single person pot & pocket cooker review

I'm reading about them and they quoted a weight of 2lbs. Does that sound right?

Sounds really high for what it is. I'm not too concerned about weight, but 2lbs seems kind of excessive.
 
I had one of these pocket cooker stoves a few years ago and I gave it away.

It is fun to use for the first couple of times, but it soon becomes a nuisance having to constantly tend to it and feed it tiny dry sticks to keep it on the go, but by far the worst point is the weight, it weighs an absolute ton, the figure quoted of 2lb sounds about right.
 
That's not too bad. I use a Sterno stove right now and it works, but I like how this funnels the heat toward the top. Looks like it packs up easier too.

For $12 I'll snag one.
 
The Optimus 111T (AKA the Hiker Triple Fuel) is hands down my favorite stove. Used by armed forces around the world and the US Antarctic Program. Burns just about any liquid fuel imaginable - white gas, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and with a jet change it burns alcohol too.

I have an entry about them on my blog:

http://www.de-grid.com/blog/ (Scroll a third of the way down)

Unfortunately, they are no longer made. What Optimus calls the Hiker now is just a Nova in a tin can. They still come up on eBay on a regular basis and you can find them at flea markets sometimes. I highly recommend getting one or more. I currently have 8 Optimus 111 series stoves (2 111's, 1 111B, 4 111T's, and 1 111C). These are pretty much indestructible and last a lifetime. They are a little heavy because they're built like tanks though.

Edit: Before anyone asks, I am NOT interested in selling any. It took me almost two years to build up my stash.
 
Rich_S said:
The Optimus 111T (AKA the Hiker Triple Fuel) is hands down my favorite stove. Used by armed forces around the world and the US Antarctic Program. Burns just about any liquid fuel imaginable - white gas, gasoline, kerosene, diesel, and with a jet change it burns alcohol too.

I have an entry about them on my blog:

http://www.de-grid.com/blog/ (Scroll a third of the way down)

Unfortunately, they are no longer made. What Optimus calls the Hiker now is just a Nova in a tin can. They still come up on eBay on a regular basis and you can find them at flea markets sometimes. I highly recommend getting one or more. I currently have 8 Optimus 111 series stoves (2 111's, 1 111B, 4 111T's, and 1 111C). These are pretty much indestructible and last a lifetime. They are a little heavy because they're built like tanks though.

Edit: Before anyone asks, I am NOT interested in selling any. It took me almost two years to build up my stash.
Click to expand...

What I'm more interested in is how you're going to live 8 lifetimes. :D

Doc
 
willgoy said:
Interesting thread thank you, I also like the look of that Sterno 50002 mini stove in the amazon link.Anybody have experience with these as well?
Click to expand...

Yes. It looks exactly like the one I had about 40 years ago. I didn't think they made them anymore. They fold flat so are convenient in that way, but are very, very slow to cook with. The fuel is a jelled alcohol in a can and so is bulky and inefficient. Did I say they are very, very slow?

Thanks for the memory jog, though. :D

Doc
 
I was inspired to take my little MSR out today. Haven't used it in a little while. Had to give it a really good shaking to clear the gas jet. But it fired up pretty good.

Warming it up.

DSC_0014-9.jpg


Can't really see the blue flame here but it was lit.

DSC_0017-12.jpg


Cooked up - what else - Noodles!

DSC_0025-7.jpg
 
Rupestris said:
Thanks siguy. I'll have to pick one of those up.

I have a question and I hope most here don't think I'm less than the wilderness type :p.

Not seeing it in person, how many charcoal briquettes do you think it will hold?

I'm not opposed to using natural branches and wood, but on short day hikes or campsite use, where weight isn't a big issue, I think a few Kingsford MatchLight briquettes would be quick starting and burn for a long time. Weighing only a few ounces It wouldn't be much to take a few along.

