Collapsible dishes are insanely useful for car camping, backpacking, or just picnicking outdoors. They’re lightweight, packable, and durable, and they store easily. But Sea to Summit’s latest camp set, the Detour Collection, takes the concept a step further.
Not only is the Detour Collection collapsible, packable, and nesting, but you can also cook with it on heated elements. Now, being collapsible isn’t relegated to fully silicone mugs and bowls. By Sea to Summit’s new definition, it encompasses fully functional pots, pans, and kettles, too. Sea to Summit claims this is the “first-ever collapsible camp kitchen equipment compatible with both gas stoves and induction cooktops.”
While there are other collapsible pots and pans for backpacking, like the GSI Escape HS, I haven’t seen anything quite like the Detour.
The handles attach and detach and are reversible to hold the lids in place for easy storage. The cutlery and utensils all fit together. All of the pieces are designed to be “rattle-proof” for travel on rough roads. And, of course, the silicone and stainless steel construction of the pots, kettle, and bowls allows you to cook on an induction cooktop or gas stove and collapse your camp cookware.
It’s a slick camp kitchen kit. I got a sample ahead of Sea to Summit’s launch today to get some testing impressions and a first look at the new collection.
In short: The Sea to Summit Detour Collection is packable, durable camping cookware, dishware, and utensils. Unlike other collapsible camp dishes, the stainless steel bases make these products compatible with induction cooktops and gas stoves. They’re perfect for boating, RVs, and car camping, and might even be useful to folks living in tiny homes or apartments. It’s high-quality camp cookware and a first from Sea to Summit.
- Construction: Silicone and stainless steel
- Compatible: Gas or induction cooktops
- Pot sizes: 1.6L (kettle), 1.8L, 3L, 5L
- Pot (1.8L) weight: 1 lb., 1 oz.
- Pan (10") weight: 2 lbs.
- Sold in 3-piece, 4-piece, or 5-piece kits:
Pros
- Stows compactly when collapsed
- Durable
- Versatile for home, overlanding, or camp cooking
Cons
- Must be careful not to compress when full of hot liquids
- Heavy
Sea to Summit: The Detour Camp Cookware Collection
The full Detour Collection includes 17 products — 6 of which are bundled kits. The Detour features cutlery, utensils, a kettle, a paring knife, a kitchen knife, chopsticks, medium and large collapsible bowls, stainless steel plate and collapsible mug, 1.8L pouring pot, 3L and 5L cooking pots, and a 10-inch stainless steel pan.
If I owned a boat or an RV, these would be staples in the kitchenette or galley. Honestly, I’d consider using a few of these pieces in my home. So for camp cooking, the collection is downright luxe. And you’ll definitely turn some heads at the campsite when you pop open your silicone pot and start cooking in it.
Detour Pots
The pouring pot and 3L and 5L pots are three of the collection’s stars. I cooked pasta in the pots and made water for coffee in the pouring pot. If you wanted to get gourmet, you could even use them for chili or soup.
Cleaning is just as easy as with any collapsible camp cookware. And I’m a big fan of the satisfying silicone thunk sound they make upon deployment.
The 3L and 5L pots have Sea to Summit’s patent-pending ClickSafe technology. That allows the user to press a small button on the handles to detach them, flip them, and handle the pot for use, or store it with the lid sealed. The pour pot features a grab handle with the same feature so you can store it with the handle over the lid.
Note: Be careful when there are hot liquids in these pots. If you put the lid on with too much force, it could accidentally collapse, and you’ll have a hot mess on your hands.
Kettle
One of the products I really liked (but I couldn’t get a sample of) is the Detour Kettle. I used it on a camping press trip outside of Breckenridge, Colo., last summer and thought it was totally rad you could snap open a kettle with a spout and put water on to boil. It’s a novelty, sure. But a pretty damn cool one.
Plates, Bowls, Mugs
Admittedly, there isn’t much to report about the plates. They’re high-quality stainless steel, collapse to half the size, and that’s about it.
The bowls and mugs are a little more interesting. They’re both collapsible. It’s pretty amazing how much space in your camping box it saves when you can store all of your mugs and bowls flat.
Note: The Detour mugs, bowls, and plates are not compatible with induction cooktops or gas stoves like the Detour Stainless Steel Collapsible Pot, Detour Stainless Steel Collapsible Kettle, Detour Stainless Steel Collapsible Pouring Pot, Detour Essentials Camp Kitchen Kit.”
10-Inch Pan
I’ve used a lot of pans for camping in my day, but this has got to be one of the nicer ones. There isn’t much to this pan — it doesn’t collapse, and it’s as heavy as any other 10-inch in my kitchen.
It does, however, have tech so you can reverse the handle. That makes storage in a boat, RV, or camping box very convenient.
Utensils and Cutlery
The utensil and cutlery sets offered in the Detour Collection have that Sea to Summit cleverness on full display. The spatula/stir spoon/tongs and forks/knives/spoons nest satisfyingly together. They’re well-weighted, too — they feel nice in your hands.
Both come with a rubber storage sleeve that has a magnet in it. That’s to store them securely and keep them from jostling around. But only the cutlery could hold onto my fridge. The utensils were too heavy and slid off — so horizontal storage is advised.
Kitchen and Paring Knives
Admittedly, my experience with the Detour knives is limited to a brief interaction on that Breckenridge camping trip. From that limited use, I’d say that they’re easily as high a quality as the other items in the Detour Collection. They won’t replace your Shun knives, but they’ll do everything you need at a campsite, on the road, or on the open ocean.
Sea to Summit Detour Collection: The Final Word
The Detour Collection is available on Sea to Summit’s website. You can purchase the pieces individually or as a kit. Sea to Summit offers a three-piece set with the kettle ($100), and a five-piece set with the 3L pot ($200).
I can already tell you that my camp kitchen box looks a lot more compact and organized. Instead of cups, bowls, pots, and pans crammed in next to and on top of one another, the Detour Collection nests within itself, and takes up much less space.
While there are some other collapsible cookware products out there, Sea to Summit’s stainless steel and silicone design is unique. The ClickSafe storage, magnetic utensil sleeves, and other features give this collection a classic flair.
Sea to Summit’s whole schtick is taking existing camping gear and improving the designs. I’d say it accomplished that in the cookware space with the Detour Collection.
