Stove and cookware. Where to begin?

[rik_uk3]

Even though I've drastically reduced my stove collection I still a lot to pick from. If I had to pick just one stove it would be

http://www.simplyhike.co.uk/product...RtxO1uI-FEXl_FoYOzWvmbLkoUCYXEYKI4aAtkL8P8HAQ

Storm proof, 100% reliable, stable, a classic design.

 

[Tengu]

I will admit I am lazy/conservative with stoves. I have several different gas ones...should I find a can at the car boot I know I have the stove for it. (One rusty, heavy one cost me 15p...)

I have never tried meths or parrafin even though I have a few nice stoves that I have got from various car boots (Optimus 8, Primus No 2, Tringia...) and I am deeply suspicious of my kelly kettle even though I have seen them used and they work wonderfully.

I am hopeless

 

[peaks]

Not hopeless Tengu - just overwhelmed by options

Meths stoves are good + simple- try your trangia sometime

 

[mikedefieslife]

I'm also looking for a stove. Can't use gas as I won't be able to replace it where I'm going.

Needs to pack very small, be able on occasion to heat enough for two, and work at up to 4,000m

Probably mostly boiling but you never now.

So far I've come across this Esbit for £40. Is there anything better for the money?

http://www.outside.co.uk/shop/Hard+Anodised+Aluminium+985ml+Cookset

 

[lannyman8]

I'm also looking for a stove. Can't use gas as I won't be able to replace it where I'm going.

Needs to pack very small, be able on occasion to heat enough for two, and work at up to 4,000m

Probably mostly boiling but you never now.

So far I've come across this Esbit for £40. Is there anything better for the money?

http://www.outside.co.uk/shop/Hard+Anodised+Aluminium+985ml+Cookset

mate dont get it!!!!! i have the small version which is pants at boiling water, and is used to "HEAT" water rather than boil, it is possible with modifications though fuel heavy. if you are going to be at elevation my advise would be to get a multi fuel stove, and a good one with a good name, my one is a Primus Omnifuel. the stove iis awesome, but is a little big, it runs very very well and clean on white gas type fuel and is good on kero but is more dirty.

i use my one with a titanium mug from alpkit and the old style stainless tatonka pot kettle which is great, you can cook in it boil water and use it as a kettle too because of the spout...

wide bottom pots are better as well, they catch the big wide flame. you will need a wind shield too, but put it all together and you have a very versatile set up for 1 or 2 people thats bombproof (near enough) fuel efficient and a joy to use as they have great control for simmering all the way through to fast boil.

look on ebay for a second hand stove,if you buy new or used its a stove that will be passed onto the kids in the future, my one will be.

down sides, a little big and bulkey, very loud in use.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Primus-Om...063?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1c534b354f

hope this helps...

 

[mikedefieslife]

I considered a multifuel stove since I will be on a motorcycle and have two 1.5l Primus bottles filled with petrol with me, but everything I've read says they clog up frequently, and the pumps/primers fail.

I'm going to be in the Bolivian Altiplano so just want something that will work without breaking the bank.

 

[lannyman8]

petrol would not clog that much it is allot cleaner than diesel and probably kero too. they are expensive though but id say worth it.... a small spares kit should come with it anyway, but all you should ever need is a jet cleaner and some spare rubber washers...

you can get a rip off copy for £35 but i tried that first and almost burnt the house down when the joint gave out when i moved it a little when in use, petrol all over the place flames too...

maybe a woodgas stove, cost £15 and back up wioth solid fuel, is there wood where your going??? probably not if your 4000m up

 

[Bishop]

If it were me and oh how I wish it was then a petrol stove is the only sensible choice.
There's only four names to choose from Primus, Optimus, MSR and a classic expedition favourite the Benghazi Burner

Ex-army surplus petrol stoves are way to heavy and Korean made MSR clone aka the BRS-8 "Booster Stove" as Lannyman pointed out is a bit hit and miss on build quality.

 

[Tonyuk]

Is it going to be warm or cold when your at 4000m? If its going to be icy up there it may be best to avoid gas since it tends to loose pressure when cold and at altitude.

Tonyuk

 

[Limaed]

I considered a multifuel stove since I will be on a motorcycle and have two 1.5l Primus bottles filled with petrol with me, but everything I've read says they clog up frequently, and the pumps/primers fail.

I'm going to be in the Bolivian Altiplano so just want something that will work without breaking the bank.

Mike, I went to Bolivia a few years ago on expedition and the only fuel we could guarantee getting was petrol. You are correct in that the fuel out there is quite poor and can clog your stove. I had this issue too but with regular cleaning the stoves worked fine. I used an MSR Whisperlite and it performed extremely well up to 6000m. I would recommend MSR over Primus as again I've used the Primus Omnifuel on expedition and several broke as the burner came away from it's housing.

 

[SGL70]

A Trangia will get you started...from that you have a life time to perfect your kit.

