I thought about buying an alcohol stove, looks like I’ll be sticking with canister stove. I live in the desert so it doesn’t get very cold here to worry about canister giving me a hard time. Matter of fact I think I’m going to break out my camp set and do a backyard camping trip lol
Or ten minutes to make one. Search it on YT. Or maybe multi-fuel pressure stoves. Canister/kerosene/gasoline/diesel/alcohol/etc.(primus/MSR/&other companies)
@@Canadian_Craftsman I have done dry baking but it's really not very practical in the Forest... I do love watching Tinny dry bake in his videos... minibulldesign.com
As a stove collector, I have around 600 stoves from around the World, the oldest dating to 1866. That stove is an alcohol stove! I love white gas stoves, and kerosene stoves, and also have several favorite canister stoves. As for alcohol stoves, I have tons of them, too, and find them excellent, IF you know how to use them. The Trangia stoves are basically windproof, IF you setup the windscreen the proper way. We use two of them to cook bacon and eggs, for breakfast burritos, and they really work a treat! There is very little that a good Trangia, properly used, cannot do, and we find them "fairly" fuel efficient, again, if used properly. For what it's worth...... - Doc Mark
@@backandforthupanddow Many thanks for your kind words! In truth, most of my collection is packed in tubs and boxes, which is the only way to actually store it. I do have some display shelves, and keep a trestle table setup with a selection of stoves that I can enjoy everyday. I rotate that selection, now and then, just for fun. Being self-employed, I don't have as much time for actually getting out to camp, but am hoping to squeeze in a trip in the Fall. But, which stove to take? THAT is always a head-scratcher, and part of the fun in stove collecting!
I enjoy using a very old Coleman stove passed down to me sure there is nostalgia but I like to take myself back and think of allthe adventure the great uncle had lit by that very lamp.@@markrutledge-docmark41
While thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, there was a particularly nasty Arctic front that pushed down from Canada. Three other hikers at my campsite, all had JetBoils stoves that seized up because condensation froze in the fuel line. I used up all of my alcohol making hot water for their dinners, breakfasts, and coffee on my always reliable Trangia.
@@gerardogarcia-trio3572 Yes, I noticed that immediately too... There was an immediate feeling of being ashamed of others. The right setup is actually self-explanatory. Carrying the Trangia cookware, which is in principle large and heavy, only makes sense if you also benefit from the well thought-out system: trangia.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Trangia-stovespirit-burner-1080x721.jpg - The bottom of the windshield raises the burner off the ground (protects from heat damage and wildfires) and has the air intake that you can always turn to face the wind. (Therefore, it is considered a "storm cooker") - The upper part of the windshield encloses the pot so that the hot air flows around it. This makes an alcohol stove much more effective! Of course, these system advantages also work with the optional gas burner from Primus. So far I have always used the large set to cook for 2 people, which puts the high weight into perspective, because then each person only carries half (purely arithmetical). If you want to cook real meals, the system is great; for just getting small amounts of hot water for coffee and instant food is kind of "overkill".
I have used Trangia since 1980s and used it for car-camping and backpacking. Agree it's bombproof very little can go wrong. When cold it's a good idea to refill the stove and store on your person to warm it up so it cooks faster. However I have been nudging towards gas purely for weight+volume reasons. I have a Jetboil and with a week's fuel the Trangia is 1.2Kg heavier and about 2L more volume. I tried going to more mininalist alcohol stove but they hate wind. True the Trangia can cook more things in varies ways, far more than just boiling water. When carrying the Jetboil - as gas has more ways to fail - I carry two Esbit tabs in the base of the Jetboil as a backup, but so far never needed. So depends on the trip type, duration, if you're carrying everything daily. If car-camping I'd take Trangia, if backpacking the Jetboil (+Esbit backup). Recently got the Trangia gas conversion and a canister refiller adapter so lower gas costs and so set off always with a full 100g canister.
How in the world do people hike in the freezing cold with a Jetboil? Personally, I will not trust isobutane(even is MSR) if the weather forecast is below 20f, unless I'm in a proper national park campground. I have a Kovea Spider that can allow isobutane to function properly in the cold, but I just not confident enough to use them up a mountain with some altitude and beg them to function in cold. Plus, the Jetboil Flash weight is similar to the liquid fuel stove like the MSR whisperlite Universal, other than the MSR needs few 100g extra for the liquid fuel and a titanium cup. In freezing weather, I would rather bring this set with me no matter I'm heading to thru-hike or some overnight camp, or even car camping. Yeah, it looks a lot heavier with liquid fuel and all that, but considering the cooking time, and the fuel consumption in freezing weather, I much appreciate carrying a heavy stove instead of waiting 20plus minutes for an alcohol stove to melt some ice for me. BTW, alcohol is not efficient, so to boil the same amount of water from snow, alcohol consumes more grams than liquid fuel like a white gas stove.
