Yellowstone aurora / Alocs cookset review

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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
736
226
Somerset
Nice review Aloc.

I've just bought one of the Yellowstone spirit burners - not the full kit.

There are no instructions on filling it with spirit - can you give me any guidance - I've no experience with these and don't want to create a fireball

Also I guess the sliding bit on the snuffing out cap is to create a reduced flame - am I right?

Thanks

I heard that sometimes the holes arernt quite clear at manufacture, and poking them with a pin before first use, also to wash with water to flush any residual manufacturing process chemicals.

Burner on its own currently £6 at wilkinson...
 

gixer

Member
Dec 16, 2012
40
0
Midlands
Great review, thanks for sharing.

Seems like it's a LOT of weight to be lugging around for such an inefficient system though.
I'm using a Vargo triad or Evernew burner with either a 750ml or a 450ml cup

Vargo triad = 26g
Evernew burner with Trivet = 56g
450ml ti cup = 71g
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
1
Hampshire
Why does everyone wait for the burner to "bloom" before starting cooking?! Light it, and then put the pot on. THe reflected heat from the bottom of the pan will speed up the bloom time substantially, you're not wasting meths waiting for the bloom to occur and the water etc will start warming immediately.
 

Phil B

Settler
Jan 28, 2006
631
12
62
Beverley, Yorkshire.
Why does everyone wait for the burner to "bloom" before starting cooking?! Light it, and then put the pot on. THe reflected heat from the bottom of the pan will speed up the bloom time substantially, you're not wasting meths waiting for the bloom to occur and the water etc will start warming immediately.

I'm no fan of meths stoves as it's so hard to see the flames when a spill is lit and it's a slow to heat anyway.

As to your point, I think you're right but the comparison of bloom times was just that, a comparison.
Does it indicate efficiency? Dunno, but imho, it added info to the review that I felt relevant and might be a pointer to people who know more than me!
 

widu13

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 9, 2008
2,334
19
Ubique Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt
I've had the Alocs pot and lid set for a couple of years now (it's an Optimus copy) and I'm very pleased with them. I use these with my small meths burner, and for my whitebox stove use a 14cm Ti pot set.

I also have a 2/3 person Alocs pot set with the radiating fins on the bottom like the Optimus Weekender, in fact I have a clone of that size too (1/2 person) and with a MSR pocket rocket it boils 0.5 ltr water in 2 mins 20secs! The flat Alocs set is rather more sedate with a meths burner though!
 

Andy BB

Full Member
Apr 19, 2010
3,290
1
Hampshire
I'm no fan of meths stoves as it's so hard to see the flames when a spill is lit and it's a slow to heat anyway.

As to your point, I think you're right but the comparison of bloom times was just that, a comparison.
Does it indicate efficiency? Dunno, but imho, it added info to the review that I felt relevant and might be a pointer to people who know more than me!

Oops - no criticism of the review meant - its a very good description of the kit. Its just that, whenever I see youtube vids on these types of burners, everyone waits for the bloom to start before putting the pot on it! And - as far as the times for the SAT set are concerned (I've never used the ALOCS kit, but almost certainly the same), it gives a very misleading impression of the total time needed to boil a pan/half-litre of water. Ambient temps also have a major impact on boil times too.

I've got the "finned" pot sets - both ALOCS and Primus - and the fins do make for a much more efficient, faster boil time. THe only real down-side to my ALOCS pots is that the inner surface is in no way non-stick!
 
Aug 4, 2013
866
3
Berkshire
Yeah there designed as a simmer ring. You need to make sure its well lit before putting it on or it will snuff it out.
Filling it is as easy as pouring in the meths until level with the outer holes and then lighting it.

Thanks Aloc - much appreciated - is there an optimum height between burner & pot?

I heard that sometimes the holes arernt quite clear at manufacture, and poking them with a pin before first use, also to wash with water to flush any residual manufacturing process chemicals.

Burner on its own currently £6 at wilkinson...

Thanks Neoaliphant - I did get mine from Wilkos.

Grateful to you both
 
Oct 20, 2014
1
0
Buxton
I have given one of these stoves a really good testing and cannot find anything bad about it. It's a lovely stove to carry round, small, light and very efficient. There has been a few reviews commenting on the distance between the burner and the pot, however, in tests the boil times were only a few seconds difference so not a problem at all. This is the type of stove that will last a long time and give you many happy 'brews'. www.icebear.co.uk

Hey folks i was looking into buying one of these for a while but could not find any decent reviews.
So i decided to buy one for myself and then do my first real review.

