Vargo triad stove
- Thread starter EdS
- Start date
No mate, absolute rubbish.
If it's fast, clean brew-ups on the move, get yourself a jetboil. Not in the least "bushcraft", but so what? Fantastic stove for brewing up, pot noodles etc. You cant really "cook" anything on em, but that's not really what they are for. For day packs, brewing up on the move, vehicles or overnighters, they are awesome though, light, clean, efficient, ultra-fast, ultra-convenient. You could brew up under your poncho in 90 seconds flat with one.
If it's fast, clean brew-ups on the move, get yourself a jetboil. Not in the least "bushcraft", but so what? Fantastic stove for brewing up, pot noodles etc. You cant really "cook" anything on em, but that's not really what they are for. For day packs, brewing up on the move, vehicles or overnighters, they are awesome though, light, clean, efficient, ultra-fast, ultra-convenient. You could brew up under your poncho in 90 seconds flat with one.
Wayland appears to have lost total control of his senses.
People tend to hate them with a passion and by the above comment you can see what my experience of them has been like. I would say you would be better off making a small coke can stove.
People tend to hate them with a passion and by the above comment you can see what my experience of them has been like. I would say you would be better off making a small coke can stove.
Mine burns so hot it melted an aluminium pot stand / windshield I used to use.
I've never seen the problem people have with them.
A pepsi can stove is just as good in my opinion and a lot cheaper but I've used a lot of stoves that don't match my triad for performance.
I've never seen the problem people have with them.
A pepsi can stove is just as good in my opinion and a lot cheaper but I've used a lot of stoves that don't match my triad for performance.
I've got a JetBoil and it is pretty damned good at boiling water. I tried to stay away from gas for a long time for several reasons; safety, running out of gas, noise.
For a long time I used alcohol (to burn, I mean). Problem was that even slight winds would decrease efficiency, especially on the SA version, and you still have to carry fuel. The round Trangia was better, but quite bulky for just a cup of tea.
Suspended pot over a fire is bushcrafty, but takes a long time compared to the JetBoil, and you can't always light a fire where you want. I used to burn quite a lot of sticks just to get a cup of boiling sooty water.
The Jetboil uses about 10g of gas per boiled litre. That means 10 litres guranteed boiling water from one cartridge, which costs about 3 quid. If you drink 1/3 litre of tea in a go then it costs 10p per cuppa.
The Jetboil is surely lighter and less bulky than Waylands setup, though his does over more versatility. It fits easily and cleanly into a side pocket of even day packs. It's not bombproof though, and it is a bit pricey at 40 odd quid.
For a long time I used alcohol (to burn, I mean). Problem was that even slight winds would decrease efficiency, especially on the SA version, and you still have to carry fuel. The round Trangia was better, but quite bulky for just a cup of tea.
Suspended pot over a fire is bushcrafty, but takes a long time compared to the JetBoil, and you can't always light a fire where you want. I used to burn quite a lot of sticks just to get a cup of boiling sooty water.
The Jetboil uses about 10g of gas per boiled litre. That means 10 litres guranteed boiling water from one cartridge, which costs about 3 quid. If you drink 1/3 litre of tea in a go then it costs 10p per cuppa.
The Jetboil is surely lighter and less bulky than Waylands setup, though his does over more versatility. It fits easily and cleanly into a side pocket of even day packs. It's not bombproof though, and it is a bit pricey at 40 odd quid.
I was going to start a post on this but I may as well start here:
The new Vargo Triad XE has a larger diameter alcohol burner (see Waylands piccy but imagine it bigger! - he has the older model)
The point is - the new burner cap fits exactly over the crusader cooker fuel well (60mm diameter) with a requisite snug fit to generate fuel pressure from the holes.
I'm still testing but I got 1/2 litre of cold water to a rolling boil in 6 minutes and the burner (with some priming fuel in the base of the cooker - I fill the fuel well until it just overflows)lasted 10 minutes and 20 seconds (not enough,sadly, to get a full litre to a rolling boil but enough to heat a bag meal or for a brew).
I'll repost with piccys as soon as I've sorted out my digital imaging skills!
The new Vargo Triad XE has a larger diameter alcohol burner (see Waylands piccy but imagine it bigger! - he has the older model)
The point is - the new burner cap fits exactly over the crusader cooker fuel well (60mm diameter) with a requisite snug fit to generate fuel pressure from the holes.
I'm still testing but I got 1/2 litre of cold water to a rolling boil in 6 minutes and the burner (with some priming fuel in the base of the cooker - I fill the fuel well until it just overflows)lasted 10 minutes and 20 seconds (not enough,sadly, to get a full litre to a rolling boil but enough to heat a bag meal or for a brew).
I'll repost with piccys as soon as I've sorted out my digital imaging skills!
I had one of the old ones...don't know where it went, don't care.
Absolutely useless bit of kit. My basic Coke, Pepsi, or Redbull stoves all work better, and they are just the simple sort.
What is wrong with the above style?
1) In order to light it, you must pour in meths until it fills the stove and forms a pool in the dimple in the top. So, you can't choose how much fuel you use...
