Stove and cookware. Where to begin?

[Bakwas]

It's been a few years since I have been backpacking and needed to carry cooking equipment with me but i'm looking to get back out there and need help and advice on what to buy. I have a pocket rocket and 2 mess tins at present which have served me well for may trips in the past but I need (want) to upgrade. The pocket rocket is great but can have stability issues and the flame is exposed unless I can build up some kind of barrier or find shelter.

I like the idea of a wood burner stove, they sound great if there is a supply of wood nearby but may not be practical for example on Dartmoor or in upland areas. Also, I have never used a meths burner. What are the benefits of meths v gas canisters?

Also, i don't remember titanium being used for cookware when I was out and about 10 years ago. Other than weight what are the benefits or is aluminium or steel better choices?

I appreciate it is horses for courses and there may not be a one size fits all but educate me please, or point me in the direction of some good resources.

Many thanks

 

[sunndog]

Pocket rocket is a good stove still

But for a refesher on the "in" kit check out alpkit's site for a good selection of the modern titanium gear....couple of classic stoves too

 

[Tengu]

I love my pocket rocket

 

[peaks]

These are really good windshields and include pegs for anchoring them http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391066863763?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

If you are looking to move away from gas check these out.:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331486421322?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT - wood, alcohol or hexy/esbit

These are a knock off of the Evernew alcohol burner- if you use a priming pan or wrap a piece of fibreglass rope around them, soak in alcohol + light up they are just as good as the Evernew in my opinion (got an Evernew burner so can compare) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIGHTWEIG...354?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f4ce9a1ba

No affiliation to any seller - just a chuffed customer

 

[ged]

Never mind where to begin, when will it end? I think I must have a hundred different stoves and cooksets and I'm still buying the bloomin' things. Sometimes people even give them to me and I can't say 'NO'.

I've written a bit about stoves and fuels a couple of times on here, I won't go over it all again but if you search you might find things that give you a few ideas and pointers.

In the end it's a personal choice, even if paraffin is the best fuel really.

Not being a superlightgramweeny I've never used titanium gear. It costs a fortune.

I've got a seven quid non-stick Aldi aluminium set and it's still great after several years rattling around in the back of the Jeep.

Most of my cook kit is stainless. I like stainless because you can't melt it and you can scour it. I like Trangia's Duossal but it's not so easy to get now.

I like meths a lot because you can more or less have a bath in it without serious poisoning but it's terrible for energy density.

Gas explodes. So does petrol, and it's smelly. But I like petrol.

This afternoon I cooked noodles in a BCB mug on an Optimus 8 running on brake cleaner. Really enjoyed myself.

 

[peaks]

Its really varied - you have to find what works for you - and that will change on the weather and circumstances- you've got to find your own best fit. You'll need to trade off your experience against the views/experience of others.

Theres no way I'd pay full price for titanium kit - aluminium is just as good. I've managed to get my Ti kit through careful shopping at prices not much beyond alu or Stainless.

What ever you end up with its got to work for you - in terms of versatility, weight, ease of use, environment, etc etc.

Simpler tends - in my experience - to be better. Alcohol, Esbit/hexy and wood are hard to beat. Anything that combines 2 or all of these might be good?

 

[Jack Bounder]

For wood, look at the folding firebox stove or folding firebox nano (here). It should be noted that I haven't actually got one of these stoves but research will show they are well regarded.

For an alcohol stove, I like Trangia. Check out the Trangia Triangle for a lightweight option. The folding firebox stoves above will also allow the use of the Trangia burner.

For just boiling water, you could consider a Kelly Kettle or similar (here). These will only take wood. While various add-ons are available for this type of stove, they don't make any sense to me (as the kettle must remain full of water).

There are lots of diy hobo stoves (wood burning) on the web, if you fancy making one.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bazzworx]

Have a look at this thread: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33879&highlight=hobo

Its various Hobo stoves that people have made. I use a 12cm zebra billy and a cutlery strainer that the billy fits in. I like the versatility of this set up as inside the billy I carry a home made white box meths stove which weighs next to nothing and a couple of hexi blocks, I've also got the option to use wood. FGYT on this forum has got the same set up but he has also managed to adapt a trangia gas burner to work inside the strainer giving him an extra option. I also take a crusader mug for cooking in too.

