The Pinnacle Dualist from GSI Outdoors contains nearly everything you’ll need to prepare and eat meals for two. Bring along a lightweight stove and some food and you will be completely set.
The Dualist comes with 2 bowls, 2 cups, 2 cup lids, 2 foons, a 1.8 liter pot, a pot lid, and a bag to put it all in. Following the credo of the ultralight backpacker, everything serves double duty whenever possible. For example, the bag for the set can be used as a wash basin to clean everything when you’re done eating. If you have an ultralight stove (like the pocket rocket) and a 4 ounce gas canister, there’s even enough room to stuff that in the Dualist too.
We tested out the Dualist on our recent trip to Larrabee state park and I was very impressed. At 1.3 pounds, the Dualist certainly isn’t heavy when compared to the competition. I normally use a set of Snowpeak titanium pots for cooking which are fairly light. The Dualist came in at 3 ounces heavier, but also included everything I needed to eat the meal with.
As with everything, there are some limitations to the dualist. Since the Dualist is designed to be as light weight as possible, it’s designed with the needs of the ultralight backpacker in mind. That is to say, it’s designed to boil water. The pot is fairly narrow and very tall. As a result, you’re not going to be cooking any bacon in this pot without getting creative. However, if you’re considering an ultralight pot set, you’re probably not going to be car camping with it. So, this shouldn’t be a big problem in the real world.
We did manage to get a bit creative and cook some small pancakes for breakfast without any big issues. Heat transfer was fairly even and didn’t burn the eggs or the pancakes we made. The Teflon interior makes all the difference when cooking meals as things are much less likely to stick and cleanup is a snap. Additionally, the insulating sleeves around the cups were a nice added touch that kept our hands from being burned by hot drinks.
With an MSRP of $59.95, the dualist is a well priced option for any backpacker that’s looking to save some weight. As long as you’re not looking to bake a cake in the backcountry, the Dualist may be a good fit for you.
We’ve had our Pinnacle Dualist for several years now and have never had any problems. It’s very light weight and can adjust to serve more than two people.
I’ve continued to look for other kitchen options for backpacking but haven’t found a system that can do as much as the Dualist all in one small bag.