A lot of camp pans are thin aluminium with a non-stick coating that’s worn through after a season. The Sea to Summit Detour Stainless Steel Pan goes the other way: a proper 10 inch frying pan in stainless steel, with a handle that folds back over the pan to pack. We bought it, together with the Detour pot, for our big December trip, a three-week lap from Sydney, and we’ve owned it for over a year now. It cost us $100, it lives in the back of the car, and we find ourselves using it for almost every meal.
What’s in the box
One 10 inch (25 cm) frying pan made from 304 stainless steel, with a three-ply base: a layer of aluminium between two layers of stainless steel. It has a fixed, folding Click-Safe handle with an orange release tab, and the base works on gas, induction and radiant electric stoves. The pan comes with Sea to Summit’s lifetime guarantee.
What we like
- Three-ply base spreads the heat
- Sturdy handle that folds away
- Tough 304 stainless steel
- Works on gas and induction
- Detour pot nests inside it
- Cooks a full meal for two
What we don’t
- Heavy for hiking: 880 g
- Not non-stick: eggs leave stains
- Handle lock stiffens if stored damp
Quick Specs
| Spec | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Sea to Summit |
| Material | 304 stainless steelAluminium core |
| Weight | 880 g |
| Diameter | 25 cm |
| Packed size | 39.8 × 26.1 × 5.1 cm |
| Compatibility | GasInductionRadiant electric |
| Features | Click-Safe folding handle |
The Click-Safe handle
The handle is the clever part. Folded out, it clicks into place, and once it’s attached it’s very stable and sturdy, with no wobble. Press the orange tab and the handle swings back over the pan, where it lies flat across the top for packing. If the pan hasn’t been used for a few months, the lock can be a bit stiff to undo, so keep it clean and dry before you store it.
Base and build
Turn the pan over and you can see the three-ply base, the heavy disc on the bottom with the aluminium sandwiched inside. That aluminium spreads the heat, which matters on a small camp stove with one ring of flame in the middle. The walls are plain stainless steel, and the corner between the base and the walls is a wide curve, so food doesn’t get stuck in a tight edge.
Cooking with it
We cook with it on the Dune 4WD single burner butane stove, with a folding windshield around it when there’s a breeze. Here it’s onion and broccolini. It works great, and it has full cooking capacity for two people: a whole meal fits in the pan at once. That’s why it gets used for almost every meal we cook at camp, from eggs at breakfast to dinner.
Cleaning
It isn’t non-stick, so it needs oil, and eggs for breakfast leave stains on the base. They do come out: the Sea to Summit Pot Scrubber works well on them, and the wide curve between the base and the walls means there’s no tight corner for egg to hide in. Being bare stainless steel, you can scrub it hard without worrying about a coating.
Packing
At 880 g on our scale it’s heavy for a hiking pack, but for car camping it packs well. Because the handle folds away, the pan can live in a bag in the back of our car all the time. With the handle folded in, the Detour collapsible pouring pot nests inside the pan, and the two travel in the back of our Prado next to the stove. It’s part of Sea to Summit’s Detour range, which also includes the Detour stainless steel bowl and Detour mug.
Detour Pan vs Detour Pot
We bought the pan and the Detour Pot together, and they make a good pair: the pan for frying a full meal for two, the pot for boiling water for the morning coffee. Collapsed, the pot nests inside the pan, so the two pack as one.
This review Detour Pan |  Detour Pot | |
|---|---|---|
| Collapsible | No | Yes |
| Use | Frying | Boiling, pouring |
| Material | Stainless | Stainless, Silicone |
| Weight | 880 g | 467 g |
| Price paid | $100 | $100 |
| Our score | 9.5 | 9.4 |
Conclusion: Sea to Summit Detour Stainless Steel Pan (10 Inch)Conclusion
The Sea to Summit Detour Stainless Steel Pan is a proper 10 inch frying pan for camp: 304 stainless steel with a three-ply base that spreads the heat of a small stove, and a Click-Safe handle that’s stable and sturdy when attached and folds back over the pan to pack. We’ve had it for over a year, it cooks a full meal for two, and we use it for almost every meal. It’s heavy at 880 g and it isn’t non-stick, so eggs leave stains that need a scrub, but it’s built to last, the Detour pot nests inside it, and for car campers and 4WD tourers who cook real meals it’s a pan that won’t need replacing. At $100 it isn’t cheap, but it should last for years.
A 10 inch, three-ply stainless steel pan with a handle that locks for cooking and folds in to pack.
Too heavy for hiking and not non-stick, but tough and even on a small stove.
- Car campers
- 4WD tourers
- Couples
Yes. At $100 it costs more than an aluminium pan, but we’ve used it for almost every meal for over a year, and 304 stainless steel with a lifetime guarantee won’t wear out like a non-stick coating does.
