which stove is best for a single camper light weight and low fuel use. so far i have seen svea 123r getting most hits for realibility and extended use 30 + years. And which is the best family stove 4 + people i have an old coleman for this. 1930's or 40's as sold to me works nice (sold by eric webb and jim in western australia) and what is the all round stove to suit all situations. No gas.
Well said Richard. You will find many opinions here. Hi st3v3, You can't go wrong with your 123R for solo hiking, many long distance hikers have relied on them for years. By today's standards they are a bit heavy, especially when compared to the "pop can" stoves that are in frequent use today. I think the 123's makes up for their weight with classic style and dependability. Cheers, Manny
Hey, St3v3, I totally agree with Richard and Manny. There are just too many wonderful stoves out there, each with it's own pluses and minuses, and each fitting certain situations better than others might. I can't think of one "single" stove that will handle all situations, perfectly. That's why most of us have "more than one" stove, and of more than one type!! 8) Over the years I've been a member of CCS, we've had threads of "if you had to choose one single stove, what would it be?", and "if you could only have 12 stoves, and had to dump the rest, which ones would you choose to keep?", and other similar threads. If you go back and read those threads, you will find one very common trait: Most of us have one hell of a hard time choosing which stoves we'd keep, and which ones we'd dump!! We simply love them ALL too much, and cannot bear the thought of not having ALL of them from which to choose!!!! 8) 8) I think that, with your SVEA 123, and your Coleman, which I assume might be a two-burner model, you're pretty well set, if you have no plans of acquiring more stoves! However, if you do want to stick more than a toe into deeper "stove waters", I'll suggest a few that you might want to consider, to "round out" your collection: - Optimus 111 series stove. All of them are good, with the 111T probably being the most versatile of them, as it burns three fuels. The 111 kero-burner might be a good choice for you, if you can easily score good, clean kerosene. Or, if you've got a ready supply of Coleman fuel, go with the 111B. All of them will give you outstanding performance, once you learn their quirks and personalities (which can be said about ALL stoves, no matter the brand, or type!). - Trangia 25, or 27, or an Optimus 77A, or 91, or an Optimus 81 Trapper. These are all Meths stoves, and all are fantastic in doing what they were designed to do! Having and using one, or more, of these, will add a different slant on your camping style, and each is simply wonderful. If I have to narrow it down, I'd take a Trangia 27, or an Optimus 81 Trapper, and be as happy as a pig in........ well, you know where pigs are the most happy!! 8) - A multifuel stove of some kind. I mentioned the Optimus 111T, and it's a fine stove. But, why not get something smaller, that can do the same, or even better, in burning a wide variety of fuels. For this type of job, I'd recommend two: - MSR X-GK EX, which burns one of the most wide varieties of fuels, of any stove you will ever find. This stove is one of the most rugged, reliable, and efficient of all the "plug and play" stoves you will find (which means stoves that use a separate fuel bottle, with which they must be connected)! It was originally designed for high altitude climbers, to melt snow better than any other stove then available, and it will still do that, better than most! But, add a good simmering plate, to "tone down the flame" a little, and now it will also cook and simmer much better. A great choice, and one stove that is ALWAYS on my short list of "keepers"! - Primus Omnifuel, which doesn't burn quite as many fuels as the X-GK EX, but goes it one better, in being able to burn cartridge fuel, as well as liquid fuel! I've not used this one as much as I'd like to, but so far, it seems a very well designed stove, and capable of doing most anything you might need it to do, when out in the wilderness. I really like the capability of burning cartridges, if I needed to do so, and that adds another dimension to this fine stove, which makes it quite special and well worth your consideration. - Last, and certainly not least, I'd add at least one brass, three-legged, kerosene burner. You "need" to have either a Primus 210, or an Optimus 00! Now, make no mistake about it, this is "required" of you, as a member of CCS, and the Stove Police WILL be coming by your place to make sure that you have one, or both, of these fine stoves!!!!!! 8) 8) Both of them are outstanding performers, and both will earn your trust, over and over again, just as will all the other stoves I mentioned, above!! So, there you have it, St3v3. While there is no one stove that "can do it all", if you have the ones you already own, plus the ones that I've suggested, you WILL be a Happy Camper, and you will also have quite a bit of fun with them, and lots of pride in your stove choices!! One other thing will happen, if you should happen to score one of each of the stoves I've suggested: I guarantee that, once you have them all, you will wonder how you EVER did without each and every one of them!!!!!!!!! Good luck, have fun, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
I've give a little thought to your post, and the best answer I can come up with, is this "The best stove is the one you pick for your trip" I don't solo camp much now to be honest, if I do its only an overnighter, and in that case it would be a Trangia 27, simply because so long as you have fuel it cannot break down I'm away from 31st Jan to 3rd Feb (subject to my daughter not going into labour with grand child No.1) and as a couple of the guys coming along are bringing kerosene lanterns, I'll pick kerosene stoves. I'll be cooking stew for around 10 people on the night of the 1st, so I'll take along a bigger Primus 3 legger for stewing duty
So right ! and right again !! One thing to bear in mind - and this might seem very obvious but you would be surprised at the number of folk who forget this ... not CCS members though I hasten to add - is the type of fuel you have easy access too. I can't get Coleman fuel for love nor money here in Italy, so although I enjoy and use my small petrol burners, they'll most likely never be my stove I'd bet my life on ... maybe. I can however get all the ethyl alcohol I could want, at less than ?1 a litre, and it burns quite well in a Trangia burner, so I tend to chose one of my meths stoves for a 'just-grab-a-stove-and-throw-it-in-the-bag' type situation. Other folk have different fuel stories and different stove preferences. Most important thing of all I think. is to ... Enoy the Flame
notice how that steady diet of pasta is good for the brain cells..fuel as the prime consideration in make a choice of stoves..i must eat too much meat--i was thinking gas and steel...
