If I had to list the top three things that I hate carrying, but need when I head out on an adventure, it’s food, water, and a means of cooking and eating said food. It seems ridiculous to condemn the few things I need to survive, but here we are — and I’ve felt this way for years.

Additionally, although I won’t say I’ve gone ultralight as part of an undefined midlife crisis, I prefer carrying fewer things and a smaller pack. Because of that, I have been working on ways to minimize my cooking setup.

With help from both Grayl and Aqua Research, I’ve figured out how to keep my water weight down. Freeze-dried food has also helped address both weight and space while guaranteeing a gourmet meal on the trail.

But finding the right cookset and stove combo has been a bear. Not because I don’t know what I want. There are just too many options to choose from.

Finally, this past winter, I stumbled upon the Fire Maple Petrel Ultralight G2 Pot 750mL. As the name suggests, it was a lightweight solution. It has a heat exchanger for efficiency and a pour spout to keep from making a mess. This pot was also just the right size to carry a stove and a gas canister.

Those features are all common nowadays. But the $30 price tag was a surprise. In a market filled with similar cooking solutions for twice the price, I was excited to see if the G2 held up to Fire Maple claims.

In short: The Petrel Ultralight G2 Pot is an ideal cookpot for backpacking trips and adventures that require a fast and easy means of heating food and water. Fire Maple found a great balance of weight and capacity for a better price than similar pots from bigger brands. Budget- and weight-conscious hikers, backpackers, and others who spend time outdoors should check out this cookpot.

Check out GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Backpacking Stoves and the Best Camping Stoves.

Fire Maple Petrel Ultralight G2 Pot Review

Design & Features

The Petrel Ultralight G2 Pot does not have its own heating element. It is just a pot, so make sure you’ve got a compact canister stove like the MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe or the GSI Outdoors Glacier. The pot has notches built into the bottom that accept the stabilizing arms of most, if not all, compact canister stoves on the market.

The G2 Pot is made from a nonstick aluminum alloy, which helps keep the pot’s price down. With a 25-ounce capacity and an empty weight of 6.5 ounces, the pot has a great balance between capacity and weight. It rivals some of the titanium solutions on the market today.

When empty, the G2 Pot can carry a stove, canister, and foldable utensils. That makes it viable for anyone looking to stay organized and save space.

The G2 Pot has a heat exchanger that helps trap heat. It should also keep your canister stove running efficiently, even if it’s wicked windy outside.

The lid of the pot has a notch to allow steam to escape and for you to drain any unwanted liquids. There is also a pour spout on the pot itself to drain and pour liquids. A locking handle keeps your hands from getting burned and locks the pot and lid closed when not in use.

The G2 Pot dissipates heat quickly once the stove is turned off, and the hot contents are removed. But it also has an optional neoprene sleeve to handle the pot and use it as a cup.

First Impressions

I’ve been on a roller coaster in regards to pricing since I was a kid. Back then, expensive meant quality. Now, that correlation isn’t so clear.

Affordable can equal quality and vice versa. That’s why it’s important to do your research. Having relied on and tested Fire Maple’s Sunflower Stove, I assumed the Petrel G2 would be a quality pot at an affordable price.

That said, I wanted a pot that could hold my MSR PocketRocket Deluxe, a gas canister, and a folding spork. It had to fit in a smaller pack (possibly a hip pack) and be efficient.

I also wanted a pour spout for draining and pouring hot liquids. The heat exchanger on the G2 was a bonus. Sure, I saw the benefit in having one, but I didn’t know how necessary it would be. That came later when trying to heat up some chow on the banks of the Connecticut River on a cold and windy day.

Overall, I was impressed when this pot arrived. It was lightweight and the perfect size. Visually, it was almost indistinguishable from titanium. However, it is coated aluminum, so we’ll need to see how well it holds up. As a rule, I never use metal utensils in these pots, so I am sure that will help in the long run.

In the Field

I tend to use stoves more in the winter months because they’re easier to maintain than a fire and are quicker. If it’s cold and windy out, I either want to eat and move on or eat and go to sleep.

My first day out with the G2 pot was cold and windy. I was hiking a big loop that took me right down to the banks of the river, making it even colder and windier.

I chose to use my Grayl Mission EXP 4.5L Hip Pack because I didn’t need to carry much for a 5-mile hike. It fit the G2 Pot perfectly next to my Klymit Nest Sleeping Bag liner.

I don’t mind skimping on gear in the cold, but shit happens, and the last thing I want to do is freeze to death. To keep me warm and energized, I brought a freeze-dried pack of Wild Zora’s Harvest Beef. When I picked it out, the “quick quinoa meal” spoke to me on a spiritual level. It did not disappoint.

I was able to boil 16 ounces of water (or more than double the amount needed to rehydrate that savory meal in a bag) in less than a minute. The MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe throws out some serious heat. I was stoked at how efficiently it boiled water with the Fire Maple G2 Pot.

Since then, I have been out a half-dozen more times to prep food, tea, or coffee on the trail. As I mentioned, I don’t use metal utensils in my pots. Fire Maple sent me its Color Tritan Spoke, and it works great. It also folds down so it can fit inside the pot with the stove and gas canister.

The G2 Pot can nest and carry the larger 230g fuel canisters. But they take up most of the space inside the pot. By using the 110g ISOPRO canisters, I have enough room to carry everything inside the pot. This is also great when switching between packs. Everything is right there in the pot. You just need to bring along food and water.

Fire Maple Petrel Ultralight G2 Pot: In Conclusion

Over the last 30 years, I have used a variety of cooking solutions out on the trail. Most of that time was spent using the Original Jetboil Stove I have had since it was launched back in 2004. It’s hard to ignore how efficient and all-inclusive that stove is.

However, after shifting to a smaller pack, I realized that the Jetboil was not as compact as other options. Considering that most freeze-dried foods only require a fraction of the Jetboil’s capacity, finding something smaller was a no-brainer.

That being the case, I never expected to find a pot that performs like the Fire Maple Petrel Ultralight G2 Pot for $30. Cooksets and cookware have historically been expensive. But they also lend themselves to becoming a necessity, especially in the cold. With its 25-ounce capacity, I can cook for myself or up to four people in total with this pot.

When I consider how little space the G2 takes up and how much it can do, I wonder if this is my last cookpot review. I don’t see myself moving on past this one.