BrewKit - AlpKit's version of the JetBoil?

[Stew]

Looks promising?

https://www.alpkit.com/products/brewkit

 

[Old Bones]

Strangely enough, I was looking for Fire Maple stuff online two days ago and I came across this forum - looks familiar? http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi...ums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=67938

I really like Alpkit stuff, and it will be interesting to see how much it retails at. Their version of the Ti Fire Maple Hornet was a really good price, even compared with Aliexpress. The only downside the reviewers could see was the lid, which you could use to actually cook with.

MyTiPot is down to £30 - tempting.

 

[Brynglas]

It does look promising, I'm a huge fan of the jetboil for lightweight fast cooking so will take a bit of convincing about the alternatives.

 

[Idleknight]

It does look interesting, I have been waiting for the jetboil flash to be on sale somewhere for a trip next year. But might go for it instead.

 

[widu13]

Looks very interesting. I have a JB but have recently moved to a ti pan and Kraku burner. 900ml Pot, burner, 100g cartridge, gas lighter, wind shield, pot scrubber, j cloth in a pot cosy weighs in at 460g. A JB (or similar) is very, very convenient though.

 

[Old Bones]

My local Blacks had a Jetboil Zip hidden away for £65 the other day (down from the £80 on their website) - but I have to admit I liked the look of the setup, although I was actually looking for the FMS-117 originally (there is Ti version for less than $40, so I'm tempted). It looks like Alpkits version has a burner built into the pot, like a Jetboil, rather than the XK6 http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/10007402/1619100-fire-maple-fmc-xk6-heat-collecting-camping-pot - if they can get the price right, they'll do very well.

 

[Teepee]

Gotta say that looks better than my Jetboil flash. More wind resistance with the slots instead of an open heat exchanger and a handle if you don't want the neoprene sleeve.

The burner cannot be any worse than the stock jetboil. It's not great at all.

 

[widu13]

A live link to cost. Alpkit will usually beat "ordinary" retail prices:



http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co...-star-heat-exchanger-gas-cooking-system-p1998

£40-£60 on fleabay.

 

[ozzy1977]

less than £37 on aliexpress http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...nger-Pot-Cooking-Stove-FMS-X1/1953367938.html

 

[Old Bones]

True that its £37 on AliExpress (I missed that one when I searched for Fire maple), but Alpkit obviously buy in bulk and have their own branding on them. They did the Hornet as the Kraku for £25, which is very good considering it was almost double elsewhere in the UK, and its £23.20 to buy from China. If there is a problem, then Alpkit has excellent customer service and can sort it out - Alibaba is a lot further away.

 

[boney gumbo mcgee]

I am watching with interest too, I really like alpkit gear and their service. Just waiting to see what there new range retails at.

 

[rik_uk3]

The only good thing about the Jetboil is the heat exchanger in the pot, the burner itself is nothing special

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fire...ware-Kettle-1L-FMC-XK6-w-Draw/1221686428.html about £16, bang it on any old stove for a fast boil time, its not rocket science by any means.



[h=1][/h]

 

[petrochemicals]

Mmm, remote feed but is the cannister invertable.

Edit

Oh no It'll teach me for scanning bpl.com

What would be good is an Infra Red burner, that's not rocket science, and the new reactor from msr hardly uses fins, leaving the way open for any pot to be used

And I quite fancy this

http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co...s-100t-king-kong-ultra-stable-gas-stove-p1999

 

[cbr6fs]

466g as well, not lightweight but not bad.

Jetboil have a new system out as well the Minimo
http://www.rei.com/item/876918/jetboil-minimo-stove#specsTab

Weight is not too bad at 414g and it's a wider pot so should be a easier to cook with and use and maybe a noggin more efficient.

Most exciting thing is that supposedly you can actually cook with it rather than just boil water.


Interesting but i tend to take my Jetboil SolTi when i'm only boiling water and my Kovea spider for everything else, plus with the problems i had with Jetboils customer service i think it's unlikely i'd buy another JB product again.

 

[Old Bones]

Where did you get your Kovea Spider? I was looking on the net, but no suppliers seem to be in the UK. There are some very close matches on DX, but I would be interested in comparing the real thing with the Fire Maple I have my eye on.

