Best stove for bushcraft???

[chem_doc]

No problem doc. I have loads of bits of metal from other projects so i just used them. perhaps you may be able to advise me on the best materials to use once i have the design right. It would be a great help.
Cheers.

I can advise on what'll happen to the materials when they're heated/stored/in contact, but I'm not an engineer. So if I do rec some materials, they may not be ideal for stove use... If that makes sense.

But I'll gladly answer whatever questions I can. And those I can't, I'll say so.

 

[rik_uk3]

Bearing in mind that you can't always have an open fire, you need a pot with a hanging bale, plus a stove. My stoves of choice (at the moment) are the Optimus Nova which burns paraffin or petrol and is very compact (fits inside a small pot), or if you want to use petrol/paraffin or liquid gas, then go for the Primus Omnifuel. Heat output is much the same on both stoves, but the Nova simmers better in my opinion. While not a great lover of liquid gas stoves, the newer fuel mix of Propane-Butane and Isobutane work much better in the cold than the standard Butane/Propane mix, so I've no problem using it on an overnighter, but still prefer liquid fuel for longer trips and economy.

These are not cheap options, but you get a lot of BTU's plus a pot you can use on an open fire when its available. That said, if you really want the heat, then a wood fire can't be beat

 

[big_swede]

... you need a pot with a hanging bale...

Disagree, you can always use a pot on a fire, it's just a matter of how you arrange it. Have used my trangia pots in open fires many times.

 

[rik_uk3]

Disagree, you can always use a pot on a fire, it's just a matter of how you arrange it. Have used my trangia pots in open fires many times.

Your 100% right there, but when I've mentioned using pots without a bale I've recieved the quiet treatment here lol

I tend to use a Nova with a Trangia 25 or 27 in the colder months and have no problem using the pans and pot grip over an open fire to be honest

 

[mjk123]

I carry some little bulldog clips with my trangia. They're strong enough to hold onto the rim of a pot even when full of water. Then you can loop some string, or better still chain, to make a bail.

 

[big_swede]

Your 100% right there, but when I've mentioned using pots without a bale I've recieved the quiet treatment here lol

I tend to use a Nova with a Trangia 25 or 27 in the colder months and have no problem using the pans and pot grip over an open fire to be honest

I think I know why you get the quiet treatment, maybe 'cause "someone" tends to make pagan sticks just to cook up a brew?

It is only to show off one makes pot hangers, it is perfectly possible to regulate heat and so on by just placing the pot a bit strategic.

 

[gregorach]

Yeah - but it's also perfectly possible to see your dinner disappear into the fire when a log shifts under your pot...

 

[big_swede]

Yeah - but it's also perfectly possible to see your dinner disappear into the fire when a log shifts under your pot...

Very true, one has to be careful!

 

[gregorach]

That's the main reason I quit using mess tins...

 

[Geuf]

I'm using an esbitcooker/hexicooker. But I'm not pleased with it at all. It has become habit, because it's quickly set up, it cookes quickly and is packed up again fairly quick. But it's not healthy and your food sometimes tends to smell and taste like esbit. So I'm very pleased to see everyone's thoughts about stoves. Because what I wonder with the trangia for example: is it suitable for a quick brew under way? and does it effect your health or the taste of your food?

 

[Fin]

I'm using an esbitcooker/hexicooker. But I'm not pleased with it at all. It has become habit, because it's quickly set up, it cookes quickly and is packed up again fairly quick. But it's not healthy and your food sometimes tends to smell and taste like esbit. So I'm very pleased to see everyone's thoughts about stoves. Because what I wonder with the trangia for example: is it suitable for a quick brew under way? and does it effect your health or the taste of your food?

Geuf,

You'll find some people put off by the smell of trangias too (though not me I hasten to add) - although that's down to the dye the manufacturers put in the commercially available meths here in UK.
Trangias are great for a quick brew (the secret being only boil the water you need in the cup) - yes they are slower than gas or petrol alternatives - but absolutely bomb proof and what's time anyway? If it weren't for it's unsuitability to burn wood - it would be my stove of choice.

