What stove do you use?

[ninjapuppet]

do you have any experience with that Edelrid Hexon Multifuel?

[rucksack]

ninjapuppet

I'm afraid I don't. Looks interesting, but I haven't seen one in the flesh. I have a lot of stoves (a familar story, isn't it), and last year, I was looking for a new multifuel for my Tangia 25 for extended winter climbing and I wanted an Optus Nova (I agree with you, they are very decent multifuel stoves and not having to change the jet is a big plus), but the owners of Optimus had shifted production of the Nova and Nova+ to a factory in China. Clearly, they didn't do their homwork, (or pay attention - or perhaps both). They had to recall the stove last September, because of poor manufacturing finish and leaking fuel lines. I then saw the new stove that Primus had conjured up for Trangia, the Multifuel X2, based on their OmniFuel and MultiFuel EX stoves and opted for that. But, like you, I am wary of the 'one stove for all seasons' approach, (same as the one tent for all seasons approach). Edelrid have been around for a long time (146 years, they say on their website) and I have always known them for their ropes, of course. If I come across their Hexon Multifuel stove, I will let you know. Just from looking at the photo on their website, there looks to be a bit of Kovea in the stove (fuel line, connector, burner head & vaporizing tube). I could be wrong, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover that is where they are being made. But whatever the provenance, the designers have certainly stripped out the weight for a multifuel stove. And, I like the 'combined' feet/pot support. My Snow Peak GS-300A has that (and so does Snow Peak's liquid fuel equivalent, the GS-010R), and it gives the stove a very solid feel even when using larger pots.

rucksack

[etrangere]

Rucksack,

Took your advice and did get a new stove.......just not a Trangia 25!

Believe it or not I actually spotted a Trangia multifuel X2 at a local camping store here in Perth for about $290. I came pretty close to buying it. But figured against getting it as I already have an original Trangia multifuel and gas burner and it wasn't work risking the money if it did melt/warp my Trangia 27. Sure I could buy another windshield but then I would be stuck with a burner that I couldn't use. Plus I have read that the omnifuel burner on gas isn't very efficient compared to the original Trangia gas burner, I also like the fact I can disassemble the Trangia gas burner and it then fits inside the kettle in the Trangia 27.

Well what stove tempted me you might ask. I've added a Jetboil Titanium to my collection.....well I'm waiting for it as have ordered it through BaseGear.com along with a few other goodies.

Katadyn Hiker Pro Water Filter $80Filter
Katadyn Hiker Pro Filter Replacement Cartridge $40
Light My Fire Firesteel Mini $9
Snow Peak Trek 900 Titanium Cookset $50
Jetboil Sol Ti Premium Cooking System $150

Most reviews on the Jetboil Ti seem pretty good and doing a search here on Bushwalk.com it seems a lot of people on this site also find it quite good.

[rucksack]

Nice choice etrangere. I agree: the X2 stove on canister gas is probably not as efficient, (and certainly not as quiet), as the dedicated Trangia-Primus gas burner. I like the Primus gas conversion with the 25 and use it often. I also carry mine inside the kettle; makes for a very compact pack. I really bought the Multifuel X2 stove for use when the hills are tall and the weather on the cold side, and when 3 or 4 of us are out walking or climbing together. The Trangia 25 easily copes with 3 or 4 people and the 1.5 litre & 1.75 litre pots with the 900ml kettle works out at a very manageable 416g each, when there are 4 of us, and 555g, when there are 3. The other pluses are stability, ability to burn a wide range of fuels (important up here), the built in widshield and the fact that everything packs down into the one simple package. As long as the person who has the Trangia doesn't fall off the mountain, we're sweet. Have fun with the new stove and the Snow Peak titanium too.

rucksack

Last edited by rucksack on Sun 18 Sep, 2011 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[photohiker]

Usage report for Jetboil Sol ti

4 days solo trip on the Heysen. Used for cuppa's and dehy food.

9 cuppas and 4 dehy meals. One of which the water was from a creek so it was left rolling boil for a few minutes.

