I'm stuck between the idea of the Jetboil PCS (convenience, speed, size) and something that would be more useful for longer trips out, something like the MSR whisperlight or a cheaper HK knockoff. The problem is that I can only really get a single cooking system to use for both biking _and_ hiking/walking, so i have to choose carefully.

Has anyone had experience of both the jetboil and the MSR multifuel stoves, and can give me advice? Also, has anyone been as cheap as me and considered the rather more cheap imports that a certain internet flea market seem to sell a lot of? Same features, same materials, cheaper price. Worth it?

MSR Pocket Rocket /end of thread

much cheaper alternatives to pocket rocket available
like this

i used one for coast to coast ride at the weekend, worked perfectly with no problems but if you're worried about weight its approx 20g heavier than a pocket rocket…

MSR Pocket Rocket /end of thread

+1

I now have a pocket rocket great stoves a little unstable though

The older style MSRs are brilliant stoves for travelling with abroad (third world) and mountaineering type trips or short backpacking 2 day trips….but would not be much use for bike touring over say a week in the UK. If you attempt to fill your 1 litre MSR fuel bottle up on the forecourt of a garage, the attendant will have a hissy fit. Your alternative is to buy fuel from hardware shops…typically in 5 litre containers so not great for sticking on bike.

Trangia is slow, but you can use meths which you can buy in 500ml bottles from B&Q, Halfords, garages, village stores, campsites, hardware stores anywhere really. That's what I used for recent JOGLE trip. My MSR much as I love it (and is miles faster to cook with) would have been pretty useless

Canister type stoves cook quicker than trangia but when you run out of gas, not so easy to source new cannisters as it is to source meths for Trangia. Although many campsites do stock.

Having said all that, I have heard that you can use meths in one/some of the new MSRs. If that's the case (and it works), it's a no brainer.

much cheaper alternatives to pocket rocket available

🙄 The pocket rocket is hardly earth shatteringly expensive though is it at £21 ?

http://www.gaynors.co.uk/products-MSR-Pocket-Rocket_140602410012.htm

I had thought about the pocket rocket, but I remember cooking on those old-style stoves that screwed onto the top of the blue gas cans (ok, a long time ago, I was in the scouts) and they were unstable as hell, hence my thinking of something that had legs and the fuel tank/gas cylinder out to one side.

A lot of the ads for the MSRs and the knock-offs suggest that they will burn meths, kerosene, diesel, unleaded, etc these days, so surely getting hold of fuel will be as easy as sourcing a gas can for a jetboil or similar?

>MSR Pocket Rocket /end of thread <

It's been bettered though – the Optimus Crux is smaller and more powerful albeit more £££

much cheaper alternatives to pocket rocket available
The pocket rocket is hardly earth shatteringly expensive though is it at £21 ?

http://www.gaynors.co.uk/products-MSR-Pocket-Rocket_140602410012.htm

the one in my link is £7.50 so nearly 1/3 the price so yes, much cheaper especially for people on a limited budget… 😉

If you want a gas canister stove, I would go for the MSR Windpro or similar. Its a much more stable design than balancing it all on top of the canister, plus easy to shield from the wind.

I've got one of these…..

http://www.charliesdirect.co.uk/products/gelert-blaze-pz-micro-gas-stove

Cheaper than the Pocket Rocket and lighter. More expensive than the £7.50 stove but, like the Pocket Rocket it does have a micro ingnition trigger. I got mine for £9 from TK Maxx. Cracking little field kitchen!

