[Closed] Sick as a dog so, show me you Bivi / Bikepacking / Adventure racing gear.....

Don't wait till spring, you'll miss half the fun 😉

MISSED half the fun already I think he'll find 😀

I see your point ... could all take a turn for the worse yet though. Remember last March? We had snow under the hammocks.

Last march was fine, if a little cold, but it warmed up during the day.
I'm just hoping for no rain like last weekend although we will be in Wales so i should really expect it to lash it down 24/7

have faith boyo it's been lovely today 😀

I'm at home, with a beer, kitchen scales out, weighing tents and looking for my map of Dartmoor... you know who's fault this is? Yours. All of you.

One problem with a 29er that I hadn't anticipated, mind you, is that there's less space to fit stuff in between the top of the tyre and the saddle. I clearly need smaller, lighter, more expensive stuff.

That's the spirit Eccles 😀

[url= http://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/gelert_solo_1_man_tent__1188?utm_source=google&utm_medium=merchant ]These[/url] are a bit of a bargain and not too bad apart from the having to pitch the inner up first, I have one but find it a bit too claustrophobic for my taste.

that does look good Mark but I think we may have a no tent rule on this thread 😉

@Eccles the hunt for smaller, lighter, more expensive stuff as bargainous prices is a serious addiction - you will not be able to resist!

Tents can be used, there's no rules really but at 1.5kg it's a bit on the heavy side.
Having said that, a tarp and bivi bag can easily add up to 1.5kg if your not careful.

Yep, will be using the tarp on the WRT. Have been looking at stoves as well, anyone have any experience with the [url= http://www.vargooutdoors.com/Titanium-Decagon-Alcohol-Backpacking-Stove ]vargo decagon[/url]? Looks like it's a light cheap choice.

I'll be driving down to the WRT from Burton on Trent if anyone wants a lift down or want to car share let me know.

smaller, lighter, [s]more expensive stuff[/s]

Markenduro - read the stove test on the [url= http://welshridething.blogspot.com/2011/02/coke-can-chaep-v-titanium-chic.html ]WRT blog[/url]. I also did a stove test recently [url= http://ianbarrington.com/2011/01/09/stove-test-whitebox-vs-vargo-triad/ ]here[/url]

Mark have a look on the WRT blog ... I tested one of the Vargo stoves. It's a nice bit of kit but a little slow to bloom. Pop can stove is far quicker to get going and less likely to go out.

EDIT: Beaten to it.

Cheers for that, had a go at the coke can thing and think I drilled the holes too big, it did boil some water up but was a bit temperamental to draughts and shot a jet of burning fuel out when i knocked it over....
The vargo looks like it will be a lot more stable in use.
I don't do tea/coffee so it would only be for cooking noodles/soup etc.
Any good tips on food choices for expeditions, the only time I have ever done anything similar to this there has been either a handy pub or cafe nearby for food/beer stops so just had to carry snack type food and water with me.

Edit, just seen the wrt blog on how to make on e properly, will need to live on coke for a few days.

I think the fun is sourcing good gear and if it can be made yourself all the better, plus second hand kit that is in perfect nick often appears on here, plus a wanted ad usually comes up trumps, like my bivvy bag from Stu for example 😉

I've been practicing with the "pop" stove and I am getting a dab hand with it know.

@IanB - do you get your dried meals from a particular source or anywhere that sells them? I've realised they can save a huge amount of weight compared to "moist" food, tins/packets for example.

But a Christmas dinner would be an exception Flatfish of course 😉

I've found that when i go shopping I get the milk, bread, beans, squash etc, etc, in 10 minutes, however everytime i go to Tesco's I spend twice as long looking at the dried food and cooking times for something to camp with.
I have also found Waitrose is bobbins for bikepacking food.
Sainsbury's are quite good though.

Some good value and lighweight tarps here:

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/page112.asp

I have the Duo tarp, its half the weight of an army bash sheet, is , stealthy green, big enough for hammock and sitting cooking under, the tarps are well thought out with all the loops and eyelets just where you need them, was used in the STW bivy feature a while back

haha you do that too 😳

I've been caught checking out the carb/protein properties of said food recently 😳

Alpkit rig[7] is the same size as the duo tarp, 100g-ish lighter and £15 cheaper.

