Do people use cookers, or are they a waste of space?
 

Just wondering if people tend to travel with a cooker at all? I know in some countries food is so cheap and available it's not worth it. I'm currently planning a trip around Europe, which considering i'm Australian, isn't cheap:(

I intend to organise my own food (supermarkets) to keep the costs down. From my limited experience, it seems if you want something hot, there is probably BBQ/fire/kitchen available at campsites anyway. From what i've read on the HUBB, people often regret having taken cookers, because they haven't used them.

Any thoughts? Oh, if you do use them, any recommendations on good ones (good value, light/small, run on fuel).

Cheers
Jake

cookers
 

Always useful to boil some water for tea/coffee - depends on how much you need your hot caffeine fix.

I would recommend a Coleman stove - they don't tend to block and do not need priming (2 facts are probably related, as priming produces soot which tends to block the feeder pipe).

Only for caffeine!!
 

Getting a good cup of coffee on the road is well nigh impossible, even where they grow the bloody stuff! Getting me started in the morning is always more difficult than getting the bike started. I carry my Whisperlite Internationale omnifuel stove, which means as long as there's juice in the bike, there's fuel for the stove, and coffee for me, je je!!

Yeah, a stove is a good thing. A lot of campsites have no cooking facilities and eating out all the time, even at Maccas, is going to add up. I have the widely used Coleman Sportster (533?) and think it's great, no frills reliability at a good price. In the UK you can get them for £30 if you shop around. Runs fine on unleaded. There is also a lighter weight version I haven't tried.
MSR do really good quality stainless steel pans.
Matt

sorry mate europe is'nt australia, no communal barbys at our campsites or kitchens for that matter. take a cooker, realy worth it, also nice for some soup and thee at lunch. cooking your own food is not only cheaper but often better, i tend to eat a lot after a day on the bike and the standard eating out portion is'n enough than. i use a MSR wisperlite but there are manny good brands, or bring one from oz.

Yes,a must have!
 

I had diferent cookers and the one i like the most is the Trangia.Made in Sweden very simple and reliable.It works with burning alcohol.Gas(petrol) cookers tend to burn black all your stuff and poluting all your meal(hahahaha)
It has a wind protector, a little pan and a pot.And yes its not a big deal to carrie an extra container with alcohol.
Good luck in europe!
KH

for some years now i have carried a little gaz cooker. I can get the cartridges in both france and UK. do not know where else. be aware there is a great range of non compatibility between gaz stoves. If I were to buy another stove it would probably run on petrol.... because of this. However gaz is not expensive to run...
It is well worth having a stove for your breakfast/evening meals... tinned/bottle ready to eat are good too :)
In UK meals even cup of tea is very expensive.. I have paid £1.89 for tea for two in service station :( In France things are different. lunchtime at many supermarkets you can get a simple well cooked lunch for less than 5 euros. Our local lorry drivers cafe ( relais) does starter ( help yourself ham/shrimp/chesse/pate salads and 100 other things) followed by main course, big plate of meat and veg (choice of 4 meats/fish) then cheeses, and dessert. plus coffee, Oh and it also includes a carafe (1/2 liter) of wine, all for 10E50
They also do an evening meal which I have yet to try , although some of our BnB peeps were very impressed with it. So if you are travelling and see a bunch of lorries parked up near some non descript building and fancy a big meal stop there. always 12 noon to 2pm.. Incidentally that is a good time to negogiate any tricky bit of road in France as all the motorists and lorries are parked for lunch.

Camp stoves
 

I take mine on most trips. It doesn't take up much space, weighs just a few ounces and is a nice convenience to have.

I have two different stoves that I use on a regular basis. Both are MSR stoves. One is a liquid fuel and one a gas fuel. The isobutane is nice as a just in case item. The gas stove and fuel canister weigh less than eight ounces and pack to about five inches by four inches. The adapter for the canister is designed for all types of gas canister's.

The liquid fuel stoves weighs about seven ounces, folds up small. The fuel bottles come in various sizes, from eleven ounces to thirty-three ounces. The liquid fuel stove does take a little longer to assemble, however, after using it a few times, it's nothing. I have used all sorts of liquid fuel for the stove, from petrol to diesel, stoddard solvent to kerosene. I have not used avaiation fuel though. The white gas or colman fuel produce the most effecient flame. While petrol comes in second. Diesel works ok, but do to the impurities in diesel the flame is not very effecient. With the liquid fuel stove there are different jets for different fuels.

As with all stoves, a decent wind block and heat exchanger will make for quicker and more effecient cooking.