2) The idea is that when you light said fuel puddle, the heat will boil the meths in the stove, which will then come out in little jets from the ring of holes. In practice, titanium is a lousy conductor of heat, worse by far than aluminium, not even as good as steel. In anything but mid summer, there is a real danger of the fuel puddle burning off before enough heat gets back into the main reservoir to keep it lit.
3) The span of the legs that make the pot stand is only just alright to use with my Zebra billy. Ideally you need a pot that is bigger around than it is tall in order to sit on the legs.
4) Those legs that keep the stove off the nasty cold ground are worthless in the field unless you stand the stove on something, like a bit of metal, or flat stone. Place even a half full billy on top, with the stove sitting on anything but concrete hard ground, and the legs just dissapear as the weight of the billy mashes it to ground level.
5) The flames last lots longer for a given quantity of fuel than they do in my other stoves, but I don't want to wait 30 minutes for my pot to never quite reach boiling. I would rather have my fuel all go in 15 minutes, but have the water boiling in 10 or under.
6) Mine wasn't sealed well enough and little jets of burning meths escaped from the join line. This has been sorted on the new version.
I might be tempted by this thing:
if it were not for such a poor experience with both the Triad, and a little titanium wood burner. I am just going to swear off titanium stoves for a while
Absolutely useless bit of kit. My basic Coke, Pepsi, or Redbull stoves all work better, and they are just the simple sort.
What is wrong with the above style?
1) In order to light it, you must pour in meths until it fills the stove and forms a pool in the dimple in the top. So, you can't choose how much fuel you use...
2) The idea is that when you light said fuel puddle, the heat will boil the meths in the stove, which will then come out in little jets from the ring of holes. In practice, titanium is a lousy conductor of heat, worse by far than aluminium, not even as good as steel. In anything but mid summer, there is a real danger of the fuel puddle burning off before enough heat gets back into the main reservoir to keep it lit.
3) The span of the legs that make the pot stand is only just alright to use with my Zebra billy. Ideally you need a pot that is bigger around than it is tall in order to sit on the legs.
4) Those legs that keep the stove off the nasty cold ground are worthless in the field unless you stand the stove on something, like a bit of metal, or flat stone. Place even a half full billy on top, with the stove sitting on anything but concrete hard ground, and the legs just dissapear as the weight of the billy mashes it to ground level.
5) The flames last lots longer for a given quantity of fuel than they do in my other stoves, but I don't want to wait 30 minutes for my pot to never quite reach boiling. I would rather have my fuel all go in 15 minutes, but have the water boiling in 10 or under.
6) Mine wasn't sealed well enough and little jets of burning meths escaped from the join line. This has been sorted on the new version.
I might be tempted by this thing:
if it were not for such a poor experience with both the Triad, and a little titanium wood burner. I am just going to swear off titanium stoves for a while
this one?
...where did you get it from?
I got it from Ebay - here to be precise:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VargoTitanium...hZ011QQcategoryZ16036QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
I originally asked him for the diameter of the alcohol burner as I wanted a Crusader alcohol solution (I think the Crusader fuel wells are different sizes now - mine's 60mm) - he replied "50mm" so I bought it.
On receipt the burner assembly was too large to fit in the Crusader fuel well but I noticed that the top part of the unit fit snugly on top of the well.
The guy was a delight to deal with (offered me a full refund as he was quoting [old] manufacturers specs - I declined the refund as I was keen to experiment with this as it was (I gave him good feedback as well - as he did seem to be a genuine bloke and delivery was less than 24 hours).
Anyway - the build quality was dire! I spent half an hour with a dremel de-burring the burn holes from the inside and getting them reasonably uniform.
So far - like I said - 1/2 litre rolling boil - no probs - although it does flare up at the front (and melted my crappy BCB lid). If you fill up the fuel well until it's just overflowing - pop on the triad xe top part and then set alight to the whole thing, it'll prime in a minute or so and keep burning for more than 10 minutes (6 mins to 1/2 litre boil). These are pretty rough timings and I'd like to experiment further with outside air temp and wind figures as well. If I can come up with a definitive solution then be sure to read it here first as I love the Crusader unit as it's so compact (mug, water & cooker in a pouch) but...
I do like Wayland's design - I made a slightly different version of his Morrison/ 10cm billy brew kit/ mini stove and it works a treat - with all fuels (trangia burner in mine).
Nah, they are crap. My home made pepsi can stove does a better job and cost nothing. If you want a quick brew or to boil up some noodles get a jetboil or one of the small micro gas stoves like a pocket rocket or even cheaper
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/40-OFF-GOSYST...ryZ16036QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
had one given me last year and they are good for what they are.