 

[petrochemicals]

I hate (with a passion now) simple cannister mount stoves, as the performance degrades so much with the cooling of the gas over extended use and the boiling off of the propane. They are only good for the short use of boiling a pint of water. The new regulator stoves are supposed to be much better.

Ditto on the titanium cokware, aluminium is better and just as light.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trangia-Non...etailBullets_secondary_view_div_1431968257378

 

[Bazzworx]

Found FGYTs setup its on this page http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33879&page=8&highlight=hobo

 

[Zingmo]

Vizsla is selling a honey stove if you're quick.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131897

Z

 

[EdS]

Modded trangia with omnifuel stove fitted.
Every efficient and burn most fuels

 

[Quixoticgeek]

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. I have Hard Anodised Ali sets that I got from [thread=127146]Alpkit[/thread] (rebranded firemaple), and [thread=128307]fire maple[/thread], they seem to work, but you can taste the aluminium, which has left me slightly uncomfortable.

When I'm able to transport them (i.e. car camping or canoeing) I have stainless steel pans in the form of the MSR Alpine 2 pot set. This is a durable set, but it is heavy. I've been experimenting with lighter weight stainless steel options. A lot of the time when cooking in the field I use Look what we found pouches, and find that it fits in a mug of approx pint capacity, such as the GSI Glacier Mug, or Tatonka mugs. One of my most recent stainless steel pan acquisitions is the MSR Alpine bowl, it's got a capacity of just over 600ml, and weighs 80g, that's less than my Aluminium pot of approximately the same capacity...

There are lots of options out there, each has it's pro's and cons. Good luck.

Julia

 

[garethw]

Lots of info for you there....Thought I'd just give a quick run down of what I use.... it all gets used every week for fishing and overnight camping !!

Personally most of my cooking out doors is designed to be quick, teas, coffees, boil in the bag & pasta, so gas is by far and a way the easiest option.
I've used a pocket rocket but the stability is an issue, and I've dumped more than one pan of boiling rice on the floor.

But for me the main draw back of the MSR is the lack of availability here in France of the canisters. Here we are in Campingaz land. I don't like thier stoves, but the canisters are everywhere. So I opted for a Primus Easifuel Duo, that takes both Coleman, Primus type canisters and the Campingaz. It's small compact and brilliant.

As for cooking pots and pans...
A crusader cup and heavy cover does the day sessions... as it fits in a small stuff sack with the above stove...
For over nighters, I take a Tatonka 1.5l kettle (pan) which is great for cooking in and has a bail for an open fire. It is way better than the Zebra billy, which I find too tall and narrow.

Finally if I'm car camping I take a Coleman Double burner stove, these are absolutely brilliant.

The only piece of titanium I have is my spork...

cheers
Gareth

 

[ed_is_dead]

For what it's worth here's mine

 

[Fin]

Aaaah - the quest for the perfect cooking set up! This can go on forever and can turn into a money pit over time...

First, ask yourself some questions. What do you need the kit to do? Cook gourmet meals - bake/ steam/ fry/ stew? Or is it going to be a boil in the bag/ noodles/ brew kit. Is it a solo set up? Or for 2+ people? What is your activity? Static/ Car camping? Or do you hike/ hill walk/ climb?

My kit includes:

Solo wandering/ hunting/ fishing: HeavyCover titanium canteen kit:
http://www.heavycoverinc.com/heavy-...udes-tritan-plastic-and-titanium-canteen-cap/

I partnered this with an Emberlit Fireant:
http://www.emberlit.com/en/emberlit-fireant-ultra-light-backpacking-stove

With an Evernew titanium alcohol burner backup:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVERNEW-696950-Evernew-Titanium-Alcohol/dp/B003DKK7MK

This kit is enormously expensive but I have already spent a fortune on trying to find the perfect solo set up, and, for me, this is it. It is light weight, robust (the titanium is much thicker than most other products) and covers all my cooking needs - even baking. The titanium conducts heat evenly (again, unlike other flimsier products) and the bottle gives zero after taste to the water. I can also boil water in the bottle and use it as a sleeping bag warmer. To answer your question on alcohol stoves - they are light, small and fuel can be found anywhere (unlike canisters). There are no moving parts to go wrong and they are silent.