I've used "Expedition Foods" dehydrated meals before now, but they're quite expensive (about £6 each). Probably best calorie to weight ratio going though. Chicken Tikka or Korma is recommended, as is porridge and custard and berries. Didn't rate the Rice Pudding though.

Other easy stuff - Blue Dragon noodles are often nicer than Batchelors Supernoodles.
Smash - cheap, easy, lots of calories, bit bland unless you add something else.
Fine egg noodles - again, easy to cook as only require dumping in boiled water for a few mins, so efficient on fuel, but need something else to add flavour.

Last weekend's egg noodle/ Ainsley Harriot's Mullagatawny soup was fantastic. Because I was only going out for one night and most of the rest of my kit was light, I did treat myself to Sharwoods Saag Aloo, which was pre-cooked and only required warming - also nice.

Other stuff I take includes nuts (hazel or walnuts have the best calorie content), raisins, jelly babies, chocolate coated coffee beans, normal dark chocolate, malt loaf, cereal bars and so on.

I'll second the condemnation of the rice pudding but the custard and berries are mighty fine.

All the way back on Page 10:

Tiger6791 - Member
"One issue I had this morning was trying to get the stove lit in a strong wind - got there in the end but it was quite tricky to get it primed"
Caldera cone

I've now made a paper version of a Caldera Cone:

[url= http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5258/5454725726_6c66b75b0e.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5258/5454725726_6c66b75b0e.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/15512491@N08/5454725726/ ]Caldera Clone - paper trial[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/15512491@N08/ ]ianbarrington[/url], on Flickr

Need to find some 0.15mm aluminium foil and I'm ready to make me a new windshield 🙂

Yeah, I think that'd work a LOT better than the paper version...

Will it work right with a white box stove? Isn't the pan meant to seal the top to allow the jets to work?

Good point. I can set the burner offset to zero to keep the pan on top of the stove, but it would be reliant on having a fairly flat surface to put it all on. Whilst the Whitebox is in the shot, that version works over the top of my Vargo Triad.

I've been having a think about stoves (as I do and you do ... all of you) and if the pan forms a seal on top of the stove where does the stove then take its air from. The Vargo I played with has 3 raised bumps to support the pan, they hold it 2-3mm above the stoves top surface. As I've said before, they can be a sod to keep lit and burn better if you raise the pan a little ... I half wonder if this is down to a restriction in air flow into the centre part of the burner.

I'm going to the workshop, I may be some time!

I've now made a paper version of a Caldera Cone

Not sure that's going to work, cardboard at a minimum but I would recommend aluminium though.

I reckon after using one if you can make the two piece one it would be better for the bike as it would pack better.

The whitebox stove has no dimples, it sits flush on top.
From what i can gather, once the stove blooms the pan sits atop creating the seal, thereby forcing the now hot and pressurized meths out the jets, where it meets air, creating the fuel/air mixture which is already alight due to priming.
I assume the jet flames aren't as hot until the pan creates the seal, forcing the fuel out of the jets that then makes the jet flames burn more fiercer/hotter.

I could be talking bollocks though. 😯

I've been having a think about stoves (as I do and you do ... all of you) and if the pan forms a seal on top of the stove where does the stove then take its air from.

yeah my coke can stove goes out immediately if I put the pot directly on top. Figures really, like you said, it's gotta get air from somewhere.

The caldera uses a chimney stove so the meths has no pressure. Still works weirdly very well.

yeah my coke can stove goes out immediately if I put the pot directly on top. Figures really, like you said, it's gotta get air from somewhere.

I think if my 'A' level Chemistry is right that it is going out because the cold pan cools the stove too much and the meths then cools and doesn't evaporate as well.

Nothing to do with a lack of air. The gaseous meths mixes with the air and therefore combustion occurs after it has left the jet holes.

Air and combustion inside the stove under pressure would result in a bang!

A proper 'Pop can' stove 🙂

ah you are clearly far wiser than I in the ways of burning stuff :-). I seem to recall it does it even when the pot is hot, but I'll have a mess about with it later & see.