Contrary to some of the things people have said about liquid fuel stoves, after about thirteen years of regular use mine has yet to fail me. Regular cleaning and maintenance will provide your stove stays working strong. The type and brand is up to you, of course, if you decide to purchase one. Talk to some people to hear what they have to say, also talk to some people at the local climbing/backcountry shop. Some brands are Primus, Coleman, MSR, Brunton, Radius, Svea and Trangia.

stoves
 

As i do most of my travels in europe in winter, a good petrol stove in esential!
I bought an old primus thing, which has and endless supply of fuel from the bike and is total reliable due to the fact ther is nowt to go wrong!.
It worked really well for thawing the motor at -25c in the czech hills. I always carry a few sealed military rations, well tasty if you really need them.:eek2:

stoves
 

Hi

Many good ideas here... OldBMW 's post is spot on for me, as the little camping gaz is widely available . It's a great idea to cook your own and save dosh....also you get to cook your food in some beautiful places, by rivers, woods etc.

Most important is that morning tea/coffee which the gaz does well. Its a really handy little stove-very hassle free. I've used them for years and find them great.

Good roads!

Oh! I forgot to mention, a windsheild can halve cooking time.

gaz stoves
 

the screw on self sealing type are pretty universal all over europe, the other type thats reasonably easy to find is the blue press on bayonet ones but once theyre on the stove they cant be undone without dumping all the gas.

there seem to be different fillings available too, propane/butane, butane/air, etc. i have no idea what is best but i always go for the one that has the biggest temperature written on the can!!

i have no experience with petrol stoves at all but if they are clean running and work well then fuel is never going to be a problem is it?

mine uses the 270 470 cartridge sthat are a mixture of butane and propane. These will run in colder conditions than pure butane... Although I would not intentionally be out in that cold a weather :)

Which Stove???
 

This could take a while....Our experiiences are as follows...

Gaz stoves work well providing you can get the cylinders...I wished they could be refilled somehow. Clean and efficient... Started our RTW in 1997 in California with Gaz and had great difficulty in finding cartridges. Found them in San Luis Obispo at US$5.00 each. Whew!!! This was not good as the same item in Aus. was A$2.50. Things may have changed by now.

Decided after speaking to and observing many travellers on the road (in USA) on a Coleman Dual Fuel...an elcheapo from Walmart US$40.00. Contacted Coleman concerning the total use of petrol/gasoline and they advised that the generator would carbon up after three months and to take a spare. Further research with travellers said that the simple thing to do was to soak the removed generator in Coca Cola and voila the shiny pipe returned to normal. We tended to lubricate the wire as well to ensure it moved freely. In Namibia, Africa Peter & Kay Forward gave us another tip on cleaning...Fuel Injection/Carburetor cleaner... A cap full into the stove tank and burn as usual. We noticed glowing carbon embers dancing around in the flames when this was done.The remainder of the cleaner could be put into the tank of the bike.

Feedback from other travellers about stoves..Remote bottle stoves like MSR, Primus and Coleman. Flame control/adjustablity not as good as the Coleman. Can be a little fiddly and messy.. A lot of carbon residue. Cleaning was an issue and cleaning kit recommended. Have had many travellers stay with us and clean their stoves. Takes time and needs to be done.

Trangia...Can be used with mets, petrol, and gas. Prefer the petrol version as no 'other' type of fuel is required. Its all on the bike. Mets and gas can be hard to find in some countries.

Gas is great..providing you can get the cylinders.

Check out the Aus HU Meeting 2005 report. We had a 'stove burnout.. A very popular event.. I tried to remain unbiased and used a Sierra stove..(Check out in Google) but our preference is the Coleman. We carry two spares..a generator and a diaphram for the pumper. Currently using a leather diaphram moistened in oil. It appears after eight years this item will last for ever. BTW we used our stove every day up to 5 times a day for three years. It burnt so cleanly we would cook in rooms and all you could smell was the food.

It all depends where you are travelling. In choosing this type of stove and providing we can get fuel for the bike,we can go anywhere and everwhere. In Libya and Iran we ran it on leaded fuel but cleaned it more frequently. Hope this is of some help.

Catchulata.........Carol & Ken

Hi
My coleman duel fuel Cooker, never leave home with out it.........
Skip

Just got one off ebay for £31 brand new - the Feather 442 compact model. It seems to be plenty powerful enough and is totally self contained - no bottles, hoses, etc to mess around with. I just fill the stove via a short hose from the bikes fuel tap and off I go - no gas canisters to find and store, and there's always fuel in the bike when it needs a fill up. I've added a small MSR stainless saucepan and plate, plus a plastic mug and a knife and fork. The whole kit weighs under 1kg and is all you need to cook up a reasonable meal and a decent brew afterwards!

