What's the best, most conveniently designed stove?

What's the word I'm looking for?? Round hairy things, hang between your legs?? Bollox!!!!

Used mine plenty in winter no problem! There is a nack to getting it going but once lit Robert is the proverbial brother of one of your parents.

Thirsty - yes. Also less btu for melting snow. Thats why on extended winter trips I'll take the msr gk. But winter weekends the Trangia is my stove of choice.

Anyone else want to call my Trangia? Did you spill my pint!!!

 

If Trangia's don't work well in the cold, how come they are used all over Norway, and by the Scandinavian armed forces in the freezing cold? You can use a little pre heater dish.

I'm with Ross, if the crap hit the fan, the Trangia would be the only stove worth grabbing (nice to see you took the kettle too Ross)

Little digimate camera on a tripod, me in the frame, accent from Birmingham, big red planter by corner wall of garden, a foot from a stream should I do a "David" with a stove

 

Kettle's retired for backpacking now - it & the insulated mug have been replaced by a titanium mug.

 

Looks like a very 'cosy' set up you have there Ross, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Is that a Lowe Alpine rucksack I spy in the back. Perhaps just thrice in my life I dun wots right. Somehow I've managed to acquire 3 Lowe backpacks .. sturdy kit! Maybe it was because Lowe have/had a factory in Ireland, Therm a Rest too are made in Paddyland . Sure where would yiz be at all, at all without the Oirish


Spudz
(not forgetting the Jameson )

 

Err no sir !

One thing has always intrigued me . . . . . . why are the small Trangia's always more expensive than the big ones ? Is it just a matter of demand ?

 

Keith, the big ones (model 25) are more expensive than the small ones (model 27)
http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Trangia.html

 

You're right where did I get that idea from ? It's the heat, can't take it much longer . . . . . . .

 

No Keith, your ok, a lot of people presume that the 27 is the larger, which I guess, would make more sense.

Keith Floyd is on telly, cooking in Italy, and using a Coleman suitcase stove, he seems to be burning everything just fine on it (he does on most stoves)

 

Not surprising, as he's pi**ed most of the time !

 

Anyone catch "the two fat bikers go cooking in Portugal" show - what was it they were cooking on?

 

Interesting point, Trangias and their like (Opt 77 etc) are very damn good at what they do. A couple of days ago I was contemplating a 4 or 5 person hiking trip that may or may not happen in spring. I'm the only one with stoves, pots etc and for that many people who have to carry everything, I kept coming back to taking both trangia and optimus and everybody gets a meths bottle. Then again the Opt 22 is endlessly flame adjustable.......aw hell...

 

Ah the crux of the problem!

Too many good options to choose from.

Imagine that problem on most of your kit. Which stove, pots, lanterns, packs, flashlights, etc.

Iain

The Spirits will see it all come together in the end!

 

I've re-read this thread a few times now, paying attention to the Doc's original question of

and I keep stumbling over the comment

.

So I have to ask the Q. why is that.?
Is it because they have to be primed?
Surely not, as the good Doc states, this is also a requirement for his choice of stove, the 8r ...

Perhaps it is the idea that the paraffin brass stoves need to be assembled with a spanner

But wait ... why can a n.96 not be carried in a back pack with the lipstick burner in place ?
And if so, then why not leave the spirit cup in place too. ? No real need to carry the stove tin with you, now is there?
Surely a wee cutesy little n.96 stove would pack away quite compactly. Then when you arrive at camp, just pop on the burner, cap and pot supports , prime and away you go.
I'd call that quite convenient ! Perhaps not as convenient as an 8r, but close.
Ah, but I hear you complain of leaked fuel in your backpack, smelling up everything.
So here's an idea.
Go to the kitchen, take one of the rubber gloves you wear to protect your soft, delicate hands when you do the washing up after dinner, and cut a finger off it. Start with the little finger for size. This rubber cap, can then go over the lipstick burner to prevent fuel spillage, while the stove is in your pack. But remember to allow the burner to cool down before you replace the finger cap.
The paraffin may degrade the rubber in the glove over time (rather quickly I suspect), but then, the glove you just 'destroyed' for you stove fun ... (shame on you) has another 3 fingers & a thumb to be sacrificed to the 'convenience' of stove packing!

Enjoy the Flame

Spudz

 

Every trip, Ian, every trip..which stove, sleeping bag, pots, torch, knives, fly rod, tent and mattress or hammock...there is about 2 days of hair pulling (that I really dont have to spare!) goes into 30 or so pounds of scunge in a back pack. There are a couple of constant companions, my fave swiss army knife, headlite torch (how ever did I get by without that?) and jumbo sheath knife that gets used for just about everything, even sometimes cutting stuff. This last I want to ditch in favor of a light belt axe or kukri. American Indians were great proponets of the belt axe, ditto the Maori of my country to the extent that English soldiers adopted the practice as well. Oh yeah, my very cool Gerber sparker always goes as well.

