Great video, lots of info. I've been using a Trangia stormproof spirit stoves for almost 50 years (not the same one) and love them. They work anywhere in any conditions. However they have one drawback, the weight of fuel needed for extended trips. On a 2 week trip for all my cooking/coffee needs i would have to carry about 4 litres of fuel, thats a lot of weight. So on longer trips i use a simple gas cannister stove and carry 2 x 500g cans. I look forward to more of your videos. 👍👍
Glad you’re enjoying the content. Agreed…the trangia stoves are a great option for a variety of conditions. It’s hard to beat the isobutane fuel options.
I honestly think that you might of considered including Wood, Twig type of stoves. From Firebox to a bush buddy,, these type of stoves demonstrate that you don’t need a Large supply of wood, in order to cook your meals,,, Yes ,,, there’s a learning curve for these too,,,, But isn’t that apart of the adventure and fun of the whole process. Great Overview,,,,Joshua
Thanks for the feedback. I’m really surprised by how many backpackers use wood/twig stoves. It’s inspired me to get one and try it out. Looking at the trail designs side winder which can be used for wood/alcohol/esbit. I’ll make a video.
Awesome comparison of stoves! I love my BRS 3000 and isobutane. I want to try a white gas stove, but have not made the purchase yet. Right now for really cold trips, I use a remote burner and a little 1/4 pound propane bottle from Flame King. Not super heavy and will burn down to really low temps.
Thank you! Agreed the BRS is hard to beat...so light! great to hear the remote cannister stove is effective for you winter trips. the remote cannister is the only stove I don't own yet, but I'm excited to try it for myself.
... Have been a backpacker over 50+ years and have a shelf full of pack stoves ,,mostly because I think they are kinda cool .... Have had and used a MSR Whisperlite International for most of my cold/ high altitude hiking/camping on trail ...same stove .. burns almost anything flammable ,, never failed me ... still works fine ..... First canister stove , called a Globe Trotter,, self contained in 2 small pots ,,,, ,used for many years used canisters that did not have a threaded connection ,, when installing the stove over the canister you had to puncture the canister for use and leave it together until fuel used up ,, these are the models that if not careful and kept tight could explode when lit or a closed off windscreen causing it to get too hot ... still have that stove and some unopened canisters (not avail. anymore) but don't use anymore ...... moved into a MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe ... for a 3- season stove ..... But always carry a Firebox Nano twig stove as back-up .... comes with a small tin to carry and stand up in ,, carries extremely small in pack .... and hike to alpine fishing lakes often above tree line and unless you gather sticks/wood along the way ,, there is NO fuel available without going back down trail ..... many others that work well ,, but just shelf art .....
Nice review. thanks. Although I disagree that alcohol is not suitable for gourmet cooking. I generally use a remote stove, but I use butane cassettes. You need and adaptor but the gas is 1/2 to 1/3 the price of isobutane. Hardware stores will often carry butane as there are blow lamps that attach to the top of a butane cannister. They are also used in cassette stove (more of a glamping item). Another advantage of remote stoves is that many have a larger burner that spreads the heat better, which helps prevent scorching. I also use alcohol stoves. I have a Trangia cook set type clone. These take up more room in the pack but are very light. I have used this for 'gourmet' cooking. The lower heat of alcohol burners is ideal for simmering and the Trangia burner and some (not all) of the clones have a simmer ring that reduces the flame size for even lower heat. Additional pros of alcohol is that it burns easily at altitude and is silent . Cons, alcohol burners are prone to wind, and so you need a wind shield. Fortunately the alcohol burner cook sets are normally complete with a burner holder and wind screen. If you want to go small, look at the new Trangia Micro, and the Trangia Mini cook systems. Solid fuel. There is a great company called www.flatcatgear.com/ that makes complete cook systems, that fold flat, based around the Esbit fuel tabs. Personally I don't like hexamine blocks, as I am sure I can taste it in my coffee.
For me it will always be the wood stove aka 'bush box'. Or even just a grill plate to put over the campfire. The fuel is all around you so you don't have to carry it. Zero maintenance. It takes more preparation collecting the fuel and more skill on how to make a fire but it works always and everywhere. On my 3 last backpacking trips in Thailand I've never seen these small screw on canisters for sale anywhere and you can't bring them on the plane with you. In fact I did not see them in Colombia either. I'm sure they are available somewhere but you might have a very hard time finding them. Gasoline you can find basically everywhere but these specials fuels again a no. Alcohol stoves as a back up do make sense because you will probably always find some flammable liquid in grocery stores. And if the little holes get blocked you can just poke and clear them with a sharpened stick. No need for big maintenance.
