Multifuel Stoves - Advice and Recommendations please.

[JackRabbitSlims]

Hi,

I'm looking for a multi fuel stove to use on an upcoming cycle trip in the Himalayas.
I have a Trangia which has served me very well, but above 4000m, lighting meths could be a Ball-Ache!. Yes, in know that Trangia has a liquid fuel adapter....and a gas canister adapter as well.

I'm assuming Kerosene will be widely available in the region (yes, I'll pack some coffee filters), but hoping to pick up some Gas in Delhi on arrival.

After some brief online research it seems that 3 of the major players in the market have decent offerings. Review sites give mixed results.
1) MSR Whisperlite Universal
2) Primus Omnifuel or Multifuel
3) Optimus Polaris Optifuel

This is what I came up with from my searching / reading. Please offer, introduce any others that you deem worthy to the collection.
I'm leaning towards the Optimus Polaris Optifuel as it can operate with one nozzle for all fuels and cuts down on small parts that can be lost
https://www.optimusstoves.com/en/ch/8-8 ... s-optifuel

I'm asking for feedback from those who have used these stoves in all conditions and which ones they would recommend and / or endorse as a great product that works very well in all environments...particularly at altitude.

My trip will be in the Indian Himalayas and will take in altitudes above 5000m.

Thanks if you can help me out.

[hufty]

Dusting off my standard advice here: get a Svea 123 and enjoy a hot meal every time. It's not a multifuel stove as it only runs on petrol but you're really not going to have a problem finding petrol I promise. No pump to go wrong, no filter to clog. Someone will post that it will gum up and everybody in a 100 mile radius will die if you don't use Coleman fuel whatever that is, but ignore this armchair traveller's bs. I have only ever used petrol and never had a problem. Thank you for reading.

[LinusR]

I have a MSR DragonFly https://www.msrgear.com/ie/stoves/dragonfly-1 which comes with a load of spare parts that can quite easily be lost. I only ever used it with unleaded petrol and so did not have to change the nozzle. And I never used it above 2000 metres. I never needed any of the spares and the nozzle never blocked up. It's a pretty robust piece of kit and it will fold up and fit inside a 9 inch wide cooking pan.

I used to carry two fuel bottles, a small 325ml connected to the stove in use and a larger 650ml. Together they gave me just under a litre of fuel. It's surprising how quickly you get through the fuel by the way. A litre didn't seem to last very long. So I recommend testing this out before your trip. When turned on full this will boil water very quickly and make quite a roar. Don't use it anywhere near your tent. Lighting it requires you to flood the base of the unit with the fuel, turn it off, and then stick a match to it to set it alight to pre-heat the burner. Then when the flame dies down you gently turn the valve on and the liquid fuel will vaporise and burn.

I used to carry it (and the spares) inside the pan and together with the two bottles it would all fit into a small Carradice front pannier along with cutlery.

The Whisperlite model has the advantage that you can use a gas canister with it as well as liquid fuels. But like the DragonFly you have to change nozzles for different fuels.

I've not heard of the Polaris Optimus but it sounds a good bit of kit because you don't need to change nozzles. Not something I'd want to do above 4000m.

[MartinBrice]

I suggest you ask this question on a mountaineering forum where you'll meet people who have used stoves at that altitude. You can't fly with any fuel, so if you're planning to buy in Delhi and fly to Kat, think again. You can buy petrol in Nepal, Coleman fuel will probably bankrupt you as it needs to brought in.

Gas won't work very well in the very cold temperatures you're likely to get anyway, you read about climbers putting the gas canisters in their sleeping bags to ensure they're warm enough to fire up in the morning.

When i was there we had a cook team to deal with this sort of thing and i think they used paraffin in their stoves. It's been some years since i did this sort of stuff but i understand nowadays expeditions use this "Jetboil" stove with gas canisters because it is amazingly efficient and uses a fraction of the gas you might once have used.

Finally, most mountaineering expeditions sell off their kit in Kat on the way home. You could buy just about any item of kit in the shops there. You might want to think about this idea.

Finally, finally, do you actually need a stove to cook your own food? I was in the Everest region and there no shops, or anything, to buy food in the hamlets (which were often three or four houses) and it was easiest to just rock up to a rest house and ask to eat.

[MartinBrice]

Actually, take a look at Crazy Guy on a Bike where riders blog about their trips - there's bound to be someone talking about stoves and food and eating - it's all most cycle tourists think about.