 

[Bluffer]

In terms of cookware the short version:

• Stainless steel - Medium heat conductivity, durable, can be relatively heavy, easy to clean, cheap.
• Hard Anodised Aluminium - High heat conductivity, durable, relatively light, easy to clean, very cheap.
• Titanium - Low heat conductivity, very lightweight, expensive.

I have a selection of different cookware depending on what I'm doing. If I'm just going to boil water, either for a dehydrated meal, or for drinks, then I use titanium. You can fry/cook real food with titanium, but the lack of heat conductivity can lead to hot spots and burning of food.

Titanium pots conduct heat very rapidly, hence why there are hotspots and burning in the pot.

 

[mikedefieslife]

If it conducted heat so well I thought there wouldn't be hotspots?

I recently ordered these:

They look like the fire maple ones that Alpik sell. Since they were £15 they helped off-set the delivery costs of some other items.

Hope they don't suck.

 

[Bluffer]

Titanium pots are so thin, the heat goes straight through.

Al and steel will give you a better heat spread, true.

People focus too much on fast boil times, for most real life scenarios you need a low heat and a large pot.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Titanium pots conduct heat very rapidly, hence why there are hotspots and burning in the pot.

Wikipedia disagrees:

"Titanium is fairly hard, non-magnetic and a poor conductor of heat and electricity."

The hotspots occur as the heat becomes concentrated on small spots, rather than conducting along the pot. If you were to take a narrow blue flame, and apply it to one corner of a titanium pot, whilst holding the rim, you'll find that you can get the pot very hot before your fingers get too warm to hold the pot. With aluminium and steel the opposite is the case. Of the three materials, Ali conducts best, followed by steel then Titanium.

If it conducted heat so well I thought there wouldn't be hotspots?

Yep, that's basically it.

I recently ordered these:

They look like the fire maple ones that Alpik sell. Since they were £15 they helped off-set the delivery costs of some other items.

Hope they don't suck.

I've got on well with mine. I tend to leave the big pot + lid at home, and just use the little pot. Was ideal this weekend for boiling up the spuds to go with dinner. I was using it with my meths stove.

Titanium pots are so thin, the heat goes straight through.

Al and steel will give you a better heat spread, true.

People focus too much on fast boil times, for most real life scenarios you need a low heat and a large pot.

Large pot less so, more a thick bottomed pot. This is why a lot of recipe books will describe "heavy bottomed pan". It provides better heat conduction than the thin ones. It's also important to make sure you match the pan to the amount of food. You want to transfer the heat from the flame to the pan and into the food as efficiently as possible. Frying is, in that case, a less than ideal use case.

For the use case that many of us have, warming stuff up on a little camp stove, most pots aren't too thin, tho there is an argument for the base of most pots being slightly thicker. If you just want to boil water to rehydrate dinner, then titanium is fine. It all depends what you're trying to do as to which pot you want to take. Ultimately it's not practical to lug a le cruset pot up a mountain...

J

 

[Bluffer]

Titanium pots are thin, hence they conduct too quickly.

It's not rocket science.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Titanium pots are thin, hence they conduct too quickly.

It's not rocket science.

[Citation needed]

J

 

[Bluffer]

No citation needed.

What is needed, is to stop over-analysing the fine detail.

Titanium is a poor conductor, I accept that as a matter of fact.

However, 'titanium pots' are very thin and conduct heat too fast for efficient cooking.

If you need a citation for that, look at the Evernew manufacturors data.

The Evernew pots are 0.4 or 0.3 mm.

 

[Fin]

In my experience, titanium both heats up and cools down very quickly. It's a poor heat conductor because the heating tends to stay localised at the heat source - resulting in the base of the pot, over the flame, being much hotter than the rest of the base or sides - hence the hotspot. Wide bottom titanium pots exhibit this trait worse than tall/ narrow pots - as the flame on typical camp stoves is relatively narrow.

Perversely, tall narrow ali or SS pots suffer from the same problem, because, although the heat transfer is more even across the base, the sides remain relatively cool - resulting in burning/ sticking at the base of the pot. Zebra billys are great pots but, in my view, only when cooking over (not on) the fire - they stick like crazy when placed directly on a hot stove.

My titanium canteen cup is a winner because it has all the benefits of titanium (light, strong and doesn't taint the food/ water) whilst the design addresses the shortcomings of titanium. The titanium is very thick, the base of the cup is narrow (catching all the flame) and it widens as you get up to the lip, providing decent volume.

 

[Bluffer]

... Zebra billys are great pots but, in my view, only when cooking over (not on) the fire - they stick like crazy when placed directly on a hot stove.

That is why I recommend a low heat, all metals are good conductors of heat, the conductivity is less relevant than the type of fire/stove/flame in use and the shape of pot being used.

The reason I recommend a big pot is this:

If you have a 500ml pot and need to boil/purify 2 litres of water, how long will it take?

If you have a 2.5 litre pot, how long will it take?