The best thing about the bushbuddy (and potentially John's design) is that you can have a brew on the go in quick time with just a handful of sticks, pine cones - whatever, and when there's no wood available or there is a strict "no fires" rule in force - then out comes the meths burner and it's a modified trangia!

 

[oilyrag]

Has anyone experience of one of these? http://www.traildesigns.com/products01.html#titri

Performance is supposed to be terrific.

 

[rik_uk3]

Has anyone experience of one of these? http://www.traildesigns.com/products01.html#titri

Performance is supposed to be terrific.

I've not used one, but I know a man who has, very, very good stove according to him.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

I'm using an esbitcooker/hexicooker. But I'm not pleased with it at all. It has become habit, because it's quickly set up, it cookes quickly and is packed up again fairly quick. But it's not healthy and your food sometimes tends to smell and taste like esbit. So I'm very pleased to see everyone's thoughts about stoves. Because what I wonder with the trangia for example: is it suitable for a quick brew under way? and does it effect your health or the taste of your food?

Howabout using the green methanol fuel instead ?

Nick

 

[Geuf]

Can you tell me more about that nick? I've never heard of that.. .. I think.
I can tell you that I'm getting more and more interested in the wood stoves. Soon when I less busy with school I'm going to make one myself and test it.

by the way. Are you allowed to have hexiblocks in your check in luggage at the airport? I will be going to schotland soon by plane. I'm using a petrol stove wich I will fill when in Glasgow. but a mate of mine wants to pack his esbit / hexi fuel before arrival. any experiences? And IF this is not allowed, does anybody know a source for hexi in glasgow? thanks in advance!

cheers!

 

[CLEM]

I use a trangia and the Crusader cooking/system/mug stove wossit and I really rate em both,simple and really nothing to go wrong.

 

[Mikey P]

There's not really a 'best stove' for bushcraft - it really depends on what you're doing and where you're going and you haven't really defined those. Everyone has a favourite but it's not necessarily the best for you. For example, I absolutely, positively hate meths burners but they work for lots of the guys above.

For a short day trip where time is of the essence, where fires aren't allowed and you just want to boil water or heat liquids, Jetboils (with their integrated, insulated pot) are good, or a small gas burner that fits in a pot. If you are in a survival situation where you need hot liquids quickly, with the minimum of fuss, the Jetboil rules! Period.

For longer 'expeds', multifuels like MSRs, Colemans, Primus, etc, can be better. If you are allowed open fires and you have the time, pocket woodburners are great for practising firelighting skills with. So, try a few different types until you find one you're comfortable with.

 

[FGYT]

Can you tell me more about that nick? I've never heard of that.. .. I think.


cheers!

this stuff ??

http://www.greenheat.co.za/

looks good but is expensive and some recone its very very slow

i carry few of the sachets and they do work oks in the crusader cooker
1 for a brew 2 for a Boil in the bag/ brew but at £5 for 12 its near a Starbucks price

the can cookers etc look interesting and the D of E guyes seem to have it forced on them as the trangia inserts probebly from a HSE point of view rather than it being good

ATB

Duncan

 

[Pablo]

My favorite stove, however is this one:

http://bushbuddy.ca/index1.html

It's eye wateringly expensive but very effective and fits into a 12cm billy with room to spare. It'll also take a Trangia burner and the base doesn't get hot - so won't scar the ground. I sometimes use it on the (wooden) garden table if we're sat out at night!

Just got one myself and will post a mini review soon. After searching and experimenting for a good long while, I've now found my perfect stove set up. As Fin says, you can drop a trangia burner in it, enclose it all in a billy and off ya go.

Pablo.

 

[Fin]

Nice one Pablo! - did you go for the Ultralite version or the more solid (heavier) one? Mine's the heavier one and lives in my 12cm billy along with a Trangia burner. The only problem I've found is that placing the billy on the pot stand, when using wood, the base of the billy gets very hot and your stew will start to burn at the base before the top warms up! (lots of stirring required!).

I've ordered a Tatonka 1.6L billy in the hope that the wider base will give more even heat distribution and I can always hang the pot above the flames in the traditional way - if that doesn't work out.

It's still the mutt's though! To me it has all of the advantages of a Kelly Kettle with none of the bulk.