small camping stoves
I’ve also had to downsize my stove when I had to switch from canoe camping to solo kayak camping. I didn’t want to spend a $100 on a mountaineering stove and I definitely didn’t want anything to do with white gasoline in the confined spaces of a kayak. I went with a little Clickstand alcohol stove and now I prefer it over my old 2 burner Coleman propane stove even when camping out of my van. The key with alcohol stoves is that you must use a good windscreen to concentrate the heat whether or not it is windy. Some posts report that alcohol stoves are slower to boil, but I have not found that to be the case when I use a windscreen. My favorite is a Clikstand S2 with the windscreen combined with a Trangia burner. I can bring a quart of water to a boil in about 5 minutes if I use the windscreen. I use the yellow HEET plastic bottles like a previous post recommended. You can get HEET now with replaceable screw on caps. The yellow bottles are very cheap and their long snouts make it easy to pour the alcohol. I also recommend a folding candle lighter since you can light the stove without getting your hands near it. Here are some links: www.clikstand.com
art.simon.tripod.com/Stoves
Alcohol stoves . . .
I have been using alcohol stoves a little since they started giving me a hard time carrying my little Coleman Peak 1 on Space A and commercial airline fligts. So silly shit about gasoline or some such.
I put my Heet in an Everclear bottle. Drinkin’ alcohol is legal.
I have made some that work O.K. Pennystove, etc. I bought one that really works well, White Box stove. Doesn’t need a pot stand as the pot sits on the stove. Fastest alcohol stove I have used. Cost about twenty bucks.
cook stoves
I’ve had a svea123 for almost forty years and it’s going to outlast me. I added a pump to make it easier in to prime in cold weather but I could live without it. Simple, classic, & practical if you can live w/ a one-burner. I’ve seen them on ebay and you should check garage sales. My wife has an msr dragonfly which we take for backpacking: lighter, more hi-tec, more fuel options but I kinda miss the svea when I light it up.
I don’t need no stinkin’ stoves…
Even under the wettest conditions I can have a cooking fire ready in 10 - 15 minutes. If you know where to look for dry tender and carry some lighter knot pieces with you you don’t have to spend any money on a high-tech, tin-thin, breakable gadget masquerading as stoves these days.
Whatever happened to the cooking fire? I can understand if you’re in a no-fire area, however in a canoe (such as the tandem barge I paddle) can shovel a mound of wet sand amidship (about 6" - 8" deep x 18" on centerline x 24" at the beam) when leveled out), place an 18"x24" steel grate on the sand and make a small cooking fire on the grate in the canoe (of course you’re tucked away in a small harbor, inlet, or creek when you do this)add a small, self-standing grill with the legs in the sand and you’re good to go!
Why is it people feel they must buy every new trinket on the market just to have break-down or quit on you when you need it most? In the meanwhile they’ve lost the skills they had (if they had them at all, letting technology replace those badly-needed skills) by relying on a ‘toy’ and if it happens in a wilderness area or an emergency situation, you’re screwed!
Okay all you gizmo-lovers, take your pot-shots at me but deep down inside you know I’m right.
I agree! But…
I use my SVEA Trianga… No pumping or noise or other BS. It is all contained in it’s own cookset & windscreen. It cost me $5 & has been COMPLETELY faithful since day one! No “rebuild” shit kits, no priming, etc…
What I don’t get is the big deal over faster & hotter stoves. If you have any skills & gratitude for the outdoors, you know that anything cooked slow & outdoors tastes better than at home! Or just the same fact that anyhting cooked over an open fire tastes better.
Just something for people to blow their paychecks on I guess…
Paddle easy,
Coffee
Dutch Oven
Does nobody on here use Dutch Ovens?? You can cook anything in them…boil water for drinking…throw a trout in there…or anything. Flip the lid over and us it to fry your eggs on. They really arent that heavy, and you can pack a few cloths and small bottle of oil plus a scrubber inside it. I have a few Lodge ovens I’ll never be without! Just be sure to wrap it in a sack, and tie it off to your thwart. If you tip over it’s headed straight to the bottom in a hurry if ya dont!
If you don’t use it . . .
. . . for cookin’ you can always use it to anchor.
Depends
I have almost used every type of stove, and there is no perfect stove for every situation. I am an advocate of white gas stoves for the most part, however I do have a couple Iso Butane stoves that I can throw in a day pack for a quick cup of tea. (I don’t use them much since it is hard to find recyclers for the the cannisters and you can’t bake on them.) I think the Whisperlite (MSR) is a great little stove for the money.