Impressive that you use the wood burning fuel stoves. As for the canister stove systems or any stove you can fly with the stove …just not the fuel of any kind. Even esbit tabs are not permitted in checked bags.
@@hilltacklerthebackpacker Indeed, and in your carry on you're only allowed 1 lighter. Of course they sell lighters in every grocery store probably worldwide. What they often also sell are these esbit like cubes they use to start the BBQ and of course bottles of cleaning alcohol or cleaning spirit. I do have a small very lightweight stove for on a small gas canister, but these small gas canisters can be hard or even impossible to find. So when I travel abroad I bring a folding wood burning stove and I have different sizes in stainless and a titanium one. I do bring a Trangia like (Tatonka) small stainless steel alcohol burner that will fit inside the wood stove also. Of course also the esbit like cubes will fit inside. I do bring sometimes also the small stove for the small gas canister because that's really tiny just in case I do find a gas canister that will fit. I also bring a so called 'fire steel' aka 'ferro rod'. So, with the exception of the lighter because that's carry on only since it has fuel inside, everything I bring can travel both in my checked or carry on luggage and will also fit inside my pockets. So for me it's all about the availability and transportation of fuel once at the destination. My preferred method is the wood burning stove with twigs that are just lying around but of course you need to know how to start a fire. Sometimes, mostly in summer, there might be open fire restrictions and you never know if they see a wood burning stove (bushbox) as open fire. I had this happen ones on a campsite in France. The same goes for the alcohol burner or the esbit cubes. In that case the small stove for the canisters because campsites that ban open fire will sell the gas canisters. I have never seen open fire restrictions in for instance Colombia or Thailand because the poor and rural people often actually cook on open fire. What's hard or maybe even impossible to find in these countries are these small gas canisters for the small stove. You do find the very large ones because a lot of people use them to cook at home but they are impossible to carry around of course. We, in the west, are often a bit 'spoiled' in the sense that you find a sports or camping store with all kind of equipment, ready to eat meals and gas canisters within hours. That's not the case in many other countries and it can take days. What you can practically always find in nature is some small natural fuel for the bushbox.
I just found your channel. Very nice to meet you here. I love backpacking, hiking and camping. I just prefer to not go alone. I hope to find an adventure buddy. IS there already a meetup platform in place that I just don't know about? Thank you.
Thank you and good to meet you! Going solo is not for everyone and sometimes it takes a while to that level of comfort, took me quite a while to get there. I think do what you’re comfortable with most important is to follow your passion for the trail and enjoy it. I don't have a meet up here but would eventually like to have subscriber trips.
👍👍👍 A Perfect Stove for all Seasons / Applications? I don't think so. It all depends .. That said, I have the entire range of stoves and burners .. White Gas, Compressed Gas, Alcohol (liquid and gel), Solid Fuel and Wood / Charcoal (charcoal being very underrated in my opinion). The stove that I may use at any given time will often depend on (and in no specific order of importance / priority / etc) .. my mood, season, weather, menu, where to, duration and more .. in other words, until it's time, who knows? 😁. Here in Switzerland, during the Summer Months, at times, Fire Restrictions in our Forests often limit the use of Wood Burners (and with all of that lovely free fuel out there 😏) .. while in Winter, a Wood Burner can be comforting and warming to boot, although at times, especially during wet times, dry wood can be difficult to source in Nature and often wood must be brought in from outside (thus the beauty and versatility of charcoal). My Optimus 8R Hunter White Gas and Camping Gaz Bluet 206 Gas Canister Stoves (both bought new in the 70's and still going strong) and Trangia Alcohol Burner all perform well .. the first two with very good 'simmer' capabilities and to a lesser extent (still acceptable to me), the simmer on the Trangia. Alcohol Gel does well too .. especially in 'sensitive' areas where one wants to maintain a low profile .. and very safe to use to boot. Solid Fuel (Esbit) Tablets .. I have two Esbit Folding Stoves, one of them, part of my personal kit issue in 1968 during my Military National Service. Both do sterling work .. although, not with the solid fuel tablets. Instead, I use Alcohol or Gel Fuel in a myriad of 'home-grown' burners made from scrap and salvaged 'stuff'. Why? The solid fuel tablets can only be sourced at specialist outdoor outlets, whilst alcohol liquid and gel fuel is as far as my supermarket just down the road .. and much cheaper than the solid tablets! I do store a pack of solid Esbit tabs in each Folder for 'just in case', but stick to liquid and gel as first choices. Lastly .. 'simmer control' on Alcohol Stoves .. the perceived lack thereof. The 'simmer ring' on the Trangia works OK. In order to modify heat output, I turn towards burners of different diameters. It's amazing what one can do with metal bottle tops (whiskey, of course .. 😁), energy drink cans converted to burners, etc .. all filled with ceramic / glass wool (to prevent burning fuel spillage during an inadvertent knockover) .. and .. they cost almost nothing to make, are super light and take up very little space. A good post .. thanks for sharing .. take care ..