Thanks,

Chris
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I thought that the charcoal ideal was a good one. This summer I found large charcoal bricks about the size of a hamburger bun. individually packaged, they had some type of chemical lighter to them, burned like slow gunpowder burned for quite awhile and were light weight.
 
siguy,

Have you had to change any of the cotterpins due to heat failure??
My two stoves have very tiny cotterpins that look like they would melt with too much heat. I've thought about replacing them with small nails.
 
Nice pot and lid there, would there be a way to hinge the handle on the pot in some way. Just thinking it would make it easier to pack maybe.

While we're on the topic of pocket cookers what is the general opinion on these?:
hexamine_stove.gif
 
bltjnr, my pins don't have any signs of damage, but i've only used my stove a couple of times. they are rather thin, but i don't think they would fail.
 
TFin04 said:
That's not too bad. I use a Sterno stove right now and it works, but I like how this funnels the heat toward the top. Looks like it packs up easier too.

For $12 I'll snag one.
Click to expand...

Hey TFin04, further to Sterno stoves, I did a search on Sterno stoves and it took me to the Instructables web site, where some guy made a Sterno stove out of an empty can, something like a hobo stove. Here's the link.

This got me thinking, and since the only cooking I do anymore is boiling water to add to this or that, I'm going to make something similar for my Guyot, except in cutting the whole top off, I'm going to try to cut a hole in the top just large enough to slide in my Guyot. I also might make it so, besides Sterno fuel, I could also use twigs or Hexamine (or equiv.) Just thought you might be interested because this design would also 'funnel heat towards the top'.

RoyalM said:
While we're on the topic of pocket cookers what is the general opinion on these?:
hexamine_stove.gif
Click to expand...

I bought one to try out - haven't yet. May try it this weekend and if so, I'll post results.

Doc
 
DOC-CANADA said:
This got me thinking, and since the only cooking I do anymore is boiling water to add to this or that, I'm going to make something similar for my Guyot, except in cutting the whole top off, I'm going to try to cut a hole in the top just large enough to slide in my Guyot. I also might make it so, besides Sterno fuel, I could also use twigs or Hexamine (or equiv.) Just thought you might be interested because this design would also 'funnel heat towards the top'.




Doc
Click to expand...

Hey that sounds interesting GP.

Definately fill me in when you figure it out.

I keep my guyot nested in a stainless cup, so I do most of my boiling with the cup, but when I need a large quantity of hot water I use my guyot.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Hey TFin04, further to Sterno stoves, I did a search on Sterno stoves and it took me to the Instructables web site, where some guy made a Sterno stove out of an empty can, something like a hobo stove. Here's the link.
Click to expand...

Here's what I mean't:

It holds a military Trangia stove perfectly (though it keeps the pot a little higher than needed), and allowed for a fire to be built inside and maintained easily (again, a bit higher than needed), and folds flat to pack into my bag:

It's just the base/stand pictures here:

sterno%20stove%20031.jpg
 
TFin04 said:
Here's what I mean't:

It holds a military Trangia stove perfectly (though it keeps the pot a little higher than needed), and allowed for a fire to be built inside and maintained easily (again, a bit higher than needed), and folds flat to pack into my bag:

It's just the base/stand pictures here:
Click to expand...

The stand pictured is exactly like the one I used to own.

Doc
 
RoyalM said:
Nice pot and lid there, would there be a way to hinge the handle on the pot in some way. Just thinking it would make it easier to pack maybe.

While we're on the topic of pocket cookers what is the general opinion on these?:
hexamine_stove.gif
Click to expand...

I have several. They burn the tablets or can burn wood in them too. The only problem is making sure you have a pot big enough to fit across the top, or have a little grate for smaller pots/cups.
 
To anyone about to use the Hexi stove I mentioned a trick I learned was to invert the cooker so that the spikey bits go into the ground. You don't always need or want to do this but it can be useful with smaller pots or when you want a very stable platform to put your pot on. It does mean however that you have to put your Hexi on the floor so it will burn up through the 'grate' it would normally sit on.

I'll leave it to you guys to play with. I never even thought about doing it until an older bloke did it right in front of me after my metal mug ,which had just started boiling, fell off when a little wind hit it. Always the way, lol.
 
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