Cooking for the seriously light weight travellers
 

I had a go at this and had some pretty good results.
I think that in most places in the world you could make one if not more of these on the fly if you had to.

Zen Backpacking Stoves - Home of the Alcohol Stove


I dont work for Zen, but i do like their thinking.
Cheers
Matt

A good breakdown of the different stove types. For hikers.
For my usage, petrol stoves are ideal. Toxic fumes from automotive gasoline - almost certainly (lead etc.) but that doesn't stop us all from doing it. MSRs and Colemans seem to make up a big share of bikers I know and I don't see anyone getting badly burned by exploding fuel tanks.

The ability to use the bike fuel (availability, cost, simplicity) is such a plus that I can't see myself using other types for my trips (europe and beyond).

Alcohol stoves
 

I've mentioned this in previous posts but the big disadvantage of alcohol/meths is the amount of heat they contain. You need double the amount of alcohol compared with kerosene or petrol for the same amount of heat. Not good if you're a lightweight camper, the very light DIY stoves negate any weight saving. For short trips I'll use gas (Gaz), or petrol which I've got plenty of and is freely available anywhere.

I'll give due credit to Trangia (who seem to be the most popular brand of alcohol stoves), their set up is very efficient in sheltering the flame (it has to be). If I was buying another gas stove, I'd use the Trangia windshield with their gas conversion burner.

Cooking stoves etc
 

I couldnt agree more with both of you except that i really dont like trangias, and my MSR dragonfly is probably the most reliable stove i have ever used. It burns consistently and is pretty sparse with fuel. ive used my mine up to 17000 ft and its been absolutely fine even with poor grade fuel. (mostly kerosine)

I included the info about the Zen stoves, not to drag people away from their preffered use, but to consider and experiment with in case of emergency or lack of fuel. A lot of this stuff is simple to make and is an ideal back up. The wood burners are pretty effective.

You never know when you might need the knowledge!
Cheers
Matt

For practicality/speed when tired I prefer the Optimus Nova+
but always try to light up my Bush Buddy (see avatar) and at 5.1 ounces.... hard to beat for lightness:thumbup1:
Works with twigs and very small stuff and is very very hot as it uses a process called wood gasification.
It has a social aspect too, as it always attracts people who then come and have a chat! - very enjoyable!

Bush Buddy
 

Is that the battery powered fan thing? I was reading about these recently?

The bulk + weight of extra fuel and the need to hunt for a second type of fuel negates any weight advanteges of meth stoves for me. In terms of weight, bulk and efficiency, in my opinion you can't beat the Borde stove. For me petrol is a no brainer (no Hobo for me): you've got plenty of the stuff, the heat output is very good, and it also works at altitude or in windy conditions. The MSR/Optimus type stoves are nice, but the extra bottle kills it for me: too big and too heavy. The Borde on the other hand is something like 240g, extremely small, and has a very impressive heat output. It's true that you need to hunt for some stones to put your pot on, but that has not been an issue for me in the last 2 months of travelling. The only drawback I suppose that it's a bit tricky to light, but once you've got the hang of it it's easy.

No Matt- no batteries whatsover
It really likes mini feather sticks :biggrin3:to kick off but it's maintenance free-
The pot support rotates 180 degrees and stores inside the BB.
There i a grill half way down to allow air belo so it really does burn a lot of fuel-
Because it is small, you do have to feed the fire .
p.s I did look at meths stoves as there are some gorgeous & mini ones but...they need Meths and burn it too fast- and it's yet another fuel to carry- so ruled it out-
Wood- so far- is still plentyful on our planet and you are doing the earth a service by burning dead wood-
(bound to be someone who's going to tell me about CO2 in a second..... !) but then, when you think of the methane cows generate, I don't think such a wee fire will cause any stress!)
Love mine to bits! :thumbup1:
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...3/DSCN1516.jpg
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...3/DSCN1523.jpg

trangia do petrol or gas burners for their sets now, not cheap but you then get the best features of both types.

i made a coke can stove in half an hour, it burns meths, petrol, vodka and white spirit very well.

I thought the whole point of the little coke can stoves was to be light and burn little. Ideal for a night or 2 out in the woods.

They are only meant for heating water and thus probably not a viable option for an extended trip.

I have made one and keep it inside my ti mug ideal for coffee,tea chocolate plus while the water is heating you can have your boil in the bag meal cooking.:scooter:

With no disrespect towards you 'little coke can' intended Stuxtttr, there is a huge difference between that and a Bush Buddy which uses wood-gasification process-

Of course, it takes a bit more time to cook with compared to a roaring petrol cooker - no doubt- and is not as convenient as it will blacken your pans but, provided you can find some wood, don't mind wood smoke and can make a fire in it, you can rely on it.
It gives heat and light and comfort too and people always gyrate towards any fire- great ice breaker and always good for a chat:thumbup1:

p.s tip to avoid your pot being blackened- wrap base in aluminium foil

Just a reminder
 

hey all, im glad you have all had a look at this.

