
http://www.vitawise.com/Nutritional_Hea ... xicity.htm

[Watchman]

Stop me if I'm wrong but I believe the aluminum is present in anti-perspirants, not necessarily deodorants.

[bbj101]

Well if this is only for a BOB, I'd still suggest a cast iron pan but maybe only one of the small ones for something like eggs. You won't be making a big meal anyways so why have a big pan..

Also the little stainless steel to me is a good idea, but most have a coating on them. Even read most boxes when you buy the pans, they warn you not to expose to high heat such as open fires or ovens because if over heated the coating can become toxic.

[fern]

I thought that only anti-antiperspirants had aluminum until two weeks ago when I went looking for something other than the brand I have been using and found it is in many deodorants. Read the label well too. I bought two kinds and brought them home only to have BBJ101 show me where the aluminum was listed separately from the main ingredients.

[Toepopper]

Even a small cast iron pan weighs too much to be considered when hiking up and down these mountains. I wanted the larger pan in case I am forced to shoot an elk so I could cook a larger portion with the same sized fire so now I will look into some other way to cook it. Smaller meals like eggs can be scrambled in a canteen cup which rides nested with a canteen on my belt. No need to be concerned with smell well as I don't intend on using the stuff if I have to get out of Dodge in a hurry.

[SS5R]

You can get lightweight backpacking cookware but the frying pans aren’t very big. They make some of them out of Titanium so they are light and durable.
I have been thinking about making a small foldable grill that can be used over a Dakota Fire Hole and carried in canvas bag. But if you’re going to be cooking elk steaks I’ll carry the frying pan I don’t care what it weighs.

[308gun]

Play safe and not use any Aluminum, the Aluminum does flake off with wear and tear, try a G.I. mess half made in steel, you can cook a good size dish, and eat out the other half, it has worked ok for me, but watch handle gets hot on open camp fires..try also the GI cup, and check get the ones in steel, copies made out of USA are mostly Aluminum .. also saw at Walmart that camp wear that has a blue coating seen very light ...