Not sure that's going to work, cardboard at a minimum but I would recommend aluminium though.

I reckon after using one if you can make the two piece one it would be better for the bike as it would pack better

Stoves - what flatfish said is right I reckon. I think the ratio of height to internal diameter, and possibly material is key to the Whitebox performing properly. If you built a pop can stove of comparable height and diameter, you might fnd it doesn't go out when you put the stove on top.

Just back in from the workshop to make a brew. So we're thinking that any combustion is taking place outside the stove once the pan goes on top and it's the physical heat of the stove which keeps the vapourised meths alight (a kind of glowplug effect). There also seems to be a direct link between how long the flames are (from jet to pan bottom) and how well the thing will stay lit, a sort of optimum flame length. Ok, back to the workshop 😉

As Titanium is a poor conductor, this possibly explains why the decagon needs the little pips on the top to raise the pan up, and the Whitebox being a thicker alloy material (better heat conductor) doesn't. The thin nature of the pop can stove may also be a limiting factor in the stove staying alight with the pan placed on top.

Ok, back to the workshop

[url= http://www.andyhowell.info/Colin-Ibbotson/colin-esbit-stove.html ]MYOG Foil wind shield contruction ideas[/url]

IanB - thought this might give you some ideas for your Caldera Cone... out with the rolling pin! Nice counterpoint to the use of CAD 😉

Right then, just knocked a stove up but used a can bottom and a can top rather than 2 bottoms. Once bloomed you can sit a pan on top and it doesn't go out, however the flames do die down a little. I'll file some small air grooves in the top edge (that's why I used a top, so I'd have a solid edge to work with) and see if that makes a difference ... back to the kettle, sorry I mean workshop.

I think we can safely say that combustion takes place outside the stove.

The air grooves act as secondry jets when the pan is directly on top of the stove. It would seem that the deciding factor in whether your stove goes out with a pan directly on top, is more to do with the angle and location of the jets.

Well that's most of a morning wasted, so I'll go and do something more productive now 😀

you're doing the science of bikepacking a great service, well done 🙂

I'll go and do something more productive now

Looking at the WRT blog and your most recent stove, I note they don't have an internal sleeve like the Whitebox and some other home made stoves I've seen. I wonder if this is necessary to allow you to put the stove direct on top of the burner?

As I see it, once the stove and all the fuel is up to temparature sufficient to ignite meths (80 degrees Celsius), with a twin walled stove the centre is storing heat and pressure is created by virtue of it being sealed at the top by the pan. The increased pressure forces the fuel into the outer chamber by two small holes at the base of the inner chamber. From there, the only exit is out through the jets, so you have meths gas at >80 degrees C meeting air and bingo, combustion. Once it's going, the heat generated by the whole system is sufficient to keep it going until it runs out of fuel.

Look again Ian ... they have an internal sleeve. The first picture in part 2 shows the sleeve marked out for cutting 😉

OK, right I see now 😳

How about reducing the size and/or number of notches in the bottom of the sleeve to increase the pressure a bit. You could make the jet holes smaller? Do you apply any sealant to the top of the sleeve, where it engages in the inside edge of the top piece?

Damn it, I've got two perfectly good stoves in my collection which I have trouble deciding which to use anyway. Now you're making want to go to the garage and make one of my own!

Been reading all this thread with huge amount of interest. Sadly won't make it to this years WRT, but fired up to do some lightweight bike-biviing and stove building.

How does a caldera type stove with solid fuel compare to the meths stove?

I don't think altering the number or size of the feed holes will have much effect, I'm pretty sure the pressure between the inner and outer chambers will equal itself out. Saying that though ... I can see that smaller feed holes could be a benefit as you get towards the end of the fuel, as a smaller hole will be below the fuel level for longer which might help maintain a higher internal pressure in the outer chamber towards the end of the burn. 😯

I suppose the obvious way to increase internal pressure would be to reduce the internal size of the stove and/ or use more fuel (which would reduce the internal size) ... obviously the pressure would start to drop as the fuel was used. The other option as you say, is smaller jets ... restrict the gas getting out and the internal pressure must increase.