Total fuel use 41g

The thing about this stove is that it is so quick. If you set it going for a cuppa, its already boiling before you have found and opened your teabag. It works just fine in light breezes that would effect the SnowPeak. Basically, if I am cooking in the protection of the vestibule, I don't think I will need a windshield anymore.

[etrangere]

Photohiker

That comment comes up a lot when looking at reviews. Prepare your food/coffee/tea etc BEFORE you start to heat the water not the other way round.

[photohiker]

Photohiker

That comment comes up a lot when looking at reviews. Prepare your food/coffee/tea etc BEFORE you start to heat the water not the other way round.

Yea etrangere, I do that now. I was so used to the time it took to boil on my previous setup that it didn't initially sink in just how much faster the Jetboil Sol really is.

[Nuts]

I'm curious about metho burners. I used a trangia long ago before moving to shellite as soon as I could afford to. This was mainly as I noticed straight away how much meths is choofed away at temps below zero. But... to save me doing some tests, is it the air or liquid (meths) temperature that effects boil times in cold weather.. any thoughts, previous testing, knowledge that makes it a silly question? Iv'e been using a Caldera lately and like it! I have seen figures that make it inefficient over time (weight wise) but I'm not sure in use.. My ti Caldera i noticed is the same in the cold but weighs around 200g's with two (750 and 500ml) pots, that's a bit of a head start. I don't need the weight of two cylinders (as I always carry a second with gas) and theres always twigs (in an emergency.. of course). Just wondering if there a way to get some sub-zero performance, warming the meths?

No question gas is the go with groups but i'm Really enjoying basic simple and Lightweight gear on personal trips.

[Nuts]

hmm, well, no ideas?, know i'm talking gas lol easy enough to chill the meths i guess... just interested what difference (if any) warm meths has in cold weather cooking, something i never tried.. Know i'm not going to fit in our freezer with the stove.. c'mon stove gurus??

[hikingoz]

I use a Monatauk Gnat stove. It only wieghs 50g and is very nicely made. Used in conjunction with a snowpeak 600 titanium pot and a tin lid and a little bic lighter. Very light solo setup.

I have a jetboil but I had two problems. The piezo ignition never worked and my hand doesn't quite fit inside the pot. This makes attempting to clean it properly kind of painful. I like to simmer my meals and because the jetboil burns so hot, there would always be liquid on top even though the bottom of the pot is dry and burning. So quite often I was forced to jam my hand in and scrape off burnt food. In the end a relagated it to the role of my official 'water boiler'. I don't use it anymore.

My snowpeak and monatauk gnat setup is smaller, lighter, easier to clean, nicer to eat out of and just looks better. Sorry jetboil fans but you have a fad strapped to your hand....

[ninjapuppet]

and with your monatauk gnat, do you carry it with its case? or do you just shove it into your pot and cushion it with a tea towel?

[hikingoz]

and with your monatauk gnat, do you carry it with its case? or do you just shove it into your pot and cushion it with a tea towel?

I jam it in my pot with a chux, lighter, and a bit of steel wool and then pop it into the snowpeak mesh bag. I'm not precious with my gear but I am careful not to leat grit get in the threads.

I should also add i still use the jetboil cannister feet. Only good thing about it

[Orion]

...is it the air or liquid (meths) temperature that effects boil times in cold weather..

It's both.

You need more heat to melt snow and boil water in the winter because the water is colder and the heat loss is greater due to the colder air. Meth has about half the heat energy per gram that gas and petrol contain so for a meth stove to produce the same heat rate it has to burn the fuel at twice the rate. You could build a meth stove that burns fuel faster but a typical model is designed to be small and light and just can't do it. And of course you need to carry twice the weight in fuel... so most people don't use meth in really cold conditions.

The other part is that meth has trouble vaporizing and hence igniting at really low temperatures. So you need to have a good means for initially warming it up and then keeping it warm otherwise your stove will run poorly.

To me meth seems best suited for short to medium length trips where cooking is limited, but others will disagree.


For what its worth I use a small canister stove, an upright model, in all seasons. I just haven't had great experiences with my Trangia or the two homemade meth stoves I've built. My petrol stove I reserve for international destinations where I cannot reliably find canisters.

