Camp Stove/Cooking Gear

JWheel

JWheel

Joined
Jun 18, 2015
Messages
518
I've been going through this entire gear/equipment thread page-by-page for a few days now. I've learned a lot. But there is one area where I've yet to form any kind of opinion and it's the cooking-related stuff. I know camp stoves, canteens, and cooking gear get discussed a fair amount but most of the discussions I've found are reviews of specific models, and I'm more interested in hearing what you guys like in general.

Yes, I'm looking to buy. And yes, I should probably explain my usage, etc. But that's not really what I want to know. I'd like to know what you guys use and love in whatever circumstances you'd like to share. And what that particular set-up is good at doing. Do you use one for hiking but swap it out when car camping or do you have something that is great at both? I'd like to hear your favorites on:

A) stoves
B) cooking sets
C) anything else related for which you have some love

Thanks, guys. Looking forward to learning from experience.
 
I use an emberlit stove (stainless) and toaks pot.

The stove works fairly well, easy to feed fuel, has enough vents, and easily broken down to pack in a bag.

The toaks pot also works well, however for me, the handle grip melted on the 1st use. So you have to watch the flames licking at it.

normally for long hikes, haven't used it camping yet. A bit small for camping I'd say.
 
Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker has a great section on backpacking stoves. I used a MSR Whisperlite when we lived in the Yukon; great stove, works at any temperature (important when it's -40 or colder), a bit fiddly to set up, but reliable. It has only one setting: full flame; does not simmer Also used a Coleman single-burner, worked OK but heavy, difficult to light when below freezing. Currently use the MSR Pocket Rocket with canister fuel; works great down to 15 F. or so, very efficient, fits in a small camp cook kit. Fuel is pricey but it doesn't use much. Used to have an Optimus; outdated, heavy, but a bit of an icon. Have to watch the gasket on the tank or it'll spit flame at you.
 
Stoves
-I always seem to come back to a tiny canister stove, mine is the SnowPeak GigaPower and I usually bring a 110g canister or 250g depending on circumstances.

-I have tried pop-can stoves but find that all said and done I'm not carrying any less weight and they are a lot more hassle. I've used a Vargo before too, it's no better.

-I have an Emberlit and like it, but have found that it doesn't fit my personal needs that well. I either am going someplace where wood fires are illegal (whether or not contained) or will plan on making a full campfire in which case the emberlit becomes redundant. On the occasions I do pull it out, it's purely for the novelty value.

-The Esbit is okay and I'll bring it on short hikes where I may or may not decide to heat up water for some tea or oatmeal. I find it too slow to boil a quart and too susceptible to harsh weather conditions to justify the meager weight savings when actually backpacking. However I do have backpacking friends that swear by theirs.

-When car camping I do my best to bring charcoal and a small charcoal grill, or grill over a campfire using one of those teepee like things that you hand a round steel grill-grate from.

-I've used larger canister stoves that screw on top and have a larger burner, I've also used the ones that you connect to a refillable bottle. I have found no appreciable advantage to either of these over the GigaPower, but many disadvantages.

Of the above, the only stove that's never given me any trouble whatsoever is the GigaPower and at such a low weight I think I'm done experimenting, there's just not much left to be desired.

Cookware
I'm a kettlist for life, will never bring a pot backpacking ever again. They boil water much quicker than even a lidded pot, they are simple and keep detritus out. They can be hung from the handle or just shoved into hot coals. My halulite kettle fits the GigaPower, 110g canister, cleaning towel and spork perfectly with a bit of room to spare for instant coffee.

I pretty much only boil water while backpacking; I'll make tea or coffee in a BPA-free plastic cup, boil-in-bag meals, or use BPA-free tupperware to cook oatmeal, ramen noodles, etc. Sometimes I bring GoodEggs crystals (the only dehydrated egg product worth consuming) and mix them with water in a small ziplock bag, then place the ziplock bag inside the kettle, makes decent scrambled eggs.

I do have a non-stick aluminum fry pan the provenance of which I don't remember. I bring it sometimes if I think I'll catch some fish but don't want to cook them on skewers, or am with a group where someone is bringing bacon.

For car camping, where weight is not an issue, I generally bring the whole kitchen because I love cooking :)
 
That's the first time I've heard a kettle mentioned for camp cooking. Very interesting.
 
