Stove recommendations

[Crankarm]

In view of the stove advice given by Willem amongst others on the tent recommendations thread I am thinking of purchasing a decent stove so thought I should start a seperate thread to avoid hijacking the tent thread.

I currently have a single camping gaz burner which is ok for summer touring in the UK and France. However I am thinking of further a field possibly venturing into quite inhospitable remote terrain which could either be too cold or quite hot. I have the impression from Willem that the Trangia range of stoves are the best all round stoves plus they have Duke of Edinburgh Awards approval. But which one?

I have also read on CGOAB that some long term toruing cyclists carry two stoves one for normal use and one for when it gets really cold and as a back up. Unfortunately CGOAB is down at the mo so can't check what makes.

Shall be going into Cambridge tomorrow to have look at a few.

Any pointers or models to avoid would be a great help.

Budget up to £100.


(Feel free to copy and paste any relevant posts from neighbouring unrelated threads)

 

[TheDoctor]

Certainly Trangia have a very good rep - I've got one of the Swedish army knock-offs and the stove part of it is excellent. I suppose it depends how many you're looking to cater for - the 27 UL is fine for one or two, but would struggle at more.
The 25 UL comes with the same number of pans, but bigger ones.
If you're going for really cold, then a petrol stove might work better, but I've never used one, so I don't know for sure.
Hope this helps.

 

[Crankarm]

Certainly Trangia have a very good rep - I've got one of the Swedish army knock-offs and the stove part of it is excellent. I suppose it depends how many you're looking to cater for - the 27 UL is fine for one or two, but would struggle at more.
The 25 UL comes with the same number of pans, but bigger ones.
If you're going for really cold, then a petrol stove might work better, but I've never used one, so I don't know for sure.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for your reply.

Catering will be for 1 or 2 although who knows who might pop by.

I think my main requirements are fuel type, getting a stove with the most versatility in all temperatures and conditions, ease of use and obtaining the fuel. I would go for pressurised liquid gas cannisters as being relatively easy to obtain in Europe, but am put off that the gas cannisters might be hard to get elswhere and freeze at temperatures below zero which might mean not having a hot meal on a cold mountain night or porridge the following morning.

Of course being toward end of season now in the UK I might be able to pick up a bargain.

sgw on the tent recommendations thread has posted an excellent zen of stoves link.

http://zenstoves.net/

 

[rualexander]

If you are going to 'inhospitable remote terrain' then you would be best with a multi-fuel type stove as availability of fuels will be a concern. You could get a Trangia system initially then when you do venture to far flung places get the compatible multi-fuel burner, although that is probably an expensive route to take.

 

[TheDoctor]

No worries.
I can lend you the afore-mentioned Swedish thing if you'd like a play, they're dirt-cheap on Ebay.
Think it cost me around £8 or so.

 

[vernon]

The Trangia is my stove of choice. I've used it in all weathers and I haven't come across a UK temperature at which it won't work.

Duke of Edinburgh Award approval is more to do with safety than performance. A Trangia is very stable and should meths get spillled and ignited, it's easily extinguished with water.

I have a camping Gaz stove that used screw on cartridges and although it does a competent job, its efficiency in windy weather is impaired without an improvised wind shield.

The 25 is the one to go for if for no other reason than having spare capacity. I don't have a kettle and don't miss it. Boiling water in one of the pans does the job just as well.

Don't get a Mini Trangia they have very limited capacity and are really for ultra lightweight expeditions. I have one and it's not very stable. The burner gets so hot that the meths boils and it is in need of a windshield - the burner housing is inadequate as one.

 

[Crankarm]

If you are going to 'inhospitable remote terrain' then you would be best with a multi-fuel type stove as availability of fuels will be a concern. You could get a Trangia system initially then when you do venture to far flung places get the compatible multi-fuel burner, although that is probably an expensive route to take.

Ah ................ I thought stoves were specific to one type of fuel but if there is a make that will burn any fuel then I am interested. Mind I can't see a liquified gas stove burning anything other than liquified gas as the stove attaches directly to the canister. A petrol stove sounds a nice idea but in practice I don't really want to have to carry the stuff around on safety grounds but also because the smell and vapour eventually permeates eveything making them pretty dangerous. I know a few stupid mechanics who have no eyebrows.

