lightweight camping stoves

I am doing a jogle in the summer mostly camping (wild and camp sites)
and need a stove etc
shortlist :
trangia = longer cooking times but comes with pots and pans and low maintenance

whisperlight international = much quicker cooking times but need to buy pots etc and more faffing around pumping and connecting fuel

anyone have first hand experience with either

Have a look at the jetboil all in one cooking system, its very efficient, or a more traditional route perhaps a MSR pocket rocket and some titanium pans and eating irons from Alpkit.

Always found my trangia to be as fast cooking stuff as my gas thangy, never tried a whisperlight, sorry. I’ve also found the gas ones (similar in design to the pocket rocket) were dangerously top heavy when a pan is applied.

pocket rocket and cheap Ti pan set, wodden spoon and Ti spork for me.

Super-safe and not at all top-heavy on uneven camping ground…. 😀

Can I make some alternative suggestions?
Trail Designs Caldera Cone combine it with an anti-gravity gear pot cosy (bring the food to the boil then leave it to cook inside the cosy.

A BushCooker wood stove – team it with a meths stove to cover all the options.

A Primus Eta Express. Personally I prefer it to a Jetboil.

msr xgk, had one for 20 years still going strong burns kerosine, petrol and diesel

3+ months continuous use and not a burnt toe in sight!

(unlike my face 🙂 )

and I highly recommend you get some folding stuff too

http://backpackinglight.co.uk/product22.asp

thanks Stoner
I think I may invest in some of those folding bowls and plates 😉

Trangia are sh*te to cook on. And drink fuel like nobody’s business. Ok for boiling water, that’s about it. If you ahve all day.

Whisperlite are a bit of an expedition stove, as in you can use a variety of liquid fuels. If you want really light weight, there are tiny things like the MSR pocket rocket that work with gas, plus lots that are smaller and lighter than that. MSR do a gas powered one that has a separate burner which puts your pans lower to the ground ie less likely to fall over. If you can’t get gas tho then it’s the Whisperlite, or I believe Primus might do something similar.

Trangia are sh*te to cook on. And drink fuel like nobody’s business. Ok for boiling water, that’s about it. If you ahve all day.

?? Really? I’ve never had a problem out-pacing camping gaz stoves with mine. True it does drink the juice a little though, but I’ve always found the gas ones went through so many gas cannisters it was stupid anyway and I had to carry spares, and the out-pacing of the gas ones seemed a fair trade off.

hey there, just my 2p worth.

i have done a lot of summer and winter camping including time in the arctic.

For the summer you cannot beat an MSR Pocket-Rocket. They are extremely light and work a treat as long as you are out of the wind.

For the winter i have an MSR Whisperlight. It is an amazing stove as long as you have good fuel. The only downside is when your water is boiled the stove will not turn down to a simmer. You have to turn it off. Not a real bugbear as it really is an amazing bit of kit.

I hope this helps.

On the flip side i had a Jet Boil for a while but i found them very fragile. Not my cup of tea at all.

A lot of it comes down to how you use it, but if you want a perfect all round stove, the Whisperlight International has to be it. It will outcook a trangia at anything except high altitude. Make sure you use a wind guard. It makes a huge difference.

pocket rocket here aswell if using it in the UK.

Was looking at the jetboil today in snow and rock and nearly bought it there but amazon are a tenner cheaper. Impressed me though, I’ll be getting one.

Pocket Rocket – and there’s a wee 22g flip-out stand available to make the whole thing more steady (if you think you need it).

msr wisperlite or dragonfly here cracking stoves but i am just buying the new msr stove it looks like a jet boil but is a better size

We import MSR so I am slightly biased.

However I have found cooking on a trangia very frustrating due to cooking time/weight. The W-Lite is a great stove but may be overkill for you. If gas canisters are readily available I would go for the Windpro or a Superfly. Windpro is great as the gas cannister is remote (you can use wind shield/more stable). Superfly great as you can fit both bayonet and screw fitting type canisters.
Pocket Rocket is a superb lightweight option but for longer trips the above would be better.
If gas availabilty may be a problem due to long periods away from civilisation ie 2 weeks plus, then go for the Whisperlite it really is a superb piece of kit that is easily field maintanable.

