Suggestions on camping stove?

[Omega]

Hello, guys,
I am thinking to buy myself camping stove. Well, I read recommendations and understood that, since I am not camping very often, the best option will be a gas stove, not fuel. I also want piezo ignition, protection from wind (even though I could use my backpak for this, as was also recommended), with enough support to keep large pans comfortably over fire, powerful, very compact and lightweight. As well, it should accept cheap gas canister. However, I do not know which manufacturer I should go for.
Shops usually sell Campingaz, Primus, MSR, Coleman, Karrimor. Which manufacturer, in your opinion, will be the best deal for me? I do not think I will go camping abroad, but if it happens, I do not think I will go for more than one week, so I should have enough canisters anyway. I am not mountain climber, so no problems with air pressure either.
Regards,

 

[Squidders]

I personally have the Karrimor one and I like it. It doesn't have a wind shield or an ignition source but I'm a smoker anyway and with persistance, will take sparks from a firesteel.

It uses the cheap resealable gas cannisters that are cheap enough and I don't have any problems with it.

I also like the groovy chunky look of it... that's important somehow.

It and the gas fit in my 16cm billy with oil, washing liquid, oxo cubes, salt, sugar, coffee, a scouring sponge and a lighter.

Joe

 

[stevec]

hi there, sad to say i've got three stoves, mind you i'm sure there are people out there with many more! They are; MSR pocket rocket, Colman Alpine, MSR whisperlite intl.

i would suggest that you might be looking for something in the vein of the colman alpine, low to the ground, remote canister(use blowtorch cans), stable. you'd need to buy a seperate wind shield. with a piezo start, have a look at the cotswold site, they have the new primus gas stove, remote canister style and with a piezo.
the gas stove page is http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/Cat/110471?Ref=
i hope


hope some of this helps,
oh yes, i didn't mention the other two stoves much, but a quick synopsis, the pocket rocket, is small and light but not up to big pans, and the whisperlite is a liquid fuel stove.
sc

 

[AJB]

If you are going for Gas then be aware that the price of the resealable canisters adds up and they are not always available. But you can buy an adapter that lets you use the cheep pierce once canisters (99p against £3) which are available everywhere.

Depending on how much you use it, it may quickly pay for itself (the one below will pay for its self in about five cartridges), and, of course, it gives you more chance of buying gas in a post office on Sky!

http://www.ellis-brigham.com/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/246062||@c@bGoSystem|0|user||13|

Oh and I came across this, http://www.fieldandtrek.com/src/TD/cat_id/EQUICAMPCAMP/product-Outdoor-Designs-Mini-Stove-18082.htm
seems like a good buy!

 

[Andy]

I'd say look very closely at the coleman alpine stove. They are one of the cheapest stoves that have the gas canister on a tube rather then uder the stove. This means you get a more stable stove and you can change gas canisters when the stove is hot.
It was recomended by a lot of people in this thread on britishblades http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10649

 

[Ahjno]

I came up with these after doing some background research for myself:

Gas - MSR Pocket Rocket or Primus PowerCook

Liqued fuel - Primus Optimus Nova (pricey though)

or a Trangia meths burner

 

[Bumblebee]

A popular choice would be a Swedish Army Trangia mess kit.

 

[Graywolf]

I would agree with Andy on recommending the Coleman Alpine Stove,I have had this now for a couple of years and never had a problem with it.
Clayton

 

[marcja]

I'd say look very closely at the coleman alpine stove. They are one of the cheapest stoves that have the gas canister on a tube rather then uder the stove. This means you get a more stable stove and you can change gas canisters when the stove is hot.

I've got the old Epigas stove. It's description is very much the same as the CA that Andy describes above. I don't believe they make them anymore but I think the modern equivelant is the Primus. If the Primus is anything like the Epigas it'll last you years and will need little or no maintenance at all. It hasn't got ignition or windshield but it's durability is outstanding. Mine is 10 years old now and going as strong today as the first day I bought it and it's not needed a sigle part change. In those ten years it has probably been used at the very least once a month.

Marc

 

[addyb]

Here's my thoughts: I've been climbing since before I could walk, my Dad used to take me up the mountains in his backpack. I'd sleep all the way up and suck my thumb, and then have lunch, and suck my thumb on the way back down. I have fond memories of waking up in the morning in the tent to the sound and smell of a Whisperlite roaring, making his coffee, and my oatmeal. So, here's what I think about stoves:

I tend to stay very far away from LPG (cannister) stoves. Reasons?