For static/ 2+ people camping, I use a 1L Tatonka kettle nested inside a 1.6L Tatonka kettle:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tatonka-Stainless-Steel-Kettle/dp/B000MLMJ60

I'm generally using this kit over an open fire - but I have a couple of alcohol stove backups. Stainless steel is easier to clean than aluminium and doesn't taint the food taste wise (water boiled in aluminium tastes metallic to me) - although it's heavier. These pans have a wider base to height ratio than the Zebra billys and are easier to cook in - bake, boil, fry. They also have frying pan lids.

Living in one of the panniers of my motorbike is a SS Swedish Army Trangia cookset - very versatile - but heavy.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bishop]

Stoves are arguably one of the hottest topics here and you'll find that most folk have several that they chop & change between depending upon what they are doing.
Take a look at the Zenstoves website, it has probably the best information about every kind of stove out there.

 

[mousey]

I've always used a trainga set, and have got on with them pretty well. Car camping I just use a BBQ. I've made a variety of meth stoves & windshields & wood / wood gas stoves which evolved into larger cooking grates / pits. I've never really cooked on open fires as I've never been in one place long enough and don't want to have to look after one etc.

At the moment I'm liking woodgas stoves with a meths burner for when I can't be bothered to process wood. This is for small cooking operations. For larger cooking I use a BBQ. I'm in the process of making a fire box [one out of titanium sheet I've had knocking around for too long, and one out of a computer box, neither of which I've got round to finishing....] to replace the bbq.

It's all a process of learning what you want to achieve and testing different options. Then deciding you want to try to do things differently...

 

[Bakwas]

Amazing, thanks for all the info. Lots of things to consider. I have a weekend walk across Dartmoor planned in a few weeks and a 3 day paddle down the Wye in July. The Wye trip is to test the waters (pun intended!!) for a longer canoe trip abroad next year. With that in mind then a liquid or multi fuel stove seems the way to go due to fuel availability abroad.. My pocket rocket is still great, i might check out some windshields as peaks suggested, although the one you link may not be high enough when the rocket is on the gas canister. Plenty of others out there though.

I really like the idea of a wood burning stove but i'm not really sure when i would get to use it. Anyway BIG THANKS guys, i'm off to do some reading.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Amazing, thanks for all the info. Lots of things to consider. I have a weekend walk across Dartmoor planned in a few weeks and a 3 day paddle down the Wye in July. The Wye trip is to test the waters (pun intended!!) for a longer canoe trip abroad next year. With that in mind then a liquid or multi fuel stove seems the way to go due to fuel availability abroad.. My pocket rocket is still great, i might check out some windshields as peaks suggested, although the one you link may not be high enough when the rocket is on the gas canister. Plenty of others out there though.

I really like the idea of a wood burning stove but i'm not really sure when i would get to use it. Anyway BIG THANKS guys, i'm off to do some reading.

Stove fuel selection is a bit of a headache. Especially if you travel outside of an area you know. I often hear people say things like "Meths is everywhere". The reality is, it's not always, in the UK it's something you only find in hardware stores. Where as in say the Benelux, it' available in most supermarkets (Tho as I found on my recent trip to Luxembourg, finding an open store at all was next to impossible).

Gas is one of those where there are couple of different standards of canister, which can cause you problems. A friend of mine found that they couldn't get the right gas canister for their stove in the Dolomites (after turning down the loan of my multi fuel stove...).

It used to be that you got Meths stoves, Multi fuel liquid stoves, and gas stoves. Now the lines have blurred, so that now you can get Meths stoves, and Multi fuel liquid and gas stoves. Stoves like the MSR Whisperlite Universal (Burns Unleaded Petrol/White gas, Kerosene, Gas), or Primus Omnilite Ti (Burns Unleaded petrol/white gas, diesel, kerosene/paraffin, aviation fuel, and gas) provide a good chance of you finding fuel. I have a MSR Whisperlite Internationale, which I've used since I got it in 2001, but after a finding that it was often easier to find diesel than petrol when I was travelling, so I got the MSR Dragonfly, which burns every liquid fuel you can imagine, except meths. I am thinking of selling it to buy a Primus Omnilite Ti instead.

If I wanted a light weight near universal setup, I would take a Primus Omnilite Ti and a Zelph Starlyte stove (weight ~1oz). That covers pretty much all the options.

Hopefully that gives you some food for thought.

J