 

[cbr6fs]

Where did you get your Kovea Spider? I was looking on the net, but no suppliers seem to be in the UK. There are some very close matches on DX, but I would be interested in comparing the real thing with the Fire Maple I have my eye on.

Bought it off ebay, must have been nearly 2 years ago, i'll check see if i can find the seller to see if they have any more.


If you need any pics or weights as a comparison just let me know.


It's a bit heavy compared to the canister top stoves, my Kovea spider is 195g compared to my fire maple that's 49g, so you are giving away 150g.
BUT it's an extremely stable platform to cook from, it's very efficient in the wind as i wrap a windshield round it which you can't easily do with a canister top stove, plus it simmers pretty well as well.

Must have boiled easily over 100 litres of water, plus cooked everything from beans to a full English with it and it's not let me down yet.

As i say if you need any other details just let me know.

 

[Old Bones]

Thanks for the info. I use a MSR Pocket Rocket, which is fine, but a remote stove has extra stability, etc. A look around the net brought up this review http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/just-in---kovea-spider-stove/11249.html and a couple of others, but pretty much all the sellers seem to be US based. I know that the brand has been making stoves for other people for a while (this stove http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ko...p~7068x/?filterString=s~kovea/&colorFamily=99 is a dead-ringer for an Epigas stove I bought 20 plus years ago!), but they only have one UK distributor http://www.mercatorgear.com/index.php/kovea-products-listing

I must admit that the Fire Maple FMS 117 looks better for the money at the moment, and is slightly lighter (the Ti version is available for about £24 - and 98g!), but its strange that Kovea are not better known in the UK, since they seem to have a very good reputation.

Of course my wife has banned me from buying hiking stuff for a while, so they might be on my list to Santa!

 

[cbr6fs]

Thanks for the info. I use a MSR Pocket Rocket, which is fine, but a remote stove has extra stability, etc. A look around the net brought up this review http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/just-in---kovea-spider-stove/11249.html and a couple of others, but pretty much all the sellers seem to be US based. I know that the brand has been making stoves for other people for a while (this stove http://www.sierratradingpost.com/ko...p~7068x/?filterString=s~kovea/&colorFamily=99 is a dead-ringer for an Epigas stove I bought 20 plus years ago!), but they only have one UK distributor http://www.mercatorgear.com/index.php/kovea-products-listing

I must admit that the Fire Maple FMS 117 looks better for the money at the moment, and is slightly lighter (the Ti version is available for about £24 - and 98g!), but its strange that Kovea are not better known in the UK, since they seem to have a very good reputation.

Of course my wife has banned me from buying hiking stuff for a while, so they might be on my list to Santa!

Looked at the FM before i bought the Spider, didn't like the fact that i didn't have a pre-heat tube so it's likely that if used with a upside down canister it's going to flare.

Also didn't like the fact that the middle section is only very slightly higher off the ground than the legs.
This means i'd need perfectly level ground the size of the footprint, difficult when out i find.

 

[Old Bones]

I'm unlikely to be out if its cold enough to really need the preheat tube (although they do the FMS 118 with one http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fire...le-Foldable-Burner-146g-2990W/1813765508.html ), but I think your right about the middle section - Fire Maples do seem to be a bit low (although the FM100 & 104 do seem a bit higher). If the Spider comes in at a good price (its around £40 on Ebay at the moment), it might be that or the FMS 121/FMS F2/5.

Thanks again for the help, and its very useful to have a review, not just a photo and some blurb!

 

[JayOram]

Hey Guys - some inside info from Alpkit - just don't tell the bosses ;-)

The BrewKit is looking to retail at between £30 - £45. We have a sample here and I personally have a Jetboil PCS - I won't be going for another jetboil...

The BrewPot will be cheaper than you think and if you wait for the whole range to arrive (close to the end of September/beginning of October) we will have the prices up and all for sale, the prices are better than retail.

Checkout www.alpkit.com/cookware for all the specs - they are in the dropdown under the description 'Discover what makes this product great'

Jay