Cooking gear is dependant on what you cook
So please explain what you eat when out and how you cook it

If you are carrying freeze dried and only need boiling water, then a 600 ml can will do just fine

But I buy simple supermarket foods
I want to be able to travel anywhere and walk into a store and purchase what I need
I cook lentils dishes for supper
And rice or oatmeal as a grain, separately which I also use for breakfast
So I need two pots big enough for two people servings
Slow cooking can be a simple gas head or Trangia
The Trangia 27 set is excellent for slow cooking of lentils and grains
It also has a tea kettle

When on day hikes, I only carry a kettle for making tea and a simple gas head


I purchased my daughter a cheap light 2 quart pot (she lost the lid!)
She cooks 500 g packages pasta for herself and her friends when camping
She adds tomato past and cans of tuna
So one pot does well
She also heats water in it for coffee
She uses a simple gas head

Simple gas heads,
Places like DX sell heads for $10, which work just as well as $35 heads

The Trangia mini is a great solo kit or just tea, but needs a windshield
The Trangia 27 is a great two person kit and is storm proof
It has two 1 liter pots and a 0.6 liter kettle
You can buy an extra 2.5 liter pot that goes on the outside of the unit, which extends the usage to 4 person
(the 25 cooks for 4 persons and the extra 4 liter pot extends for large groups)

I used a gasoline Optimus 99 for years and years and years
Would go from roaring hot to the slowest of simmering
I has a pressure pump and would light in -40 weather
Retired as it is very heavy and the gas heads are easier for what I do now

When I was in ROTC (many years ago) we used hexamine stoves
They were excellent and immediate and worked in adverse conditions like British winter storms
They met my lack of money
 
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It isn't ultralite but I have a soft spot for the trangia stoves. It is just a super simple, super reliable, low impact, cheap to run piece of equipment. http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.fi/2011/11/stove-of-week-trangia-27.html?m=1

They come in different sizes and finishes. I like the hard anodized versions of the 27.

For my day outings I find I am also using a lot of thermos flasks. It is often easier to prepare something at home than cooking on the fly.
 
neeman said:
Cooking gear is dependant on what you cook
So please explain what you eat when out and how you cook it
Click to expand...

I appreciate you trying to tailor an answer to my usage, but I don't have any usage yet. Till now, my outdoors-ing has been from sun up to sundown. Hunting and fishing trips meant sandwiches and a late dinner at home or a camp house. I grew up on a farm in the woods, so tent camping was always seen as something city folks did. Now I'm city folk. So I've got to start camping. :)

Thanks for your insight. That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for.
 
sideways said:
It isn't ultralite but I have a soft spot for the trangia stoves.
Click to expand...

I was wondering when someone would bring up the trangia. A week ago, this is what I thought I would get. Now, I'm not so sure.

I'm going to take whatever knowledge I've got and make a trip to the store in a day or two and get a better feel for these different offerings. At the moment, I'm leaning toward the GigaPower (or Pocket Rocket) but I haven't ruled out the trangia yet.

I suspect that my usage will probably be short overnight trips (1 or 2 nights) in fairly seasonable weather. I'm in CA half the time (extremely mild weather except for the desert) and TX (freezes are only occasional during winter and don't go camping or leave your AC during the summer).
 
To start

Buy a simple gas heads,
Places like DX sell a range of heads for $10, which work just as well as $35 heads

Look at the flame spread
as an example, MSR Pocket Rocket has a very focused flame , which is very good for small diameter pots
Others have a wider flame, which is good for bigger pots

Pots
Open Country a very good US company sells 2 quart pots for $10
They are incredibly light and the size allows you to cook anything you want
They also sell a 5 cup percolator for $15, which is a great water boiler or a two person cooker

Honestly, a simple head and these two pots will answer all you needs and last many years
for $40
 
If I were to use a canister stove it would be one of the jetboil systems. The waste canisters kind of bother me though.
 
I’m sure you could find several thesis on this topic. There are stoves for numerous purposes (I should know, I own just about all of them!). The biggest challenge is to decide what type of activities, environment and season. What type of cooking you want to do and are you just chilling at a camp site or doing a distance hike?

I have a few of the expedition type liquid fuel stoves (MSR XGK, Optimus and Primus multi-fuel stoves), several isobutene stoves (Optimus, Snow Peak, Kovea, Jetboil), alcohol stoves (various and numerous, simple to expensive titanium), natural fuel stoves such as Emberlit, Evernew, Vargo, Backcountry Boiler (backpacking style of the classic Kelly Kettle) and the Bushbuddy (gasification) stoves along with a couple of the minimalist esbit/solid tab type stoves.

My favorite three are combination stoves and designed more for backpacking.