I can highly recommend the MSR Dragonfly stove. MSR stoves are supplied with multiple jets so can burn various fules, from light oil and diesel, even cooking oil at a push, through to unleaded, paraffin and of course, stove fuel/"White gas"

I prefer the Dragonfly as it's small enough to fit inside the pan-set, and also has a flame regulator on it which is much more effecive than a bottle flow-valve alone.

MSR stoves require their own fuel bottles to work safely. a Sigg bottle will 'fit' on the threads, but as the threads are a different depth between Sigg and MSR bottle, a Sigg CAN be fired off when pressurised.

MSRs aren't cheap (£110 for the Dragonfly last time I checked) but are well worth it for their robust and easily maintained nature. I use mine for when I'm doing anything from rock climbing, camping, summer and winter mountaineering as well as bike touring.

hth

a

Stoves.......
 

[QUOTE=Ken & Carol]
Trangia...Can be used with mets, petrol, and gas. Prefer the petrol version as no 'other' type of fuel is required. Its all on the bike. Mets and gas can be hard to find in some countries.

Lots of great comments, I decided the Trangia bi-fuel would suit me best, but then I fould this in their user manual

"E. NEVER use other fuel kinds than those the stove is designed for. AVOID use of automobile (car) gasoline as fuel for a stove. Automobile gasoline contains a lot of additives that are needed as lubricants etc. in a car engine. These additives are not burnt properly in a stove. Instead they escape as extremely health hazardous fuel vapor and exhaust fumes that may cause cancer. Furthermore, unleaded automobile gasoline may in some cases damage
rubber components in seals, o-rings etc which could lead to fuel leaks on the stove. Use white gasoline, heptane and similar instead of car gasoline. Please note that any fuel containing benzene and other additives is extremely health hazardous and should be used only for short times.

Is this a corporate responsible statement, are so many other overlanders wrong in using petrol.....

I guess the message is cook outside ...

[quote=goodwoodweirdo]Maybe they should add that using petrol stoves in the sort of confined spaces where these vapors could be hazardous may also lead to fieballs and explosions, which may be harmful to long term health!!!!!

Like you say - cook outside, or at least in a very well ventilated area. Common sense says this applies to any stove, whatever the fuel type.

I'd think that when stove manufacturers design petrol stoves they have the sense to use rubbers which are imune to the effects of petrol.

Sounds like they're covering their arses for all possible events!!

MSR WhisperLite Internationale
 

I use a MSR WhisperLite Internationale. It works just fine on pump fuel. It is designed to use several kinds of fuel and this is why I went with this version. I do not want to carry an extra kind of fuel. I carry two MSR fuel canisters that can be dumped directly into my bike's fuel tank in an emergency or I can drain fuel out of the bike to fuel the stove in an emergency. :thumbup1:

Unleaded fuel does not burn as clean as white gas in the stove, but the MSR uses Shaker Jet technology to deal with the difference.

It doesn't matter what kind of camp stive you use, always do your cooking outside. You can buy small tents to cover your cooking area if you need to keep it dry. However, I have used my MSR stove in the rain and it worked fine (with the wind screen).

For food, I buy the packs of camping food. I buy the packs for two people and then I split them in half and vacuum seal them as individual meals. Doing this is a very inexpensive way to eat on the road and the food is actually better than what you can normally get on the road. The small vacuum seales meals pack very small, too.

Go for liquid fuel/remote tank!
 

The problems with propane/butane stoves is that they require a certain type of canister. Since you can't carry them on a plane, you must buy them on location. In Egypt and India I looked hard and never saw any for sale until we got to Kathmandu. This is an overriding concern that excludes gas stoves for less-developed countries

Liquid-fuel stoves have some minor inconveniences but they are not show-stoppers.

I bought a Primus Omnifuel stove which burns anything from meths to diesel. It has a remote tank that you can empty, wash out and fill with water if necessary for airline travel. I was knocked back at an airport once with a Coleman 442 (the one with the tank attached) because the airport staff could still smell a hint of petrol smell even after washing out.

The good part about liquid-fuel stoves is that you can use petrol (yeah I know about the additives, just use it in a well-ventilated environment). There is a slow build-up of petrol crud but it takes a long time to have any effect. I had an Optimus stove for 20 years that I used exclusively with petrol and it only blocked up the fibrous pressure-regulating thingy after about 19 years. The Omnifuel stove does not have a fibrous pressure-regulating thingy at all.

