For years I used the crusader set, but eventually got fed up with lugging it about, it's too damn heavy.
I have just taken delivery of the Evernew
Appalachian set, which is similar to the set you link to, but has a 550ml mug, rather than the 700ml pot. I also own the 400ml cup. I've only had it a couple of days so haven't had a chance to use it in anger yet, but some thoughts.
- Don't be too concerned about it being inside the mug, it comes with a sort of foam cleaning cloth, that wraps round the stove bits, before going in the mug, this gives you a nice snug fit and avoids any rattling.
- It's thirsty, compared to some other stoves out there. Not by a major amount, so for day hikes and trips of a few days, or with regular resupply, it's not going to be an issue. For trips where you need to carry more than a weeks fuel, then you want to consider the gas options instead.
- It pumps out a lot of heat, the flames lick up the side of the pot (making the handle very warm on the 550ML pot). But this comes with a corresponding fast boil time. Just be careful not to burn yourself on your boiling hot pot. In use various bits of the stove burn bright red, tis very pretty. When the stove arrives it's the beautiful dull grey of titanium. But by the time you've used it just once, the meths burner has a beautiful purple hue, and the rest of the burner takes on the patina of happy use.
- The 400ml mug fits nicely on the outside of a 1L nalgene bottle, tho if you are investing in titanium shinyness like this, you may want to look at lighter options. I use a Diet coke bottles. The 1.5L and 1.75L bottles are too big to stand inside the 400ml mug. But 1.25L and 1L bottles[1] fit with quite a bit of space. This isn't an issue as I put the mug in the side pocket of my pack, then the bottle on top, and the elastic fabric of the side pocket holds it all together.
- I pondered getting the solo set instead of the Appalachian set that I went for, but in the end what sold it for me was the way the 550ml mug has a slight lip on the bottom so you have a very positive fit onto the top of the stove, infact tilting the whole assembly over by 30° from the vertical, the mug doesn't fall off the stove. I didn't want to have a boiling hot mug of water falling off my stove, so thought this would be a useful feature.
If you get the Appalachian set, consider also getting the
BPL universal trivet, This gives you a little bit of a wider base at the top of the stove to sit pots on. You can also use it on it's own with just the meths burner if you want.
Julia
[1]I actually have a collection of 1.75L. 1.5L, 1.25L, 1L, and 0.5L coke bottles that I can use depending on the trip I am taking... They are a side effect of my 4 quid a week coke (diet) habbit...