I really love the Trangia and its intended cookware. Last time I was out in the wild I did a serving of fried vegetables, fried halloumi cheese, as well as couscous (boiling water) mixed it together with spices for a really yummy dinner. During the evening I heated water for some tea and a water bottle to keep warm in my sleeping bag. and in the morning I made oats porridge and boiled water for coffee.... I did all of this without refilling the stove... I even had some alcohol left. I wonder if there's different efficiency to different alcohol fuels because I can't relate to the "always needing to fill up the stove". In Sweden we use a Swedish product called "T-Röd" by the company Kemetyl. Perhaps it's really efficient? And I also use modern trangia cookware, which is stackable and the aluminum windshield greatly decreases heat loss. The "tower" of cookware helps to isolating the heat, as well as spreading throughout all components... I generally preheat the frying pan by using it as a lid when boiling water. If I make two pots, let say one with rice and one with stew, I will start with the stew pot, until it gets to simmering temperature, then I switch it out for the rice pot stack the stew pot on top... It requires a bit of re-learning. but is a really efficient way of cooking and not wasting the heat or fuel. If I am feeling particularly brave, I stack the frying pan on top of the Stew pot as a lid, but I could fry some mushrooms (since they are best fried at low temperature. :) It's a juggling act, but I like it. Since I am out in nature I try to live in the moment enjoying the quietness the alcohol stove provides. Listening to the sounds of nature while focusing only on the cooking. :)
Just tested the stacking with my own army surplus Triangia (Jägarköket) And I can't stack the bigger pot on the smaller without drastically reducing the smaller pots availiable volume. Unless I use the frying pan as a lid in between and then have to get an extra frying pan to lid the upper pot.
@@SonsOfLorgar SonsOfLorgar sorry to hear that. perhaps they have done some design revisions lately. I use their cheapest current cookware (around 36$ in Sweden). 1-2ppl Trangia 27-3 UL. and basically the bigger pot will rest on the lip of the smaller pot, quite sturdily as well, about 0.5-1cm down into the smaller pot. Trangia is a brand that has been around since the early 1900s and I bet that they have done hundreds of models over the years. I can recommend this set if you are making solo dinners. they have a larger model, the 25-3. But I have no experience with it. although it should be the same as mine. :)
I'm only starting this but I want to think in an emergency life saving, possibility in starting a fire with Alcohol stoves, Alcohol is easier to spark on possibly maybe allowing 15 minutes or so so drying, burning wood, time to start a little bigger fire.or warm your hands enough to start one.
I'm an alcohol stove DIYer. I love toying with different setups, hole patterns and fuel mixtures. I've even got several designs that do have the ability to simmer. That being said, I also have several different canister stoves and even a larger butane burner. You've nailed it in that they all serve a purpose and I don't rely on just one design. I'm really big on solo bicycle camping for few days at a time. For these trips, the alcohol stoves work great. However, if I'm cooking or making coffee for more than just myself, a canister stove is the way to go. And you may have heard about the struggles we had with losing power, in February's freeze, here in Texas. WIth four of us here, the butane burner had it's time to shine in keeping my wife and I in hot coffee and the whole family getting hot meals.
Please can you advice which alcohol I should use for alcohol stove that has cotton inside? I used simple alcohol and my house smelled of Gas. I think I have used a wrong fuel.
@@KindQuotes - I use about a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol (with the "green" label, from the hardware store - in the thinners/strippers section) and HEET gas-line anti-freeze from the auto-parts store. Get the HEET with the blue label, NOT the red. The blue label burns clean, the red will produce black tar. You can go 100% HEET, if needed. It is just more expensive. I mix it to make it cheaper. Also, if you are burning this stove inside, do it near an open window. It won't produce a massive amount of carbon monoxide, but with low ventilation, it will become dangerous without notice.
@@chickensmack thank you for the additional information. Indeed I could t find HEETS in online and technical stores here. Will look for methyl alcohol solution.
I’m brand new to all this and have brought the Trangia stove with a OneTigris evil eyes burner. I don’t know what it is about the trangia but it’s like it reminds me of something I’ve seen when I was a child or seeing a man using one and it left a fond impression on me. Mine arrives this Saturday.
Trangia is unmatched and tested by the Swedish Army for 70 years. Temperature tested 40 Celsius to minus 30 Celsius. Those -30 are Requirements by the Swedish Army.
@Ordinary Sessel For me, the sub zero performance. Since I was 17 (now 50) I've visited Scandinavian countries and more recently, North West Russia, wild camping and the Trangia has never let me down. Worst weather I ever experienced was in East Iceland, in a Blizzard, in my little tent, with my Trangia at -28C. Terrifying, but the Trangia was heroic that day.
