“Cooking in the backcountry is a very important skill to master,” says Eagle Scout Adam Herrenbruck, 25, the chief ranger at Philmont Scout Ranch. “It isn’t just something you do because you’re hungry. Cooking can be important for first aid, for getting proper nutrition on the trail and for keeping spirits up in the backcountry.”

While for some guys cooking means unwrapping an energy bar and pouring some Gatorade, if you want to do camp cooking right, you’ll need at least a few smart pieces of cooking gear.

“But don’t just go home and pull something out of your mom’s cabinet,” warns Adam, who has led Scouts at the BSA national high-adventure base near Cimarron, N.M., for five years. “That would be overkill, and there are plenty of lightweight things designed specifically for the trail.”

Here are Adam’s suggestions for building your own backcountry kitchen. Read on and eat well.

WHAT TO CARRY

The sort of cooking gear you bring along depends on how many people will be eating meals and what you plan to cook. The bigger your group, the bigger the size and number of pots and pans you’ll need to bring — but you’ll also be able to share the weight by splitting up the gear among your crew.

“If you’re hiking and cooking in a crew, each individual probably only needs his own bowl, spoon and cup,” Adam says. If you’re just backpacking with a friend and plan to eat freeze-dried meals, then a single pot with a lid plus two spoons might be all you need.

WEIGHT

Camp cookware can be made of everything from ultra-light titanium or aluminum alloy to sturdy stainless steel. “For backpacking, aluminum and lighter metals like titanium are the way to go,” Adam says. “Stainless steel is heavier, but if you can get away with the extra weight, stainless will last a lot longer.”

Aluminum is both affordable and lightweight but less durable and tougher to clean. Titanium is very strong, but also extremely expensive.

BUY A KIT OR A LA CARTE?

Buying cookware one piece at a time will help you get exactly the stuff you want, but the prepackaged cooksets — which usually come with a pair of bowls, a lid, a plate/lid/frying pan, pot grabber and such — will likely save you money and time, and they will be lighter weight and more compact because they are designed to nest together. “Mess kits are cool because they give you options and then you can decide exactly what to take for each trip,” he says.

EXTRAS

Make sure your pot comes with a lid — otherwise boiling water outdoors in an unprotected pan will take forever and waste lots of precious fuel. And don’t forget to bring along something to pick up your hot pots and pans, since most camp cookware doesn’t have handles. “A lot of kits come with hot pot tongs or handle grabbers,” Adam says. “But you can also just use something like a Leatherman-type tool, which will also serve other functions on the trail.”

NONSTICK OR NOT?

Some pots and pans come with a nonstick coating like Teflon that stops food from sticking to the metal. This is especially handy when frying foods, and it makes cleanup much simpler. Be aware that nonstick coatings are easily scratched by metal utensils and will eventually wear off.

SOMETHING TO EAT AND DRINK FROM

While an old plastic cereal bowl works for Adam, you might prefer something more lightweight and space friendly, like a collapsible bowl or even foldable cups and bowls. “I often use a simple Tupperware-style bowl with a lid — that way, I can store food inside.”

UTENSILS

“You should always have a spoon,” Adam says. “For small groups, you can just use your personal utensil as a stir spoon. But for groups of 10 or so, you should have a dedicated long-handled cook spoon for stirring and serving because it’s easier and more hygienic.”

Long-handled spoons are also good for digging to the bottom of a bag of freeze-dried food and for stirring boiling water. Some people swear by multi-function utensils like sporks (spoon + fork) or foons (fork + spoon). These can be made from titanium (expensive) or Lexan or some other type of hard polycarbonate plastic (affordable). It’s really all personal preference.

WHERE TO SHOP

“Shopping online is a great resource,” Adam says, “because you can read a lot of reviews online and make price comparisons.” But when it comes to shopping for cookware, you might as well just go to your local outdoor specialty retailer. “It’s great to support your local shops, and it’s probably not worth paying the extra shipping to order cooking gear online,” he says.

HOW MUCH TO SPEND

When it comes to camp cookware, you can spend from $150 for a lightweight titanium cook set to $7 on used pots, bowls and silverware at the local resale store. One thing to consider is that good cookware is an investment. Unlike boots and clothing, you’ll never grow out of your pots and pans, so it’s not a bad idea to invest in something that will be durable and lightweight.