I find multi fuel stoves to heavy and too much fannying about on shorter trips, a litre of fuel is pretty heavy too. On shorter trips (1 to 3 nights) a small gas stove makes more sense … just take your pick from any of the above. You can buy a fold out support for the small gas cannisters for a few quid, which sorts the majority of stability issues.

unless you're intending to go biking in India or bolivia or lots of mid winter camping, then I would think twice about the multi fuel route. We have an old kerosene stove, MSR Whisperlite, a couple of propane/butane stoves and a Trangia.
The propane/butane gets used 80% of the time, because it's so quick, convenient and clean. The only time we use the other stoves is if there's a group of us, on a campsite, having a big meal. Occasionally the MSR will be the choice in mid winter, because propane/butane struggles a bit in cold weather. The only other slight downside to propane/butane is it's the most expensive method. However, that's a bit of a non arguement as, how often are you going to be using it? the cost is neither here nor there, really.. You can get the cartridges a bit cheaper from B&Q, rather than an outdoors shop.
I would recommend a small good quality propane/butane stove.

Have a look at a Trangia:

Trangia

And no need for a gas bottle as the wee meths burner holds enough for a day or two.
Bearing in mind you can buy a gas burner for it.

A lot of the ads for the MSRs and the knock-offs suggest that they will burn meths, kerosene, diesel, unleaded, etc these days, so surely getting hold of fuel will be as easy as sourcing a gas can for a jetboil or similar?

AFAIK, none of the MSR stoves will burn meths. They will burn white gas/naptha or petrol, diesel etc.
Note burning petrol / diesel is rather smelly, and not recommended as it can lead to the stove blocking up.
White gas is available as "Coleman fuel" in most outdoor shops. Though its a bit expensive – about £5 for 500ml.

my whisperlite is running quite happy on my "lamp fuel" bought from strontian village shop for about 1.50 – for a litre …

but FWIW unless going touring for extended times where a multi fuel stove is a bonus i always reach for my propane/butane stove – except as above in midwinter.

Ive got a jetboil and a MSR dragonfly. jet boil is good for making cups of tea, soup etc. If I am cooking for larger numbers I fire up the MSR dragon fly, but priming it is a little scary though!!

You can get larger pans and attachements for the jet boil to make it more versatile.

The MSR isn't that unstable with the smaller canister on it, fine for boiling water or basic cooking, which lets face it is what is for,

I second the opinion that the multifuel stoves are a pain, if you are in deepest darkest Nepal then OK, but for the UK\Europe gas is really the only thing to consider.

Jetboil is relativly heavy, and the deep cup/pan can make cooking and washing a little awkward. But for boiling water to add to a dehydrated meal hard to beat for eficiency.
Optimus crux with an evernew ti pan is my choice, but I don't think there is really a lot to choose between the small lightweight gas burners.
Multifuel stoves come into their own when travelling to remote places where gas canisters can be rare, ie outside europe.

btw regards filling your stove on petrol station forecourts – i look for a reasonably populated forecourt and ask the least scary person if they could stick a few quid/dollar/euros of fuel in with the cash to repay him/her in my hand – only ever been refused once. but i agree on the general consensus that they are a fuss for uk fair weather camping. ive been caught out by butane/propane winter blues twice for those that think its a myth … once at a bothy in the cairngorms – but i just lit a fire so was ok , second time at the puffer a few years back no cup of coffee for me – had to fight with the catering for a cup of hot water – i dont want tea or coffee – thats all we have – yes but what do you put into those urns … hot water ??

Trangia, if your worried about cooking times, chuck a handfull of dry grass in the burner to act as a wick and stand back, reduces burn time though, but the enclosed design means its still pretty efficient.

If weighs an issue, ditch the stove part and just take the burner and find a convenient pile of rocks to ballance the pan on. The other advantage of meths is it wont burn if you crack the bottle open in a crash, but will still evaporate quickly off clothes etc and washes out with water.

With regards to the MSR Pocket rocket (or similar design), two -ves which come to mind, you're limited to the shapes and sizes of propane/butane canister it will take and not fall over. Also, you can't do direct feed of liquid fuel to the burner, if you want to melt your pans.

As an alternative, this is the other type of gas stove worth looking at, a bit more weight, but better for general outdoors use, if that's your intention, you also get a wind shield with this one. primus gravity stove
But, if you only ever intend to do the odd single night bike bivi, then I guess a pocket rocket (or similar) would fit the bill.