I use my alcohol stove through every season here in Ohio and Pa, never had an issue, one ounce of alcohol boils two cups of water in less then 5 minutes. I’m out enjoying where I am, cooking is part of that. Never in a hurry even in the morning. Everything nests in my pot along with my cup, pot stand and wind screen. Alcohol bottle on the outside of the pack. 8oz is good for more than 3 days.
I've used Trangia meths stoves for over 30 years both in the UK and Australia . Never had a single problem . Spares are readily available in good camping stores . Tip , if you put two tea spoons full of water in the burner before adding the methylated spirt it cools the flame a little and help avoid soot build up during heating .
My personal experience is that I've really struggled with gas stoves in windy, high altitude mountain conditions but I've used meths (alcohol) stoves reliably in all sorts of hostile environments and they have never ever let me down. The simplicity and reliability does it for me every time - when you're in really remote, cold and hostile place you can't take any chances. That hot meal or drink could really literally be a life saver. BTW - you had the Trangia base upside down; that may well affect it's performance! 😉
I have a micro camper My main source of heat is camping gas, I also use a British army solid fuel block, when I make tea I put one mug of water in my kettle put it on the army stove I then prepare my meal on hot days it will fully boil on cold days I may have to use gas for one minute, on hot days I will put a pan on until the flame goes out this way my gas canister can last up-to 3 weeks having used the stoves 3 times a day
I live in my van and cooked outside on a Trangia 27 nearly everyday for years, Yes it does take practice to judge the right amount of fuel and set the simmer ring and refuel. Only in really high wind I found it really fuel hungry. A litre of fuel lasts me about a week if I don't simmer stews. The trangia however is the whole system of windsheild, frying pan, pots and kettle not just the burner and in combination I can cook everything I can cook on a home stovetop, its compact and silent. I use it for day hikes with cooking in scenic location, very relaxing so who cares about a couple if minutes to boil a bit of water. I agree that for a long distance hike it would probably be too fiddly to set up everyday just to boil water and heat food. But for cooking proper meals from scratch it's great ( with practice) I noticed that Luke was not using the Trangia base and windsheild correctly so the burner was not getting the right airflow, it does make a difference But I have to agree I made a few pop can stoves with foil windsheild and they do work but are quite inefficient with fuel. The Trangia system is perfect for my purposes, but for long distance hiking it would be heavier than expected and fiddly
Try find a pot with a heat exchanger base if you ever want or need to get faster cooking times out of your Triangia or any field stove system for that matter. :)
@@kgilliagorilla2761 Trangia base and windscreen (of 25 and 27 kits) was designed to take advantage of wind blow, creating a column of hot air that helps the burner.
To SIMMER with can type alcohol stoves I place the stove in a small saucer (metal or plastic) and after the stove is burning fully, pour a bit of water (1/2 oz?) in the saucer. It cools the alcohol and metal stove body reducing the fuel vaporization and thus flame output. Works.. More water, less heat for you trail sous-vied roast. You're welcome. : )
Thank you for making this video. The statement I fully agree with is that one tool is not appropriate for every job, and there are better times and circumstances for different kinds of stoves. That said, I think this presentation was definitely biased and not "just the facts" as presented. This is a long comment, but a lot of points were made in the video and I'm offering rebuttals or more information to many of those points: (Disclaimer) I've taught backpacking for over a decade and I've used and own most kinds of stoves. The system I've settled on for most trips is a used cat food can with holes in the side which is its own stand. That stove is 1/3 oz plus about an ounce for wind screen/pot stabilizer. It isn't even the most efficient among alcohol stoves, but it does very well with my wider "grease pot". ALL stoves benefit from a wind screen so I don't count that weight. ALL stoves require fuel, and even wood burning stove users know the wisdom of carrying enough dry fuel to cook their next meal in very wet/rainy conditions. 1. Fuel weight - I carry (generously) 1 oz fuel per cooked meal AND 16 oz. hot drink - basically, about 1.5 L total volume heated. I carry my fuel in a bottle that weighs almost nothing, and I'm not limited to whatever fuel is in a pressurized metal canister, whether full or nearly empty. (The canister weight averages about 40 percent of the total fuel+canister weight, which pretty much negates the roughly 2:1 efficiency advantage of canister stoves over alcohol stoves.) Also, don't forget that canister stove users will often end up carrying TWO canisters when one is somewhat low on fuel, and they have to pack out relatively large, uncompressible, and heavy empty canisters to a place where they can be properly collected and transported to a landfill. 