The Omnifuel packs down small, fitting down flat into my smallest billy. The tank can go anywhere. The other thing if you use petrol is that you can use it for the bike.

If you still want to go with a gas stove, the Kovea titanium is great. 89g, very small, 3kW heat output, piezo ignition and uses the screw-on cartridges.
There are two main types of cartridge for propane/butane stoves, the screw-on type and the click-on type. Both can be removed between uses but the screw-on is more secure and has a back-up sealing gasket. The click-on is supported by Gaz (the company), is a bit wobbly and relies on a single seal when in use.
The older style Gaz canisters that permanently puncture the tin are almost obsolete (thank goodness) and were only available with butane gas. Butane gas has a lower pressure and butane-only stoves only put out about 1.2kW maximum. Butane-only stoves are useless at higher altitudes and low temperatures.

MSR Whisper International
 

I have it using for a long time and satisfied a lot. You can use the same gas of your bike with it.
Once I applied too much pressure and caused a small fire. It was my fault. Written it to MSR and they changed it with a new one for free.

I found this stove the other day which looks like a good idea if your out in the wilds. Just find some twigs and your cooking.
www.zzstove.com

To get petrol out of my bike for my Coleman I use 2 ft of pipe and a 50cc syringe. By pulling the inner part of the syringe out in one quick pull the syphon effect starts ok. No petrol in the mouth !

Do bears shit in the woods?
 

Dont go without one Jake!

Cookers
 

Personally I prefer the spirit burner line of Trangia as they are not so dangerous. Check out Trangia Kök - Trangia Stoves Stoves, outdoor, Ultralight , Series 25, Series 27 for the complete range including gas (propane/butane?)burners. There is even a mini for the Lonely Rider:thumbup1:

Do not ever use it inside a tent!!!

has anyone tried the old 'tommy cooker' method of sand soaked in petrol?

or one of these?
Wings -The Home Made Stove Archives - Index of Contents

i made a pepsi can style stove with just a leatherman tool once to win a bet and it worked quite well, but mine didnt hold enough fuel to cook a whole meal and dont try to refill it when its hot, thats all im saying about that.

Trangia
 

Hi,
We have used gas cookers but while in Victoria OZ bumped into a guy with a Trangia. We thought it looked great so got one. TBH we wouldn't take anything else now. It is bulky but when you way up the fact that it has a kettle - two pans and a burner all in the pack with two ally plates straped to it - it's not that bad.

Tips we learned. Take the spirit burner and use it when you have fuel or if you have to use it in the tent. The MSR petrol burner is good but blackens the pans but you can always get petrol.

Get a 2nd larger fry pan and place it over the 1st when cooking - speeds up cooking. You can also stack pans to keep food warm on top while the bottom pan is cooking and the cooker is stable.

Scratch a mark inside the kettle for 1 and 2 cups of water - saves heating to much.

Cheers

These Optimus stoves are good and the modern ones burn almost any kind of fuel [ including diesel - !!!] .
You can pick them up fairly cheaply off ebay .
Optimus Hiker+

It depends on you. I use mine, but you might not.

I've got a couple different ones that both run off the same fuel my bikes do. Just pull out the line before it goes into the carb and fill up the stove tank. When I want the stove tank empty, I drain it back into my motorcycle tank.

Once I figure out a way of roasting coffee beans on my exhaust pipe, I'll be set!

It seems the answer to the original question is, yes, a stove is useful and it should be carried - try getting a brew of tea at say 2 in the morning from anywhere else.

Having identified that, it is interesting what a range of types are available nowadays - this has taught me a few new ones, especially the homemade ones in one of the links.

As a note, my mate often lights up his gas stove inside his tent when hunkered down and it is freezing outside - we are all adults and make our own decisions but I like my tent to be a decent distance from his when we pitch!!

Among so many responses here I'm surprised to see only one post about alcohol stoves. I used to use a Wisperlite Int'l, until I got sick of everything smelling like gas and getting filthy. It really turned me off from cooking. I'll never use a liquid\gas\pressure, pumping, stinking, cleaning etc etc stove again.

A few years back I discovered the alcohol stove from a backpacker in Costa Rica. The thing is awesome. I would never waste my time using a different stove these days. It uses medicinal (rubbing, or denatured) alcohol, which you can definately find anywhere in the world, in any town\village in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't get any cleaner than this - if you spill it, it just takes a few seconds to self-evaporate into nothing. And, added bonus, you can use it to clean your battle scars.

