Bought a new backpacking stove.

[cchurchi]

I had been using an MSR superfly, but got tired of packing around half full iso-butane tanks, that and the fact that you can't use a heat shield lest the butane tank explodes in your face.

So I purchased an MSR simmerlite. Good little stove although IT DOSEN'T SIMMER! White gas also seems more sooty and even dangerious to prime. I burned the hair off my knuckles the first time I tried to light it! Anyway, I've got three hikes planned for this week, so it should be a good test of the simmerlite.

 

[VWTim]

I picked up a Trangia mini stove a few months back. Haven't used it in the field yet, but did use it at home a couple times. I love how small and quiet it is.

 

[Eskimonio]

LOVE these things...fun to build, use minimal fuel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverage-can_stove

 

[MikeSalt]

Trangias are an excellent choice. Their strength lies in their simplicity.

I very nearly had a fatal accident with an old CampingGaz stove. It used the old C206 pierce-top cartridges. I pierced the cartridge, but one of the retainers came loose, and the cartridge dropped away from me, spraying me in liquid gas. Had I had another stove lit at the time, I would have gone up in flames.

I have yet to try one of those Coleman Duel Fuel stoves. Apparantly, they are VERY powerful, and running on unleaded means that fuel is easy to get hold of.

 

[ikendu]

I've never done any backpacking but we've car camped a lot.

I got interested in backpacking stoves when I read a guy was using biodiesel in one. It turns out that biodiesel has such a high flash point (300 F to ignite) that it doesn't make a great back packing fuel (although it will work with the right stove).

During that investigation I came across this wood gas stove that will burn "anything" (pine needles, twigs, etc.) that you might be able to collect so you don't carry any fuel.

http://www.woodgas.com/bookSTOVE.htm

 

[cchurchi]

Here's what I got:

http://www.msrcorp.com/stoves/simmerlite.asp


I hear the dragonfly is pretty good also. I enjoyed reading about the stoves that use various other types of fuel. Definately lot's of options out there.

 

[luigi]

I like Jetboil but you need to have the canister(s) available and that is not always an option.
So I'm thinking about an alcohol stove, and Trangia is a good idea.
Some feedback on the Trangia's ?

ty!
Luigi

 

[greenlight]

I don't ever do solo backpacking and have never owned a canned fuel stove. I'm sure there are lots of great devices for packing away and carrying to your destination, especially in extreme conditions.

I am usually cooking for a small group for a few days and have found this stove to be superbly successful:

It requires only sticks as fuel, burns HOT and clean, is it's own firepan, and collapses for easy packing.

I like not having to pack extra fuel, although some of the other guys pack little stoves to make coffee in the morning.

 

[HEY HEY ITS HENDO]

I hear the dragonfly is pretty good

.........Hi cchurchi, congratulations on your MSR purchase ....
you should have shelled out the couple of extra bucks to get the multifuel MSR dragonfly model, it simmers superbly !! .....
we have a camping/hiking/climbing magazine here that does regular field testing on `Gear` ..... for years the dragonfly stove (its rated at 3Kw) has been a benchmark to which, all others are compared to, but can never equal,
because of this i bought one, they really come into thier own when it gets subzero, an amazing piece of kit, not that expensive, and an investment that will last you for probably ever....
BTW i find the easiest/cleanest/handiest fuel is white spirit, yes the stuff you thin paint with etc ...... and i never disconnect the fuel bottle from the stove, or release the stored pressure, its never leaked yet ....

 

[VWTim]

I like Jetboil but you need to have the canister(s) available and that is not always an option.
So I'm thinking about an alcohol stove, and Trangia is a good idea.
Some feedback on the Trangia's ?

ty!
Luigi

I'll be out at the end of the month using my Trangia for a weekend. I'll try to remember to post my impressions.

 

[EV_007]

I use the JetBoil GCS that also serves as a container to hold the "stove" components while not in use. The fuel canisters are becoming more readily available since everyone is getting to know the name.

I like the idea of the portable wood stoves, but when camping in national parks, especially in the West, they do not allow open flames for the most part. Also, the stoves require you to feed it constantly and leaves the bottom of your pots blackened.

Either way, you can't beat the taste of outdoor cooking, especially after a long days hike.

 

[tygger]

I like Jetboil but you need to have the canister(s) available and that is not always an option.
So I'm thinking about an alcohol stove, and Trangia is a good idea.
Some feedback on the Trangia's ?

ty!
Luigi

Over the years i've used propane canister stoves, MSR Whisperlite, Esbit, and now a Trangia 25 model and I love it. Its extremely simple, quiet, and the integrated pot holder/wind shield design makes it very efficient for an alcohol stove. Unlike some custom alcohol stoves like the penny and supercat, The trangia burner works well with all types of alcohol, from vodka, rubbing alcohol, denatured, etc. In my opinion, especially with the new lightweight HA models, they're hard to beat.

 

[Rogue_monkey]

another msr dragonfly user here. Its a great stove. Light, burns anything liquid thatwill burn. simmers well. easy to light and so on. its really a great stove, well worth the money. And they fit nicely in an OR padded cell for packing and protection.

 

[northjames]

CChurchi, the MSR stoves are a little finnicky, but once you get to know it, you'll probably love it. That is what happened with me anyways.

You can get it to simmer by not pumping up the fuel bottle as much as directed. By doing this, I can get my Whisperlite (considered one of the least controllable models)to simmer if I want to, it just won't dial up to a roaring jet engine like it usually is without more pressure. With a little planning, this works out just fine.

It took me a little while to get my stove to work the way I want it to, but that is part of the fun for me now.