Matt

Pocket Rocket is an ace stove for light trips, Whisperlite is my favourite full on one for winter and noisy cooking.

Don’t forget the White Box stove if you want something like a trangia but lighter…

i always uses a trangia but instead of the meth burner i use a gos burn in its place much quicker, just as light and more reliable. check the trangia website for details

I’ve used one of these for a few years:

http://www.optimus.se/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=65

Fantastic stove – great build quality & fits into the curved void under your gas cylinder which is really neat. I used this side by side the Pocket Rocket every day for a couple of weeks – it was definitely more powerful and the more adjustable of the 2 (the Pocket Rocket is still an excellent stove BTW).

i managed to pick up a trangia with the optional gas burner extra for the bargain price of 20 quid in tk maxx last year. it’s fantastic; no complaints at all about cooking times etc.

Agree with Swello – if you are looking at the Pocket Rocket then the Crux should be on your list. Better option for space / weight weenieism also. Costs about £20 more but pumps out over 20% more BTU’s iirc

I’ve got an http://www.optimus.se/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=32.

It’s stable, easy to light (even with a flint) will burn almost anything and has a built in needle thingy that means the jets don’t get clogged.

i hate trangias – they’re messy more than anything (lots of soot on your pans!), and are slowwwww. Similarly, some gas stoves are slowwwwish.

I’ve got a primus omnifuel which is ace. on gas it’s very clean and insanely fast at boiling water. Gas consumpition seems reasonable. and with the supplied nozzles, it will run on just about any flammable liquid 🙂

not cheap though, but light as and very well made.

Second the Whitebox stove, simple.

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product230.asp

The key thing with gas stoves (and probably most others) is the wind. Trangias comes with a heat shield which may be why sometimes they cook better.. all the heat gets blown away and the pan gets cooled in even a slight wind if you don’t protect it. If you have a shielded gas one like the MSR one, it’ll be loads better than a trangia and more controllable.

For the winter i have an MSR Whisperlight. It is an amazing stove as long as you have good fuel. The only downside is when your water is boiled the stove will not turn down to a simmer. You have to turn it off. Not a real bugbear as it really is an amazing bit of kit.

Is your Whisperlight an old one? They originally had the valve on the bottle which was very hard to control – you could simmer it, but it was really hard. The newer ones have a valve right on the burner which is apparently much better.

If you’re going away from camping shops, a Whisperlight would be great since you can burn petrol, paraffin, diesel, white spirit and all sorts. They don’t mention white spirit in the instructions but it does work, tried it.. I would conclude that most flammable things will burn in it but apparently alcohol is out cos it’s too hot.

ahh the primus omnifuel
just been looking at that stove looks like it has everything.
Burns liquid fuel and gas and is good for simmering

I am very tempted but its quite a lot of money for a stove if your not using it too often ❗

I have a whisperlight, had it years and it works great, however the lack of adjustable flame is a major weakness. MSR do a similar stove not sure what its called with a simmer function which is much beterer. For real lightweight the gas stoves are better but fuel doesnt last as long and you cant use unleaded which is generally easier to get.
folding cup plate and bowl are great.
On my solo bike/camping trips I’ve used a whisperlight, folding cup and bowl, spork, knife from multitool type thing and one pan. I also take a camping stove coffee pot type thing too as espresso is very important.

think it might be called an MSR dragonfly works well, mate has one.

I have a Coleman micro stove and it folds down and fits inside my Alpkit.com Ti Mug (1L capacity!) with a 100g cartridge.

Cost about £22 a few years ago and plenty fast enough at making tea / porridge / beans. Used with a 500g cartridge for car-camping trips too.

I have looked at other stoves and unless I was touring in remote areas (like Indian Himalayas!) I would go for a gas cartridge one as you are never far from a camping shop in the UK.

Alpkit have a deal on Ti mugs + Ti pan / lid sets at the mo’ 🙂

SSP