Really a pleasure to use. It's tiny and lighweight. Simple - just fill it up and light it (no pumping). Very clean (odorless) - never requires any type of cleaning the stove. Ecofriendly. (In the USA when where is a burn ban on any type of burning in some State Parks, these stoves are the only ones they allow in.) The most widely available "fuel." If you know you're not going to be using it for a while, there's no reason to carry any fuel for it at all - just pick some up anywhere the next time you know that you'll be cooking again.

A neat side note - you can even use most brands and makes of antifreeze.

You can make one of these stoves yourself out of a couple of cans, but they're usually a little fragile. Trangia also sells one, which is my favorite. The only question is which stand to use. I would recommend the Clikstand (which comes with a Trangia alcohol stove), or a good second Thru-Hiker.

The first one ships internationally. If you do order it, make sure to get the stove and the stand.

You can read about it on Wikipedia at Beverage-can stove - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Please give it a test run, you won't be dissapointed - "I guarantee it!" (No, I don't work for them.)

Hey Jake, you'll find prepared food in Europe very expensive by NZ/AUS standards, but the supermarkets aren't too bad.

If you're a cheap skate like me you'll find a cooker well worth the trouble in Europe. I've had experience with Coleman, MSR, Optimus and Trangia after years in the hiking clubs. They are all very good cookers and they won't let you down...

All you need to go down to your local shop and compare physical size, fuel use and type, output power etc and figure out what suits your needs best. I like the small Coleman for motorcycle travel becasue it runs on petrol without any problems for extended periods. I like the MSR for hiking becasue the fuel bottle and cooker are separate, making it slightly easier to pack into small spaces.

Trangias are good for hiking too becasue of their simplicity when your 2 weeks away from spare parts.

The Optimus is also a bulletproof performer. I had one for a number of years and was great. Lighting them can be a bit hairy though, and it's easy to get it wrong at times setting fire to people and property. The fuel tanks are also quite small.

The camping Gaz models are popular in Europe, but I'm not a fan of them becasue they crap out in the cold.

The difference between what Aussies and Kiwis consider roughing it and what Euros consider roughing it are quite staggering. In my opinion the Gaz models are designed for soft core European campers who are operating at sea level on a family holiday in summer....

For me it is also surprising to see so few knowledge about alcohol/spirt stoves goes around among travellers.

As sayed before, I also agree it's the alcohol stove is more "gourmet" stove compared to gas/petrol ones - no irritating smells to back off your hunger, but it's also multiple times more robust/reliable than any gas or petrol one with valves, pipes and other systems that can brake down, clog or just blow off.

Only thing you do is open cap of the burner, put a gulp of (wooden)spirt inside, let it soak a minute and fire it on. No moving parts, valves, pipes, seals, wierd shaped burners that are hassle to pack or high pressure bottles.

We've been using Swedish army (they obviously know what they prefer in the extreme conditions) kit for over 6 years troublefree. It's about 2-3 times cheaper to do your own food travelling in Europe. In Asia things change, but you need to get through the expensive Europe first to save huge loads of money.

Mostly running on wood-spirt availble here very cheap, but when we run out in the middle of nowhere then also "regular" cleaning purpose spirt available from pharmacies does the same job. Haven't seen any more clever gas based kits that can pack down so compact as this military one does and is that functional at the same time. You can use it as a boiler or fryer and it doesn't shut down even in very severe wind conditions.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...gu/showpic.jpg

It all packs down into the size of the outer shell (the black component in the picture). On the picture it's in the fry "mode" using the smaller vessel (cap) as frying pan, you need to turn the shell other way round for boiling "mode" with the bigger vessel seen on the left in the picture, capping it with the smaller vessel for quicker results. On packing it, with the spirt bottle (white on the picture) I also fit needed amount of coffee, tea bags, sugar, 2 spoons and 2 forks inside the same packed kit.

Also the container has needed parts to use it on the camp fire, for both boiling and frying using longer stick you can brake off from a bush. Certanly a real military genius through intense practice has designed it.

And the sweetest part: the price for the entire kit... 19 EURos!!! :)

Makes food up to 3-4 persons.

After comparing it with other kits I think there isn't much other possibilities to have better and smarter cooker kit than this if you cook for yourself or less than 3-4 persons IMHO. If more than 4 persons, only then you need other bigger size stuff.

My 2c

That Swedish army kit looks great. Nobody has mentioned how they light their stoves. I've been using a Swedish firesteel for a few years and it's just superb. Cold, wet, windy, it makes no difference 1 strike and your cooking. I use it to light my Coleman and my Trangia stoves.

