Following on Doc's logic of only having one stove - and (my input) that stove had to be uber-reliable - nay bullet-proof and versatile - then you have to look at those with no moving parts to leak at the joints/pressure systems that fail etc etc. Which rules out white gas/petrol, diesel, and most paraffin unless its a simple wick-burner. Which brings it down to an alcohol stove. And the most robust of these - and capable of being used as a wood fire inside the windshield or the pans over an open fire - is the Swiss Army Trangia. Job done
Hi, Graham, The late, and very great, Colin Fletcher, wrote a great piece on his having done that exact thing, by mistake, on one of his Grand Canyon adventures!! He had to limp along until his next airdrop of food and fuel, and by the Grace of God, his chosen stove actually worked on such a noxious mixture!! He wrote that the stove did not function at full roar, and that he had to continually prick the jet to keep it running. But, it DID run, and with it he cooked his meals and kept himself safe and sound. When he got to his next airdrop of supplies, he changed the jet and used Coleman fuel, which is what he thought he had brought in the original fuel bottle. Turns out, that first bottle contained unleaded auto gas, and engine oil, for his lawnmower!! Now, you ask, what marvelous stove was able to actually digest such a noxious mixture, and continue running??? Glad you asked, Mate!! Why, it was non other than my much beloved MSR X-GK!!!!!!!! 8) 8) That stove earned Fletcher's trust on that trip, and became his "go to" stove, permanently after that!! Note, that he still loved his old SVEA 123, but that X-GK really came through for him when he needed it, as it has for me, many, many, many times before!! Fletcher wrote that he doubted many other stoves could have survived such abuse, and that, after his trip, when he had his X-GK cleaned and serviced professionally, it had needed very little attention. My experiences with that marvelous stove mirror Colin Fletchers, and I DO trust it with my life! Let's see how many other "multifuel" stoves can burn unleaded auto gas and engine oil, in a harsh environment for about a week, and live to tell the tale!! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Automotive gasoline + engine oil? I wouldn't wish that on any stove. Yeah, the XGK is kind of a fuel whore -- everything and anything goes in it. She's not very lady like, but a good and hot in rough country. Good story, Doc, and a testament to the XGK. HJ
Simple, Doc. The SAT, using the oil/petrol etc as tinder for the wood-burning! And unlike many stoves, the SAT has pans capable of being used over an open fire, with the top lid doubling up as a cup/scoop/spade/hammer etc! And as for the MSR requiring professional cleaning and servicing after a hard week in the field, the SAT needs a wipe over with a wet rag after a month - or a year - of continuous use. As I said before ... Job done
Hey, Andy, Always great to hear from you, Sir! Actually, Fletcher only sent his stove in for a cleaning and service, just in case it needed it. Turns out it needed nothing. Of course, the Trangia kits are FAR more simple than the X-GK kits. And, each person chooses what best works for them, and their style of camping/bush tramping/backpacking. But, for me, a "go to" stove has to be a multifuel, so as much as I dearly love the Trangia Tribe, they would not get the call. But, your style of using a stove may well be much different than mine, which is just as it should be, and if a Trangia works for you, then it's most certainly the best "go to" stove in that situation. Cool, huh!!?? 8) Good on Ya', Mate, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc
Before 2-cycle oil became common place you would take SAE 30 ND(non detergent) and mix it with the appropriate ammount of gasoline. I have an anchient Remington 5hp boat motor that lists this type of mix above the transom clamps. Can't remember the ratio, CRS. AR
Well, good luck on finding sufficient wood to burn at 12,000' in the Sierra Nevada, not to mention that you'd be cited and fined -- and quite possibly escorted out of the National Park or in some exceptional cases, brought before a magistrate. I know that for those that live in well wooded areas, it's hard to conceive of the barren nature of some parts of the United States, but I assure you the amount of wood at 12,000' is about the same as on the surface of the moon. There are many areas here where wood fires are impractical, illegal, unsafe, or unethical. By unethical, I do not mean to criticize the practice of wood fires in any way whatsoever. Given a plentiful supply of appropriate fire wood in safe conditions, I say have at it. I enjoy a good campfire every bit as much as the next person. But in high altitude areas where wood takes centuries (literally) to grow, the ground will soon be stripped of wood if wood fires are allowed. Denuded ground does upset the ecological balance as well as detracting from the natural beauty of an area. If ONLY one stove is a allowed, then depending on wood is a poor choice. Would I take an XGK to the poles? Yes. Would I take an XGK to the heights of the Himalaya? Yes. Would I take an XGK to a barren salt flat? Yes. In fact, I cannot think of any location where a stove might be reasonably employed where I would not take an XGK. The same cannot be said for a wood burning stove. Again, each to his own; I begrudge no one their favored stove, but I do think my arguments are worthy of consideration. HJ
