"Jim Ford" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> * Brian <
[email protected]> deigned to grace
> uk.rec.walking
> * with their presence by declaiming:
> > I have been thinking of replacing my cheap and cheerfull
> > gas stove with something a bit better. I'm not keen on
> > stoves which fit on top of the
gas
> > cannister as I find these not very stable.
>
> IMO avoid meths - It's got a low calorific value, it
> stinks your kit out
and
> contaminates food if the storage container leaks, it
> soots cooking
utensils,
> you can't properly control the flame, also the flame is
> invisible in the sunlight - with attendant danger. I'm at
> a loss as to why the Trangia is
so
> popular! Maybe it's because it's favoured by youth
> groups for its
robustness,
> and folk that have been introduced to them this way tend
> to stick with
them
> in the absence of knowing better.
>
Nope - I got a gas burner recently (incidentally, the
thermotech one linked in the first reply) and it was
rubbish; gas doesn't work well in the cold, and the delivery
of fuel changes as the canister gets used up. All that
shaking you have to do in the last third of the canister is
a right royal PITA, and is difficult to do without toppling
the whole lot. You can't tell very easily when it's going to
run out, and all the gas systems I've ever used are very
badly affected by the wind. Due to cold, wind, half-full
canister, and an imperceptibly slight breath of wind, on my
last trip it took 20 mins to boil a very small pan of water,
and I had to watch it every second. Not a pleasant
experience. Next time I go out bivying on my own in the
spring, I will *not* rely on gas, and I'll take the extra
weight gladly. But the gas stove'll be nice with the family.
The Trangia is about the only thing that works better in the
wind than not. It's also safe, stable, and very very
reliable. You can leave it boiling while you put up/take
down the tent, safe in the knowledge that it won't topple
over, even on a slope (which is very far from my experience
with gas!). There aren't any moving parts, which means it
will go on forever, and simply won't go wrong. In terms of
stinky & a contaminant - yes, but I'm not aware of any
liquid fuel that isn't. That's why you screw the container
tight and don't keep it near the food! For long trips it's
not recommended as meths is heavy and bulky; but gas
canisters will take up a similar amount of space; and it's
far less easy to tell how much gas you've got left. It's
popular with 'youth groups' because it's easy to use and
will last out all the beatings you can give it. It's popular
with the rest of us because it will not fail, which is
important when you're on the side of hill in December.
At the moment, I can't recommend gas, except in the porch of
tent pitched on a flat piece of ground, on still day, in the
summer, with a brand new canister; but each to their own.