Yer, One is never enough. There is not a perfect stove. it depends on what you are doing and what you want to cook. I started with tiny jet stoves then alcohol stoves, wood-burning stoves, Duel fuel stoves and so on. I now have a spare room full of camping gear. It all gets used, just not all at once, obviously. It depends on my choice of food, mood and the event I am attending. I still use the old jet gas stoves for day hikes and the alcohol stoves for overnight camps. It goes on. Anyone looking to get your first stove beware of experts telling you what the "perfect stove" is going to be. It very much depends on you and what you want from it. In the end, they all do the same thing. just use your preferences to choose rather than "expert" advice. But for a beginner. Just go with a gas stove. something small lightweight and cheap. If you like it and want to keep going on these trips then you upgrade or swap to something you have seen working in the field for someone else first-hand. My personal favourite is the Trangia 27 with the gas burner upgrade. It just works. Never failed me yet and can still be used with the alcohol stove in the event of a Zombie apocalypse when gas is no longer available. But what do I know? I am just an old fart that likes camping and fishing and has a massive camping stove collection that spans 40 years of dicking around in the woods, mountains and lakes.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Please just stop! You skipped some very important stove systems that have been around for decades! First of all, how can you talk about camp stoves, especially alcohol stoves, without mentioning Trangia? Trangia is one of the original alcohol cooking system. They also can accommodate liquid fuel, pressurized gas canisters, solid fuel and jells. The reason they are called a storm cooker is the way they handle windy conditions due to their wind screen/pot stand assembly. You can add a preheater for cold weather use. They come with a small water kettle for freeze-dried meals on the go and accommodate actual cooking in pots or a fry pan. The burners come with a simmer ring for limited cooking control. As an aside, the wind screen/wind protection/heat conservation system of a cookset is as important to the utility and practicality of any stove. It is the prime reason that you like the functionality of the Caldera Cone. You can have a great stove but it will fail you in the field because wind steals your heat. The Trangia burner easily fits into so many other stove systems like small twig stoves -- another stove system you failed to mention. Twig stoves can be small, light-weight, fold up flat, and are great in areas with burnable material and don't require that you carry fuel. Other twig stoves like the Kelly Kettle are favorites among experienced bush-crafters, canoe camping, and car campers for decades for their utility and versatility. Lastly, you should have greatly expanded on the primary reason that liquid fuel stoves like the MSR WhisperLite are especially suited for longer cold weather high altitude trips is because they provide a large hot flame for melting snow for drinking water and cooking while using smaller amounts of fuel. Gas canister stoves will use a lot of fuel and produce less heat in conditions that require a lot of hot water to survive. Inexperienced winter hikers can quickly run into trouble when they run out of fuel trying to melt snow with canister stoves.
Appreciate your insights into trangia stove systems. They are certainly a great option. On the heavier side but certainly a good choice for some. The intent of this video was to give the options FUEL options for backpackers. Wood is an option - that I didn’t cover and I’m enlightened by some of the comments pointing to this option as it’s one that I didn’t realize a lot of backpackers used so much. I’ll have to give it another try on my trips. I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the caldera cone as they are almost completely sealed off for wind protection. And lastly, I talked directly to the white gas and it’s melting snow for water under liquid fuels and at the end specifically speaking to 4 season backpackers. Happy trails.
