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Trying to decide what pan to buy for a bike packing trip, any suggestions.
looking at:
Optimus Terra Weekend He Cookset Panset
Coleman Solo Cook Kit
gsi minimalist
Got to be small but big enough to cook myself some food, but then do I take my MSR pocket rocket, a meths stove or try and bear grylls it with just a fire?
Ive been looking for a similar product.
Decathlon do a clone of the Terra weekend for less money.
Im not sure how stable/effective the heat exchanger is though.
Ive been tempted by one of the MSR stainless stowaway pans they do weigh more though.
Jon
What are you cooking will decide it. Boiling water = gsi minimalist or cheap titanium.
Actually cooking, my ancient steel and copper nonslip coleman pans everytime to fry, simmer and boil properly with.
Alloy wont last on a fire.
I was in decathlon today but couldn't see anything suitable, must have missed that one.
I do have a 1 litre MSR pan but think its a bit big and heavy, can't believe I'm spending ages pondering over a bloody pan, but then if I don't get it right I'll be cursing when I want a brew and some food in the middle of no where in Wales next weekend.
Cooking mostly boil in bag, or just boiling water to rehydrate something I recon.
Allthough that GSI kit looks good, but we seem to pay more in £ than the amerians do in $.
I had a quick look at the GSI today in Cotswalds outdoors, looked pretty cool, but as you say I didn't buy it as I was thinking £30 for a tiny pot?!!!
ah ha the decathlon is out of stock in Coventry no wonder I didn't see it, looks alright though for £20 and if I save the weight of my steel pan might as well take me MSR pocket rocket and a tiny gas can.
Its the same with all the fancier kit, bigger money for seemingly less product.
Gooutdoors seemed to do a good range when I last looked.
Jon
This (8g meths stove)
http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/pages/contact.html
and this
http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16625&category_id=253
or as Alpkit are out of stock, get this from amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nordisk-Titanium-mug-camping-tableware/dp/B00295XK3S
If you take those dehydrated food packs then just boil water, pour in pouch, stir, leave for a couple of minutes then eat, while you're waiting just heat up some more water and make a brew.
I tend to take a pot noodle (I know it's shite food, but they actually taste pretty good when hungry and noodles seem to give me more energy than other starchy carbs), then wash out the pot and use that as a mug.
Thanks nick think im going to go that route. 🙂
nooooooo
http://www.itchyfeet.com/equipment/stoves_cooking_gear_124/quick_1_pot.htm
Big, practical, lovely quality bits and pieces. Weighs nothing, will outlast you. Pack other things in it and then in yr bag - who cares if it's bigger.
Came here from the "Is STW boring?" thread, LOL
I use the Terra Weekend. I find the solo pots a bit wee for a decent meal. Having said that, for one-night jobs I usually use the dehydrated food bags. The Weekend pot is also large enough to take a standard 250ml gas cartridge. In fact, I get the gas, stove (Optimus Crux), windshield, spork, sparker and a wee sponge/scourer in mine.
The heat exchanger doesn't affect the stability of the pan and does seem to make a bit of difference to the efficiency of the stove.
All of the below other than the hipflask, mug and pot cosy goes in the cookset.
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/8721217400_a4fdf267dc_c.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/8721217400_a4fdf267dc_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/druidh2000/8721217400/ ]P1000170[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/druidh2000/ ]ScotRoutes[/url], on Flickr
" Weighs nothing," what? 187g? That's pretty much my stove, mug, windshield and fuel!
The best thing about gas over the little meths stove is how stable they are, you do have to be careful with meths, very very careful if any where near a tent.
If you do go down the route of the little meths stove, it is worth getting/making a windshield - a double layer of foil does the trick and if you follow the template that come with the stove from Stu it helps support the mug.
Or you could get this:
http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/category-31/QE101.html
Probably can find it cheaper on ebay but they are nice folk at bpl
Well, I guess it's heavy then, but you do get a lot of space. OP posted multi-pan sets in the 350g range, I'd say 190g is comparatively light.
IDK man, if you live near Bath, pop into Itchy Feet - they can help you out.
If you're just boiling water to make up dehydrated food or boil in the bag, then no point in spending lots of money on all the suggestions above when http://www.lakeland.co.uk/2515/Small-Foil-Casseroles work just fine and weigh a lot less. Have used those on both gas and solid fuel stoves without any problem - I expected them to only be good for a single night, but they'd actually be fine for a multi day trip. Taking a pan and a metal mug just seems bizarre - for OMM or Polaris I've used the above to boil water and had a pot snack of some variety as my first course, with all following courses served in the pot snack container.
Personally I'd also take my home made solid fuel stove made from tin cans rather than gas - saves a huge amount of weight and in tests boils water almost as fast. Most people think you can't get solid fuel to burn efficiently, and given the normal "stoves" you can't, but if you get good airflow it burns very well. Here are some pics:
Of course other people's idea of minimalism may be different to mine, but experience suggests my solution works fine and you get perfectly palatable food - I don't really see the fun in carrying more weight than I have to.
Primus Litech for me, the cheaper cooksets don't last when cooking and this is non stick, used with a Primus multifuel and MSR cooking utensils
Here's my pans but maybe a little large for bikepacking, the knife and fork are for scale, I have a little clip together set somewhere
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Here's the stove works with everything and packs into said pans
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http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/trail_designs_caldera_cone_stove_for_msr_titan_kettle.html
It's lovely btw, they are built for specific pots so no use if you can't find a matching one.

