I'm really wanting an alcohol stove. While I don't know this forum's feelings on Minibulldesigns, I've followed Tinny's development for a while now and still really appreciate the simplicity of his BIOS stoves. I'd love to pick up one of his BIOS 4 stoves, but I'm leaning towards a Trangia burner coupled up to a Swiss Meta-50. The problem here seems to be that there doesn't seem to be any of the Meta-50s available at the moment online. Is this stove/cookset that rare? Should I simply wait for a deal on a Sigg Tourist set? Any other recommendations on a no-fuss alcohol setup? Thanks, Matthew
I followed that link from previous posts here, but I have to mention that I was digging around their website and found some other interesting Swiss Army surplus, including a stool sample kit !
how about the $18.99 Ledmark stove/cookset at Campmor? note: the setup shown on the page is bass-ackwards... (btw, the http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000226_200368415?ip_navtype=AdvancedSearch&catFilter=&searchKeywords=200368415&ip_sortBy=&filters=Manufacturer%20Name~Ledmark~Ledmark%20%281%29&ip_constrain=&pageSize=24&catType=&searchCategory=browsefilter&manNameFilter=&sizeFilter=&ip_state=&priceFilter=¤tPage=&colorFilter=]Ledmark 1L kettle [/url] is not too shabby for $7.99 - i think it's as good as the Trangia 25 kettle)
That's great to hear! I'm a fan of Campmor, and a long time patron of theirs. I saw that very kit, but didn't know how well it worked. I may very well find out this next payday. -Matthew
Hi Men, I purchased two of these for my Scout troop. The quality is pretty poor. The strap is useless. One broke almost immediately. The brass burner doesn't have a simmer ring and the brass is thin. It's adequate, but you'll eventually want to swap out the burner for a Trangia and replace the straps with an Arno style strap. European Arno Straps - 24 in. Cheers, Manny
Ok, so that's not sounding too great. I guess I should have added that weight's not really an issue, as most all the camping these days is out of the back of the minivan with the kids. I have to admit that there's quite a novelty factor in the Meta-50 kit, because I really like the design, but it's a bit cost prohibitive on the current budget, unless I want to upset the wife... I guess I'm on to looking at this one: http://www.campingsurvival.com/10pialcoset.html -Matthew
Hi Matthew, If weight isn't an issue, I don't think you can go wrong with that set. For the money, its probably a heck of a set. If you see that the food burns too much in the stainless pots, you can always use some cheapie aluminum ones along with that great stainless stand and windscreen. If you go ahead with it, please post some reviews of it as several of us may be very curious as to the quality. Take care, Dan
tks to Mr. Manny for the heads up on cheapness of the Campmor set... (i do have the Ledmark kettle, which i've been using for the past several years, along with the Trangia 25 version)... and yes, the stainless set looks pretty good, especially since it includes a kettle... and i guess the burner also has a simmer ring?
I purchased some current day Trangia simmer rings to go with Swedish milrup cooksets. Suffice to say that the gauge or weight of the new Trangia stuff seems to leave a lot to be desired, meaning lightweight. I was sure disappointed in the simmer rings. They'll work but being an old dood, I have a tendency to want to err on the side of heavyweight. I'm not about to carry anythng around on my back though, so be your own judge. Bob
All: Swiss Military Department would appear to stock the Meta-50, I am waiting until Monday to hear back if they ship to Canada, their site says they do not ship 'overseas', so if anybody else has ideas for affordable Meta-50 sources let me know! Snow melting!
Militariewelt in Germany is stocking Meta-50 at $36Euro + shipping, if anybody wants to sell me a serviceable Meta-50, that would be good too!
A current Meta-50 source for US residents only, sadly they don't ship to the rest of the world: swissmilitarydepartment.com from Nevada.
2014 Meta-50 Source: Deutsch Optik in Nevada, USA got my order due to using US Post which works well with Canada Post in the Canadian North. SurvingNStyle and Bausenwien Military Store also were both helpful quoting for shipping to Canada. Deutsch Optik had 19 Meta-50's left this week, not sure what the numbers are for the other stores, ebay stoves seem to appear all-mated up with very expensive surplus rucksacks, rations and compasses, so that is another route. I haven't given up on musher's stoves, but I think a Meta-50 will be less likely to be blown apart by winds out on the land than my oven-foil windscreen improvisations. Now, to find some carbon felt plumber's pads for heat-resistant insulation!
Now have a Meta-50 in the post from Deutsche Optik (mind my previous mis-spelling!), along with an Evernew Titanium burner for us winter camping 'its all on my bicycle' gramme-weenies, and some carbon felt to make an insulated windscreen with. I will try all of the above with my 4L super-light aluminum snow melting pot, and also with the Meta-50, and see which one is the easiest to use and the most storm-worthy. Part of that is being able to put the whole thing together and light it without interminable (10 seconds or more!) fiddling with mittens off wearing just contact gloves at -30C (-22F), which is about what it still is here most mornings! More to follow!
Meta-50 arrived in the mail, has 2-colour 1970's all-models Meta instructions. Deutsche Optik got my business as their item price was higher but they were willing to use parcel post for economical delivery, so that worked well. Carbon felt also arrived yesterday, 3x3ft (95cm x 95?) will be experimenting with that as an insulated windscreen and as a wicking and pre-heat insulation around the Ti burner, which I expect in next week's mail, with some luck... While the Meta-50 has some rucksack wear on the lid, it is otherwise pristine, even has original German newspaper classified ad wrapped around the pot lifter. Stove test images to follow!