Well, I hate refilling, so it has to have god fuel capacity. I simply take the biggest stove where room and weight do not count. For backup reasons (and fun, and flexibility), I rather have 2 stoves with me than a two-flame stove. Also, for family camping (on camp sites), I rather have a silent burner, for not waking the neighbourhood and family when brewing my coffee (early riser). So for me its an Optimus 111 or Phoebus 625 doing the best job when it comes to car holidays and serious cooking (which is an hour or more time). I love my Enders Army Stoves too, bot they are more complicated with less fuel capacity ... For motorcycle trips (coffee, Soup, maybe fried eggs or the like), it is the Optimus 8R due to its reliability (I NEED coffee in the morning), and size. Cheers, Andy
fhank you. i knew i would get some varying replies. iI like motorang reply. I hate refuelling too . my old tilley is the go burns like hell never needs refuelling and kero is cheap and available. But what about for one person or two. a small stove.
my little 96 seems to run forever on that one small tank or kero..i'm cleaning out my stove collection hutch and noticed the 96 had overflowed and the spirit cup was full of kero..i had the air valve open.so i don;t know how that could have happned,, but--anyway..i thought i would just light it and burn out the tank before putting it away. i lite it outside and it ran for over an hour..at least..i kept looking out the window and it went--and went--i was thinking i could have cooked a few days worth of meals over it..
I know the feeling Dave, I have certain stoves which need the filler cap practically removing to prevent it ! . . . . . slackening the air screw does not cut the mustard
You often don't even need to pump a 96 after priming so I guess that any even small temperature changes will force fuel from the jet. I am now in the habit of storing my stoves and lamps empty; I even had overspill from a No.5 once
I too have left collapsables set up for quite long periods, and have had them leak too, despite having the vent left open, but it must be said that this doesn't happen when the stoves are dismantled and packed for travelling. Then all you need to remember is to open the vent before removing the travelling cap.
For well over twenty years my hiking stoves were my 123 and a Bleuet C206. Both are good for what they're designed for. My old 123 still lights as easily as it ever did and uses fuel very sparingly. I trust it explicitly and use it still. It lives in a stainless Sigg Tourist cooker. I still have my old Bleuet C206 and use it occasionally as well. I now have over sixty camp stoves, some are not really suitable for hiking and some are modern iterations of older ideas, but dollar for dollar the newer higher tech stoves simply do not do anything any better than the 123 or Bleuet C206 to justify their expense. If you decide on a 123, two things. NEVER allow it to burn dry, I always top mine up before each lighting. Not each trip, each lighting. ALWAYS clean the jet each time before you light it. If you get a 123R, that's taken care of. That's my story and I'm sticking to it Gerry
thanks rik_uk3 will that stove run 20 to 30 minutes plus to cook some snags "sauseges" or should i leave them at home for the camping trip. my mates always take them and i tell them not too. australian sauseges are 70% sawdust 10 % meat 20% herbs and bulldust. they take a long time to cremate (cook) the 8r runs 5 to 10minutes on its egg cup full of fuel. english amd italian sauseges need almost no cooking cos they got mostly meat
dearspudz you can use petrol instead of shellite. or premium in australial 20 litres of shellite is $75 in australia
Well St3v3 Are you going by ute or do you have to cart the bloody thing all over the place?? If you are camping out the back of a toyota etc then a good all rounder be the 111T and a good windcsreen. Or Just kero a 111 roarer. A 210 /00 size 1 pint stove is worth a look at if the weight don't scare you off. Tick over on self prime and cook a pot roast in the camp oven with out any need for attention. Boils quick enough Unless you want to scarper up and down the hills like a hairy arse goat and need tp boil a brew in 1 min and chuck it down and eat mars bars and noodles. Simple and dependable less parts to stuff up. got 50 yr old ones work good as new...with a bit of fixing. Metho trangia /optimus set up is worth a look at. no fuss pour and light. 7 -8min 1 litre. sounds slow but by the time you get other stoves out .together..primed and running it still takes about 10 minutes to boil the billy in reality anyway!!! Put something like a nova in it and you got a storm proof no shit master blaster stove. damn near clyclone proof!!!! O.k. they look heavy but least the windscreen don't blow a way You got pots and a plate..Get a real frypan for the snags though.Can take more weight than they feel like they would too. simmering a stew in a camp oven for an hr or more ..you can bugga off and not worry...if the wind does somehow blow out the simmer flame then only tea be a bit late. Mostly anything else and you have a big puddle or fuel leaking out of a hot stove....hopefully it don't ignite on something. DIdn't say if you like quite or don't mind a jet blaster noisey critter. Many options. Barra