I take your point, but... my little gaz stove uses the 270 or 470 cartridges, these are a mix of propane and butane so keep going in the cold... Not that i have ever braved the cold... but it can get chilly in the summer up in the pyrennees.

most supermarkets in France supply ready made meals or at least the servings for them. so you can buy portions of salads or cooked meals ready to go. just re-heat them. not as cheap as starting from scratch but much cheaper than restuarants.

WALKABOUT your mate is a fool
 

apart from the obvious fire risk lighting a stove inside his tent has he thought about the fumes some of these stoves give off? he's not going to wake up one morning.

That hot thinggy near your nuts: Use it
 

I used to tie a full roast to the exhaust manifold of my Landy, wrapped in Tin foil, and held on with wire. 5 hours game driving and I set up table, opened the engine bay, pulled out a perfect roast with onions, all that was needed was a salad from the fridge and a bottle of red.

I have recently tried something simiar with my BMW R1150RT. tied a sausage onto the twin (down) pipes and it cooked in a 3 hour journey. He he.

When standing I have looked at the cylinder heads and thought thats an ideal Braai (BBQ) grid, but apparently the bike doesnt like it...

Good luck G

I remeber seeing a picture once of some guy with an old bmw with a metal plate on the cylinder head frying an egg, never found out how long it took him, wheather it tasted nice, or if it was just a piss take but would be cool to just stop at the side of the road and start making food literally off your bike.

lightwight stoves
 

There seems to be many lightweight stoves about. I think i may try to make the soda can stove. Has anyone got any views on the Hex Military Stoves.

I always like to carry a stove of some kind as its nice to camp in the wild and theres nothing better than waking up from a good nights sleep to a warm drink and breakfast in lovely peaceful surroundings.

I am also a fan of the military boil in the bag meals as they save getting the boil pot dirty so you can have the excess water as a warm drink.

I used to use a whisperlight international, excelent stove but messy so i really like the idea of something cleaner burning.

In the uk I found a firm called Winward outdoor who sell a fire fly stove it looks tiny. Has anyone tried one of these yet ?:confused1:

'Has anyone got any views on the Hex Military Stoves.'

No no no and no..well yes. I have views, but no. Far too much effort for far too little gain. There is one good reason why the soldiers of the British army use anything else after their basic training - despite getting issued the former. And the average Brit squaddie is pretty cheap!

'We've been using Swedish army'

Yes - it all looks good. I haven't used it myself, but it looks like some proper cool kit. They never have to go to war either, only 'peace operations.' Check your citizenship, see if you are eligable for a Swede visa, their army seems like a blag to me.

Personally, in actual answer to the question (234 words later) I believe a stove is an indispensible can't-leave-home-without-it-in-the-same-manner-as-a-helmet kind of product. It saves a lot of on the road prices, with a tiny initial outlay.

As I have said in other posts, Europe and the Middle East are pretty much the extent of my travel knowledge, so I can't say anything about RTW, but I like Trangiers for their innate reliabilty, and the fact that they are designed so simply that even I can operate one. It is always nice that you can burn pretty much anything in them, from grass to gaz and back.

Don't boil in the bag either, it is the worst kind of cheap. the kind of cheap that is expensive! Fresh rats anywhere I have been work out cheaper than boilinthebag, and are alway so much nicer.

Having said that, where I travel, the trusty bottle of Tobasco is never far behind - so anything can be made tasty in seconds!

Happy Riding.

Joel

I use the Swedish Army Trangia. (Five quid from a surplus shop or eblag) and as suggested above, light it with a fire steel. Lights first time every time.

I use the purple coloured meths you get in a DIY shop.

I tried petrol once it burns a huge, messy, stinky flame that doesn't cook very well and is quite difficult to put out. Even dropping the lid on the burner doesn't work:eek3:

It'll boil 2 pints in about 10 minutes with the frying pan bit used as a lid. Doesn't smell bad and burns quite a clean blue flame with very little soot. You can speed it's warm up time by spilling a bit of fuel on and around the burner before you light it.

I often use boil in the bag 24hr ration packs. Use the water for a brew up and no washing up. RESULT

I've looked at the multifuel pump up jobbies and although they are quicker to cook, and use the same fuel as your bike, they cost loads and seem complicated.

Of course I might change my mind if I ever have a problem getting fuel.

With regard the Hex stoves, I suppose if you wanted something to keep for an emergency standby, they would be ok but they are muck smelly things.

I'm just starting to pull together a book about cooking on the road, the first chapter is about what kit you can use, both in ideal situations and where space and time are at a premium.