[MALANDRO1966]

We used a Trangia Multifuel in the Andes at altitudes of up to 4,500m. I think this is the Primus Multifuel modified to fit in a Trangia. We only used petrol with it which worked well once you got used to the pump and the initial lighting which could take the hair off your arms if you let too much fuel out!

Agree you should look at Crazyguyonabike. Lots of stove discussions on the forums and you can filter the journals to only show the Himalayan countries.

[turfroof]

I've had 3 trips to the Indian Himalaya, used an MSR Whisperlite International on the 1st couple and an MSR Pocket Rocket gas stove on the last tour. Are you expecting to 'cook' or just boil water? Petrol is the easiest option and a whisperlite (or any of the multifuel stoves you've mentioned) will be quite happy at that altitude. You won't have a simmer option to speak of, but creative pan handling will help.. I used a gas stove and small titanium pan on the last trip to keep the weight and pack size to a minimum but only boiled water for tea, some dehydrated grub and added to porridge and left to stand until ready to eat. It worked fine at 4700 metres and thereabouts - I didn't stop to cook on the big passes! .. I've been through Zanskar, Leh to Manali and through Spiti Valley - drop me a pm if I can help...
Mike .

[Warin61]

Not only cyclist think about it ..
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/c ... what-58134 10 pages on multifuel stoves.

I have gone over to gas canisters, but have used a Coleman 422 stove .. with both shellite (Coleman fuel without the additives) and unleaded petrol. I also have a XGK stove. The Coleman is easily adjusted for a simmer, the XGK is too hard to adjust for a simmer. Not used these at altitude, nor extreme cold. If you want to cook rather then just add hot water to something or boil something then simmering is a requirement.

Some of the gas canister stoves have a heater tube like the multifuel stoves (e.g. Kovea spider), this enables them to use the canister in an inverted way so they get liquid rather than gas to the stove - this provides for better low temperature performance.

It is possible to fly with a fuel stove .. you need to remove all smell of fuel, pack it in absorbent material (paper towel, singlet etc) and then inside a sealed plastic bag. And you need written permission from the airline. I found with the 422 stove simply empting it and allowing it to air did not do the job. I found empting it then burning off the little remaining fuel and then airing it worked. I think there was fuel left in the small tubes that did not air out, operating it burn off that fuel.
Good luck.

[turfroof]

Ps gas is available in Manali and Leh but I didn't see it anywhere else - petrol or paraffin is a little easier to find.

[JackRabbitSlims]

I suggest you ask this question on a mountaineering forum where you'll meet people who have used stoves at that altitude. You can't fly with any fuel, so if you're planning to buy in Delhi and fly to Kat, think again. You can buy petrol in Nepal, Coleman fuel will probably bankrupt you as it needs to brought in.

Gas won't work very well in the very cold temperatures you're likely to get anyway, you read about climbers putting the gas canisters in their sleeping bags to ensure they're warm enough to fire up in the morning.

When i was there we had a cook team to deal with this sort of thing and i think they used paraffin in their stoves. It's been some years since i did this sort of stuff but i understand nowadays expeditions use this "Jetboil" stove with gas canisters because it is amazingly efficient and uses a fraction of the gas you might once have used.

Finally, most mountaineering expeditions sell off their kit in Kat on the way home. You could buy just about any item of kit in the shops there. You might want to think about this idea.

Finally, finally, do you actually need a stove to cook your own food? I was in the Everest region and there no shops, or anything, to buy food in the hamlets (which were often three or four houses) and it was easiest to just rock up to a rest house and ask to eat.

I don't think you read the Post very well??

Indian Himalaya's.....not Nepal. Flying in to Delhi and Train to Shimla.....
Even though I'm flying to KTM in a couple weeks for 2 months of Trekking (on foot), this post is about Indian Himalaya......on a bike.....with full camping kit and kitchen.

The last 4 times I've been through Thamel I've only seen cheap crappy Chinese knock offs....not the real thing

BTW, in the Everest region there is Namche Bazaar where you can almost anything you want.....almost all of the Teahouses sell snack food, packet soups, noodles, coke, water etc etc!! Irrelevant to this post though

Yes, I do want to cook....hence the Multifuel stove and full camping Kit that I'm planning to take.