[Nuts]

Cheers Orion, yes, I guess the heat energy is the stopper, even if the 'room' temp and water temp could be preheated..

I have used the Caldera to around zero, still goes ok just drinks metho. Liking it though, carried 3 125ml nalgenes for 6 days and had some left but found it pretty easy to put in just the right amount of meths and leave the stove for 5/10 mins doing other stuff. They (little nalgenes) are an easy thing to warm up and i tucked the 3 in the side pocket base/ pole holder (also a 30ml one inside the stove for lunch stop) so they take no additional space (smaller pack? lighter weight? yadda yadda) .

[Genesis]

Kovea Titanium over here...

I find it very light compact, reliable, redily available and cheap fuel. I am in the process of making a windshield for it put of an aluminium can.
I am extremly happy with it. As yet I have not had a need for a second, third, fourth......etc, etc.

Genesis

[andrewbish]

FYI - It looks like the Aussie Antarctic Div use Optimus stoves.

I understand that they are very good stoves, well suited to sub-sub-zero conditions, but bl**dy heavy.

antarcticstove.jpg (72.62 KiB) Viewed 11606 times

[ninjapuppet]

The Australian Arctic Division got rid of hundreds of otimus novas last year, so I guess thats what they were using.
I am assuming, they issue a new one to each person going to antarctica + service kit because the few I picked up were near new.

Non related to stoves, but its worth noting that the Scott tipi tents the antarctic division should be able to handle much higher winds than the 100kph stated http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/field-operations/tents-shelters-and-huts/tents/polar-pyramid-tents

[Stibb]

The Australian Arctic Division got rid of hundreds of otimus novas last year, so I guess thats what they were using.
I am assuming, they issue a new one to each person going to antarctica + service kit because the few I picked up were near new.

Non related to stoves, but its worth noting that the Scott tipi tents the antarctic division should be able to handle much higher winds than the 100kph stated http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/field-operations/tents-shelters-and-huts/tents/polar-pyramid-tents

This tent is designed for two or three persons........Each polar pyramid weighs about 30 kg

BTW The Antarctic Division had a HUGE auction a couple of month ago here in Hobart. All kinds of stuff, everything from snow boots and satellite phones to field huts and heavy machinery. Lots of useful camping/outdoor equipment/clothes but mostly sold by the box, not individually

[ofuros]

One for the metho lovers out there....




Titanium Clickstand with a Evernew burner + titanium Trangia pot.

Last edited by ofuros on Tue 29 Nov, 2011 7:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

[hikin_jim]

I'm one of the worst offenders when it comes to accumulating multiple stoves. Still, there are those that are more "shelf queens" and then there are those that I actually use. Lately, I've been trying to go lighter, and I've been using the Caldera Cone with a 12-10 metho burner from Trail Designs.


Very light, works well in windy conditions, quite efficient. I can boil two cups of cold on about 17ml of fuel.

HJ

[Tony]

I'm one of the worst offenders when it comes to accumulating multiple stoves. Still, there are those that are more "shelf queens" and then there are those that I actually use. Lately, I've been trying to go lighter, and I've been using the Caldera Cone with a 12-10 metho burner from Trail Designs.

Very light, works well in windy conditions, quite efficient. I can boil two cups of cold on about 17ml of fuel.

HJ

Hi HJ,

Welcome to the Bushwalk Australia forum.

There are few of us here that collect/play with stoves, I for one have a Caldera Cone (BPL 550 Ti pot) but have never used it in the field, I have used my CC 12-10 burner so many times in test that I have nearly worn it out, I think a few members here also have a CC setup.

In the field I prefer Canister stoves, Kovea Supalite in three season and a Coleman Extreme in Winter, but my favorite Alcohol stove is a tealight burner with wire pot stand, total weight 4.4g, the tealight burner that I have is a slightly bigger than the standard size and can comfortably boil 500g of water.

I look forward to your post on stoves.

Tony

[wayno]

FYI - It looks like the Aussie Antarctic Div use Optimus stoves.

I understand that they are very good stoves, well suited to sub-sub-zero conditions, but bl**dy heavy.

antarcticstove.jpg

gotta watch them with a large pan or billy they heat up the safety release valve on the fuel tank lid, melting the seal on occasion and you end up with a flame thrower

[hikin_jim]

Hi HJ,

Welcome to the Bushwalk Australia forum.