A) Rather difficult to tell how much fuel you've got left after you've used it for a while.

B) As you get down to the nitty-gritty in the cannister, they don't put out enough pressure, your cooking times go waaaaay up.

C) They don't light too well in cold weather.

D) The stove's light, but the cannisters are fairly heavy, and take up a lot of pack room, especially if you're taking more than one.

E) And the most important aspect, in my opinion: The cannister is hard to dispose of, causing problems on the environment. Maybe that's just me talking stupid because I'm a pot-smoking Canadian hippie, but still, I think it's a consideration.

So, that leaves either: White gas (naptha) multi-fuel, or meths.

White gas and multi-fuel stoves (MSR, Primus, Optimus etc..) really like to make your fuel supply disappear. Why? You gotta prime them, and when you adjust the flame, it takes time, eating more fuel. On the plus side, they're really useful for braze welding and melting pounds of snow in the wintertime. In the winter, especially on back-country ski trips, my stove is always an MSR Whisperlite.

Lastly, meth stoves. (Trangia, Swedish Army) These are little treasures. They light instantly, don't need any priming, are safe to use in a tent, very easy to adjust for simmering, and don't break your bank. Unfortunately, the fuel's not available in some parts of the world. If you decide to go camping in Peru, the only fuel you'll find is kerosene. Also, they're slow to cook, (6,000BTU vs: 12,000BTU's in white gas) BUT: Trangia's are great in the wind, and the fuel's cheap. You can pick it up at your local Pharmacy.

So there ya go!

A.

 

[leon-1]

I've got the old Epigas stove. It's description is very much the same as the CA that Andy describes above.Marc

Good old stoves the Epigas Alpine, they do still make them and the reason that they sound similar to the Coleman Alpine is because they are the same stove.

Coleman took on pretty much all of the Epigas range including the micro (which they have improved no end).

Although I have a number of gas stoves (the coleman alpine and micro included) I am not a huge fan of them as they have very low performance in cold conditions and at altitude. If the stove takes a propane butane mix then they normally have a slightly better performance, but generally they are not brilliant.

I also own a Peak1 Apex, a whisperlite international, a trangia 27 and a trangia plus click stand. I must admit that I like the liquid fuel stoves and I also enjoy making them out of any can I can find.

Generally I would go for a small meths burner as they are simple to use and bombproof.

In summer on short trips though the small gas burners like the Coleman micro and the MSR Pocket Rocket are very quick and handy

 

[marshall4771]

Whisperlite international is a great stove, quite, fast and clean but I still enjoy the back to basics Hexy burner for ease, weight and the smell ( makes me feel young again )

 

[spamel]

I was using hexy in Canada a few weeks back, and you are right, it does take you back to your yooth! It reminded me of when I used to go camping, my dad had a trangia stove which he still has, and I'd use my hexy. His scoff was never done before mine!! Hexy is really intense though, no way of controlling the output other than how many bits you break it into, which is why I opted for a trangia stove aswell.

I've tried the multifuel stoves from coleman, and though they are very good, the fuel does seem to vanish quicker. Also, you have to pack your cooking vessel seperately to the cooker whereas the trangia burner just sits in my kettle!!

I also adapted a spare hexy cooker to use the trangia burner so that I could put my crusader cup on it. It works, and packs down quite small with just the lid of the burner sticking out of the hole I cut in the bottom. I wanted to get a hold of the pot stand for the lightweight trangia thingy that looks like a sigg bottle, but couldn't find one, so I made one out of an old sigg bottle that fits over the sigg bottle I use for the fuel, with the burner unit sandwiched between. This is what it looks like, I'm just after a smaller bottle now!

 

[Toddy]

Hello, guys,
I am thinking to buy myself camping stove. Well, I read recommendations and understood that, since I am not camping very often, the best option will be a gas stove, not fuel. I also want piezo ignition, protection from wind (even though I could use my backpak for this, as was also recommended), with enough support to keep large pans comfortably over fire, powerful, very compact and lightweight. As well, it should accept cheap gas canister. However, I do not know which manufacturer I should go for.
Shops usually sell Campingaz, Primus, MSR, Coleman, Karrimor. Which manufacturer, in your opinion, will be the best deal for me? I do not think I will go camping abroad, but if it happens, I do not think I will go for more than one week, so I should have enough canisters anyway. I am not mountain climber, so no problems with air pressure either.
Regards,