I use the tragnia too - but not the army version - I'm a bit too impatient to wait 10 mins for the boil - so I use the standard version with the multi-fuel conversion set...

There's a video review I've done at Trangia Review » Journey To Russia

But if you've got any stories or tips for cooking on the road... please do PM me!

m

Hi Mat,

The speed thing isn't an issue for me. I can always find something to do while my nosh is warming up or I just chill out for 10 mins while the world wakes up.

I am afraid that I have only done short trips so normally use convenience foods.

If all you want is a coffee, tea, noodles
 

Then I'd recommend the Camping Gaz Twister 270.

http://www.vauchersport.ch/images/Twister%20Kit.jpg

The whole lot packs down into the cooking pots, the gas cyclinder is valved, so you can detach it, it's got a built in piezo ignition, and those little blue gaz cylinders are available all over Europe, my local supermarket here in France stocks them so you don't have to seek them out at all. In an emergency you can buy a bigger cylinder and it'll fit too, you just can't pack it as small.

I've had mine for 20 years now, I bought it in Broken Hill now I think about it. It's done stirling service always provides me with a brew and I've never had a problem with cold even in the Pyrenées in winter, just give the gaz canister a good shake before you light it, and for the morning brew just pop it in your sleeping bag for five mins before you light up (outside of course).

One tip though, don't leave it exposed outside your tent at night. For some reason it attracts earwigs who climb inside the little air inlet hole at the base of the burner. Then when you light it in the morning you've got a sooty flame, and of course, burnt earwigs.

I see that Coleman and Camping Gaz are one and the same now, so I presume a Coleman branded canister will fit too?

Alex - nice bit of kit that - I used to have the older camping gaz versions and they were fine until you had a bit of wind... weather old boy not the other sort.

Then I discovered the windbreak you can buy for them and that made things much easier.

Big Yellow - yes I know what you mean - I was much the same until we went to Dartmoor this time last year and arrived in the dark and cold and it took 45 mins to get some hot food inside us - at that point I decided the only way to go was speed, and that meant heat. Of course it totally ruins the rice.. .but you can't have it all ways!

Yes this is the one I have, note the throw away 270 cannisters can be replaced with a throw away 470. for a small extra cost, and last three times as long. usually doing me for two seasons. These have a mixture of butane and propane so do not suffer from the cold like butane only cannisters.

I've used the original trangia's before when hiking. Always used methylated spirits so can't comments on using it with anything else. Only downsides are the bulk of the things and the time it takes to cook food. The boil in the bag packs may be a little more expensive but you can use he hot water left over for a coffee.

Anyone used one of these.
Trangia Kök - Trangia Stoves Mini Trangia

or the Open Spirit stove here.
Trangia Kök - Trangia Stoves Complements
I suppose you could just buy the burner and make something to suit your own purpose, maybe a mess tin kit with a hole cut in the smaller one for the burner and some screw in supports for a pan holder.

I've also used the Gaz stoves. Handheld blowtorch refills from any DIY store are available in butane, propane or a mix and are the same thread so will fit if you can't find the correct Gaz or Coleman bottle. Obviously, they're taller and narrower so aren't as stable.

As for food, look out for Aldi's, Lidl's, etc. Try this for POI files for them.
Search result

Myself and SmellyBiker just put together two of those Little Stoves you make from two cans of beer and 90% plus alcohol. It works! Though putting them together is rather more difficult than the spiffy video's suggest. SmellyBiker's not excited about his, I am with mine, mainly because the Coleman propane cannisters haven't been available since Panama and I've been cooking only with campfires. I'm excited to try it out on the road. Matt, you could do an entire cooking chapter on just this cooking device alone. ;-)
Lorraine

I have this one, it is a nice small piece of kit for one person. When packed all together, it does not rattle. Negative is that you need to carry additional fuel bottle with spirit, can't use gasoline from tank.

for campfires maybe something like this would help.. knock up something similar that can be used as a bash plate when riding.

Pocket Cooker - wood burning camping stove on eBay, also, Cooking Supplies, Camping, Sporting Goods (end time 26-Dec-07 18:13:19 GMT)

That's really quite clever.
 

I like it, although it is reliant on you collecting burning materials and them being dry, which I guess is the great perk to anything that uses gas, or gaz, or meths or whatever.

A question for the Trangia owners (not having seen on in about 20 years):

My camping luxury is one of these


Can you put one on a Trangia? I can't remember what the burner stand looks like?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ia_diagram.jpg

There you go, that is a simplish pic of the burning platform. I can't answer your question myself, as although I use a Trangia, I don't know what your pic is of! Some kind of kettle?

