Which stove

Johnnyboy1971

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 24, 2010
4,155
26
53
Yorkshire
I'm looking for a new winter/cold weather stove. My old Omni is great but it makes an horrible amount of noise and never had much love of petrol.
Can anyone recomend me a new one and why?
It will be used from making brews to full meals for two.
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
3
Hampshire
Use paraffin in the Omni and put up with the noise! (Or use winter gas canister in it?) Seems a shame to downgrade to a lesser stove:)
 

Johnnyboy1971

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 24, 2010
4,155
26
53
Yorkshire
Use paraffin in the Omni and put up with the noise! (Or use winter gas canister in it?) Seems a shame to downgrade to a lesser stove:)

The noise I could about live with and I'm looking into the silent burner caps. Will the jet need changing to run paraffin in it? If so I no longer have the spares supplied.
 

Johnnyboy1971

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 24, 2010
4,155
26
53
Yorkshire
John look at picking up an Optimus 111T, it burns paraffin and Coleman fuel and even meths with minor mods. Silent, 10,000BTUs output, boils fast and simmers well.

Or buy a silent damper for the Omnifuel and run it on paraffin.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QUIETSTOV...032?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac9f324f8 Will do the job, just drops on top of the burner and you can listen to the birds :)


Looked at the 111s before but never been able to work out which one is fueled by what.
TBH I was looking at something a little smaller for packing and carrying.
Was looking at things like the Optimus 96 or the little Svea123 but not sure how they cope with cold weather.
 

Shewie

Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
26
49
Yorkshire
My Whisperlite has more of a hiss than a roar, runs on most things but I'm using mainly Aspen, Coleman or Primus fuel lately
 

Johnnyboy1971

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Dec 24, 2010
4,155
26
53
Yorkshire
I wish. Mine sounds like a tornado on full chatt ready for takeoff. Oh and god help if I turn it up to boil something.
 

BigMonster

Full Member
Sep 6, 2011
1,351
225
Manchester
Not a rocket science I'm afraid.
Alcohol (trangia) - slow
Multifuel - noisy, complicated
Butane - not winter proof
wood stove - messy, fuel sometimes scarce

There is no perfect stove. Just sit down and think what you can live with. On a day hike when you need a brew fast and you can keep the canister warmish, butane is best.
High in the mountains (summer) alcohol stove system shines due to the weight, no small parts to loose/break, not affected by altitude.
For winter cooking multifuel is a good option because you need a lot of power quick (melting snow, cold pans, cold food, short tempers).

Pick your poison and learn to live with it's disadwantages. After all it is only one of the tools to sustain you in the woods.
 

Grebby

Life Member
Jul 16, 2008
507
53
Sutton Coldfield
Looked at the 111s before but never been able to work out which one is fueled by what.
TBH I was looking at something a little smaller for packing and carrying.
Was looking at things like the Optimus 96 or the little Svea123 but not sure how they cope with cold weather.

I've got a 111T which is, as Rik said, brilliant but not light. I run it on paraffin.

I also have a quiet stove cap for my DragonFly and it makes that quiet. If it can keep a DragonFly quiet then there should be no problem for your Omni, correct version required obviously.
 

Teepee

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 15, 2010
4,115
5
Northamptonshire
There's no reason to discount gas for winter use, a remote feed gas stove with the can placed upside down will burn liquid gas down to lower temps than we ever get over here.

I'd stick with the fuel flexibilty of the Omnifuel and buy a Berniedawg silent burner cap for it if I didn't like the noise.

Burning a heavier fuel like paraffin in the Omni will be using the smallest of the jets and so isn't as loud or powerful as the thinner fractions.
 

spiritwalker

Native
Jun 22, 2009
1,244
3
wirral
Trangia, life in the slow lane but nice and quiet, reliable and good in bad weather. For just brewing up ghillie kettle.
 
Last edited:

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
3
Hampshire
Berniedawg caps are very nice, but have you seen the price of them recently?!

I'm very partial to my Optimus 111 cookers, but despite having the multifuel one, the basic, paraffin-only 111 is brilliant as it is.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
Looked at the 111s before but never been able to work out which one is fueled by what.
TBH I was looking at something a little smaller for packing and carrying.
Was looking at things like the Optimus 96 or the little Svea123 but not sure how they cope with cold weather.


123 and 8 are fine in cold weather.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
Not a rocket science I'm afraid.
Alcohol (trangia) - slow
Multifuel - noisy, complicated
Butane - not winter proof
wood stove - messy, fuel sometimes scarce

There is no perfect stove. Just sit down and think what you can live with. On a day hike when you need a brew fast and you can keep the canister warmish, butane is best.
High in the mountains (summer) alcohol stove system shines due to the weight, no small parts to loose/break, not affected by altitude.
For winter cooking multifuel is a good option because you need a lot of power quick (melting snow, cold pans, cold food, short tempers).

Pick your poison and learn to live with it's disadwantages. After all it is only one of the tools to sustain you in the woods.

Is a Trangia that slow (real Trangia not the army POS)?

I like all my stoves (that I've kept) but overall, so long as you have alcohol for fuel the Trangia is without doubt the best stove known to us mortals...they just keep on working.
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
3
Hampshire
Only two problems with the 123 , 8 and 96 - they use petrol, which you say you want to get away from, and they're relatively small. (I also find the 123 a bit wobbly, being narrow and tall) Combine the 123 with a purpose-designed cookset however, and it's much better! Now all I have to do is remember the name of the cooksets - I'm sure Rik will remind me!
 

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