2. Environmental impact? Imagine throwing away a stove after every few uses. From a manufacturing and materials perspective, this is exactly what you're doing with canisters. When it comes to the actual fuel, I think the petrochemical industry is worse for environmental impact than alcohol production. If I'm wrong and alcohol production has more impact ounce-for-ounce, and this is about environmental impact from production, then for most folks, drinking alcoholic beverages is far more of an impact by volume and frequency than the average of 1 ounce cleanly burned per meal only when backpacking. If you drink alcohol while decrying alcohol stoves for their environmental impact, that seems hypocritical. (Your body "burns" alcohol and produces the byproducts of combustion - CO2, H2O, and heat.) 3. Warning labels on methanol? Yes, it is extremely toxic to drink and slightly toxic on the skin. Of course, if fearful of this, you *could* use ethanol or isopropyl alcohols. As for displaying warning labels... Hint: EVERYTHING has warnings these days. My advice is don't drink the methanol and don't leave it on your skin. Plus, I notice you didn't display the much lengthier warnings on gas canisters - maybe because there is so many warnings in such a tiny font that the print just looks gray. That seems biased to me. 4. You treat alcohol stoves as if the gases produced by burning are somehow worse than liquid petroleum products. Really? Do you have any actual evidence for this? Bottom line is that no open flame stove should be used in an unventilated area, primarily due to the risk from carbon monoxide, even though a properly burning stove will minimize even that risk. 5. I agree that gas stoves tend to be more idiot proof. However, in all my years and thousands of trail miles of using alcohol stoves, I've NEVER had my alcohol stove spill or squirt burning alcohol, and I've NEVER tried to add alcohol to a still-burning stove. No offense, but that is pure user error and if your cooking area is properly prepared, even a tipped stove is not dangerous at all. If anyone is the kind of person who tends to make those kinds of mistakes, I agree that canister stoves may be a better option, though it is certainly possible to make those dangerous as well if you ignore instructions and warnings. 6. Speaking of canister stoves, I have seen them get knocked over and shoot out flames as the LP fluid exits the nozzles. I've seen singed eyebrows from people leaning over a canister stove while trying to light it. And heaven help you if a canister ends up in (or too close to) a hot fire and is not retrieved immediately. (I haven't seen that one, and hope I never will.) 7. Never try to make a rational decision based on a California law. I've lived in CA. It isn't all bad and there are still a lot of nice folks there, but the lunatics are definitely running the asylum now and the sane folks are fleeing in droves. 8. Cooking speed - If your goal is to boil water and pour it into a Mountain House type of "meal" as quickly as possible, you are probably better off with a gas canister stove. I cook things like steel-cut oats, fresh greens or mushrooms I've foraged while hiking, in addition to my own dehydrated meals. These take more time to cook or rehydrate and they actually benefit from the slower heating time. With an alcohol stove, I can measure my fuel accurately, start my meal and take care of other things while it cooks knowing it will go out on its own when done. 9. As for using thru hikers as an example for all backpackers, don't make someone pursuing a focused goal the measure of how to do something "normally". This is true in many intense sports. Is the best way to drink water to gulp it down from a paper cup, throw the cup on the ground, and run away? Is peeing your pants rather than stopping during a race or a game really "normal" behavior? Is going for days or even weeks at a time without bathing while sweating and getting covered in grime "normal" behavior? Unusual choices like these may be acceptable in some circumstances and for some goals, but pushing physical boundaries may also mean temporarily ignoring other boundaries. The requirements of the extremes don't have to be the standards for everyone else. 10. Finally, if you are an early riser like I am, don't underestimate the value of being able to silently prepare your meal while enjoying a sunrise without disturbing any fellow campers who prefer to sleep a little later. Same applies if you're a night owl who might want to cook after folks go to bed. Again, none of this is personal, and I appreciate anyone who tries to help people do outdoor activities better. As a professional analyst (including forensics), I know that truly unbiased analysis is an elusive target, and in most cases it is better to simply acknowledge your bias before presenting evidence to support your argument. Even a forensic analysis starts with an hypothesis, but the final report should only demonstrate how that hypothesis is proven OR disproven by the evidence. Plus they are really dull reading. Inherent bias is why we don't trust the same attorneys to present both sides of a case. Each side is responsible for doing their best to present a compelling argument and evidence for prosecution or defense, and both sides are needed to help a judge and sometimes a jury get closer to the truth. For gear choices, a lot of that "truth" boils down to (see what I did there?) personal preference and backpacking style.
Great detailed reply with many excellent points. Especially the problem of canisters that are partially used. I hate trying to figure out if I can get by with a partially used one or need to carry two or a new one and have more partially used ones! What a waste!
