 This Product
Stanley Wildfare Core Full Serve 26-Piece | |||||
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| Awards |  Best Value Cookset for Groups |  Best Campfire-Safe Cookware | |||
| Price | $90 List Check Price at Amazon | $95 List Check Price at REI | $70 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $33 List Check REI (on sale!) | $45 List Check Price at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | A comprehensive and budget-friendly cookware set that works well for families of four or small groups on the road | This lays the foundation for gourmet and health-conscious campers seeking a lightweight cookware set with exceptional non-stick performance | Whether traveling or in the comfort of your own home, these tried-and-true cast iron skillets are perfect for preparing gourmet meals | A super durable stainless steel cook set designed for the solo traveller | A great budget-friendly option for those seeking front-country performance that’s sufficient for two |
| Rating Categories | Stanley Wildfare Cor... | MSR Fusion Ceramic 2... | Lodge 3.2 Quart Cast... | GSI Outdoors Glacier... | Stanley Wildfare Go... |
| Cooking Performance (30%) | |||||
| Ease of Cleaning (25%) | |||||
| Features (15%) | |||||
| Durability (10%) | |||||
| Packability (10%) | |||||
| Weight (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Stanley Wildfare Cor... | MSR Fusion Ceramic 2... | Lodge 3.2 Quart Cast... | GSI Outdoors Glacier... | Stanley Wildfare Go... |
| Components | 8” fry pan, 4 qt pot, lid with vent, cutting board, silicone trivet, 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 cutlery set, spatula, spoon, bungee cord closure | 1.5L pot, 2.5L pot, lid, removable handle | 3.2 qt Dutch oven, 10" frypan/lid | 1L pot, folding handle frying pan, bowl, cup, stuff sack | 1.5L saucepan with folding handle; strainer lid; 2 cutting boards; removable trivets; two 473 ml bowl; 2 2-piece sporks; 2-piece spatula |
| Cooking Surfaces | 18/8 food-grade stainless steel | Ceramic nonstick | Cast iron | 18/8 stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Servingware Material | Plastic | N/A | N/A | Stainless steel (bowl) and polypropylene (mug) | Plastic |
| Packed Size | 8.5 x 10.5 x 6 in | 7.7 x 5 in | 16.5 x 10.38 x 4.63 in | 6.7 x 6.6 x 3.5 in | 6.26 x 6.26 x 4.02 in |
| Measured Weight | 4.7 lbs | 1.0 lbs | 12.3 lbs | 1.0 lbs | 1.78 lbs |
| Avg Boil Time (seconds) | 180 | 215 | 270 | 236 | 155 |
| Weight of Pot Closest to 1.5 L (with Lid and Handle) | 1.13 lbs | 0.5 lbs | 5.9 lbs | 0.74 lbs | .8 lbs |
If you're on a budget and after a complete camp kitchen cookset that's built to feed up to four people on the go, the Stanley Wildfare Core Full Serve 26-Piece is worth checking out. There are plates, bowls, cooking and eating utensils, a stainless steel frying pan, and a 4-quart pot with lid. There's also a small cutting board and a silicone trivet. It's light and packable, so it won't take up much room in your car, and it's a fraction of the cost of the nicest sets we tested.
The Stanley Wildfare Core's pot and skillet are made from food grade stainless steel that distributes heat evenly whether you're cooking over an open flame or on your camp stove. The 4-quart pot is where we typically cooked our meals, whether sautéing ground beef for tacos or chili, or prepping a large amount of pasta for hungry adventurers. The frying pan has excellent cooking performance, but the capacity is a little small. It's decent for two people, but tricky to fit enough meat or veggies for a group of four.
We could boil water efficiently in the pot, and the frying pan whipped up scrambled eggs without leaving a ton of mess behind. We definitely broke the yolks on our fried eggs, but hey, we're less picky on the road. And for all our disappointments with the plastic servingware, we were pretty impressed with the spatula. The design is rigid enough to get underneath eggs and pancakes easily, and also nice for scraping the pan after a messy meal. Overall, we're impressed with the Wildfare Core's cooking performance, which far exceeds its modest price.
While there are some components of the Wildfare Core that are easy to clean, even after messy pasta or chili meals, the plastic utensils are a nightmare. The pot and frying pan feature mostly smooth and rounded surfaces, minus a few punched measurements inside the stock pot. The most difficult places to clean were beneath the lid where it connects with the top of the pot and pan; this area took a little more attention than other areas.