Basic is just the Evernew (trying out a Fancee Feest stove) alcohol stove. Alcohol stoves are simple, quiet and quite light. It takes a little more patience and you need to practice fuel consumptions, but these are really designed for just boiling water for hot drinks or instant/dehydrated meals. My stove and cook kit (Snow Peak Solo kit) along with that cool Sea-to-Summit collapsible mug (which I just love despite the 2oz weight penalty) is my standard backpacking cook kit.

One addition is the Bushbuddy gasification stove (cottage maker of the Solo Stove) which is combined with a simple alcohol stove which all nests in a larger Snow Peak 900ml pot. I typically use alcohol, but if I have the time and don’t mind the “hassle”, the Bushbuddy can boil a pot of water with just over a handful of twigs, wood chips, pine cones, etc. If I have the time, it really saves on my alcohol fuel and of course, you get a nice open flame. The gasification stoves are very efficient and even from a LNT perspective, they incinerate the fuel to a very fine ash that can be spread without ever knowing someone was brewing up their breakfast or just a hot drink.

Emberlit makes another variation of the natural fuel stoves. A simple box design and there are other variation on the market. Of course the titanium versions are lighter, they are pretty efficient and allow you to contain a very effective cooking stove. I’ve recently played with their smaller Fireant folding stove that is paired with the ubiquitous Trangia alcohol stove. The stove can be used with natural fuel, the alcohol Trangia stove and a small plate allows use of Esbit solid fuel tabs. This is my “bushcraft” stove set just because I love the combination and versatility. The Trangia is heavy for an alcohol stove, but I love the ability to transport the stove with fuel inside and it does allow you to “simmer” for actual cooking or simmering.

A recent addition is Evernew’s DX stove which pairs a titanium stove stand to their alcohol stove. The stove stand can be used with the alcohol stove, solid-Esbit fuel or natural fuel. I haven’t tried the natural fuel yet, but it looks to be adequate and probably not as efficient as the Emberlit or Bushbuddy. Still, it’s compact and collapses inside an even smaller TOAKS titanium pot.
If I’m actually doing cooking, I prefer seasoned carbon steel skillets (I have a really nice light version that is perfect for campfire cooking) or stainless steel…they just transfer heat the best and are easy to clean out. Titanium and aluminum (anodized) are excellent when just boiling water while keeping weight down. Kettle’s are awesome for just boiling water. Even if using a small alcohol stove, I like have handles and a bail on my pots in case I have to use them over coals or suspended over a fire…just easy versatility.

Canteen kits are heavier in nature and when doing more primitive type trips, I like my NATO (pattern 58) canteen kit with the top plastic cup and heavy duty Crusader canteen cup. I have a simple aluminum lid for the canteen cup and this is just a very durable and functional minimalist kit; not the lightest, but one of the more versatile. I do have the stainless Pathfinder canteen kit which is really cool but just heavy. It’s the single wall stainless canteen, stainless canteen cup and nesting stove stand. My NATO canteen kit gets more use, but both are quite versatile. Not necessarily something I would take on a 100 mile section or loop hike, but for bushwhacking and practicing some bushcraft skills, they are quite durable and fully functional cook kits.

I'll have to post up some pictures later.

Looking forward to what you plan on getting and how you plan to use it…

ROCK6
 
Short version:
alcohol stoves all get about the same output, based on size, but in fuel per minute burn, they are all within a little bit of each other. Good for quiet, warmish water boiling. simple, cheap.

Butane, good for above freezing, light, simple, reliable. need to keep track of fuel. Large head stoves are more gentle on thin pots, small ones are probably a bit more efficient overall, but not good for real cooking. Just boiling, or something that will get boilded clean

liquid. Messy, good for cold temps, more specialized stoves for different tasks. MSR Whisperlite is a jack of all trades, dragonfly for cooking, XKG is a snow melting jet engine.Other brands have other specialist stoves. Kerro is more BTU per gram, white gas is cleaner, and less dense, so also fewer btu per volume. Both are fine for most temps.

Wood, not legal in all fire-ban areas, use with caution.

Pots and such, try a bunch. Ti is light, not as good for real cooking, its sticky. Annodized or non stick aluminum is good but needs to be treated gently. Stainless gets very good heat conduction, but is heavy, and is toughest.
 
When I began backpacking, I bought an MSR Whisperlite white gas stove. Then I bought an XGK. These are awesome at boiling water, and I've cooked with them by holding the pot at varying heights above the burners. It takes a short time to figure out how best to start them quickly. As indicated by others, they are loud. Various parts of the stove and pump assembly require some routine maintenance. It's much easier to learn the nuances now with various internet resources. I always used stainless MSR pots when using those stoves. I still play with them some, but they no longer make it into my backpack for trips.