 

[Crackle]

If it goes below zero, you have to sleep with your meths bottle in your sleeping bag (Trangia), apart from that, excellent and simple valley stove but not light.

 

[Crankarm]

The Trangia is my stove of choice. I've used it in all weathers and I haven't come across a UK temperature at which it won't work.

Duke of Edinburgh Award approval is more to do with safety than performance. A Trangia is very stable and should meths get spillled and ignited, it's easily extinguished with water.

I have a camping Gaz stove that used screw on cartridges and although it does a competent job, its efficiency in windy weather is impaired without an improvised wind shield.

The 25 is the one to go for if for no other reason than having spare capacity. I don't have a kettle and don't miss it. Boiling water in one of the pans does the job just as well.

Don't get a Mini Trangia they have very limited capacity and are really for ultra lightweight expeditions. I have one and it's not very stable. The burner gets so hot that the meths boils and it is in need of a windshield - the burner housing is inadequate as one.

Thanks some really good tips. Fortunately my tent has a pretty good porch offering good wind shielding so think I will try and continue with my Camping Gaz stove. The only problem with this is stability really. One can always find a few rocks to place around the cannister to stop it toppling. Plus I have a mind to carry several thin ali sheets in my panniers to act ass extra windshields if need be.

A Trangia stove is one of the makes I am seriously considering. I think a few shops in Cambridge stock them. Also on the list is MSR but again like Trangia not sure which model would be most suitable. Any models to AVOID is probably the best advice at the moment.

 

[Crankarm]

Thanks all for the advice and tips.

Sleeping with a bottle of meths might give the wrong impression, but then again if one is in a cold remote location ...... who would know. I think temptation to have swig might be hardest to resist ..... .

 

[vernon]

Thanks all for the advice and tips.

Sleeping with a bottle of meths might give the wrong impression, but then again if one is in a cold remote location ...... who would know. I think temptation to have swig might be hardest to resist ..... .

Now then if you want to have a multifunction fuel - Wray and Nephew white cane spirit is drinkable but its performance as a stove fuel is compromised by its relatively low, at 70%, alcohol content. It does work - I've tried it

 

[Crankarm]

No worries.
I can lend you the afore-mentioned Swedish thing if you'd like a play, they're dirt-cheap on Ebay.
Think it cost me around £8 or so.

A kind offer. Shall do a little more research first though. Thanks anyway.

 

[Anthony]

I have the MSR whisperlite international (£60ish). If your looking for something that will burn the most kinds of fuels and works in any condition this is pretty much the best thing to go for. But it's flame is very powerful, so getting something to simmer is quite an art. Also it takes a few mintues to get the flame going (as you have to release a bit of fuel into the cup and burn it off to build up the heat).

 

[Crankarm]

I have the MSR whisperlite international (£60ish). If your looking for something that will burn the most kinds of fuels and works in any condition this is pretty much the best thing to go for. But it's flame is very powerful, so getting something to simmer is quite an art. Also it takes a few mintues to get the flame going (as you have to release a bit of fuel into the cup and burn it off to build up the heat).

I think a few doing long tours who write on CGOAB use these stoves.

 

[Crankarm]

The Trangia is my stove of choice. I've used it in all weathers and I haven't come across a UK temperature at which it won't work.

Duke of Edinburgh Award approval is more to do with safety than performance. A Trangia is very stable and should meths get spillled and ignited, it's easily extinguished with water.

I have a camping Gaz stove that used screw on cartridges and although it does a competent job, its efficiency in windy weather is impaired without an improvised wind shield.

The 25 is the one to go for if for no other reason than having spare capacity. I don't have a kettle and don't miss it. Boiling water in one of the pans does the job just as well.

Don't get a Mini Trangia they have very limited capacity and are really for ultra lightweight expeditions. I have one and it's not very stable. The burner gets so hot that the meths boils and it is in need of a windshield - the burner housing is inadequate as one.

The Trangia 25 series is for cooking for 3-4 people and the 27 series for 1-2 people? Trangia also does a multi-fuel attachment weighing about 500g.

http://www.trangia.se/english/