Vargo Bot One Liter Backpacking Cookware Review

Bottom Line

If you think that the Vargo Bot looks like a thru-hiker invented it, you’d be right. Brian Vargo realized that his cookpot and water bottle were essentially the same and could be combined into one lightweight piece of gear. Voilà, the Vargo Bot.

We tested the Vargo Bot in the Rocky Mountains, with various cooking styles, and in a controlled lab setting. While niche ultralighters will love its unique design, the Bot is not the pot for foodies.

The screw-on lid is excellent for cold-soaking and extra food or water storage and doubles as a capable cookpot. The lid creates a watertight seal and helps preserve the pot’s shape when it’s stuffed in your pack. It does however, lack features that some consider crucial, such as drain holes and a pour spout.

Although it’s not the worst pot for cooking, the Bot favors weight savings over cooking performance. It weighs just 5 ounces and its tall, narrow design accommodates two 4-ounce fuel canisters and easily slides into side pockets.

While culinary enthusiasts might appreciate the full feature sets of other backpacking cooksets, the Vargo Bot provides a unique solution for ultralight backpackers.

How We Tested

We tested the Vargo Bot both in a controlled lab setting (aka our kitchen) and on our backpacking trails in the Rocky Mountains. We tested its cooking performance and usability with many different cooking styles and evaluated its durability, weight, and packability against similar cooksets. Our perspective on this piece of gear is informed by hundreds of nights cooking in the backcountry.

Cooking Performance

Although titanium isn’t known for its superior cooking performance, the Vargo Bot did surprisingly well during our testing, particularly in boil time and heat distribution.

Due to the thinness of the titanium, the Bot heats up incredibly fast. It’s best to have some water in your pot before you even turn the stove on. A fast heat transfer means a fast boil time, but it also usually lends itself to uneven heat distribution and hotspots.

With the Vargo Bot, hotspots are mitigated by its relatively narrow footprint. Since a stove’s flame can cover more surface area on the bottom of the pot, it’s less likely to be hotter in the middle and cooler on the edges.

This flame distribution also helps prevent burning food, which can be particularly annoying and sometimes devastating in the backcountry. Although the titanium lacks a non-stick coating, if you cook with care, it’s actually quite easy to clean.

Because this design is meant to also perform as a 1-liter water bottle, the Bot is taller than it is wide. Some may find it inconvenient and difficult to heat food evenly without constant stirring. We highly recommend pairing this pot with long-handled utensils.

Weight & Packability

The Vargo Bot 1L fits easily into the ultralight backpacker’s kit with an overall weight of only 5 ounces – the third lightest cook set on our list. It also achieves an impressive capacity-to-weight ratio of 278mL per ounce. The exceptional weight savings come as no surprise from a titanium pot.

The narrow shape doesn’t allow for an 8-ounce fuel canister, but it does accommodate two 4-ounce canisters stacked on top of each other with plenty of extra space for a small backpacking stove and a lighter. 

With its sizable 1-liter capacity, the Vargo Bot does occupy a fair amount of pack real estate – 108.4 cubic inches, to be exact. But its tall, narrow body allows it to easily slide into a side water bottle pocket, expanding its stowing options and setting it apart from other 1-liter pots. Again, this pot is designed to replace one of your water bottles or act as a cold-soak container while you’re logging miles.

Usability

The Vargo Bot has a minimal feature set, specifically designed for use multiple times a day. It intentionally lacks things like drain holes, pour spouts, and pressure release valves. 

One of the only designs in the cookware world is the silicone gasket screw-on lid. We couldn’t get a single drop of liquid to escape the Bot’s watertight seal. This stand-out feature makes the Bot uniquely suited for cold-soaking, storing leftovers, or as an additional water bottle. 

However, because the lid seals so tightly, it can be difficult to remove under certain conditions, such as freezing temperatures or increasing altitude. Also, you’re in for a puzzle if you cross-thread the lid. Using your titanium spoon or even a credit card can help. Vargo has a whole page on how to unstock your Bot because it’s gonna happen.

Personally, we don’t usually use this pot as a water bottle (although it’s great for long carries). We mostly use it to cold-soak and cook in a single container. Unlike plastic cold-soaking containers, which require frequent cleaning or replacement, the Bot can be sanitized with heat, providing extra peace of mind. If you use it in this way, the Bot is very multi-purpose and saves packing space.

This design does come with a few sacrifices. As mentioned before, there is no convenient way to drain things like pasta water, and it also lacks convenient handles. Although Vargo does make a handled version of the Bot, this version is designed for maximum weight savings. We also noticed slight cupping on the bottom of the pot, which can cause it to wobble on flat surfaces and some stoves.

Durability

Titanium has a naturally exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, but most backpacking titanium pots are very thin, making them prone to warping and bending. Luckily, the Bot’s robust screw-on lid helps the pot keep its shape even after years of use. Also, the rim of the opening features a durable, reinforced collar to boost its durability.

In typical ultralight streamlined designs, the Vargo Bot lacks movable parts that are susceptible to breaking. This particular version lacks handles on both the pot and lid. While these are handy (get it?!) features, the minimal design potentially increases the overall longevity of the pot.

One thing to keep an eye on with the thin titanium construction is cupping on the bottom of the pot. We’ve already noticed some cupping with moderate use, which could get worse over time.

Should You Buy the Vargo Bot Cookpot?

The Vargo Bot 1L uniquely suits the ultralight backpacker who values simplicity and versatility. Its innovative screw-on lid makes it a perfect cold-soaking container or extra water bottle. Multi-use items such as this are invaluable for minimalist backpackers as they free up valuable pack space. The titanium pot is also incredibly lightweight.

Although the Vargo Bot lacks convenient features such as foldable handles, drain holes, and pour spouts, the minimalist design increases its durability and packability. The pot easily slides into a side pocket without the need for a stuff sack and is less prone to warping than other titanium pots.

The basic backcountry cook, mostly boiling water to rehydrate meals, will be impressed with the Bot’s expanded cooking performance for a titanium pot. It’s easy to clean and has relatively good heat dispersion and non-stick properties. However, anyone cooking more involved meals for themselves or multiple people will feel the limitations of this tall and narrow pot.

What Other Backpacking Cookware Should You Consider?

The Vargo Bot is admittedly a niche design, but don’t worry, we’ve included cooksets for every kind of backpacker in our full guide to backpacking cookware.

Evernew Pasta Pot 1L Review: Another 1-liter titanium pot with a tight lid, but offering an alternate shape and added features. The Pasta pot is shorter and wider than the Bot and comes with pot and lid handles, drain holes, and a pour spout.

Toaks Titanium 750mL Review: This pot is as ultralight as it gets. It’s titanium and cooks similarly to the bot but has a few extra features and weighs about 4 ounces. 

Snow Peak Titanium Mini Solo Review: The Mini Solo is a titanium set featuring a tall pot and a smaller cup with a combined capacity of 1450mL. It has a simple lid like the Bot but it doesn’t screw on.