myths about primus...

[Kirstie]

...stoves!

Here is a nice primus stove, which is lightweight, portable and perfect for brewing up en route. The question is, if it runs out of gas, and you are not in the UK, does its little connector connect to any old can of butane or does the design of butane cans vary between countries leaving us sans une boisson chaude.

Ta.

 

[hubbike]

Can be a bit of a hunt to find that kind of screw thread canister in france. Supermarkets and camping shops tend to have the sealable type, puncture type or CampingGaz. I think Intersport or Decathalon shops would do the screw-on ones you need.

To cover all bases you need to get an adapter like-a-dis. Or just work out how many canisters you need for your tour and take them with. As a rule of thumb budget 15g of fuel per person per day. And when it runs out drink water and eat cold food.

 

[andym]

To cover all bases you need to get an adapter like-a-dis.

That adapter works witht the Campin Gaz screw fit cartridges but not with the ones you have to puncture. There's another Markill/Vaude adapter for that - but there's a limit to how many adapters you can take.

Another backup alternative is an alcohol stove - some of the newer designs weigh next to nothing.

BTw - I've got an EtaExpress. It's a nice bit of kit. Personally I prefer it to the Jetboil.

 

[willem]

The most useful adapter is not this one, but the one to use puncture cannisters. I am not sure, however, if you can use it with the Etaexpress stove. Alcohol stoves such as the Trangia mini or Trangia 27, or the Clikstand are easiest from the point of view of getting hold of fuel in France (alcool a bruler, not sure how to do the accent in this editor).
Kirstie also uses the plural: I would think, however, that the Eta Express really is a solo burner only, and not even for real meals, as the lid is too small for any serious frying. If you want a serious gas stove for two, look at the larger integrated Primus Etapower stoves, or perhaps even beter, a Trangia 25 with gas insert. Trangia's have nice large frying pans (get the non stick), and if you buy the lighter hard aluminium versions they don't weigh as much as they used to.
Willem

 

[andym]

This is the other type:

http://www.actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/markill-puncturestyle-cartridge-adaptor-p-881.html

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work with the EtaExpress.

Lots of alcohol stoves here:

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page99.asp

(just to give non-Trangia stoves a fair crack of the whip).

 

[andym]

Oh and while we're on the subject of possible fallback alternatives. There's this:

http://www.actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/markill-stove-base-adapter-p-412.html

Gas blowtorch canisters use the same (EN 417) screwfitting as non-Camping Gaz camping gas cartridges - so this would give the option of using gas cartridges from hardware shops.

 

[andym]

Kirstie also uses the plural: I would think, however, that the Eta Express really is a solo burner only, and not even for real meals, as the lid is too small for any serious frying. If you want a serious gas stove for two, look at the larger integrated Primus Etapower stoves, or perhaps even beter, a Trangia 25 with gas insert. Trangia's have nice large frying pans (get the non stick), and if you buy the lighter hard aluminium versions they don't weigh as much as they used to.
Willem

It's plenty for a 'brew-up' en route. It's a pretty bog standard 1 litre pot. Loads of people camp with them. But it depends on whether your priority is lightness or convenience.

I agree with you about the lid, but the lightest solution would be simply to buy a small frying pan.

 

[willem]

The thing with the hose is not so much an adapter to use different cannisters but a means to use the burner next to the cannister rather than on top. This makes for a more stable setup, and allows tricks like having the cannister upside down. However, at 200 grams it adds rather a lot of weight, just like all side by side gas burners are a lot heavier than the top of the cannister burners.
The lack of a frying pan is a real drawback with many light stoves. They seem to be designed for one thing only: trips of a few days into the wilderness, where all you eat are freeze dried ready made meals. In contrast, even the minimalist 330 gram Trangia 28 flares out to a usable 15 cm frying pan (the Trangia 27 even has a 18 cm frying pan, and the 25 has 22 cm). If you are travelling for any length of time, and particularly in a country like France with an abundance of gorgeous fresh food, I at least really want to be able to fry a steak, some chicken, or some nice fresh fish. I really fail to see why so many pots are tall rather than wide, leaving only little room for a lid/frying pan. Even from the point of view of boiling time, wider pots are more efficient than taller ones.
Of course all this is more of problem with solo camping. A 400 gram solo cooking system, such as the EtaExpress or the Mini Trangia 28 plus windscreen is pretty basic. By contrast an 800 gram cooking system for two has far more functionality.
Willem

 

[andym]

The thing with the hose is not so much an adapter to use different cannisters but a means to use the burner next to the cannister rather than on top. This makes for a more stable setup, and allows tricks like having the cannister upside down.

I appreciate that, but it does also allow the use of blowtorch cartridges. Whether that extra flexibility is worth an extra 200g is a matter of judgement - I thought it was worth mentioning for the sake of completeness.

 

[andrew_s]

The thing with the hose is not so much an adapter to use different cannisters but a means to use the burner next to the cannister rather than on top. This makes for a more stable setup, and allows tricks like having the cannister upside down. However, at 200 grams it adds rather a lot of weight, just like all side by side gas burners are a lot heavier than the top of the cannister burners.

This remote canister attachment DOES NOT allow an upside down canister, and would be dodgy with a long blowtorch cartridge on its side.
You'll end up with a massive ball of flame out the top of the burner.

Stoves that will take a liquid gas feed have a pre-heat loop passing through the flame, and hardly any of the stoves that are designed to go on top of a canister have such a loop.

 

[willem]

Sorry I misremembered what I read on that site - my mistake. The lack of a preheating loop is indeed a problem with many burners, and even with quite a few side by side burners. The Trangia gas burner has the edge here.
Willem