I just ordered a trangia stove and this video made me start to think it was a bad idea, but your response has made me feel all warm again about my trangia. Cant wait to get it and try it out!
When he says "unbiased" he's obviously using the term casually, meaning "I'll try to put my biases aside". As humans, we all have certain biases, naturally. Therefore we can't really be 100% neutral, but we can try to be objective... for example, comments such as "I've been using my stove for over 30 years, it's the best stove of all time" contain a lot of bias, but little facts. If you care to look around, most people out there voice their opinons in that manner... I think he does a pretty good job at being mostly objective (= factual information). It's his right to conclude with his personal opinion after going through the pros and cons.
Technique: assuming you've got the Trangia with full-size base, get it going as soon as you stop to camp - because it's so sturdy you don't have to worry about knocking it over as you pitch your tent and by the time you're set up you've got boiling water for your tea or coffee.
I've started using a cannister more these days, but always loved my Trangia. I always thought the "time to boil" being used as a negative point was silly. If I've hiked into a beautiful spot in the mountains somewhere, I don't care whether it takes 2 minutes or 5 minutes to boil my water for dinner, while I'm sitting back taking in the view. I'm not out there just to rush around and do everything as quick as I can and get to bed. I'm there to enjoy myself.
I agree, I have went full circle myself. Started out with a Jetboil 10 yrs ago. Switched to a homemade fancy feast catcan alcohol stove, got tired of the time required to boil with no weight savings in the end. I'm trying a Snowpeak titanium stove and canister this year.
Loved my Trangia when I used to hike. No idea who's saying they're crap in cold weather, I used mine all over Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and North Western Russian Boreal with no problems. Trangia is very well shielded from the wind. And cooking times are longer, but it never concerned me, I'm not in the office. I'm kicking back in the outback.
If you can pick one up (as they are tricky to find at the moment) I would definitely suggest a Trangia Mini (saucepan, frying pan, burner, Windshield & pot handle, all in a small & transportable pack)
have used Trangia for about 30+ years; when they first came out. yes a learning curve... after a few trips i worked out the human - stove time, handling, refueling, vs no parts. have taught stoves in scouts with so many different ones including homemade. Trangia works well if you plan your meals. 1 full charge will cook a pizza in a bag as thick with ingredients as you want. No speed demon to heat water but does the job well. for more water use the larger kettle. When i watched a fellow adult lose a part on a can gas fuel burner(ended his hot meals), talking about him sleeping with the fuel can... i looked for an alternative. Say what you will, TRANGIA IS FOR ME.
Trangia stoves are one of the few types that burn quicker with a breeze, so long as you point the windshield in the right direction. You can also leave unspent fuel in the burner. My favourite feature of a Trangia, however, is that the pots and kettle are all part of the system.
I love my Trangia stove. I even got the one with stainless steel lined pots and pan. It has a clever design that makes it unlikely to tip over and is good in the wind. It’s not the fastest to boil water but it’s fast enough. The flame regulator allows for cooking of real food and if used properly, saves a lot of fuel.
I have the trangia 25-2 cookset (made in Sweden, not China!) and also the trangia gas burner. I’ve tested both boiling roughly 800ml in the included pot. Ambient temperature was 20° Celcius. The gas took a loud 5 minutes to obtain a rolling boil, the spirit burner was 6 minutes. I put in 50ml of liquid fuel and still had an estimated 10-20ml after the experiment. So from my experience I could not understand his complaints. They just do not correlate to my experience. I also felt he was constantly giving us his resumé as if that were to make him more credible. Hopefully he doesn’t act this way all the time. The most respected experts do not need to regularly remind their listeners of their credentials. He seemed to be at pains to make us understand he was commenting without bias. “Just facts”. I’m left perplexed as to how his facts are so different to mine. Maybe as others have said, he is using terrible quality fuel. Maybe he doesn’t appreciate the trangia has exceptional wind shielding and that you can easily vary the burner intensity with the included attachment. And perhaps he doesn’t realise you can leave the unburnt fuel in the trangia burner and just use the included lid with the rubber seal so it doesn’t leak. There is no need to pour the fuel back into the fuel bottle. The only time I would prefer a gas/canister stove is when keeping weight minimal is essential and I had confidence that canister fuel supplies were not going to be an issue. If you accidentally leave your canister on or it has a leak you can run out of fuel quickly. This could spell disaster in extreme conditions. In extreme cold the canister stove can struggle to vaporise the fuel. My experience is it’s hard not to like the Trangia.
@@SimonBrisbane Looks to me like he has got his Trangia set up completely wrong? 2:53 - he's nested top section inside the lower, instead of having them 'stacked' as they should be?