And when all is said and done, I STILL take way too much stuff!! I hearby swear a mighty and terrible oath that sometime this summer I'm going to achieve a 20lb load......I have a sinking feeling this is going to involve one of those nasty hexi stoves and a packet of tabs...

 

When but a lad, camping and climbing with the School, we only had stoves like the 96 or maybe 210 to use, I honestly don't remember any fuel spills, but this may be selective memory I suppose.

In camp we used bigger stoves, maybe things like the 5 or 45, can't be sure.

A 96 weighs 800g with tin plus the fuel

A Varifuel weighs 1000 including fuel bottle and 500mls of fuel. So really, the 96 is no hardship to carry and its output is about the same

 

Good Morning, Lads,

Ahhhh, "The Thread That Would Not Die"!! I LOVE it!!! 8)

Lads, I've just gone over everything that's been posted by one and all, and must tell you, I remain steadfast in my original contention that the 8R is the easiest and most convenient stove to get into action.

Pull it out of your pack, open the front, and you're ready to go! NO assembly needed.

Some of the other stoves that you all have offered are truly great stoves, but upon reflection, I don't think that most of them can really best the 8R for convenience.

Some that come close, in my mind:

The SVEA 123, but only when used in conjunction with the Sigg Tourist cookset. Even then, you have to take apart the cookset, reassemble the set, as you wish to use it. Install the SVEA, and THEN, you are ready to go. NOT as convenient as an 8R!

The Trangia stoves are very convenient, too. But, like the SVEA, you have to take apart the cookset, reassemble the set, and take the cap off of the burner, before applying the match. NOT as convenient as an 8R!

The Optimus 111 series of stoves, of course, are wonderful choices, and function much the same as an 8R. However, as it is when you carry a pistol every single day, you quickly learn that large and heavy = slower to get into use!! I still believe that the 8R can be set to use quicker than can any of it's heavier Brothers, the 111 series stoves. Plus, no matter what you say, the 111 series stoves put a crimp on the weight total of your backpack, which is NOT convenient. So, as much as I dearly love them all, to me they are not as convenient as an 8R!

The Optimus 199. Ahh, now here's one of my very favorite stoves, and I like it's design and versatility, very much. For what it offers, there are damned few stoves that can top it!! But, it's 11 ounces heavier than the 8R, and you do have to assemble the pot supports, and that, really makes it less convenient to use than the 8R!

Some have mentioned the Turm Sport stoves. I have two different ones, one of which might make the grade, but the other of which has too much assembly to be in the running. Truthfully, I have used neither of them in the field, and so cannot honestly comment on their ease of use.

Spudz, asks why the paraffin stoves are not more in contention in this contest. Simple, really. Almost all of them require some assembly. The 96 tribe, in particular, have way too many fiddly parts, most of which are not captive. I do have one Optimus 96, onto which the burner head is firmly stuck. This captures the spirit cup, and the burner head, leaving only the flame spreader and pot supports to assemble. Ahhhh, but assemble you MUST, in order to get them into action. Fuel leakage is another consideration. While the 00 and 210 can be solidly capped, the 96 cannot, at least not without fiddling, or some sort. So, no paraffin stove is as convenient to get into action as the 8R!

Some of the Coleman stoves are very close to the convenience of the 8R, however. Pull them out, pump them up, and apply the match. That's pretty darned convenient. They fit the original spirit of my note, in that there is NO assembly required, period! So, I have to give most of the smaller Coleman single burner stoves high marks for convenience. Are they AS convenient as the 8R. Let's call it a tie!

But, back to my original contention. I remain firmly convinced that the 8R, despite it's other possible shortcomings, and with the possible exception of some of the Coleman stoves, is the most easy stove around to get into action. It's convenience and simplicity give me pause to smile and shake my head in admiration, every time I look at one of mine!! As I have mentioned, the 8R is not usually the stove for which I reach, when heading out. I usually choose one of the many wonderful stoves that you Lads have offered up in your opinions. But, maybe, just maybe, I SHOULD be taking one of my Optimus, or Primus 8R's, or my Optimus 8, on my next adventure! Any stove that is THAT convenient to use, should be given some special consideration, when choosing the stove for a fun adventure!!! Thanks, again, Lads, for jumping in on this one! I've loved it, and it makes me want to go play with every single stove that you've all mentioned in your choices!! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc Mark

 

So much kit to choose from, so little time in the bush. Got to fix the time problem.

 

AMEN, Brother Alan!!! =D> =D> =D> =D>

Doc

 

Well i don't hike but do camp just for a hike stove my turme sport alcohol i had it for 30 years it my be a little low on BTU but it works good. O K here is the best stove that there is one match 3 stones & twigs now go ahead give it to[ P. S. leave matches at home take flint & steel ]

 

Doc said

OK, so you lit the 8r, now what do you do? you either warm your hands, or unpack a pot.

Sorry Doc, you just got zapped