The only thing you have to ask yourself is: "Am I travelling on a plane to get to my camping location?" Because if you are, then the ONLY kind of stove you can take is a multi-fuel stove... If you camp close to home, take any kind of stove you prefer. If you're camping in another country, take a stove that is fuelled by unleaded petrol, because overseas, you can't even rely on the availability of white gas or methylated spirits in stores, let alone gas canisters that fit your stove, especially in Asia and South America or Africa. And you can completely forget about fuel like Hexamine tablets, as they are useless for anything other than boiling water in a completely windless environment - it's why the militaries of many countries no longer supply it as part of a ration-pack cook set and instead have chemical reaction-heated MRE's...
Good points! I think I underestimated the difficulty of getting canister fuel internationally. In my experience any kind of edit stove will require a wind screen - it can be as simple as aluminum foil. Check out trail designs for some really efficient systems.
Hexamine was discontinued in militaries because of chemical fumes that I thunk from memory include minor cyanide non fatal content, and to avoid law suits. Hexi can be used for anything. We were still issued these in the 80s and our rat packs had a lot of canned goods stews etc. They worked fin. Wind is not an issue you have a backpack to create a wind break. If that's not enough use the heel of your boot then a decent stick to dig a hole and pop your stove down in it. Hexi stove can also be twig fed to cook on effectively. If they didn't work they'd have not been issued for decades. That being said, I still own a few but rarely use them. I carry one as a backup. I use it in winter mainly because I take steak gravy potatoes and peas so I need 2 to 3 burners to put a meal together. I may have lived on tins decades ago, but don't eat that shite I have a proper meal on a full sized plate in the evening. I don't do Cans or Dehydrated or MRE anymore.
I'm a vet, my Whisperlight's been treating me right since 1984. I've collected and used others, but my WL is my go to/vehicle stove.
The whisper light is a work horse for sure!
@@hilltacklerthebackpacker mine will be around long after I'm gone at this rate
I like the MSR Whisperlite Universal
Great video, lots of info.
I've been using a Trangia stormproof spirit stoves for almost 50 years (not the same one) and love them. They work anywhere in any conditions.
However they have one drawback, the weight of fuel needed for extended trips. On a 2 week trip for all my cooking/coffee needs i would have to carry about 4 litres of fuel, thats a lot of weight.
So on longer trips i use a simple gas cannister stove and carry 2 x 500g cans.
I look forward to more of your videos. 👍👍
Glad you’re enjoying the content. Agreed…the trangia stoves are a great option for a variety of conditions. It’s hard to beat the isobutane fuel options.
I honestly think that you might of considered including Wood, Twig type of stoves. From Firebox to a bush buddy,, these type of stoves demonstrate that you don’t need a Large supply of wood, in order to cook your meals,,,
Yes ,,, there’s a learning curve for these too,,,, But isn’t that apart of the adventure and fun of the whole process.
Great Overview,,,,Joshua
I have a twig stove and would love to use it, but there are just too many fire bans where I live. Ho humm.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m really surprised by how many backpackers use wood/twig stoves. It’s inspired me to get one and try it out. Looking at the trail designs side winder which can be used for wood/alcohol/esbit. I’ll make a video.
Awesome comparison of stoves! I love my BRS 3000 and isobutane. I want to try a white gas stove, but have not made the purchase yet. Right now for really cold trips, I use a remote burner and a little 1/4 pound propane bottle from Flame King. Not super heavy and will burn down to really low temps.
Thank you! Agreed the BRS is hard to beat...so light! great to hear the remote cannister stove is effective for you winter trips. the remote cannister is the only stove I don't own yet, but I'm excited to try it for myself.
Great information, you are so knowledgeable .
Thank you! Glad you're enjoying the content.
Excellent review! Thank you!!
Thank you!
... Have been a backpacker over 50+ years and have a shelf full of pack stoves ,,mostly because I think they are kinda cool .... Have had and used a MSR Whisperlite International for most of my cold/ high altitude hiking/camping on trail ...same stove .. burns almost anything flammable ,, never failed me ... still works fine ..... First canister stove , called a Globe Trotter,, self contained in 2 small pots ,,,, ,used for many years used canisters that did not have a threaded connection ,, when installing the stove over the canister you had to puncture the canister for use and leave it together until fuel used up ,, these are the models that if not careful and kept tight could explode when lit or a closed off windscreen causing it to get too hot ... still have that stove and some unopened canisters (not avail. anymore) but don't use anymore ...... moved into a MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe ... for a 3- season stove ..... But always carry a Firebox Nano twig stove as back-up .... comes with a small tin to carry and stand up in ,, carries extremely small in pack .... and hike to alpine fishing lakes often above tree line and unless you gather sticks/wood along the way ,, there is NO fuel available without going back down trail ..... many others that work well ,, but just shelf art .....