I just wanted to make perfectly clear, this post is not about making you change from your preffered method of cooking or to change you from your favorite stove. The sole intention was to help you with cookin/making a cuppa, when your main stove breaks down or you are tight on petrol/benzine/meths. kero or whatever and you need something. its just a bit of creative info, its not compulsory!

THink of it as a back up plan when you need to or pass the info onto someone who might need the info when they need it.

Got it?

cheers
Matt:thumbup1:

and what do you think about the fuel/gasoline stoves? like coleman 442? I'm thinking on buy one for motorcycle trips... and you always carry fuel! but I'm a little consern in leaking fuel off the stove and into my luggage

somebody try one of these?

Good on you Matt for spreading the word on alternative stoves :thumbup1:

I'm currently debating what route to go regarding stoves for a multi-year trip thru LatAm and Africa. It's between either the MSR Dragonfly or the Penny stove:

http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/jpgs/conrad2.jpg

I love the idea of fabricating my own gear and it's low cost option, but the only thing bugging me is having to carry denatured alcohol and sourcing it along the way...

So, you're saying burning petrol in stoves can lead to toxins getting into the food? Hmmm... are people concerned about his? :confused1:

Swedish Mess Kits .
Simple and compact .Virtually indestructable .

YouTube - Swedish Army Trangia

You can buy these on Ebay for very little money .

I've made a couple of the pop can stoves and although they might get you out of a bind , they are a bit flimsy and don't work any better than the trangia burner which is tough and has a sealable lid so that you can save unburnt fuel for next time .

Thanks for the video, very informative. Yup, already know about Trangia, but nice to see all its uses explained and that too with a good Scottish accent :thumbup1:

So only question is, how easy is it to find fuel for these alcohol stoves in developing countries? Is it available in hardware stores? auto stores?

And is it possible to burn petrol in these stoves or will it not ignite the same way as alcohol?

doesnt have to be meths ive run mine on vodka, schnapps and brandy before in emergencies. an american mate uses a panel wipe liquid found in auto stores but i dont know what it is. you can use petrol, the stove burns it ok if a bit sooty, but it can give the food a bad taste sometimes and ventilation from the fumes must be very good, so the health issues need serious thought IMO its not worth it.

a 'light weight' traveller cooks ?!?!!? what kind of light weight are you?

so, we need a new pigeon-hole.. 'super light weight'.... no cooking paraphernalia.

i asked my yankee mate about that stuff and its called HEET, some sort of methyl alcohol or something used as fuel line water remover or antifreeze or something, available for pennies in 99% of US gas stations

It's methyl hydrate ,also known as methanol,wood alcohol,carbinol ,colonial spirit etc .

It will dissolve water in fuel and is very useful therefore to clean out carb float bowls and petrol tanks of water contamination .I give my bikes a shot of it on a regular basis .

Don't be tempted to drink it ,it's the kind of alcohol that causes blindness.

Sorry mate I was on about the can stoves not your bush ! in fact I like the look of your bush buddy and am very interested in one too:oops2:

I used an alcohol burner on a trip around Arizona and California last year and strangely I couldn't find any HEET in the dry states. I don't think there's much call for fuel line de-icer! However it ran on de-natured alcohol from hardware stores, found in the paint section. It was almost useless at altitude but I got by. You need to make sure that your windbreak is close fitting to the pan. I made one from some disposable foil trays from Walmart, they cost next to nothing.

I used one of these, nicely made but not cheap...

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/b...o2DEnlarge.jpg

I imagine that you could find de-natured alcohol in SA but petrol has to be the way to go.

I use a Storm Kettle or Kelly Kettle.

Lightweight aluminium, and everything packs within the main chamber.

Boils 2 pints of water within 3 minutes.

Fueled by anything that can be burnt....twigs/grass/paper/coal/pine cones/animal dung....just scavenge stuff where you camp.

Lakeland Bushcraft Trading Limited Kelly Kettles

I think I've tried most of these:

Hexamine: Stove in a matchbox, but once you had your go that's it until you find a camping store. Needs warming to work in the cold but easy enough to put in an inside pocket for ten minutes. Back up only for me.

Coke can: Small & cheap but slow, doesn't work with cold fuel and doesn't use bike fuel. Useful if I don't intend to camp but might if the pub is good enough to make a bivvy bag look attractive.

Swedish army Triangia: More expensive but faster and very well designed. Still won't work in the cold (bet the Swedish squadies loved that!) but the best use of space for solo summer trips.