Why not see if you can get a try out with a Gaz catalytic stove?......I've got two and will post one down to you to try if you can't find one nearer to home. No naked flames/ no dirty pots/easily obtainable refills/push the button and it's lit/controllable heat levels/stable/......you'd never guess I like them, would you? They aren't terribly lightweight, but they're not too heavy either, bright blue, i.e. *not* camouflagey/bushcrafty, need twenty minutes to cool down to pack away (enough time for lunch I feel ) and they boil water or fry food very quickly indeed, with a minimum of fuss. Self seal cartridges and no smelly fuel to be spilt either. If you can't have a fire why make things difficult for yourself? Watch Toddy get flamed by bushcrafty purists now .

Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Omega]

Right, I am getting a bit more confused:
Will it not be more economial to have gas stove instead of fuel one if I use it, say, 10 times a year as maximum?
Do you not spill some smelly fuel, like petrol, all over yourself? I remember my father's petrol stove and smelly hands, clothes etc. after you used it. Well, it was more than 15 years ago, did the petrol stoves improve that much that you don't get these problems any more?
I am not familiar with meths, but I found this thread http://www.ramblers.org.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4003&#24491
I guess, for this price I will give a shot for meths. Also, it does really look simple! I like things like this, no I need to try!
Regards,

 

[fungy]

depending on the amount of money you want to spend Primus do a good range from the yellowstone trail stove(£15) to the himalaya. The importer is a company called Rosker, but most are availble from Nevisport. Also for a wind sheild I use a cheap roll of cooking foil folded over a lot of times until the requied thickness. Hope this helps in some way.

 

[leon-1]

depending on the amount of money you want to spend Primus do a good range from the yellowstone trail stove(£15) to the himalaya. The importer is a company called Rosker, but most are availble from Nevisport. Also for a wind sheild I use a cheap roll of cooking foil folded over a lot of times until the requied thickness. Hope this helps in some way.

That's a good point there fungy, another option is to use the foil from a disposable BBQ tray, the larger ones are better .

 

[falcon]

I've tried foil as a windshield and it's worked well. Recently, I spotted one of those cake tins with a removable base in a charity shop. My Hi-Gear stand and meths burner fits inside it and they both fit perfectly in the sidepouch of my rucksack - all at a fraction of the cost of a clickstand and shield.

 

[Brixton]

Right, I am getting a bit more confused:
Will it not be more economial to have gas stove instead of fuel one if I use it, say, 10 times a year as maximum?
Do you not spill some smelly fuel, like petrol, all over yourself? I
Regards,

I would go for a trangia and not Gas.
I've had two gas stoves and the problem was as I didn't cook on it every week I ended up with a number of canisters that are part full.
I ended up constantly asking myself
"Will they last the next weekend or will they not?"
"Oh buggerit I'll take 2 canisters"
Then I ended up lugging about more volume than I needed and my cellar's full of part used gas canisters.
A friend of mine has weighed his canisters and worked out how many grams a brew uses but that seems to anal to me.
With the Trangia I can see how much fuel I have and can top it up easily with a trip to Wickes.
Also it has to be said that as the trangia packs away into the pans it works out at less rucksack space after you factor in gas canisters pans cutlery etc. IMHO.
I have also cut down my cutlery by 2" so they pack into the trangia as well.
OK it is slower to cook on but do you go out into the country to rush?
As for being smelly well, whenever I come home after camping my wife greets me with a run bath and a peg on her nose anyway.
Come to think of it she greets me like that after work anyway

 

[jem seeley]

I've had my triangia stove for nearly 20 yrs. It's still going strong, nice & simple ,nothing to go wrong & versitile too. I regularly use the kettle over a fire & it accompanies me most places with my brew kit inside. I've also used the small pan inside larger billies to create an oven in embers. With the addition of a wire handle you can adapt both pans to suspend over a fire. The only problems I've had have been when I left meths in the burner for extended periods in storage & the holes became gunked up. Easily remedied though by pricking holes with a pin.
One word of warning,though, if you are going to be regularly travelling abroad this may not be the stove for you. Camping gas is readily available in many countries (& is the same in many languages !!). I made the mistake of taking my triangia to Spain & after spending a few hours blurting out "alcohol de metilico" to as many likely people as I could think of I ended up buying a litre of surgical spirit from a chemist & using that instead! It did seem to work just as well & I really didn't mind spilling it on my hands!!