Going gas

[flyfishnsurf]

I decided to go the leap into gas after years of service from my Trangia. I used a Kovea Solo last summer which was fantastic however it is very inefficient when the wind gets up. I tried various windbreaks but they tend to be not much good when it's really blowing. I could simply buy the gas burner for my trangia as i know the trangia performs no matter how windy, however I was interested how well the other stoves fair in the wind (like the Kovea moonwalker and the various MSR stoves ?) Im assuming I will still need some sort of windbreak regardless ? Thanks for any advice.

[Maelgwn]

I am not expert on stoves but if you get one where the canister is seperated from the burner by a hose, then you should find wind performance better. Use this with an alfoil windscreen and it should work great. Also the lower profile means the stove is much much more stable.

[Ciaran]

I too have been a trangia lover for all my time, using liquid fuel for my cooking, but have made the change to gas in the last 10 months. Am very happy I did so too. I still wanted the use of my trangia equipment because I like spending time cooking, so I went for the gas conversion and downgraded my set to the smaller trangia.
It did workout to be quite pricey, but I made something back after selling my old trangia. All up I gave up on a little more than $300.00 ; but I am very happy with it.

Was given a bonus kovea stove for a present and combined, I am able to suit all my needs. I have made no wieght reduction in the changeover, but have gained no extra wieght niether.

[DaveNoble]

I was interested how well the other stoves fair in the wind (like the Kovea moonwalker and the various MSR stoves ?) Im assuming I will still need some sort of windbreak regardless ? Thanks for any advice.

Just about all the time when I cook on a gas stove - I use it in the annex of my tent - and make sure it is out of the wind. Eg put stuff around the bottom of the floor to make it more wind proof. The only times I have cooked outside have been in very still conditions - or in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California - where you needed to cook well away from your tent because of bears (no food near tents). And then if breezy - I would construct a small rock shelter and place the stove inside.

Dave

[Orion]

I agree with Mr. Noble but would add that you should be careful not to overdo it and fully surround the stove with a screen. It is possible to overheat the fuel and rupture the canister. You can check by touching the top of the can. If it's too hot to touch open up the windscreen a bit.

Oh and our bears here in California are the black variety. Cooking and eating right next to or even inside the tent is okay. If we still had grizzlies here it would be a different story.