Lightweight cook setup

[Dan00001]

Looking to lose some kit weight and space and the first place I know I can lose some weight is in my cook set which is currently a Trangia 27.

Out of what I've looked at, I'm pretty set on the X-Boil Ultralight pot stand and alcohol stove and a Toaks 650ml titanium pot. This is going to come in at 125g altogether vs the Trangia at 825g so a saving of 700g but it's going to cost me £79 for the privilege. I do also have to add a frying pan, but I am happy to use the Trangia aluminium pan.

But before I pull the trigger on this rather expensive cook set, I thought I would ask what others are using to see if there are any better or cheaper options. I did see that Lixada do a Titanium pot stand for about £10 and then I would have to buy a little lightweight burner for about another £10 which would save me £20 or so overall but the X-Boil do look a better pot stand.

Thank you.

 

[Pattree]

Where are you going? Will you be able to find three stones at each stop? Get yourself:
A pair of nesting mugs (mine are SS); Cook in the big one.
A pop-can stove that will fit in the smaller mug;
and
Trangia ultra lite windshield/pot stand. (Or rely on stones)
If you must have a frying pan cut down a coffee can or similar that fits over the big mug as a lid. Get a light weight aluminium pot gripper ( you only need it for your frying pan) and cut it down so it fits inside the set.
That is the lowest cost, most compact kit I’ve ever had.

As discussed on a previous thread, the weight saved using titanium is unnoticeable in most peoples kits.
You will of course need a meths bottle.

 

[Dan00001]

Thanks, I definitely want a pot stand, it's just less stress of having to find things like stones if there are none about.

Super cheap isn't necessarily high up the list, I really do like the X-boil, it's total weight minus fuel is only 45g! The Toaks pot comes in at £35, I could get something a s/s pot half the price but it would be 4x the weight and so getting closer to the Trangia weight making the expense less worth while.

I was looking at the Trangia Triangle but it alone weighs almost as much as the X-Boil & Toaks, then you have to add a burner and pot.

 

[Chris]

Titanium is definitely worth it for the stove/stands and things. Significant weight reduction. I have a steel bushbox and it is significantly heavier than the titanium model, to the point I'm going to replace it.

Pots/pans... yes they are lighter, but titanium isn't great for cooking on due to heat distribution - you're better off with steel or aluminium. If it's just for boiling water you're probably ok, but if you want to cook anything directly in the pot/pan then I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Dan00001]

Yes, I know titanium is not very nice to cook in, my idea is just to use the pot as a kettle or maybe even to boil some veg in but I think the majority of what I will ever cook will be cooked in a pan. I very rarely use pots at home for anything more than boiling or for stews. Yes, the main purpose for the pot is definitely for boiling water for tea/coffee etc.

 

[billycoen]

Have a look at Speedster stoves.

 

[Van-Wild]

I have a Lixada 550ml cup with a lid. Well worth it, and it was about £20 IRRC. I only boil water in it.

My stove is the BRS3000-T UL stove. That was less than £20 off Amazon.

Also got a cheapo folding stand for the gas can, less than £6 off Amazon. So the full set up for less than £50.

That's my UL set up.

 

[bopdude]

In my mind the question is, what do you want to cook? what do you want to use to cook on, meths, wood, gas? i love cooking while out, have cooked some great meals for 1 and 2 on meths and a 16cm Zebra billy, bit more info needed to help your needs.

 

[Pattree]

The Zebra is a great pot. I’ve modified the handles of my 14cm and 16cm. I’ve replaced the strap handle with a 3mm tensile steel bale + silicon sleeve. I don’t need those plastic clips to hold the lid on but I do need something else to hold the handles upright away from the fire.

I played around with all sorts of wire clips a la YouTube but found something far simpler.

You can cook a LOT of food in a 16cm Zebra!!!!

 

[Dan00001]

Thank you, everyone.

I mainly use alcohol to cook on.

Anyway, I went and ordered the Toaks 650ml titanium pot, the Toaks pot stand/windshield and an x-boil alcohol burner.

The Toaks pot stand is cheaper than the X-Boil and slightly different design, it's 4 pieces that clip together as opposed to the single wrap around design of the X-boil. I thought the 4 pieces that lay flat together would be easier to store in a variety of different ways, and it saved me a little bit of money. Will just use the Trangia pan to cook burgers or a chilli con carne etc. for the time being.

 

[Dan00001]

I told myself I would never be a weight wennie, but I guess it always was the inevitable next step in this kit addiction.

It will help though, especially when I start taking my son with me. I recently loaded my rucksack for the 2 of us for one night and it weighed in at 23kg. I'm strong enough to carry the weight, I just don't think it's good on the joints over the long term.

 

[Tonyuk]

I usually just use my jetboil with a small gas cartridge. Light and compact with no messing around.

 

[BumblingAlong]

the Toaks pot stand/windshield

The one with uses tent pegs to support the pot?

