Bike camping stoves

[blackbird05]

Hi everyone, hope the holidays are treating you well so far. I'm looking to buy a camping stove for a 4-month self-supported tour of europe next summer, and was wondering what you'd reccommend. I'm looking mostly for low weight and fuel availability. What do you use? Have any of you used a stove in europe? Was the fuel YOU used hard to obtain? What was the most common fuel available? Last (but DEFINITELY not least), what do you think is the best stove on the market for a BUDGET shopper - I mean the Starving Student type?
Comments, opinions? I appreciate your input to no end, so let me know what you think!

 

[Dr.Hairybiker]

I say, just buy a simple, Coleman(or similar) one burner stove. You plug it into one of those little bottles(that are available everywhere), cut up the original box to fit, and voila! Might weigh an extra few ounces, but it's the simplest, cheapest, most efficient stove around.

 

[KnoxGardner]

Buy your stove in Europe. I just went spent the summer there, left the MSR Whisperlight at home and insted took a MSR pocket rocket, a canister stove. My friend in Austria said canisters were everywhere.

This is true, they are everywhere, however, they are for European stoves. To find the canisters that fit my MSR threads was doable, but it always involved larger cities, and speciality shops that sold mountainering gear. If I would have picked up the 25$ canister stove in Amsterdam when I started, I would have just been able to get gas at camp grounds, gas stations and pretty much anywhere I was at without any hassle.

Next time I am touring in Europe, the stove gets picked up there.

As I side note, I hardly used the thing living primarily on great picnic foods from butchers and markets. I did light it up every morning for coffee and was completely addicted to this little powder sticks of instant espresso by Nescafe. Three of these sticks equalled one cup of decent Seattle coffee. If you drink coffee, look for them, they just fit everywhere in the bag and I was sad when I was no longer able to find them.

 

[MidBunchLurker]

Hi everyone, hope the holidays are treating you well so far. I'm looking to buy a camping stove for a 4-month self-supported tour of europe next summer, and was wondering what you'd reccommend. I'm looking mostly for low weight and fuel availability. What do you use? Have any of you used a stove in europe? Was the fuel YOU used hard to obtain? What was the most common fuel available? Last (but DEFINITELY not least), what do you think is the best stove on the market for a BUDGET shopper - I mean the Starving Student type?
Comments, opinions? I appreciate your input to no end, so let me know what you think!

Get a Camping Gaz Bluet Cooker, the one that takes the 206 canister - these are available almost everywhere in Europe, are lightweight and pretty cheap.

 

[Gregs]

Hi

Have just returned from a far too brief 5 day trip around my locals hills. I have always used a Trangia stove, but on this occasion tried a new gas stove and pots/pans combination. I am now torn between the fun of using a Trangia, which runs off methalayted spirits, and packs to about the size large chainring (but the width of a rear axle) and the new combo, which is half the size and cooks so much faster.


I have worked alot in the outdoor pursuits area (UK, Europe and Malaysia) and have sworn by the reliabilty of the Trangia, but the pack size, speed and flexibility of gas based stoves and pots/pans amazed me.

Pros and cons need to be based on;

Cost of unit
Pack size / weight
Fuel cost / availability
Flexibility of fuel - adjustabiity of heat, burn / heat time
Ease of cleaning - stove and pots etc
Access to spare parts

There are many gas stoves in camping stores that screw onto small butane / propane cans. Mine has an iginition switch (we love this part) that means no more matches, lighters etc and is able to be adjusted from 'lets cook' to simmer.

Trangia stoves run off metho ( you can buy gas attachments though) and come in a range of sizes. A rolls royce set up would be gas stove with the smallest Trangia set that you are happy to cook from; this way you can cook on gas, have the metho back up and the proven build quality of the Trangia.

Happy researching, cooking and eating.

Gregs