The plates and bowls are easy to wipe clean, while the cutting board has a pattern on the bottom that allows the hot pad to attach and this could take more time to scrub, depending upon how precise your camp chef may be. The utensils collapse in the middle, and food often got stuck to the mechanism that must be pressed in order to break down the utensil for transport. The difficulty of cleaning is just one of the reasons we don't love the plastic utensils, but more on that below. Overall, this set is fairly easy to clean between meals, and if you're having trouble with the plasticware, heating up some hot water for a soak while you sip another round of coffee ain't a bad idea.
The Wildfare Core is the epitome of a feature-rich cookware set. Its 26 separate components make a comprehensive set that serves up to four people. It includes a 4-quart stock pot and lid (with holes for straining pasta water), an 8" frying pan, a cutting board with a removable trivet, 4 plates, 4 bowls, 4 sets of dual-end (spoon on one side and fork on the other) utensils, a serving spoon, and a spatula. Each item easily nests into a compact package beneath a bungee that covers the lid for easy transport.
While amazing and adventure-ready in theory, we often found ourselves disappointed by the plastic servingware. If you've already got a favorite camp spork, we recommend bringing it along instead of the utensils in this set. And while the set includes a cutting board, it's plastic, exposing you to microplastics that may end up in your food. The cutting board (along with all the other plasticware) is tiny, barely enough space to slice an apple, and the shape is off, so food sometimes falls off onto the table where you're prepping dinner. All that said, the compact and nested design along with the budget-friendly price will have some tradeoffs, and the servingware definitely leaves a bit to be desired. But if you're not on the road very long, the set includes plenty of features to feed your family and friends.
The heavier-bottomed stainless steel sauce pan and skillet feel as durable as it gets. Unfortunately, the budget-friendly price is reflected in the cheaper plastic servingware components included with the Wildfare Core. The set also forgoes a carry bag in exchange for a thick bungee that cleverly wraps around the handles of the pot, across the lid, with two plastic sliders that attach on each side of the lid to hold it in place while making the top of the lid the carry handle. While we can appreciate this creative detail, it just doesn't scream longevity.
The servingware includes teeny tiny plates along with decently sized bowls constructed from thin, flimsy plastic. It's lightweight and cheap, but it scratches easily and doesn't match the quality of the pots and pans. The utensils are probably our least favorite part of the set; they are low quality and collapsible. The collapsible feature is clever for packing; however, the latch that you have to disengage to break them down is really difficult, and you feel like you might break the utensil literally rather than just breaking it down to store.
Stanley advertises a lifetime warranty in case you run into any trouble. Despite our concerns, we only managed some cosmetic scrapes on the plasticware during testing.
For a cookset with so many components, the Wildfare Core packs down easily, with each piece nesting inside the next to minimize the entire package. Each plastic utensil breaks down into two pieces (although this was sometimes tricky), while the frying pan features a collapsible handle and locking mechanism. The entire set measures 6.5 inches tall by 10.5 inches wide, pretty compact dimensions.
We found the set rather easy to pack, as long as you remember to disengage the handle of the frying pan and tuck it underneath. The pan also flips and is stored on top of the serving dishes. If you get lost, there's a helpful diagram on the lid that makes it easy to nest every item appropriately. Once packed, there isn't a ton of extra space, maybe just enough for a dish towel or bag of coffee so it's ready to go for the morning when you're boiling water in the stock pot.
Weighing in just under 5 pounds, the Wildfare Core is one of the lighter group cooksets that includes heavy-bottomed stainless steel cookware. And considering it includes 26 different components, 5 pounds is nothing. The smaller packable measurements are also a selling point for those who are space-conscious in their rigs.
Compared to other cooksets built to feed groups of four, the Wildfare Core is almost half the weight, making it a great choice for anyone on a budget who is also trying to save space and weight during travel.
If you need a camp cookset with enough capacity to feed your friends without breaking the bank, the Stanley Wildfare Core can do that for a good price. The cookware is made from high-quality 18/8 stainless steel, but we'll be honest: the plasticware leaves a bit to be desired. If you can splurge on a better set, there are other options we liked more, but the Wildfare Core has enough capacity to prepare a large meal, is easy to clean, and packable enough to store inside your kitchen bin or the drawer of your camper. It's too heavy to pack into the mountains and is best suited for front-country use, and the price is right for those on a budget.
Our testers live outside for a portion of the year and spend a lot of time cooking at camp,