If my assumption is correct, I think you could use it with a Trangia with the lid off?

You've got a pic of a kettle, now I've added this chocolate teapot of a post!

Happy Riding.

Joel

All these great mail order devices are fine if you're not on the road. I am. The last time I was able to buy the right Coleman propane tank for my burner was in Panama. That was six months ago. I'm now in Peru, and in the past few days I got the following stoves:

1-Little beer/alcohol burner. Cost was the price of the beer.
2-Ancient kerosene stove made in Czechoslovakia, bought at a big outdoor market for $3. There were two others for sale.
3-Alcohol stove used locally, bought at one of many wine shops for $3.

So, there are stoves available 'locally'. Just wish I'd investigated all this a bit earlier! I've been either cooking with campfires, or eating take-away for the past few months!
Lorraine

Cooking on Petrol..
 

Over priming is a common problem with petrol stoves, I see it a lot on campsites and out with groups. Modern petrol stoves really don't need that much heat to get them working in average temperatures/humidity. Use a bit less when priming and if the stove has an absorbant wick, let the petrol soak into it for a second before lighting it.

Or avoid sooting up your petrol stove, try taking a small bottle of meths or alcohol to prime it with, instead of using petrol. This avoids the stove sooting up.. whalla.. whisperlites and nova's no longer turning into black and sooty messes.

I use an MSR Dragonfly, been a brilliant stove, though I carry a spare's kit, though for shorter trips and weekends away I also use a JetBoil stove and for europe and uk the cartridges are easily found. Further abroad I always go with a petrol stove.

Real coffee
 

Joel,
Alexlebrit is using a genuine (as in "Made in Italy") coffee percolator, non-electric version no doubt. A real cup of cappachino on the road is a sign of a gentleman.

I've used a Trangia and this type of percolator, but not together.
I reckon that they would be compatible and the former would support the latter.
Just remembered, the percs do come in different sizes; best to check!! :rolleyes2:
(I'm thinking of the 1-2 person size of percolator).

I ventured forth to the camping store this morning complete with perc and placed it upon the Trangia, where it sat royally. I can't say whether it'd actually heat it up, but it looked nice. So I'm guessing it'd be fine.

And Dave, sir, I raise my perc-ed cup to you.

I allways carry a stove.. which one.. there is as many answers as stove...
one thing to know..

As an Aussie as well we have differnt names for things.. if example if you come to europe and ask for shellite.. you will get looked at like you have six heads.. it is white gas here (i think) .. The USA it is colman fuel.. So what ever you buy.. unless it is petrol (and that is call Gas in the USA).. make sure you copy down the local name for the fuel..
here is a chart i stole form some web site years ago and have added a few more along the way


Note: "white spirit / white gas" Confusion. (May 1996)
Depending on which country you are in, "white spirit" can be one of several substances. In the UK it is "turpentine substitute" ie. paint thinner and is not recommended for burning.
In Australia it is a cleaning solvent but it is not the same as the stuff in the UK. Again it is not recommended for burning. In New Zealand white spirit used to be a common name for white gas but now days it may be mis-understood as meaning "turpentine substitute".


Okay this is not working.. any one know how to paste a table in to this thing?

If you can get the whole table on your monitor without scroll bars, then one way is to push "Print Screen" then open up your fave image editor, trim it down so it's the table and not much else, save that as an image and the post the image.

Okay i have just emailed the table to Grant and he will add it on to the translation page.. (which i did not know existed..I need to surf more..):rolleyes2::cool4::thumbup1:

I can indeed confirm that a coffee peculator will work with the trangia... I use a camping perc' which I sit in a pan and it works quite happily...

This video demonstrates the camping espresso maker working, but not on the trangia - I'll add that to the list to do

Camping Espresso Review » Journey To Russia

m

The BSA mobile cookstove .
 

Use your bike as a cooker/stove
YouTube - Cooking a trout on my BSA motorcycle

15 minutes at 1500 rpm , or 1800 rpm for crispy brown .
No need to oil the pan !

Oo, flash perker-upper, makes mine look very old fashioned, glad it works on the trangia though, although having said that we're opting for something petrol fuelled, just to cut down on the hassle of having to carry other fuels. Might opt for the multi-fuel burner which goes in the Trangia though.

I tried that with a steak and the ancient Holden I had in Oz, unfortunately the gasket was blowing at the manifold and my steak tasted of exhaust, which as my piston rings were also on their way out you can imagine wasn't the best steak relish.

But it did cook it though.

apparently the 4wheeled boys do it under the bonnet regularly.



i mean cook, of course

.......eat salad