I made my own meths stove using the following instructions on Outdoorsmagic:
Make your own

Then made a windshield out of a foil tray thing and a paperclip.

And a pot stand like this out of bike spokes (ask your local shop for some freebies):

Used this kit on a 5 day bivvy trip to Skye recently and all performed very nicely. Fits inside my pot with a flint/lighter and a wee bottle of meths. I ditched the proper pot lid for a bit of foil.

Oh, and don't forget a pot cosy made out of this stuff (helps make really great porridge) and you can fashion a nice sleeping mat from what's left:

I've got an Optimus Stella – similar in design to the Whisperlite I think though it's gas only.

It's fantastic; really stable, and made a faster cuppa than my brother-in-laws jetboil when we last went fishing. I lucked out and found it online at 50% discount which bought it down to about £30 (from memory). It's really well made and copes well with wind etc.

I have used a pocket rocket – advantages light and simple, hot flame.- -disadvantages – poor performance in cold conditions.

I will use a trangia the next time I am camping outside of summer

MSR Dragonfly – Boils quick/ Very stable/ No fuel issues.

I use mine all the time. Bike/HIke/Surf/Car. Sweet

Lighter Jetboils due out next year. I'd echo other folks' comments about multi-fuel stoves being overkill for UK use, they're great in the sticks, but over here it's lighter, cleaner and more convenient to burn gas. I'm liking various Primus stoves at the moment, might be worth adding to your list. The ETAsolo is a bit like a Jetboil with similar pros and cons, but for a bit more weight, the ETA Packlite works really well for me and does two people with integrated cookset etc.

Since reading about thisI've been tempted to try and make my own for £0.
If it's good enough for Ray Mears…

Just cook your porridge before you go and stick it in your sporran/plastic bag – no need to carry a stove.

Willard, I've since read your posts properly, unless you're going travelling 3rd world, this is what I'd probably buy Primus Gravity II EF for what you've specified.
sensible price
good burn time
stable
reasonably light
can direct feed liquid fuel from the canister when it's cold or getting empty.
comes with carry bag and lightweight windshield (very important IMO).

infact……

FFS B.A.Nana! Just exactly how much mileage are you intending to get from the above photo? I'm suprised it hasn't completely worn out yet, having popped up in just about every thread relating to camping & cooking in the great outdoors. Time to get back out into the wilds with a camera and embellish your personal photo-library just a little bit I think 😉

PMSL, 😆 It might change by September, I'm going to the Alps at the end of August. Although we've no plans to bivi, I could stage something very dramatic.

Mr. Nana,

You're right that I'm not off to the third world just yet, but I am trying to get something that will do me for just about every situation, something that may include places without a ready supply of gas at some point.

To date, I've been mainly using issue hexi stoves which are a challenge to coke on in most circumstances, but having to try and use one in 8 inches of snow and half a gale just after new year really made me wish I had something a bit better to stick my boil in the bags in, hence the Jetboil suggestion. It seems that a lot of people I know use them, even though the official line is to use hexi.

Anyway, I want something that is a touch more flexible than _just_ cooking boil in the bags so that I can take it with me when I get enough free time to hit Brecon again for a couple of days, or feel the need to find a nice bit of rolling dale to cycle through for a long weekend. The multifuel idea was purely because I am trying to avoid buying two stoves in case I do end up in a dodgy country with no canned gas.

That primus looks nice though…

The main downside with the multifuels is they don't quote the additional time spent priming them ontop of the boil times and/or the faffing around, when you just want to stick your hand out of the sleeping bag and turn the stove on, that's it really, otherwise they're ok. Also, my MSR whisperlite is a few years old, the flame adjustment, especially if you want virtually no heat to simmer, is rubbish and a pain, that might be sorted on newer models.

A decent canister top lightweight stove is relatively cheap and effective.

A decent multifuel stove is relatively expensive and heavy.

Really just get a lightweight canister top stove, and look at multifuel stoves if and when you actually do go somewhere more exotic.