I didn't go camping at all in 2013 . Bad weather and personal reasons put paid to that .
But i did in 2012 . Infact i had a blistering week at the end of Sept weather wise . Didn't cycle to the campsite i'm afraid,had the missus drop me off (my equipment is not the lightest) . But because transit weight was not so much of an issue,i decided to try out the various stoves i had been given or bought during the year . I found all the stoves performed pretty well,as long as you except their limitations . The following are my personal observations .
1. Honey Stove . A wood burning stove that comes with additional adaptors for other types of burners . As a wood burner,this stove worked quite well . Although the only criticism i have is,because the stove is small,you have to constantly feed it with wood . You can get an extension kit for this stove which is called a hive . That should enable larger pieces of wood to be used .
2. Trangia meths burner . I used one of these in conjunction with the Honey Stove and found this combination worked quite well .
3. Hexamine Stove . Didn't like sticky soot deposit the tablets left on the bottom of cooking pans . But it would clean off with soap and water . But a good stove in an emergency i reckon ,
4. Pop can stove . I got two of these to take with me when i'm walking . They weigh next to nothing,and used in conjunction with the Hexamine stove,were surprisingly quite effective .
But all these stoves as i said have their limitations .
Cooking Stoves
Re: Cooking Stoves
I presume you meant "2011" in first sentence?
I’ve been doing at least one ‘wild camping’ cycling trip a year in recent years, always in the summer, but wanted to extend the range of my trips by adding cooking equipment. As these are infrequent trips, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. After much research, I bought an Esbit-style pocket stove, ditched the tablets unused and opted for ethanol gel as a fuel. Hex tablets, I read, leave a sticky soot residue on utensils and give off poisonous fumes.
The fuel gel burns very cleanly. I cut the bottom from a beer can to use as a ‘crucible’ in which to burn the gel, and used the sides of the beer can to make extra sides for the stove to provide a simple wind shield. I cook in simple mess tins, having made lids for them. I spent about £12 on my set-up.
Having started with fuel gel sachets, I found I could buy fuel gel in Go Outdoors in litre tins, which works out cheaper. Working within the ‘limitations’ of the stove, it’s easy to boil water and to do some frying. I haven’t tried to ‘simmer’ anything yet! I reckon that the fuel cost is averaging about 17p per meal, and importantly, the underside of my mess tins stay clean.
I’ve been doing at least one ‘wild camping’ cycling trip a year in recent years, always in the summer, but wanted to extend the range of my trips by adding cooking equipment. As these are infrequent trips, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. After much research, I bought an Esbit-style pocket stove, ditched the tablets unused and opted for ethanol gel as a fuel. Hex tablets, I read, leave a sticky soot residue on utensils and give off poisonous fumes.
The fuel gel burns very cleanly. I cut the bottom from a beer can to use as a ‘crucible’ in which to burn the gel, and used the sides of the beer can to make extra sides for the stove to provide a simple wind shield. I cook in simple mess tins, having made lids for them. I spent about £12 on my set-up.
Having started with fuel gel sachets, I found I could buy fuel gel in Go Outdoors in litre tins, which works out cheaper. Working within the ‘limitations’ of the stove, it’s easy to boil water and to do some frying. I haven’t tried to ‘simmer’ anything yet! I reckon that the fuel cost is averaging about 17p per meal, and importantly, the underside of my mess tins stay clean.
Re: Cooking Stoves
I remember "Hexi Burners" as we called them from my early training days in the Army - they came in 24 hour ration packs. Very smelly when lit in a trench, lots of light pollution so useless at night and left your mess tins black. Little to recommend them other than they were small and pretty light.
These days I use a Jetboil with an adaptor so it takes Camping Gaz cannisters. Much more civilised and convenient.
These days I use a Jetboil with an adaptor so it takes Camping Gaz cannisters. Much more civilised and convenient.
Re: Cooking Stoves
Sorry,my mistake on dates . Should read,"no camping 2012,but did in 2011" .
Did you have any problems with lighting fuel gel ? Have been told that can be a problem with it .
Going back to hexamine tablets . I did find that these were excellent in getting the wood burner started . I only needed to use a 1/4 of a tablet each time .
Did you have any problems with lighting fuel gel ? Have been told that can be a problem with it .
Going back to hexamine tablets . I did find that these were excellent in getting the wood burner started . I only needed to use a 1/4 of a tablet each time .
Re: Cooking Stoves
Drake wrote:Did you have any problems with lighting fuel gel ?
No, even in blustery conditions it's lit first time, every time.
Re: Cooking Stoves
I'm still a devotee of a Coleman gasoline stove. It's a bit heavy but dependable, belts out heat for fast boiling and even simmers. The fuel is also sufficiently energy-intensive that filling its internal tank is more than enough for a weekend.