Kelly kettle: Quick enough, works anywhere you can get dry wood (or use hexamine), nice to sit round, but a bit bulky, messy and illegal if forrest ranger type chaps aren't getting any at home. A first class winter back up.

MSR: Totally overpriced but othewise the dogs doo-dahs.

Optimus: Ditto and you just open the lid and cook.

My current use set up is an Optimus Korean army issue (half size Optimus in a box type) with a tommy cooker hexamine thing as back up for winter. In summer (two people) I use the full size optimus with the Kelly kettle as back up/brew up/nice to sit by option.

About the only stove type I don't have is a gas canister type. These seem to combine every single bad feature (they freeze, they can be slow, the fuel can be impossible to find, they leak) for the single advantage that you just turn the tap, light and cook.

Andy

I had an "anorak moment" and tried out my Swedish Army Trangia at -31c .
It managed to boil 500ml of water in 12 minutes .[But the water and alcohol were at about 10c before I put the mess kit outside and lit it .]
They will work in the cold as long as you can keep the alcohol warm [put the burner in your pocket etc].

My burner has a really typical government issue lid with a thread like a jam jar. I keep it flat in the pannier. Still, probably no more dangerous than draining petrol from the tank while wearing gloves.

Playing to decide which one for the Elefant (I took an MSR before, it worked well), I got just over 1/2 pint (300 ml?, it's enough to fill my mug) to boil in:

Triangia - 9 minutes (I made myself a lid)
Kelly Kettle- 7 minutes burning totally dry, hard wood
Optimus full size - 3 minutes
Optimus half size - 4 minutes
Benghazi bucket (sand and petrol in a paint can, more a desert expedient) - 5 minutes
Hexamine (2 tablets) - 12 minutes, lit using lighter fluid on a day it was above freezing so no need to preheat.

Honestly nothing in it, I just prefer the ease of the petrol stove. I'd guess if you included the time from where you decide to have a cuppa to the point where you actually have it in your hand the petrol stoves will be a lot quicker, or maybe it just seems that way because my fuel tanks etc. are set up to make it that way.

The problem I forgot to mention with petrol stoves is of course that some modern unleadeds soot the jet like crazy. I had a batch of Esso in Wales that wouldn't burn for long enough to boil half a pint, but the bike didn't like it either.

Andy

Agreed ,there's not much in it , alcohol would be my 1st choice because it's cleaner and doesn't smell ,I have been told the civilian Trangia burners are more efficient and I will give one a try sometime .

The Beghazi burner has great kudos .

I tried an Optimus 8R in the same -31c conditions .[It does not have a pump and relies on the heat of the burner to pressurise the tank ].
It didn't generate enough heat to self-pressurise and the flame died .
Obviously if I bought a pump it would be fine ,but as they are about $45 I'm not in a rush to buy one AND I don't intend to go motorcycle camping at -30c !
Enjoy the Elephant Rally [ -10c will be like a summer's day - bloody luxury !]

If you're into woodburning, you should check out the HUGE long thread on Hammock Forums : Your Number One Hammock Community where there's loads of ideas and you could also try the Everythingnice stove, plans for which you can find HERE.

I've made the latter and it burns very well for something made of old coffee cans.

The great thing is because you're using scrap you can have a few goes, and it's not really costing you anything.

I just got a Fire Spout collapsible wood-burning stove.

I tried it back to back with my Primus Omnifuel in the reviews section.

In a nutshell, I'm really pleased with it and if you want a woodburner for travelling, it's worth serious consideration. It is very compact: imagine an A5 booklet about 30-40 pages thick and that is how much space it takes once flattened: easy to slip down the back of a pannier or topbox.

That is it's biggest asset IMO. However, this thread is for the lightweight traveller and there it's on it's back foot at 0.8kgs: less than all my Primus bumpf together but then the Primus burns many fuels.

Not as cheap as the DIY options but very nicely made. If you want a woodburner, can live with the weight, and value the space it's a great piece of kit: starting a fire in crappy conditions should be a lot easier. :thumbup1:

Yep, spot on.

We've been using ours for zillion times throughout many years and it's really bomb-proof, indestructible really. Works even in extreme winds. Good up for feeding 3 people.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...gu/showpic.jpg

Costs nothing (especially compared to Trangia trademarked set) to buy it and you can get alcohol anywhere - we've found on this RTW trip that methanol is particulary cheap in third world (in Latin America you can find it in food stores, it is called "alcohol etilico"). In developed world the key words when you go looking for it in a construction/paint department seem to be "denatured alcohol" or "methyl hydrate". Do not try it with rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol (sold in pharmacies), it might explode. :)

Ride safe, Margus