What stoves do you campers use?

[Gotte]

I'm looking to get a lightweight, reliable stove for cycle touring/camping. It needs to be lightweight, pack well, and durable. I've got a trangia 25, which is about 800g, but a bit bulky. I'm looking at a Swedish army version, which is actually about 900g, but easier to pack, though not sure about whether to go for a wood burner, as it cuts down on weight and doesn;t need the added weight of fuel, but is more work (having to feed the fire all the time).
I'm not into gas, as I'm looking at being as self sufficient as possible, or rather, if I have to go with with fuel, wood or meths is what I'm after as they are both easily available on the continent.
what do you guys use?

 

[snorri]

what do you guys use?

I use a Whisperlite and find it fits my needs. You will find quite a lot of stove info. if you use the forum Search facility.
Here is one thread from a few months ago.
https://www.cyclechat.net/

 

[Kirstie]

MSR pocket rocket - highly recommended for heating things quickly but it isn't multifuel so not that versatile for expedition touring etc. I am constantly on the lookout for a decent multifuel stove...

 

[bikepacker]

I use and love my Primus Gravity prefering the gas model but there is a multifuel version.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I have a Trangia, and a Swedish Army Trangia. I am on the look out for an MSR Whisperlite which is multifuel-ish.

I have toured a few times with the Trangia, and have no complaints. It is a little bulky, but no more than I am willing to carry. I might leave the kettle behind next time (to save weight, boil water in pans).

A Trangia runs on meths, and might not be as quick as an MSR, but I tend to put the water on to boil, put the tent up/take the tent down, and seem to time a cup of coffee/tea perfectly.

 

[andym]

A lot depends on where you are going and how much you cook.

gas: convenient(-ish). Some gas stoves are more controllable than others - so spend a bit more if you want something that will simmer instead of just act like a mini-flamethrowere (the pocket rocket isn't called that for nothing!). There are different standards for gas stoves. In some parts of Europe (France, Spain and Italy) CampingGaz canisters are more easily obtainable but you can get converters. be aware that you can't take gas cylinders on planes or Eurostar.;{edit: missed the bit where you said that you weren't interested in gas)

- meths/alcohol. Fuel is easily available - although you may only find it in litre bottles. 900g sounds like a lot - that must be including at least one pot surely? There are lighter alternatives (eg Caldera Cone) which will team up with a lightweight titanium pot;

- multi-fuel. Most flexible alternative, but probably unnecessarily heavy/expensive/compex unless you are planning to go somewhere remote;

- wood-gas. I found this a very feasible option - although probably best in tandem with another fuel. I had (until it went AWOL) a Bushcooker. I did a little review of it here:&

https://www.cyclechat.net/

Backpackinglight.co.uk used to sell them and may still supply them, but you can order direct over the interweb - you could also order the BushBuddy from canada, although this is a wee bit more expensive (the Buschcooker is a European-licensed version of the BushBuddy). Or of course you could build one yourself depending on how much time you have on your hands, although the ready-built ones are well worth the money when you consider the work that goes into them. they would team up with a small meths stove (have a look at the backpackinglight.co.uk for possibilities although you'd also need some sort of stand and windshield. There are other models available although most of the others I've seen involve a battery-powered fan which didn't appeal to me as i poreferred the simpler ethic of the Bushcooker.

 

[samid]

FWIW - I am using a mini-Trangia and have found it to be more than adequate for my needs so far. But I don't really do any fancy cooking - just make scrambled eggs and boil water for tea.

(Edit: have you checked out the Which Trangia thread?)

 

[HelenD123]

Whisperlite Internationale for me. I don't like that it doesn't simmer, but love that it will run on so many fuels. For a short tour though where I'd only use one or two gas canisters I'd be tempted to take just my camping gaz stove as it's clean, controllable and easy to use.

 

[Yellow7]

I use the MSR multifuel version. 3 months of no hassle (using petrol).

Talking as an engineer and from what i've seen of the whisperlight i'd say the design is a bit poor, i've just paired up with another tourer from Holland for the Western Sahara and Mauritania part of Africa and he uses one, only used about 15 times and the other night one of the feet pivot- points came off from the base from where it was spot welded...only had four teeny spot-welded points. Lluckily in Africa your never far from a welder / brazer, so we soon was fixed back in place, but just means the foot can't turned inward when packed as the welder (as expected) had a gas torch, not spot welder.

Mark.

www.wallisonwheels.com

 

[willem]

For solo trips I use a Trangia 27 UL HA, without kettle. It is quite a bit smaller than the 25. The good thing is of course that you can keep stuff inside, so the volume is actually used for more than the stove. If you want something smaller and lighter, there is the Clikstand, but it is not as convenient for real cooking as the Trangia, since the windscreen cannot be used with frying. I am pretty fanatical about low pack volume and weight, but I still believe anything smaller and lighter than the Trangia 27 compromises your ability to cook real food.
Willem

 

[Percy]

MSR pocket rocket - highly recommended for heating things quickly but it isn't multifuel so not that versatile for expedition touring etc. I am constantly on the lookout for a decent multifuel stove...

+1

Have a multi fuel also but it's bulky and faffy to use so redundant unless gas really is going to be a problem to get. A canister of gas, cooking once a day, lasts me ages.

 

[andrew_s]

I use an Edelrid Opilio remote gas stove. Remote gas (with preheat loop) maintains full performance to the end of the canister, unlike can top stoves.
I also have a multifuel stove (bought for USA trip), but rarely use it.

Meths stoves have a relatively low heat output. That's OK if you have a good wind shield and don't loose any heat to the breeze, but if there is a breeze and your wind shield is less than good you can't just turn up the power like you would with gas or multifuel, so you may struggle to boil a brew. Trangia 25 & 27 and Caldera Cones are good, but I wouldn't trust a mini trangia or similar.

I'm not convinced of woodburners for cycling. Unlike walking, it's harder to spot and stop for bits of dry wood en route, so it's quite likely that you would have to stop and spend time specifically searching an area. On a wet day you could loose quite a bit of time.

Anyway, a random suggestion that I've not tried:
Ti-tri Caldera with woodburner add on

 

[andym]

I'm not convinced of woodburners for cycling. Unlike walking, it's harder to spot and stop for bits of dry wood en route, so it's quite likely that you would have to stop and spend time specifically searching an area. On a wet day you could loose quite a bit of time.<br /><br />Anyway, a random suggestion that I've not tried:<br /><a href='http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co...nsert_and_baseplate_for_msr_titan_kettle.html' target='_blank' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>Ti-tri Caldera with woodburner add on</a><br />

Finding would is easy: stop for a pee by a roadside tree, there will almost certainly be enough twigs kicking around to cook dinner for the night. I tended to carry a stockpile to last me a day or two, but I found that unless it gets really wet you should be able to find reasonably dry twigs below trees.

The Caldera Tri-tri is basically a titanium version of a Caldera Cone. So it doesn't burn the wood as efficiently as a wood-gas stove and it leaves a burnt circle. I'd get an aluminium Caldera cone and use it in confunction with a Bushcooker/BushBuddy (works well as a windshiled for the wood-gas stove.

 

[Fab Foodie]

what do you guys use?

I don't know, I'll have to ask the Butler...

 

[Renard]

A wee primus gas burner that screws onto the top of a gas container. You can get the gas in pretty small containers so not that hard to pack.