I'm a bit surprised that no one has yet mentioned the venerable Svea 123 stove, so I will. Yes, I'm that old. ;-)
Nice review. thanks. Although I disagree that alcohol is not suitable for gourmet cooking.
I generally use a remote stove, but I use butane cassettes. You need and adaptor but the gas is 1/2 to 1/3 the price of isobutane. Hardware stores will often carry butane as there are blow lamps that attach to the top of a butane cannister. They are also used in cassette stove (more of a glamping item). Another advantage of remote stoves is that many have a larger burner that spreads the heat better, which helps prevent scorching.
I also use alcohol stoves. I have a Trangia cook set type clone. These take up more room in the pack but are very light. I have used this for 'gourmet' cooking. The lower heat of alcohol burners is ideal for simmering and the Trangia burner and some (not all) of the clones have a simmer ring that reduces the flame size for even lower heat. Additional pros of alcohol is that it burns easily at altitude and is silent . Cons, alcohol burners are prone to wind, and so you need a wind shield. Fortunately the alcohol burner cook sets are normally complete with a burner holder and wind screen. If you want to go small, look at the new Trangia Micro, and the Trangia Mini cook systems.
Solid fuel. There is a great company called www.flatcatgear.com/ that makes complete cook systems, that fold flat, based around the Esbit fuel tabs. Personally I don't like hexamine blocks, as I am sure I can taste it in my coffee.
Good input. Im encouraged by your experience with gourmet cooking with trangia system.
For me it will always be the wood stove aka 'bush box'. Or even just a grill plate to put over the campfire. The fuel is all around you so you don't have to carry it. Zero maintenance. It takes more preparation collecting the fuel and more skill on how to make a fire but it works always and everywhere. On my 3 last backpacking trips in Thailand I've never seen these small screw on canisters for sale anywhere and you can't bring them on the plane with you. In fact I did not see them in Colombia either. I'm sure they are available somewhere but you might have a very hard time finding them. Gasoline you can find basically everywhere but these specials fuels again a no. Alcohol stoves as a back up do make sense because you will probably always find some flammable liquid in grocery stores. And if the little holes get blocked you can just poke and clear them with a sharpened stick. No need for big maintenance.
Impressive that you use the wood burning fuel stoves. As for the canister stove systems or any stove you can fly with the stove …just not the fuel of any kind. Even esbit tabs are not permitted in checked bags.
@@hilltacklerthebackpacker Indeed, and in your carry on you're only allowed 1 lighter. Of course they sell lighters in every grocery store probably worldwide. What they often also sell are these esbit like cubes they use to start the BBQ and of course bottles of cleaning alcohol or cleaning spirit.
I do have a small very lightweight stove for on a small gas canister, but these small gas canisters can be hard or even impossible to find.
So when I travel abroad I bring a folding wood burning stove and I have different sizes in stainless and a titanium one. I do bring a Trangia like (Tatonka) small stainless steel alcohol burner that will fit inside the wood stove also. Of course also the esbit like cubes will fit inside.
I do bring sometimes also the small stove for the small gas canister because that's really tiny just in case I do find a gas canister that will fit. I also bring a so called 'fire steel' aka 'ferro rod'.
So, with the exception of the lighter because that's carry on only since it has fuel inside, everything I bring can travel both in my checked or carry on luggage and will also fit inside my pockets.
So for me it's all about the availability and transportation of fuel once at the destination. My preferred method is the wood burning stove with twigs that are just lying around but of course you need to know how to start a fire. Sometimes, mostly in summer, there might be open fire restrictions and you never know if they see a wood burning stove (bushbox) as open fire. I had this happen ones on a campsite in France. The same goes for the alcohol burner or the esbit cubes. In that case the small stove for the canisters because campsites that ban open fire will sell the gas canisters. I have never seen open fire restrictions in for instance Colombia or Thailand because the poor and rural people often actually cook on open fire. What's hard or maybe even impossible to find in these countries are these small gas canisters for the small stove. You do find the very large ones because a lot of people use them to cook at home but they are impossible to carry around of course.