@@SimonBrisbane Yea I’m with you. Trangia is great, been using it for 40 years. We use one Trangia for me and my girl, but two burners, both gas and alcohol. Sometimes gas is better, sometimes you have to use alcohol. But if I’d have to choose one to keep me alive in emergency, alcohol all day every day.
I like my trangia for boiling water quickly and food that cooks in less than 10 minutes. Just cooked a small ribeye wrapped in bacon, seasoned with a dash of Montreal seasoning last night at camp. It was done in about 10 minutes. Very tastey. Also, it's nice to be able to use a little alcohol to get a wood fire going quickly when you dont want to screw around being bushcrafty. Like when your boots are frozen and you want to get them thawed out asap. Been there, done that. I also carry a diy firebox style stove for when I want to ration the alcohol reserve and there is tinder available. Always have a backup. You are right though, there are tradeoffs with anything. Canisters are handy and good for when you have extended cook times but I do not like throwing away the cans I have to pack out when they're spent...seems like a waste. Of course I have tossed out my share of empty Heet containers supplying my alcohol stove. Anyway, good review. My Trangia stays in my kit as a good, efficient light weight option, maybe not "the best" camp stove, but definately a great option to have available.
Hi Luke, and thanks for outstanding videos! In the Swedish Army we typically use alcohol stoves mainly för three reasons. First, the trangia-style alcohol burners are indestructible. You could probably drop one from an aircraft into the forest, and still be able to use it. Secondly, they do not pose the risk of explosion as gas-canisters do. You can imagine a group of soldiers trapped in a burning vehicle with a few gas-canisters in each backpack. Third, as you mentioned, they work in low temperatures, where gas will not. If you turn the gas-canister upside-down you can use it a little colder, but alcohol is still much better. The only time we would use gas-stoves is on LRP or other remote missions, where a fuel supply chain is not available. ALL WELL!
Har haft ett Trangia kök i ca 30 år och skulle testa ett gaskök men fick det inte att fungera så jag fortsätter med mitt Trangia kök istället. Har det också i nödfall hemma i elavbrott för värme och laga mat eller elda maten som vi säger på Island.
I use also over 30 years the tangria on both gas and alcohol. With gas the tangria is quicker than any domestic stove. But also with the alchol burner it is quit qick. At low temperatur the bottom heater is a good investment and speeding up the burner. The alcohol one is in my compay car, because its saver especially in sommer. For me the tangria is the most compact and best to use under nearly all cobdition.
as you said there is a when & why for every stove, I use alcohol (Trangia), twig-stove (Firebox), fuel (Whisperlite, Primus), canister (Optimus, Trangia)... most of the time I carry 2 (Firebox + Trangia). The only thing I would add is that when speaking about alcohol stoves the Trangia set (25, 27 or military) is something QUITE different from a catfood-can stove...
You're have some experiences with alcohol stoves, right? May I know which alcohol stove is better; standard alcohol stoves or copper coil alcohol stoves?
@@MASViper I am not an expert just an amateur, and I am afraid I cannot answer your question: 1 because I have never used a copper-coil alcohol burner, and 2 because first we should define what we mean with "better"... But independently from any other consideration, I know that coil burners are quite efficient in terms of heat generation and fuel consumption, in my grandparents house there used to be such a thing (about 100 years old) to heat water in the bathroom, and it worked quite well. But if I should make a decision, here and know, I would not hesitate one second, and choose the well known and proven Trangia burner!
@@MrPetuP remember that boiling water is not equal = cooking...!!! Ease of use, fuel efficiency/economy and availability/price of fuel are all important aspects, but also simplicity! (fewer parts + no moving parts = fewer potential problems). Actually my favourite systems are alcohol stoves (Trangia!) and twig-stoves (Firebox), which I usually carry together (back-up). If high efficiency/output is needed my old Primus/Whispy will do. I am not a great fan of IsoPropane (environmental issue) but it is a clean, efficient and easy to use method, because of regulatory restrictions about open-flame systems I am sometimes forced to use it, but I thing that wood-burning stoves are by far the most logical alternative (you do not have to carry fuel). 1
Used a Trangia mini for years. Love it. Learn to use them and they are the best minimal kit. I get the bit about the weight but with the mini you have a fry pan, pan lifter and saucepan included.
Thanks for posting this. Each stove has their limitation and there's simply not a "one size fits all" approach to backpacking stoves and you presented that well here. There are too many voices out there pushing their favorite as the best, etc., etc. In the end, do your homework and figure out which one works for your situation. I've had a Svea 123 for decades and it's a tank that just works, but so does the Trangia. The canister stoves don't do so well in extreme cold, alcohol stoves are more temperamental in windy conditions, et cetera.