 

[TedTheLed]

I had a lot of good experiences with the Svea 123
-- I see it is now still available reincarnated as the Optimus 123R,
check out the other Optimi available: like the Hiker..heavy duty!

http://www.packstoves.com/optimus pages/optimus svea stove.htm


A beautiful ultra-classic light-weight white gasoline stove made of solid brass.
The SVEA has been manufactured since the late 1800's and still sets a standard for compact outdoor cooking equipment!
We doubt that any other outdoor stove has been field tested as much as the Svea to this date.
Widely used by Climbers all over the world, the Svea is recognized for it's performance at high altitudes.
The built-in cleaning needle of the Svea is a very important feature at high altitudes where air is thin.
The Svea is ideal for single ventures, high altitude cooking or whenever stuff volume and weight must be kept low.
The lid of the stove also serves as a small cooking pot.
As on the 8R Hunter, the Svea is self-pressurized. Operating without a pump, the Svea produces well enough output for one person outdoor cooking.
If desired, output can be increased by using the optional Midi Pump.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Fuels: White gasoline, Coleman fuel.
Weight: 550 grams/19 oz.
Measurements: 100x130 mm / 3.9"x5.1"
Rating: Appr. 1.400 watts/4.700 BTU. With optional midi pump appr. 1.600 watts/5.300 BTU.
Burning time: Appr. 75 minutes on one filling (0.12 litres/4 oz.) at high output.
Boiling time, one litre of water: Appr. 7 minutes. With optional midi pump appr. 6 minutes.

 

[fnmag]

MSR XGK. I've owned it since forever and it's never let me down. Highly recommend this stove.

 

[Aloft]

I've never used an MSR stove ... I always liked the Optimus or Brunton stoves, as they seemed much more robust (though heavier). I've never had a problem with them either, though use is light so far.

That being said, I have to say that you should really consider the Trangias. Trangia's (in case you didn't know) are made in Sweden by a company that has made similar stoves for their armed forces for many, many years. I have a Trangia Mini (they're actually sold at REI), and both the 'regular' backpacking stoves. The Mini is not really that wind resistant ... the Model 25 and 27 are virtually unaffected by wind. In fact, they seem to burn hotter with a good breeze. The Trangia 'burner' can be purchased separately and used with some aftermarket products. Certainly one of the best of these is the Clikstand.

The Trangia's and the Clikstand have many advantages ... they are absolutely silent, the fuel is common, they are virtually foolproof (and have no moving parts), they are easy to light (I use a swedish fire tool, one of those sparking things and it lights right up), and the 'burner' can be closed after the stove cools so that no fuel is wasted. And if I recall my chemistry correctly, ethanol based fuels do not emit significant amounts of carbon monoxide, though they do consume oxygen in confined spaces. Alcohol fuel dries quickly, and pure ethanol or methanol have no odor in case you spill it on your clothes. Methanol fuel is available as "HEET" gas treatment, the stuff in the yellow bottles, and is cheap at Walmart.

Unfortunately, these stoves have some disadvantages too. Along with the silent operation, the flame is virtually invisible in daylight and almost invisible at night; great if you're a Special Forces commando in enemy territory but not so great if you've got kids (or careless adults) in camp. Even the best alcohol stoves have less heat output than their gas or liquid fueled cousins, so boiling a pint of icewater took me about 8 minutes on a 40 degree F day; not quite the blinding speed of the Jetboil which claims about 90 seconds. In freezing weather, the alcohol is more difficult to light (the fire steel won't do it, but a few seconds with a flame from a match will, if you can keep the match lit). You can mitigate that by keeping the burner warm in your pocket, but that seems uncomfortable to me. And lastly, the Trangias and Clikstand seem best suited to boiling water ... although a frying pan is included with the Trangia, I've not yet tried making bacon; maybe it works, can't say!

I still highly recommend these alcohol stoves, despite some disadvantages!

 

[greenlight]

I like the idea of the portable wood stoves, but when camping in national parks, especially in the West, they do not allow open flames for the most part. Also, the stoves require you to feed it constantly and leaves the bottom of your pots blackened.

That is very true. One of our afternoon tasks is to gather sticks for fuel. The nice thing is we usually never run out of fuel. After dinner, we can continue to have a nice campfire which will burn out completely when done. The pot gets BLACK, too. If you soap it up before use, the soot washes off easily, but we don't do that, usually just rinse it off using river sand.

I don't camp in national parks so I don't know the regs. Do they allow fuel stoves?

 

[TedTheLed]

The Trangia may be silent, but it smells funny, and to be windproof needs that big bowl covering it.. The Svea roars like a jet engine, but burns hot as heck, and packs compactly..

 

[GaryF]

I've got 3 stoves:

Primus Butane
Titanium model, from the 1990s. Weight 3oz. This is my workhorse stove. There are some drawbacks to gas cartridge stoves, but they sure are convenient in terms of ease of lighting and ease of adjustment, and the weight is pretty good for shorter trips. It's been to Nepal and Australia, as well as many different places in the lower 48 states.

Svea 123
http://www.greatoutdoorsdepot.com/svea-climber-123r.html
Purchased in 1980's. It's seen a fair amount of use, but I've known 2 people who were injured by the same model stove (separate incidents) when the stove overheated and vented flaming fuel.. described as an explosion by one. I'm careful to keep it cool by squirting water on it now and then, but my comfort level with it is not high. I keep it around as a winter camping stove, but it hasn't seen usage other than a couple of test firings in about 10 years.

Sierra Zip Stove
http://www.zzstove.com/sierra.html
This is a wood burner. I bought it for a trip I never took, and I've honestly never used it to cook, but I keep it around as part of a disaster preparedness kit.


If I were buying today I would seriously consider an alcohol stove.