 

[haptalaon]

I told myself I would never be a weight wennie, but I guess it always was the inevitable next step in this kit addiction.l.

Tbh I don't think being fussy about weight is a bad thing. Nobody ever went on a hike and thought 'the one thing that really spoilt this for me: my pack was too light'.

It makes every part of the process more pleasurable and saves you strength and energy. It reduces the risk of an emergency due to tiredness.

Appreciate the topic, I also want to change my current stove situation so I'm enjoying looking up people's recs

 

[haptalaon]

(for my part, I've been playing with a Kelly kettle and don't love it, on multiple grounds. It takes up a lot of room, the fire pan on the smallest one is teeny, I've got misgivings about the health impact of wood smoke, my cooking is too bad to cook and monitor a fire at the same time, and the biggest issue, it's very wobbly. Very easy to knock the whole tower over.

So I'm thinking of an easier fuel, something that folds away in a compact fashion, and maybe something with two pan-cups so there's something for a friend when hiking in a pair)

Anyone got the TBS Salamanda/Phoenix set? I'm attracted by the wood gas element for health reasons, and it seems like it packs away neat.

 

[Herman30]

Kelly Kettle is a water boiler for tea (or coffee). Can´t undestand why people try to cook on them.

 

[ged]

(for my part, I've been playing with a Kelly kettle and don't love it, on multiple grounds.

I love my Kelly/Ghillie kettles but I only use them to boil water. I've seen the gadgets which claim to let you cook over the flame but it's never seemed to me to make any sense.

It takes up a lot of room, the fire pan on the smallest one is teeny,

You're right they take up a lot of room. I personally question the utility of anything smaller than about a 1.5 litre capacity. I think once you get to that size the fire pan starts to win big both on fuel efficiency and the ability to burn fuel which is less than ideally dry. I must have boiled thousands of gallons in my 10 litre one, in the summer most of my hot water is heated in that.

I've got misgivings about the health impact of wood smoke,

Sit upwind.

my cooking is too bad to cook and monitor a fire at the same time,

Practice. You'll get the hang of it.

and the biggest issue, it's very wobbly. Very easy to knock the whole tower over.

You're not wrong about that. It can be dangerous, especially if there are kids and/or animals about. You need to plan for safety.

So I'm thinking of an easier fuel, something that folds away in a compact fashion, and maybe something with two pan-cups so there's something for a friend when hiking in a pair)

If you're thinking of a manufactured fuel then of course you're going to have to buy, store, and carry it. There must be dozens of threads here disussing the alternatives. All I'll say here is that (1) there are multifuel stoves which can be less limiting than those which can only use one particular fuel and (2) I have such stoves, and I always seem to end up running them on paraffin.

Anyone got the TBS Salamanda/Phoenix set? I'm attracted by the wood gas element for health reasons, and it seems like it packs away neat.

I don't actually have that one, but I have several similar stoves.

I use them all occasionally, and my impression is that none of them really does very well what they all claim to do. Given half a chance, they'll all smoke pretty badly. To keep them burning cleanly is not only an art but also constant (if not hard) work which I find tedious, and for me it detracts from the enjoyment of the occasion.

I also have one which I think made no particular "wood gas burning" claims and I find that I tend to use that one more than the others. I think that's more because it packs flat than for any semi-religious reasons about trade descriptions. That one was from a group buy here just over thirteen years ago:

The Emberlit Stove

I was intrigued by this stove which has just been launched at http://www.emberlit.com and decided to order one. I have a Spenton woodgas stove from http://www.woodgasstove.co.uk/ so I was interested to see how this batteryless wood stove stacked up. The video on the emberlit site tells you...

bushcraftuk.com

To my surprise it looks like it's still being sold, although I think they might have made a few improvements. Mine is just outside on the cooking bench right now but I admit that I haven't used it for a couple of weeks. But I have been using it for thirteen years, and it's showing no sign at all of getting tired. It's discoloured a bit. The plates buckle a little while it's hot. That's all.

 

[Pattree]

Kelly Kettle is a water boiler for tea (or coffee). Can´t undestand why people try to cook on them.

Nope. Scroll down two posts.

IRISH KELLY KETTLE

[ATTACH] The main problem with the chimney stove has already been mentioned, the kettle is just too quick to the boil. You have to plan your meal...

classiccampstoves.com

 

[Dan00001]

I love my Kelly Kettle, it's great fun but I wouldn't carry it on a hiking/camping trip in the mountains, it's simply too bulky.

 

[Dan00001]

The one with uses tent pegs to support the pot?

Yes, it's great. I currently take a Trangia pans to cook in and use the pot for boiling water. I want to get a nicer pan at some point. It's a little bit more fiddly on uneven ground/grass due to it's small footprint, but a simple piece of leather really helps a lot and stops you burning the grass or your tent footprint.