[JackRabbitSlims]

We used a Trangia Multifuel in the Andes at altitudes of up to 4,500m. I think this is the Primus Multifuel modified to fit in a Trangia. We only used petrol with it which worked well once you got used to the pump and the initial lighting which could take the hair off your arms if you let too much fuel out!

Agree you should look at Crazyguyonabike. Lots of stove discussions on the forums and you can filter the journals to only show the Himalayan countries.

Thanks

I'm on Crazy most days.....quite Yankee-Centric these days though.
Yes, have read through some Journals already.

I also have Laura Stones excellent book and have been in email contact with her for a couple weeks.

[JackRabbitSlims]

I've had 3 trips to the Indian Himalaya, used an MSR Whisperlite International on the 1st couple and an MSR Pocket Rocket gas stove on the last tour. Are you expecting to 'cook' or just boil water? Petrol is the easiest option and a whisperlite (or any of the multifuel stoves you've mentioned) will be quite happy at that altitude. You won't have a simmer option to speak of, but creative pan handling will help.. I used a gas stove and small titanium pan on the last trip to keep the weight and pack size to a minimum but only boiled water for tea, some dehydrated grub and added to porridge and left to stand until ready to eat. It worked fine at 4700 metres and thereabouts - I didn't stop to cook on the big passes! .. I've been through Zanskar, Leh to Manali and through Spiti Valley - drop me a pm if I can help...
Mike .

Thanks Mike.

From what I understand, Kerosene is widely available, but will try for gas canisters if and when I can as a back up.

Thanks for the PM invite - I'll sure be in touch if I have any questions
Cheers.

[JackRabbitSlims]

Not only cyclist think about it ..
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/c ... what-58134 10 pages on multifuel stoves.

I have gone over to gas canisters, but have used a Coleman 422 stove .. with both shellite (Coleman fuel without the additives) and unleaded petrol. I also have a XGK stove. The Coleman is easily adjusted for a simmer, the XGK is too hard to adjust for a simmer. Not used these at altitude, nor extreme cold. If you want to cook rather then just add hot water to something or boil something then simmering is a requirement.

Some of the gas canister stoves have a heater tube like the multifuel stoves (e.g. Kovea spider), this enables them to use the canister in an inverted way so they get liquid rather than gas to the stove - this provides for better low temperature performance.

It is possible to fly with a fuel stove .. you need to remove all smell of fuel, pack it in absorbent material (paper towel, singlet etc) and then inside a sealed plastic bag. And you need written permission from the airline. I found with the 422 stove simply empting it and allowing it to air did not do the job. I found empting it then burning off the little remaining fuel and then airing it worked. I think there was fuel left in the small tubes that did not air out, operating it burn off that fuel.
Good luck.

Thanks for the reply.

I wont be flying with any Fuels
Will sort all that out on arrival in country.

Cheers.

[JackRabbitSlims]

I have a MSR DragonFly https://www.msrgear.com/ie/stoves/dragonfly-1 which comes with a load of spare parts that can quite easily be lost. I only ever used it with unleaded petrol and so did not have to change the nozzle. And I never used it above 2000 metres. I never needed any of the spares and the nozzle never blocked up. It's a pretty robust piece of kit and it will fold up and fit inside a 9 inch wide cooking pan.

I used to carry two fuel bottles, a small 325ml connected to the stove in use and a larger 650ml. Together they gave me just under a litre of fuel. It's surprising how quickly you get through the fuel by the way. A litre didn't seem to last very long. So I recommend testing this out before your trip. When turned on full this will boil water very quickly and make quite a roar. Don't use it anywhere near your tent. Lighting it requires you to flood the base of the unit with the fuel, turn it off, and then stick a match to it to set it alight to pre-heat the burner. Then when the flame dies down you gently turn the valve on and the liquid fuel will vaporise and burn.

I used to carry it (and the spares) inside the pan and together with the two bottles it would all fit into a small Carradice front pannier along with cutlery.

The Whisperlite model has the advantage that you can use a gas canister with it as well as liquid fuels. But like the DragonFly you have to change nozzles for different fuels.

I've not heard of the Polaris Optimus but it sounds a good bit of kit because you don't need to change nozzles. Not something I'd want to do above 4000m.

Thanks for the reply LinusR

[Warin61]

It is possible to fly with a fuel stove ..

I wont be flying with any Fuels
Will sort all that out on arrival in country.

Of course. Fuel is a no no.

But you can take the stove with you, if you want ... provided you comply with the airline requirements.