Well i got one the first type not as good as homemade Pepsi one .But i can get my fired up in 15 sec. i made a coil wick to put under it with wet alcohol for prime. I don't like them fold out feet next time i see it on the bench and it gets in the way off they come.
still playing with stoves
my mate brought his jet boil round so i ran it up with the clock
1/2 ltr (the recommended fill line for the jet boil)
jet boil 2min 45 sec
my 15yr old Epi Gas Micro and a 14cm zebra billy 3min 20 sec
my 15yr old Epi Gas Micro and crusader cup+lid 3 min 15 sec
slower than the quoted 2 min from their site for the jet boil but it was cold tap water, pack water may have been warmer but all where indoors so warm air and no wind no extra shielding or heat reflectors
15 yrs devellopment fo 30 sec quicker
however i dont know the fuel consumption of the epigas but the burner is very similer to the jet boil.
im still more than happy and impressed with the coke can stoves ive bodged together not quick but quick enough and 50-60ml will boil 1 ltr in the Zebra
Tip on the zebras on the 14cm ( i assue the rest are similer) the extra pan in the top seems to be 1/3rd the sensible fill level ( the 14 is 0.5ltr so 1.5 ltr fill ) if you put in 2 pan fulls to boil leave the pan in place as well as the lid it cuts the heated air space and double insulates the top (could bven do a fryed egg its how the posh chefs do them over water )
if you like lots of Brews in a moving truck get the Jet boil and hanging system
my mate brought his jet boil round so i ran it up with the clock
1/2 ltr (the recommended fill line for the jet boil)
jet boil 2min 45 sec
my 15yr old Epi Gas Micro and a 14cm zebra billy 3min 20 sec
my 15yr old Epi Gas Micro and crusader cup+lid 3 min 15 sec
slower than the quoted 2 min from their site for the jet boil but it was cold tap water, pack water may have been warmer but all where indoors so warm air and no wind no extra shielding or heat reflectors
15 yrs devellopment fo 30 sec quicker
however i dont know the fuel consumption of the epigas but the burner is very similer to the jet boil.
im still more than happy and impressed with the coke can stoves ive bodged together not quick but quick enough and 50-60ml will boil 1 ltr in the Zebra
Tip on the zebras on the 14cm ( i assue the rest are similer) the extra pan in the top seems to be 1/3rd the sensible fill level ( the 14 is 0.5ltr so 1.5 ltr fill ) if you put in 2 pan fulls to boil leave the pan in place as well as the lid it cuts the heated air space and double insulates the top (could bven do a fryed egg its how the posh chefs do them over water )
if you like lots of Brews in a moving truck get the Jet boil and hanging system
still playing with stoves
my mate brought his jet boil round so i ran it up with the clock
1/2 ltr (the recommended fill line for the jet boil)
jet boil 2min 45 sec
my 15yr old Epi Gas Micro and a 14cm zebra billy 3min 20 sec
my 15yr old Epi Gas Micro and crusader cup+lid 3 min 15 sec
slower than the quoted 2 min from their site for the jet boil but it was cold tap water, pack water may have been warmer but all where indoors so warm air and no wind no extra shielding or heat reflectors
15 yrs devellopment fo 30 sec quicker
however i dont know the fuel consumption of the epigas but the burner is very similer to the jet boil.
im still more than happy and impressed with the coke can stoves ive bodged together not quick but quick enough and 50-60ml will boil 1 ltr in the Zebra
Tip on the zebras on the 14cm ( i assue the rest are similer) the extra pan in the top seems to be 1/3rd the sensible fill level ( the 14 is 0.5ltr so 1.5 ltr fill ) if you put in 2 pan fulls to boil leave the pan in place as well as the lid it cuts the heated air space and double insulates the top (could bven do a fryed egg its how the posh chefs do them over water )
if you like lots of Brews in a moving truck get the Jet boil and hanging system
You dont need a hanging system, you can just hold it in your hand.
Add 250mls of water to the mug, connect burner, ignite, wait 90 seconds, disconnect burner, add coffee and drink.
demo here for anyone (like me) who's seen them in shops but hasn't actually got their hands on one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v92sh9PPbdE
Looks ideal for brews, rat pack BITBs, dehydrated meals etc. With pasta you can prob boil water, add the pasta and turn the stove off for a while while it absorbs water. The insulated mug and lid looks great for keeping the heat in. Plus if it does start getting cold so easy to light it back up for another 30 seconds.
I think this is what I'm going to be using on the mountains this winter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v92sh9PPbdE
Looks ideal for brews, rat pack BITBs, dehydrated meals etc. With pasta you can prob boil water, add the pasta and turn the stove off for a while while it absorbs water. The insulated mug and lid looks great for keeping the heat in. Plus if it does start getting cold so easy to light it back up for another 30 seconds.
I think this is what I'm going to be using on the mountains this winter.
another beer can stove and coat hanger stand it is then. Flip it over and use hex etc.
I've got a redbull one that fits the crusadeer cook but I'm trying to cut the weight.
I've got a redbull one that fits the crusadeer cook but I'm trying to cut the weight.
I'm using a home made side burner stove at the moment and like it a lot. No need for a separate stand either - could be worth a go if you've not tried one before.
Certainly worth a go - I really like mine. Mine's a very simple version - no inner wall. Works fine, but needs a primer pan to get it going.