I think for me, the main factors leading to alcohol generally being my first choice (for trips less than a few days, or for longer trips where I'll have refueling opportunities) 1) Wind. I find I still have issues with wind with a minimalist canister stove. There's things like a jetboil or windburner, but those are substantially heavier and bulkier, and they are still subject to wind. With my caldera cone + alcohol stove, wind is not an issue - but that's not an option with canisters - unless you get a stove connected to the canister via a hose. But again, that adds substantial weight and bulk. 2) Refueling. Canister fuel is substantially more expensive, and the canister itself weighs as much as the fuel. The lack of flexibility in the amount of fuel you can bring can be annoying on shorter trips. A canister can be heavy and bulky compared to the amount alcohol you'd need for a day or two. And you end up with a bunch of partially-used canisters to manage - which you can't trust to last your trip, so you need to bring a second canister as a backup if you want to use those up... With alcohol, I can see exactly how much fuel is left, and simply refill the existing bottle, without having a collection of partially-full canisters to manage, or empty ones to figure out how to recycle. And the fuel for alcohol stoves can be sourced pretty much anywhere - not limited to specialty camping stores. For me the arguments for a canister stove are: speed of setup and boiling, and density of the fuel - handy on longer trips. I think which to bring depends on how long you'll be out for, and your refueling options. In many places alcohol stoves are simply banned, though - due to forest fire danger - despite alcohol stoves stuffed with a wicking material not having that fuel spill danger that others have.
My Dad gave me my tranger , he used it in his younger days,I am 60 now and it Still going strong if you like old fashioned things and not in a rush They are great,if you use it properly it will never let you down
As a person who has made hundreds of alcohol stoves. I would say you nailed it. I use them for times when I want to relax and don't mind the wait such as a evening cup of coffee, but when I am hungry I pull out my pocket rocket and let it roar.
I have 3 alcohol stoves and 2 twig stoves. I decided alcohol would be better as a backup than a canister stove for me because of the fuel availability issue. I’m not a ‘hiker’, more of a survivalist. Great video Luke. Thanks for the info!
I am one of those people who loves his homemade alcohol stove. I love the peace and quiet, free from the jet noise spewed out by both canister and white gas stoves. I also enjoy the extra quiet time in the morning waiting for my water to boil for coffee and oatmeal. That said, I'm not a fanatic, and appreciate the balance you provided between the advantages and drawbacks of using alcohol, especially on long distance hikes. Thanks for being fair to both sides.
Thank for your comprehensive and helpful review. It could be helpful (for beginners) if you would mention in your video to never refill a gas stove such as the Triangia without having closed the stove with the lid for at least 30-60 seconds before refilling in order to avoid burns. Very often, one doesn't see the flame as you correctly mention. So very easy sequence: need to refill - if yes, cover the stove with the lid 30-60 secs- only then refill.
a couple years ago i went through my "alcohol stove" phase, i was obsessed. i tried so hard to make it the best piece of camp gear i owned, but in the end, i pretty much reached the same conclusion as you.
There are actually a myriad of reasons a burner/stove can underperform expectations. What do you think the main problems were? The five main categories of causes I've found for dissatisfaction are fuel choice, burner build choice based, pot choice based, and ambient condition and thermal insulation based. These are the big picture factors in the alcohol burner heating efficiency game. If you understand how all the factors work together, you can assemble a moded burner that will perform well.
Hey spot on from my experience! I use my al stove for day hikes in the winter ( nothing better than instant soup for lunch!) to 1-2 nights year round ( just to qualify, I do not “cook”; just boil water). After that, fuel volume carrying becomes an issue. Absolutely reliable, especially at altitudes above 10k in the winter; something that cannot be said about gas canister stoves. Thanks for your analysis 👍
For me personally, I prefer an alcohol or gel stove when I am pretty sure I will have the luxury of time, which is most of my overnighters and day hikes. I'm usually not in a hurry to heat up my coffee or my packet meal; I enjoy the process and do not feel rushed... after all, that's what I go into the outdoors for! And I hate the roar of a Pocket Rocket! With gel stoves (at least the ones I've used) you can see the flame, which is quite nice in itself. However, I will choose a canister stove if it's going to be very cold or wet and I will want to get things done quickly or if I was thru/section hiking (I've never done this but plan to!) I know alcohol stoves work better in the cold, but a canister works just fine if you warm it up a little in your pocket or sleeping bag. Just takes a slight bit of forward planning. And as Luke says, I would expect the novelty of an alcohol stove to be lost on me pretty quick on a long trip. Both types have their uses :)
I agree that the noise really isn't nice with the canister stove. Prefer biofuel when it is available. Sometimes pack in some wood pellets. I like collecting tinder, etc. as I go along. The alcohol stoves are kind of convenient for a short dayhike, htough.