There are few of us here that collect/play with stoves, I for one have a Caldera Cone (BPL 550 Ti pot) but have never used it in the field, I have used my CC 12-10 burner so many times in test that I have nearly worn it out, I think a few members here also have a CC setup.

In the field I prefer Canister stoves, Kovea Supalite in three season and a Coleman Extreme in Winter, but my favorite Alcohol stove is a tealight burner with wire pot stand, total weight 4.4g, the tealight burner that I have is a slightly bigger than the standard size and can comfortably boil 500g of water.

I look forward to your post on stoves.

Tony

Hullo, Tony,

Yes, here I am. Now you didn't expect me to let you have all the stove fun did you? I saw some people had come to my blog from bushwalk.com, so I decided to have a look. Nice forum you all have got here. BTW, have you posted any of your Rees-Dart trip photos anywhere?

One can hardly argue with a gas stove in the field, particularly for things beyond merely boiling water. So easy, so controllable. Still, I do like the simplicity of metho sometimes. And the silence.

And the Coleman Xtreme? You'll get no arguments from me there. A very nice set up with no preferential burn off of the constituent gasses as the canister empties.

HJ

[Tony]

Hullo, Tony,

Yes, here I am. Now you didn't expect me to let you have all the stove fun did you? I saw some people had come to my blog from bushwalk.com, so I decided to have a look. Nice forum you all have got here. BTW, have you posted any of your Rees-Dart trip photos anywhere?

One can hardly argue with a gas stove in the field, particularly for things beyond merely boiling water. So easy, so controllable. Still, I do like the simplicity of metho sometimes. And the silence.

And the Coleman Xtreme? You'll get no arguments from me there. A very nice set up with no preferential burn off of the constituent gasses as the canister empties.

HJ

Hi Jim,

I am sure a lot of BWA members will enjoy reading your Adventures in stoving Blog

I am putting together some of my photos of the Rees-Dart trip at the moment, I have to sort through 450 photos and I hope to have them on my Photobucket site today and I will send you the link when I do.

You might be interested in the latest stove by Kovea Camp 5 model KB 1006 (Search through new products) it is very similar to the cheap Chinese stove that I had the fuel line problem with, if it is made by Kovea it will be of a very high standard, I will be getting one as soon as my finances recover from the Rees-Dart trip.

Tony

[hikin_jim]

Very interesting things on that Kovea site, but am I committing thread hijack? (taking the thread off topic) Perhaps I should open up a new thread?

HJ

[Aushiker]

Lately, I've been trying to go lighter, and I've been using the Caldera Cone with a 12-10 metho burner from Trail Designs.

I have just purchased one of these, the Sidewinder Ti-Tri along with a Evernew Ti pot. Still to go play with it but.

Andrew

[hikin_jim]

Lately, I've been trying to go lighter, and I've been using the Caldera Cone with a 12-10 metho burner from Trail Designs.

I have just purchased one of these, the Sidewinder Ti-Tri along with a Evernew Ti pot. Still to go play with it but.

Andrew

Andrew,

The Sidewinder, isn't that the one where it disassembles so that you can fit it into your pot? Sounds like a nice option. And the Titanium of course means that you can burn wood as well if you like.

HJ

[John Sheridan]

Just made my Dinner with my Trangia Mini alcohol stove, it's a little heavy, but bullet proof.

/PS In mY loungeroom

LOLZ, I camp there :p

Cheers.

[Aushiker]

The Sidewinder, isn't that the one where it disassembles so that you can fit it into your pot? Sounds like a nice option. And the Titanium of course means that you can burn wood as well if you like.

I can just get the cone and the stove into my Evernew Ti 0.9l as per the photo which is probably enough anyway, so I guess the answer is yes.



I have a few more photos here for those interested.

Andrew

[hikin_jim]

Good photos. Looks like a good system. I've so far resisted getting the titanium version, but looks really solid, and the occasional wood fire would be awfully nice.

I'll be interested to hear how you like it after you've had a chance to use it a bit.

HJ