We, in the west, are often a bit 'spoiled' in the sense that you find a sports or camping store with all kind of equipment, ready to eat meals and gas canisters within hours. That's not the case in many other countries and it can take days. What you can practically always find in nature is some small natural fuel for the bushbox.
Thank-you! Subbed 👍
I just found your channel. Very nice to meet you here. I love backpacking, hiking and camping. I just prefer to not go alone. I hope to find an adventure buddy. IS there already a meetup platform in place that I just don't know about? Thank you.
Thank you and good to meet you! Going solo is not for everyone and sometimes it takes a while to that level of comfort, took me quite a while to get there. I think do what you’re comfortable with most important is to follow your passion for the trail and enjoy it. I don't have a meet up here but would eventually like to have subscriber trips.
👍👍👍
A Perfect Stove for all Seasons / Applications? I don't think so. It all depends ..
That said, I have the entire range of stoves and burners .. White Gas, Compressed Gas, Alcohol (liquid and gel), Solid Fuel and Wood / Charcoal (charcoal being very underrated in my opinion).
The stove that I may use at any given time will often depend on (and in no specific order of importance / priority / etc) .. my mood, season, weather, menu, where to, duration and more .. in other words, until it's time, who knows? 😁.
Here in Switzerland, during the Summer Months, at times, Fire Restrictions in our Forests often limit the use of Wood Burners (and with all of that lovely free fuel out there 😏) .. while in Winter, a Wood Burner can be comforting and warming to boot, although at times, especially during wet times, dry wood can be difficult to source in Nature and often wood must be brought in from outside (thus the beauty and versatility of charcoal).
My Optimus 8R Hunter White Gas and Camping Gaz Bluet 206 Gas Canister Stoves (both bought new in the 70's and still going strong) and Trangia Alcohol Burner all perform well .. the first two with very good 'simmer' capabilities and to a lesser extent (still acceptable to me), the simmer on the Trangia.
Alcohol Gel does well too .. especially in 'sensitive' areas where one wants to maintain a low profile .. and very safe to use to boot.
Solid Fuel (Esbit) Tablets .. I have two Esbit Folding Stoves, one of them, part of my personal kit issue in 1968 during my Military National Service. Both do sterling work .. although, not with the solid fuel tablets. Instead, I use Alcohol or Gel Fuel in a myriad of 'home-grown' burners made from scrap and salvaged 'stuff'. Why? The solid fuel tablets can only be sourced at specialist outdoor outlets, whilst alcohol liquid and gel fuel is as far as my supermarket just down the road .. and much cheaper than the solid tablets! I do store a pack of solid Esbit tabs in each Folder for 'just in case', but stick to liquid and gel as first choices.
Lastly .. 'simmer control' on Alcohol Stoves .. the perceived lack thereof. The 'simmer ring' on the Trangia works OK. In order to modify heat output, I turn towards burners of different diameters. It's amazing what one can do with metal bottle tops (whiskey, of course .. 😁), energy drink cans converted to burners, etc .. all filled with ceramic / glass wool (to prevent burning fuel spillage during an inadvertent knockover) .. and .. they cost almost nothing to make, are super light and take up very little space.
A good post .. thanks for sharing .. take care ..
Agreed with everything you said. Specifically that charcoal is underrated and very overlooked!
Yer, One is never enough.
There is not a perfect stove. it depends on what you are doing and what you want to cook.
I started with tiny jet stoves then alcohol stoves, wood-burning stoves, Duel fuel stoves and so on. I now have a spare room full of camping gear.
It all gets used, just not all at once, obviously. It depends on my choice of food, mood and the event I am attending. I still use the old jet gas stoves for day hikes and the alcohol stoves for overnight camps. It goes on.
Anyone looking to get your first stove beware of experts telling you what the "perfect stove" is going to be. It very much depends on you and what you want from it.
In the end, they all do the same thing. just use your preferences to choose rather than "expert" advice.
But for a beginner. Just go with a gas stove. something small lightweight and cheap. If you like it and want to keep going on these trips then you upgrade or swap to something you have seen working in the field for someone else first-hand.
My personal favourite is the Trangia 27 with the gas burner upgrade. It just works. Never failed me yet and can still be used with the alcohol stove in the event of a Zombie apocalypse when gas is no longer available.
