2015 Editors' Choice: Sea to Summit X-Pot
Behold the world’s most packable cook pot.
Brand: Sea to Summit
Model: X-Pot
How’s this for a magic trick? Turn a 1-inch-tall disk into a 2.8-liter pot with the flick of your wrist. It’s easy with the X-Pot, which has silicone walls that fold in on themselves, shrinking the pot down from 4.5 inches tall. The innovation solves the main problem with cookware: Pots are bulky and cumbersome. But shrinking isn’t the X-Pot’s only talent. We found the flexible walls easy to scrape clean, and the hard-anodized aluminum base shed even a layer of caked-on scrambled brownie. It’s a bit heavier than an all-aluminum pot, and you need to take care not to expose the silicone to direct flame (simply avoid the campfire), but those are minor compromises for the ease of packing what’s usually our kit’s most awkward item.