Interesting that you should mention that. I just took delivery of a barely used Primus Omnifuel. She's beautiful, and oh is it ever hard to use an MSR pump after you've seen the Omnifuel's. If the the MSR pump is the Volkswagen beetle of pumps, then the Omnifuel is the Mercedes Benz. What a pleasure. I can see why people might judge the MSR pumps so harshly, although the MSR pumps do work and have done a very good job for me over the last quarter century. I paid $86.70 for it, total. I was pleased with the price. It's been fired but shows hardly any soot. It's practically brand new. I'm taking it out tonight with some white gas (petrol) and giving her a firing up, and yes I'm bringing an Omnidawg cap with me. Look for her in a future SOTW post. HJ
Hi All, Wow! I can't believe the amount of interest this topic has generated. It's interesting to note how many folks mentioned the venerable 123 or 8R as their "go to" stove. These little self pressurizing stoves really are great. When I said "Go To" stove, I meant the particular stove that has caught you fancy at the moment. Your everyday user type stove. It didn't necessarily have to be the best for backpacking, the truck or survival. Just the stove that you always seem to grab first. I guess it was a pretty open ended question, but I sure do love some of your answers. Thanks a ton, Manny
Hi Jim. As I think Doc understood, I was posting with a bit of tongue in cheek! And in exactly the same vein, let me point out that a - the SAT is primarily a meths burner, so - in the same way that the XGK would need fuel to run it, the SAT carries - inside - a burner with about 200ml, plus a separate meths bottle of 350ml. The wood-burning in the windshield (and pine-cones, fungus, tree bark, animal dung and pretty much anything else)is purely a bonus. See much heat comes out of your XGK when you fill it with dung b - the chance of finding wood (or dung, or pine-cones etc) at 12,000ft - or anywhere else - is probably greater than finding a forgotten stash of petrol or oil! c - if you fell over on your XGK, or dropped it off a cliff, you'd probably break it. If you fell on your SAT, you'd bruise yourself, and the only damage dropping it over a cliff would cause would be a few dents... d - Once you add the weight of all the kit needed to replicate things that a SAT can do - cup, scoop, spade, oven, billy can, dutch oven, windshield - to the XGK, you'd need a Jeep to carry them! All joking aside, Doc's right - it depends what you want to do as to what stove you take. And as the proud owner of all types of stoves, I'd do the same - British Army cooker or 111 for the car, ultra-light, probably the Swiss army Volcano and Trangia burner, and so on. THe XGK is indeed a fine stove. But if I had to take just one to cover every eventuality, I'd go for the most versatile,simple and robust - the SAT, and put up with the slightly longer boil time!
Manny i kinda thought that is where you were going with this. In answer to that question my go to stove is an alcohol (spirits) gravity feed stove. It has no name but it's built on the lines of a Manning Bowman & Company stove. lance
if i am in a hurry to get out the door and don't want to contemplate the positives and negatives of each stove i own, i'll always grab the Coleman 502. it's very versatile and fully capable of what i need it to do, especially if we're going on a family outing. i hope in the not too distant future i can replace the go-to-ness of the 502 with my Radius 43B, but since i have only had that a short time, i need to build some trust in it first. if it's just me and i'm going on a light hike or day trip type thing, i'll grab the Primus 71. i love that stove.
as an example, today i really needed some personal time, so i grabbed the 71, some coffee making stuff, brewed a cup, and watched the river flow by.
OK, you've got me there. Not by much. You might find some Marmot poop, but it's unbelievably barren at over 12k. It's barren to the point of being memorable. The below photo was taken above 13,000' in Colorado looking down to about 12,000'. I see one patch of green that is something probably like moss or a low sedge. HJ
A Trangia 27 with a duoseal pot (I only have one pot) is my daily coffee maker. A pot is needed for any stove, a fire can be lit under any pot so I can't see any advantage in the Swedish kit. All food cooked in my Swedish army kit tastes like the taste they put in meths to stop people drinking it, very unpalatable.
i'll grab my 99..i like the way the flat shape fits in a pack and the lid will cook a meal if need be or tea for two with no problem. it's also big enough to handle a full size pot.