But what do I know? I am just an old fart that likes camping and fishing and has a massive camping stove collection that spans 40 years of dicking around in the woods, mountains and lakes.
...If could only have one stove ,, would be the MSR Whisperlite International .... Using mostly Coleman fuel ....
It’s a work horse.
well done
5
It is useful to have more than one type of stove. The perfect number of stoves is n+1. 😂😂😂
LOL! Well said! Thanks for watching !
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Please just stop! You skipped some very important stove systems that have been around for decades! First of all, how can you talk about camp stoves, especially alcohol stoves, without mentioning Trangia? Trangia is one of the original alcohol cooking system. They also can accommodate liquid fuel, pressurized gas canisters, solid fuel and jells. The reason they are called a storm cooker is the way they handle windy conditions due to their wind screen/pot stand assembly. You can add a preheater for cold weather use. They come with a small water kettle for freeze-dried meals on the go and accommodate actual cooking in pots or a fry pan. The burners come with a simmer ring for limited cooking control. As an aside, the wind screen/wind protection/heat conservation system of a cookset is as important to the utility and practicality of any stove. It is the prime reason that you like the functionality of the Caldera Cone. You can have a great stove but it will fail you in the field because wind steals your heat.
The Trangia burner easily fits into so many other stove systems like small twig stoves -- another stove system you failed to mention. Twig stoves can be small, light-weight, fold up flat, and are great in areas with burnable material and don't require that you carry fuel. Other twig stoves like the Kelly Kettle are favorites among experienced bush-crafters, canoe camping, and car campers for decades for their utility and versatility.
Lastly, you should have greatly expanded on the primary reason that liquid fuel stoves like the MSR WhisperLite are especially suited for longer cold weather high altitude trips is because they provide a large hot flame for melting snow for drinking water and cooking while using smaller amounts of fuel. Gas canister stoves will use a lot of fuel and produce less heat in conditions that require a lot of hot water to survive. Inexperienced winter hikers can quickly run into trouble when they run out of fuel trying to melt snow with canister stoves.
Appreciate your insights into trangia stove systems. They are certainly a great option. On the heavier side but certainly a good choice for some. The intent of this video was to give the options FUEL options for backpackers. Wood is an option - that I didn’t cover and I’m enlightened by some of the comments pointing to this option as it’s one that I didn’t realize a lot of backpackers used so much. I’ll have to give it another try on my trips.
I respectfully disagree with your assessment of the caldera cone as they are almost completely sealed off for wind protection.
And lastly, I talked directly to the white gas and it’s melting snow for water under liquid fuels and at the end specifically speaking to 4 season backpackers. Happy trails.
The only thing you have to ask yourself is: "Am I travelling on a plane to get to my camping location?" Because if you are, then the ONLY kind of stove you can take is a multi-fuel stove... If you camp close to home, take any kind of stove you prefer. If you're camping in another country, take a stove that is fuelled by unleaded petrol, because overseas, you can't even rely on the availability of white gas or methylated spirits in stores, let alone gas canisters that fit your stove, especially in Asia and South America or Africa. And you can completely forget about fuel like Hexamine tablets, as they are useless for anything other than boiling water in a completely windless environment - it's why the militaries of many countries no longer supply it as part of a ration-pack cook set and instead have chemical reaction-heated MRE's...
Good points! I think I underestimated the difficulty of getting canister fuel internationally. In my experience any kind of edit stove will require a wind screen - it can be as simple as aluminum foil. Check out trail designs for some really efficient systems.
Hexamine was discontinued in militaries because of chemical fumes that I thunk from memory include minor cyanide non fatal content, and to avoid law suits.
Hexi can be used for anything. We were still issued these in the 80s and our rat packs had a lot of canned goods stews etc. They worked fin. Wind is not an issue you have a backpack to create a wind break. If that's not enough use the heel of your boot then a decent stick to dig a hole and pop your stove down in it. Hexi stove can also be twig fed to cook on effectively.
If they didn't work they'd have not been issued for decades.
That being said, I still own a few but rarely use them. I carry one as a backup. I use it in winter mainly because I take steak gravy potatoes and peas so I need 2 to 3 burners to put a meal together. I may have lived on tins decades ago, but don't eat that shite I have a proper meal on a full sized plate in the evening. I don't do Cans or Dehydrated or MRE anymore.