I have up until now been using a Swedish Army Trangia for brews in the woods but wanted something lighter and faster boiling.
I will be using mine for comparison.

SO here goes and please bear with me.

Firstly let me start with the title, yes they are exactly the same item. Made in China by a company called Kingpool. Yellowstone seem to have bought a bulk load and are marketing them as there own the same as Alocs did in China.
There are no brand stamps of any kind on the stove or parts.

It came in a nice box written in English with instructions weight etc.

On opening the box box the stove and accessories are all neatly packed away in the net storage bag.
Inside you get
A spirit burner
A simmer ring
Top windshield
Bottom windshield
pot rest (silver circle)
900ml pot
340ml pot
A small microfiber cleaning cloth and the net storage bag.

At only 565g its a lot lighter over all than the SAT at over 1kg








All put together




And here is my old faithful SAT.



So i firstly started off testing the difference with the Spirit burners.
The size is obvious, the SAT is a big brass unit and the Yellowstone is smaller and a lot lighter.



The burn and bloom was also a lot different, the SAT took 6m 8sec to bloom from cold, the YS took only 2m 2sec and was a lot bigger and more powerful than the SAT


Next i did a boil test, both pots i filled with 500ml of cold water and put on the flames once it had bloomed.
The SAT took 13m 44sec to come to a rolling boil
The YS took only 8m 23sec to rolling boil.
Factor in the time it takes to bloom and the YS is a much faster boil than the old SAT.

I did see one big difference in that the SAT burner sits on the floor allowing cold when in snow/wet to affect its performance where as the YS has a lower windshield that the Burner sits on and raises it from the floor. This also creates a bigger gap between the burner top and pot bottom on the YS that allows the flame to raise itself bigger.

So i took the bottom windshield off the YS resting the burner on the floor, reducing the gap and did another boil test.
This time it took over a minute less to rolling boil. so reducing the gap seems to help the flame do its stuff. (maybe a little bit of modding needed here)

Very nice looking, packs away very tightly and neatly, uses less pack space and weight.
Overall the YS is a very nice little cookset that come in lighter and with a faster boil time than my SAT.
It costs a little more at £30 delivered but i think it is well worth the extra money.
 

Alan 13~7

Settler
Oct 2, 2014
571
5
Prestwick, Scotland
I have given one of these stoves a really good testing and cannot find anything bad about it. It's a lovely stove to carry round, small, light and very efficient. There has been a few reviews commenting on the distance between the burner and the pot, however, in tests the boil times were only a few seconds difference so not a problem at all. This is the type of stove that will last a long time and give you many happy 'brews'. www.icebear.co.uk
I realise this is an old thread... But I've Just bought one of these Today from "Ice Bear Expidition equipment" & reviews lead me to this old thread,

https://flic.kr/p/PcJ1T1https://www.flickr.com/photos/53502716@N06/ on offer slight christmas discount £25.50 + christmas extra 5%òff, can't afford one, dont need one & WILL get grief from the wife, But SO WHAT ... christmas pressie to myself, (it's on offer inc postage 2013 prices?) I have liked the look of them seems like forever, I too have the old "army trangia" & think it is the muts nuts, & I never wait for the bloom & I dont think it's slow & I can actualy cook raw ingredients on it reasonably fast.... I thought it to be a great review from the OP so thought I would give it a well deserved christmas bump
 
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neoaliphant

Settler
Aug 24, 2009
736
226
Somerset
Excellent
see my comment earlier up about cleaning holes, i got my alocs from stoneagebushcraft a few years back, only used a few times but very happy, stable as well.
i often use the pots on a coleman multifuel stove and it fits perfectly. I even made a pot hanger bail wire from a brake cable and jbweld as the ridge of the pot means it can grab without having to drill holes.

best of luck with yours
 

Alan 13~7

Settler
Oct 2, 2014
571
5
Prestwick, Scotland
good advice, saw one good review on U tube where he commented 26 holes 2 sizes alternating, will probably flush out with hot Bioethanol to remove factory residue as a precausion Ie:~ light let bloom extinguish put lid on shake disgard repeate type thing, looking forward to experimenting/playing with when it arrives.
 

Laurence Milton

Settler
Apr 7, 2016
605
170
suffolk
why be sorry? It looks a great little cooker, I only knew of the older trangia cookers (one of which I have and love), so this is new to me, thank you.
 

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