Trangia or Coleman Stove
 

Hi,
I currently have a Coleman dual fuel stove, but a shortage of suitably compact cookware is making me think I might be better off with a Trangia. I would be glad to hear feedback from people that have used both and which they prefer. I note that Chris Scott recommends the coleman but makes no mention of the trangia in his AMH.

The Trangia is actually very compact with it's stove, pots an pan nicely tucked together. I usuallytake it along when hiking, but the disadvantage is that it only can be fired with methylated spirits or gas (two different stoves!). The meths version isn't very efficient in higher altitudes or very cold wheather, but can safely be fired in a tent.

When biking I prefer a normal fuel stove, since you always have lots of it in your tank. But mine is too dangerous for use inside a tent :-(

Hans

Just found a multi fuel burner for Trangia. Check www.touratech.com
article no. 01-070-0616-0
Quite expensive though - sells for € 149,- (123 quid) only for the stove. The cooking set is separate.

Hans

Trangias have some stalwart fans but I personally find them slow and lacking in adjustability. If you get one get a non stick one as alu pans are a pain to wash. Personally i'd go with the coleman and some stainless steel MSR cooking pans.
matt

I've used both types of stove extensively and they all have strenghs and weaknesses, think about where you are really going to use the stove, and the kind of cooking you will be doing.

On the plus side of petrol stoves; they run on the same fuel as the bike, heat things up very quickly, and work better as a consequence at altitude and fuel is easily obtained. On the negatie side, because they run under pressure they are less reliable, considerably more dangerous and it is often difficult to lower the flame to get a simmer without flaring. The fuel is dirty and smelly and will desroy or ruin most things it comes into contact with.

Spirit stoves are non mechanical hence totally reliable, the fuel is comparitively safe and stable (it can be used to treat blisters or to sterilise things), they are compact and contain pots, lids etc. and with practice you can get a simmer. Downside is they are a lot slower to heat things and you may have problems obtaining fuel easily. Although I like the little kettle that comes in the cookset, and this alone makes it my first choice whenever possible.

I've had acouple of Coleman Sportsters and neither lasted long, the MSR is much more rugged but whenever possible the Trangia is first choice, because I'm never in a big hurry when camping, I never have had problems due to altitude and I like to be able to cook in the front of the tent if it's raining hard. I think it probably scrapes in on cost aswell as they are a bit cheaper than an MSR plus cookset, and you can get conversions to run on gas, etc.

One posebillety is to use the Trangia sett, with a optimus nova burner. Optimus make a spesial baseplate fro the nova burner so that it will easely fitt to the trangia sett. Iv used it for about 3years, and can really recomande it.
read more here:
http://www.optimus.se/products/nova/

happy burning!!

When it was time to replace my tired MSR multi-fuel stove, I decided to try the little Trangia alcohol stove.I've been impressed with the simple ,sturdy design.In very cold temps. it can be difficult to start the alcohol fuel(slow to vaporise),and the time to boil is a bit slow,but otherwise I really like the Trangia setup.I also ordered the complete cookset,which is basic ,but functional.The low maintenance requiremment is nice for long trips.The stove will operate with isopropyl alcohol(30% water by volume) as well.

.I have used a trangia stove going on twenty years. Yes they are a bit slow,but what's the rush.
Altitude may be a problem(we don't get much of it in OZ.)Adjustability can be a pain.
I would not recommend the non stick pans,as sand (if available) with a handful of the local vegetation or a pot scourer and presto they are clean.
Greatest feature I have found is they can be used in windy conditions,a gas burner without a shield is a curse.
I have heard that metho is hard to come by in some countries.
My kettle corroded out some years ago and had to be replaced.Before packing the unit up I suggest putting the burner, inside a plastic bag,metho flavoured pots give the food a disagreeable flavour,to say the least.
.Ben

I've been using an MSR whisperlite and a set of MSR stainless steel pans for the last year or so.

I'll not kid you, I have had to change a few of the seals on the stove due to wear, and I had one time when a seal tore and the stove set itself on fire. Luckily there was a bucket of water nearby, so I put the stove out fast.

Pans are easy to clean. The stove, servicing kit and my firesteel fit inside the pans neatley. There are a range of fuel bottle sizes, but I went for the biggest 1 liter bottle - which will give me an extra 20km range if I really need it. The stove is fairly frugal on petrol and 1 liter of 95 unleaded lasts me anywhere between two weeks and two months - dependant on use..

There are two settings - off and incinerate. So it's great for water based cooking - pasta, rice, soup, noodles etc. I've been looking for a sturdy mesh of stainless steel that I might be able to use as a simmer plate for it, but not found anything suitable yet.

All in all, I would stick with this stove, but wish that MSR would fit the better valve system from the Dragonfly stove - which has a simmer control.

"I note that Chris Scott recommends the coleman but makes no mention of the trangia in his AMH."

And for good reason which Vaufi and Matt C sum up well. I used Trangias when they first came out - clever design, a bit slow but meths is a dead loss on the road when you have a tank full of petrol.

I have heard of, but not tried the Trangia/Nova?RBJ conversions (I junked my unreliable Nova after one trip - see other posts)

As for pots, well my 533 gets wrapped in a nice tea towel and slots into the chunky 1-litre pot pictured on p.105 and 106. A fiver from Woolies with a a well fixed handle and a lid - not a light or cunning combo, but you can have a brew underway in a minute with no fiddling about.

Let your pot come to the Coleman, I say!

Chris S

PS - and of course Ewano sums it up nicely for those wretched RBJs too...

[This message has been edited by Chris Scott (edited 20 August 2005).]