M71 Swiss Military Emergency Gel Stove Test/Review

[wardy101]

Picked one up Online a few weeks ago for less then £5 so thought I would field test it to see if it is worth keeping one in my pack as a backup stove.



The stove Pack size is 80mm side and 50mm high and the weight is about 7 oz and comes wrapped in plastic which helps to protect it from rust and damp etc.
The date stamped on the lid of the stove is 78-02 and is holding up rather well for a product 34 years old.


The stove comprises of a Sterno gel canister wrapped around that is the cooking platform and on the base is a book of matches which shows how old this is because books of matches are like gold dust these days.


The sterno canister has a screw cap so pop that of and underneath is a soft metallic lid. I used my knife to cut around the lid but realised after that I had a small P38 tin opener that would have done the job and saved my blade taking a bashing. :/


The cooking platform that comes wrapped around clips onto the rim of the canister nicely and is sturdy enough to put a Dutch 44 Mug on it.


I found out the hard way that this isn't the easiest way to light the stove...so after I burned my finger I took the cup off and found it was much easier to light it that way.


Once the Gel in the stove got going I filled the canteen cup with about half a litre of water or just over popped it on and after about 5/6 minuets had not a rolling boil but it was hot enough for a good coffee(Would have gone with tea but no milk)


To extinguish the Gel Just remove the cooking platform with your knife or a twig (I have been burned once already today) and pop the cap back on the canister, starving the gel of oxygen extinguishing the flame.once the gel cooled there was still way over half left in the canister so I would think you can get a lot of burn time out of it maybe an hour or 2 at a push.

Pros.

• Easy use despite all 3 instructions on the side of the canister not being in English if pretty self explanatory.
• Good burn time and boils water fast
• light weight and sturdy
• reusable
• packs away nicely
• No smell or smoke when burning which is great if you want to stay low profile.(Compared to hexi tabs which stink and make a lovely mess of you mess tins/cup)

Cons.

• If you had to light this in the dark or were injured and only had the use of one hand I would imagine opening the canister etc would be an issue let alone dangered.
• Its small but not exactly compact compared to carrying say a esbit backpacking folding stove with a few tabs.

At the moment I cant find anything else bad to say about this stove and as a back up/Brew kit stove in my pack it will do the job until something else better comes along. Well Impressed with it

Hope you all enjoyed my first review of anything ever and please feel free to leave feedback about the review and let me know yourself what you think about these stoves.

 

[Andy BB]

Nice one. I have a few of these scattered around. I was quite disappointed when I realised how little gel there is inside these - if, Like me, you thought theey'd be nearly full, you're in for a surprise - mine had about 25% by volume in it. Having said that, its got a nice design - I like the removable pot rest that tucks nicely away on packing. Matches are very good too!

I tried it out in a Meta-50 stove, which looks designed for it, and it worked very well. When I'd used all the fuel up, I refilled it with some alcohol gel I got in a french hypermarket. Works a treat, and no leaks yet...

One thing about using these as stand-alone cookers is that you will need some type of windshield, otherwise the heat will get blown away!

 

[Tank]

Nice write up. I like these little stoves and usually keep one in my car (which reminds me I need to replace the last one I had in there)

I was amazed how little was in there, however once opened the gel evaporates off, hence why I keep them as emergency stove.

 

[wardy101]

I Agree, I wouldn't use this for more then boiling water for a brew and there are cheaper refills then for gel stoves out there but its a nice bit of kit having no corners and all folding together you don't need to worry about it breaking or doing to any damage to anything else.

 

[Outdoordude]

I've got one but the gels all finished. When I got mine I couldn't figure out at first how to open the metal cover. Lol. Nice write up.

 

[shortymcsteve]

Where is the cheapest place to buy one of these? i remember they were selling for £2 delivered at one point but i think the price soon shot up after that.
Andy, what kind of Alcohol gel are you talking about, the stuff you use to keep your hands clean? Anyone else re-used these before? If so, what with?

 

[rik_uk3]

Refil with Sterno gel you can get off ebay.

 

[Andy BB]

Where is the cheapest place to buy one of these? i remember they were selling for £2 delivered at one point but i think the price soon shot up after that.
Andy, what kind of Alcohol gel are you talking about, the stuff you use to keep your hands clean? Anyone else re-used these before? If so, what with?

As Rik said, Sterno gel works. I actually got my stuff from a Carrefour near the Channel Tunnel in the large shopping complex (Cite d'Europe? or summat like that!). They have both alcohol (like meths only without the smell!) and alcohol gels, in 1 litre and 5 litre containers.

 

[spandit]

As Rik said, Sterno gel works. I actually got my stuff from a Carrefour near the Channel Tunnel in the large shopping complex (Cite d'Europe? or summat like that!). They have both alcohol (like meths only without the smell!) and alcohol gels, in 1 litre and 5 litre containers.

So probably illegal to carry through the Channel Tunnel then?

 

[Andy BB]

Could be. But I always use the ferries cos they're cheaper

Actually, probably not illegal. although you can't take an lpg-powered car through the tunnel, you see loads of caravans and campervans, all with their lpg cookers and fridges in them.