If you are going really lightwieght then the “soda can” alcohol stoves are good and cheap, but they are not good for larger groups or fancy meals…mainly just boiling water. I used one on for three months on the Appalachian Trail and it served me well, but for gourmet meals in the backcountry, I prefer two stoves. The Simmerlite and Dragonfly, both by MSR. I can bake on either of them but the Simmerlite works a bit better with the Outback Oven, and both have great flame control. They are light and powerful.
Hope it helps…a bit.
Love that SVEA roar too !
We have two 123s we bought around 1970. If they could have suppressed the V-1 rocket roar somehow, they would still be selling them.
Svea stove & Mess Kit - SS vs Alum
This thread peaked my interest in the Svea/Trangia stove/kit a few months ago. I bought a kit with stainless steel pans. It was slow (2 cups boiled in 11 minutes). I then bought a kit with aluminum pans. It was much faster (2 cups boiled in 6 minutes). It also weighs about 1 pound less. My test boils were under roughly the same conditions. I recommend aluminum.
GSI Pots and Markill
The jet boil is nice, but a good alternative is a GSI 1.25 liter boiler pot with a “hotshot markill” stove. The standard cannisters of fuel fit inside them. If I have the small cannister, I can put the Markill stove under the cannister, If I use a large cannister, I put the stove in the top of the mesh bag that the GIS pot goes into along with a fork and spoon along the side.
zip stove
I have used one for several years, for paddling and backpacking, it does need a AA battery. This thing will fire up like a blow torch, the fan is 2 speed. They say you can even burn cow manure (I don’t think I would ) it never fails and there is no fuel to carry as sticks etc are always available. I use a trioxaine tab. to start the fire.
Yes…
My buddy has a Reactor. I have a Jetboil.
I would give the nod to the Reactor when cooking for more than one as it is faster than my Jetboil with amounts over 2 cups. When cooking for one I prefer the Jetboils because, IMO, it packs smaller. If there is a “speed” difference up to 2 cups it doesn’t matter to me. I go with the smaller size. More than one? Go with the Reactor.
We had both on a recent 3 week trip from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. Dave and Greg used the MSR and I used the JB. Eventually we just used the MSR because we could boil one big load of water. If I was making a cup of coffee for myself I used the JB.
Stove
I have used every stove.The best way to go is coleman expontent.It is easy to get parts.Go on eBay and pick up an old coleman aluminum case to go with this stove.It will fit inside the older case and can be used as a pot and fry pan.
some kind of MSR
I use a MSR but can’t remember the name of it. It is a multi-fuel stove. I can get gasoline or kerosene anywhere, but can’t necessarily find a propane cylinder anywhere. If you plan on being in remote areas make it a multifuel stove. And then there is always the old standby - fire. More fun than a stove where it is allowed.
MSR IS KING
MSR pocket rocket is all you ever need ive had a crapload of stoves and that one is by FAR the best!
MSR Dragonfly
for backpacking, because it’s relatively light (not the lightest) and one of the few light stoves that will simmer. Got it on Craigslist for just $50.
For kayak camping I have a Coleman 533 but it seems too big and heavy. I’d like to trade it in for the Coleman Feather 422. I had a Coleman one-burner stove for many years and found it to be reliable. These are very simple 2-step stoves: pump and light. No preheating necessary. Don’t even have to carry a fuel bottle for a weekend trip. Important: don’t use old fuel in these stoves; you won’t get a blue flame.
For car camping I have a 2-burner Coleman propane stove, quite light, works beautifully. I love it.
just bought
a MSR whisperlight and I love it.Prior to my MSR I was using a one burner propane stove.Took up a lot of room…not to mention having to pack empty canisters out of the bush as well.
Abduk
http://awholebunchofings.blogspot.com/
on the other hand…
I have a Whisperlite Internationale and it has worked great with minimal maintenance and frequent use for at least 6 years. With a minimal tool kit you can field service it quite well.
Maybe yours is defective or there is a maintenance issue that will put it back in good working order.
generally carry two
MSR Pocket Rocket: Pros- small, light, fast, efficient, inexpensive. Cons- tippy with larger pots, fuel canisters don’t work well in cooler weather (Sleep with it), difficult to simmer.
Pop can alcohol: Pros- small, light, inexpensive (free), simmers, cheap fuel. Cons- not real fast, tippy, can’t turn it off (ya gotta let it burn out).