The canister stoves were my next choice, and I've logged several thousand miles carrying canisters and a few wonderful MSR Superfly stoves. I still use one sometimes for short trips when a single canister will satisfy the cooking chores.

Much like ROCK6, I now use various alcohol stoves and a Nomadic Stove Company Trekker (wood gasification stove), which is produced by a guy who learned to make them from the Bushbuddy guy. I know what 1.5-2.0 ounces of fuel will do for me with an alcohol stove that weighs 2 ounces, and I know how to prepare small amounts of wood and light a fire in the Trekker. The Trekker works great and is my first choice when permitted by the location, weather, and how I feel. I use the alcohol as a backup when not permitted to use a wood stove or when the conditions are not conducive to using the wood stove. This setup is by far my favorite.

I now use titanium pots from Snow Peak and Toaks. I'll add more later.
 
A lot of you guys are talking about alcohol stoves and Trangia being good for simple boiling of water


The Trangia 27 is a great two person kit and is storm proof
It has two 1 liter pots and a 0.6 liter kettle and a fry pan/lid
It weights 800 gm or 28 oz
Not light but full self contained cooking stove unit

What makes it so successful is the integral wind screen and pot holder
The flame is full protected from the wind and the pot holders sit the pots at exactly the correct height from the flame
So the flame covers the whole side of the pots
The burner has a damper that means you can have a very low heat that slowly cooks the food
(quite the opposite of a MSR stove)
So this slow flame and slow cook is excellent for dishes like lentils stew where I throw in dried onions and garlic
or rice
It has a fry pan, and again the flame on simmer makes a great bannock without burning

There is a national program in Britain called the Duke of Edinburgh Award
It involves community work and also a 3 or 4 day 'expedition' in the British Hills
The standard recommended cooking kit is the Trangia 25, the larger 3 person kit
Fool proof for school kids in the cold wet British mountains


The 27 is great for two to three folk
 
Here's my two most basic kits for coffee and cooking that I use most often. Unless I've got multiple people coming out with, this is what I bring for two people. I can grab a photo of that multi person setup soon and post here, but doesn't have much more than whats below.

Two Toaks 750ml mugs with bail handle
110 snow peak canister
snow peak litemax stove
For coffee Aerobie Aeopress
32oz hydroflask thermos not pictured
under the mugs sawyer mini water treatment and back fire kit (pj cotton/bics/firesteel)

QnuMo9T.jpg

fVOL1f6.jpg


If I can use the emberlit fireant, it's on it's great! Been a lot of no burn days out in my woods lately, so the gas stove is a nice backup and vice versa.

AaJtK35.png
 
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Rock6, thanks for mentioning canteen kits. I had been considering those because they seemed to me to be a more portable option (since everything nests so neatly). Thanks for letting me know the weight issue. Oh, and Neeman, I always enjoy your posts and benefiting from your experience.

Made it to the store to check out some of this gear today. Being as CA is in a drought, I eliminated any wood-burning stoves for the immediate future. Alcohol-burning stoves aren't strictly banned at the moment, but there's a lot of talk that they could be, so I'll eliminate the Trangia for the time-being.

That leaves gas stoves. I'm digging both the MSR and Snow Peaks. I think I would like the larger spread of the flames on the SP GigaPower over the Pocket Rocket, but I've got to convince myself to spend more on it (plus I'll want to get the windscreen too). So it will come down to how broke I'm feeling after I buy a pack, bag, and tent. I'll either be too broke for the GigaPower or I'll be so super-broke and in debt, that money will have stopped having meaning for me and I'll buy 2 of them. :)

I'm still going through your pot/kettle/mug recommendations.
 
I would recommend at that point then to buy the pots and stove together, or at least have your pot on hand when you do. That way you will see how the feet will hold it, as well as how you think the pot will handle the larger or smaller flame footprint. And if you are having to go cheap, any of the little fire-maple or no-name brand stoves will get you through a few trips, at least until you know what you want.

Right now my set is a MSR Micro-rocket and a snowpeak trek 900. I like to make food, so I tend to also use the frypan, I don't often do freeze dry. As far as an efficiency standpoint, its not the absolutely 100% best, but like I said, I like real food. I generally do something that involves a sauce to help cook the pot clean. At some point I will see what I can cook in that setup as far as biscuits, or pancakes.
 
I really like esbit. It's small, light and allowed in check-in luggage in airplanes.
This is my current stove, the entire kit including protective case weighs about 140 gram:
15935460844_099ac13123_b.jpg

fuel holder:
16556908702_622c46e5fe_b.jpg
 
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