I have a fondness for the combination of a cookset and a stove. So I decided to see how many I currently had. It turns out a decent number. First the non-alcohol fuelled ones l-r: Primus 2244, Primus 2252, Optimus 199, Meta 71, Sigg Tourist (Coleman), Primus 71, Sigg Tourist (Svea 123), Optimus 88, Primus 71, Gaz Globetrotter, Gaz Rando 360. Now the alcoholics. l-r: Optimus 81, Trangia Micro, Trangia 25, Trangia 27, Trangia 28, Caldera Cone, Clickstand with Trangia burner, Aluminium M44 Enmanskok, Steel M40 Enmanskok Of the ones I’ve actually used the most it’s the Clickstand, and the Trangia 27. Simple, reliable and very versatile.
I unreservedly endorse your concept. In my case, it's the Svea/Sigg set, closely followed by the Trangia.
I have a Sigg w/ Svea 123, a Svea 123R inside the Gaz 2-pot Globetrotter set, A Coleman 502 inside the square potset, A Trangia 25HA and a no-name gas burner for it, An Optimus Terra 2-pot set, w/ short isobutane can and $8 gassie burner, fits a mesh bag, a US GI Mountain Cook Set with an Optimus 99 inside. [Until I fettle the M-1950] Two Swedish army M40 windscreens but no Swedish oval mess tin, but a bunch of East and West German mess tins, Plus Italian, Hungarian and Swiss ones. Two Svea military alcohol burners, two real Trangia commercial burners. The Esbit knock-off, and a $5 Chinese knock-off of that. One Esbit hexi burner, A French hexi burner shaped to fit under the canteen cup of the 1.5 qt French Foreign Legion canteen. Also the stainless steel Pathfinder copy of the oval Swedish messtin and windshield. I found the MSR Whisperlite International makes a stable pot platform inside the yellow metal Sterno folding stove. An attempt to fit the Whisperlite inside a Trangia 25 cooker didn't work. Cable too short.
Nice collection. I've a few alcohol kits I will fire up on occasion for sxxxs and grins, but the Svea 123R & Sigg set ends up on the canoe trips.
Of course when I was 20, all I needed was a Svea 123, a BSA Mess Kit, and a USGI 1 Qt stainless canteen and canteen cup. On the route, I acquired a Sierra cup. I tried to use rocks or tree stumps for windbreaks.
Sounds like me when I was 20. I had by then acquired a plastic water bottle, having found out how unpleasant it is to drink from a metal canteen when temperatures are really low. My pre-Nalgene plastic water bottles were disposable IV solution bottles given to me by my girlfriend who was a nurse. They stood up to freezing reasonably well and were easily replaced when they started leaking. The labels on the bottles were also pretty good conversation starters at rest stops. ....Arch
I remember the 1 Liter IV bottles from Search and Rescue. I was a volunteer for SARA [Sothern Arizona Rescue Association] from the Late '70s to early '80s. Then work interfered. We had to carry 6 Qts [or liters] of drinkinng water for summer on desert and mountain operations. Enough to share with patients or lost folks. I'd freeze one or two, and pour the warm water over an ice block, and it would chill instantly. If we got a Code Four ['operation is over/canx'] on the radio we would splash our water on the rocks to lighten our packs before heading back to basecamp. Or offload it on thirsty greenhorns, if present.
Good point, but the flip side is how grotty water tastes in hot weather out of plastic, like drinking from a garden hose. I liked the Boy Scout canteens.
I had a stainless steel GI canteen. It was the best. If the metal stayed out of the sun, it was naturely cool. I later got an aluminum GI canteen. Water didn't taste good in it. I used the GI canteen in Scouts. My brother had an official BSA canteen, but he'd left tea sugar and maybe milk in it. Cap was corroded shut. Never used one. I didn't like the weird angle the spout was on either.
It's really not bad from the IV bottles. IV solutions really cannot be picking up impurities from the container. I liked the Boy Scout canteens too, but they didn't fit in the side pockets of the "modern" (1970's) backpacks. ....Arch
True, the IV bottles lacked any aftertaste. For a while, I went to freezing half-full l liter bottles of 'Clearly' Safeway branded flavored selzer. Especially Black Cherry. Refilled, they still imparted their flavoring to the water. Adding water, they soon had a big ice chunk in the bottle and icey water. One time, after getting a Code Four on the radio, I made a 180 to come back down the trail. I started splashing some of my 6 liters of ballast water, when some thirsty greenhorns coming up trail remarked how cruel I was. So I gave one the bottle of cherry water and he could not believe my largess. ''Keep it'' ''No, Really?'' ''Sure, I'm just dropping weight to come down the mountain.'' [The trick was not to dump _all_ your water, or you'd be gasping for it at the trailhead.] There was a later version of Official Scout canteen, that fits perfectly in the top outside pocket of my red 1970 Kelty A4 Mountaineer. Even had a matching red nylon case. I bought one off evilBay.
