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I use Kelly Kettle/Storm Kettle/Ghillie kettles weekly for work, home and have used them for week long canoe trips.
I also use twigs on my uber tiny titanium stand, in summer.
We use fire boxes/pits as well at work, and on canoe trips
It is brilliant, as long as you are happy with faff of finding dry wood, sorting and cooking with it. The little stove needs a hundred, tiny, dry bits of heather, birch or similar to cook on. The kelly kettles are superb - but even my tiny 'one cup' kettle is too big and heavy.
I would love to try a honey stove or similar with a cone on a few varied days, but you still are at the mercy of dry fuel supplies and your firelighting skillz.
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7483/15902135920_723f490860_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7483/15902135920_723f490860_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qedAZf ]Ghillie Kettle[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt Robinson[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8672/16287753320_2dd8439306_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8672/16287753320_2dd8439306_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qPhZB7 ]Ghillie Kettle[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt Robinson[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8680/16299023779_4b3d6b9abb_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8680/16299023779_4b3d6b9abb_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/qQhKVn ]Canoe Loch Tay Islands, Killin[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/ ]Matt Robinson[/url], on Flickr
I have a honey stove which I have used on some bikepacking trips. I also take one of the bearbones meths stoves as a backup in case the weather is bad or I can't find any dry wood. The meths stove sits nicely inside the honey stove with an alpkit mug on top and doubles as a windbreak.
For me it's a different kind of cooking experience (slower/relaxed), that requires a bit more patience than a gas stove. I wouldn't rely on it in the winter though.
UK meths burns pretty dirty - bit smelly and sooty
The purple meths that you buy at B&Q/petrol station is horrible, yes, you can buy ethanol that burns much more cleanly.
We have a twin-hob meths stove in our camper and use ethanol in that, works great.
Tell me more about cutting the tins, and not having razor sharp edges all over it. Bank holiday project time....
@Alexsimon +1 for the above more details please looks good!
You'll need a step drill (I just bought a cheapy for £3.99 I think).
[img] 
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Then I just used a knife and scissors for the rest. The sharpest bit gets folded inside for the small tin to push down past.
I looked at some youtube videos and combined them to create this.
I think I made up the pot stand - made it with a gap, so that it can be pushed down into the same size tin.
One of the important things (not shown in my pics) is a raised ventilated grille in the bottom. I just used a tin lid for this with the legs made from folding down some strips from the middle.
Outside tin: Holes in bottom
Inside tin: Holes under grille (at bottom) and near the top.
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7286517206_695e832ae4_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7286517206_695e832ae4_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/c6TiH1 ]Stove kit[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/thingswelike/ ]Alex Simon[/url], on Flickr
If you click through, you should be able to get it big enough to see details. Loads and loads of examples on the internet.
Just look for "tin can wood gas stove"
@matt_outandabout Head down to your local hardware store and get some emery paper - basically it's the metalworking version of sandpaper.
I've got maybe a dozen or more stoves lying around, from an MSR XGK to a Primus to various gas stoves to home made meths stoves. They all have their place, in the case of the MSR it's at 4500m on Mt Kenya frying oil for chips 😆
Oh - btw - that silver object near the bottom is the meths stove which I sometimes take too (fits inside with a little plastic bottle)- never used out of the house though :), so you don't need that.
[quote=fudge9202 ]I have to stop reading this!
Totally confused
If you just want to get outside and get some experience in, buy a cheap gas stove. It's simpler to use and you'll get to spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less time faffing. Once you get the rest of your gear sorted, consider trying some of the alternatives. It's a bit of an iterative process and, as this thread shows, there's no one "right" answer.
Yep - agree with scotrouted - the good thing is that all of these solutions is that they are cheap and having all of them is quite nice.
I have:
Micro gas stove
Fairly large, stable gas stove
Kelly kettle
Esbit stove
Micro esbit stove (3 nails to push into a stump and a bit of foil)
A knife which enables me to build a full campfire
Meths stove mk1 and mk2
All of them have been great fun to acquire/build/use. One of my favourite parts of overnighting.
I also have a full-on titanium wood burning tent stove but that one isn't cheap by any stretch of the imagination. Pics on Flickr.
One of the important things (not shown in my pics) is a raised ventilated grille in the bottom. I just used a tin lid for this with the legs made from folding down some strips from the middle.
Do you mean a raised base of the inner tin or outer tin?
Yes, inner. To let the air come in and also to let the ash drop out.
As Colin says, there's no one right answer, every type of stove/cooker involves some compromise so it's usually cse of matching up your intended use and the compromises.
One stove that I haven't tried is the Vargo Ti Hexagon Wood stove which can also be used as a windshield for other types of stove.
Something that hasn't been mentioned so far is that some types of stove might not be allowed in certain areas for safety/environmental reasons.
What an ace thread.
I'm staying old school and sticking with my Trangia even though it's a bit bulky. Can't beat having a proper kettle 🙂
[url= https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1705/25740509204_5c13b87681_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1705/25740509204_5c13b87681_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/FdAQAQ ]Brew time[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/simondbarnes/ ]Simon Barnes[/url], on Flickr
Really liking the idea of the wood burning stoves, perhaps it's the boy scout in me! Size and weight not really an issue but would like a type that can similarly use a meths stove in it as a backup!
Like the principle of the Mkettle and the Toaks titanium looks very neat indeed paired with their mug/pot. Price wise don't seem too bad from Aliexpress and DX.com
B.A.Nana - Member
...Trangia / meths stoves, It's a love hate thing, you either love them or hate them.
I hate them, born of years in my youth of eating food that slightly tasted of kerosene or meths...
+1
It's why I love my JetBoil - nae faff, nae wet matches.
Mind you, you can have a blindingly good party with some meths and a jug of orange juice... (Please don't 🙂 )
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