Well, Luke, after hearing your spiel I read every comment. Wow, folks are passionate about their alcohol stoves. One dude wrote in saying that if he is upset that he has to spend a few extra minutes heating his food, then he knows he needs to spend more time in the woods. Once, years ago, I bought a pump up stove, went on a camping trip, I want you to know, that frigin’ thing failed right out of the box. Yeah, there is a lot to be said for keeping it simple esp if you are 20 miles out. Enjoyed your video.
One thing I'd add is that there are some alcohol stove systems like the trangia which present a reasonaby priced cooking set with pots and a fry pan. Then to cover other adverse conditions you can upgrade to gas burner or multi fuel burners later. So can be great to start out and develop. We love the trangia here in the UK and temperate or Northern European regions!
I love my DIY alcohol stove where I fine-tune it until it gets the rice cooked when the alcohol is finished. I simply light it, put on my pot and go for my other chore and come back with a pot of perfectly cooked rice. No need to wait and switch off anything and I think this is so cool.
I have three specific mods I make to all my burners to increase fuel efficiency. On top of the burner build mods, my setup is adjustable, for further customization (including a flame booster option by placing a candle, buddy burner, or fuel tab under the burner to increase the burner's btu output; this option actually decreases fuel efficiency, just for the record, but speeds up boil times significantly, so there is a trade-off made; it just depends on your individual purpose at the moment). I love that my setup is highly customizable, as a result of so much testing I've done. I'm highly considering selling my design mods and even sourcing my customized setup.
I use the gas stove when I am working with children and so generally I need to eat and get back to work. If i am on my own, I like the Trangia stove as I find the light and the quiet very therapeutic. Thanks for the video though, more help during our lockdown in the UK x
"Pro tip", actually two tips, if you use the Trangia version with a lid - Always check to see that the rubber o-ring seal in the lid stays in the lid. I had one come loose and be left on the burner and in my haste and otherwise engagement with food-preparation-related activities I failed to notice this fact and I lit the stove with the rubber ring on it. I did, however, most certainly not fail to notice the smell and black smoke from my field-kitchen; something rather unusual for the normal routine. I had to put it out and deal with the now burned stuck rubber. Most of it could be peeled off in flakes once dried, but it took some work, and what little was left was kinda burned-in and not smoking or so during further use. They work well without the o-ring seal though and this one continued to serve me well for the rest of my time with it (until I gave it back to the Swedish Air Force as it wasn't owned by me). Without the o-ring seal you can not store and carry fuel the same way you can with an intact burner equipped with one though, but see point and second tip below. You are not supposed to store fuel in them for transport or long periods anyways we were taught unless for absolute necessity, such as if you for some reason really need to bring fuel and have no suitable container at all for some reason because someone shot a hole in your fuel container or something. I don't know, they didn't specify. Anyways, this is for a few reasons. One is because they *can* leak and particularly so with older burners as the brass and o-ring seal age and with heavy use. For example they may come to develop small cracks or so on the lid around the screw-threads (which mine had by the way, perhaps also a contributing factor as to why the o-ring seal came off that one time). Long time exposure to the fuel can also damage/weaken the rubber o-ring which would be good to have in case you really do need to use it as a fuel storage container at some point. For that reason it is preferable to fully burn out or vent the burner a little to keep it dry and best cared for when you are not using it. At least such is what I gathered as for the reasons not to store and carry fuel in the burner itself. Of course the o-ring seal may also keep residue vapours contained when need-be, so it is good to have regardless in that way. One other added benefit I can conceive for not having fuel stored in them may be to lessen the risk of spillage when opening the burner itself (more easily done if cold enough to lose dexterity, under stress, etc) as covering yourself in flammable liquid prior to intending to light a fire is probably a bad idea. So there you go. Don't go burning your rubber unless you're making donuts and know what you're doing if you're storing fuel in the burner itself.
I enjoy DYI. So I've made a lot of different types of stoves and have used them out in the woods. I love the penny alcohol stove but just like this video points out they have their time and place, their pros and cons. Their biggest pro is making and using gear adds another dimension to your out door hobby.
A big factor for me with the alcohol stove compared to a canister stove, is the lack of waste. I use a white gas MSR over a cannister, because I don't like throwing away canisters. That makes the alcohol definitely more eco friendly.
You can buy a refill adapter, put the smaller emptier canister in freezer for 20 mins then put it under the adapter under the larger canister and open for a short while then weigh the smaller til it's approaching it's full weight. As larger canister are cheaper per unit fuel it also saves money after 3 refills.
@@calibos3329 Waste is reduced by 60% refilling 100g from 450g. Marginal? An empty 450 canister is 190g, and refills 4.5 times a 100g empty 106g canisters. 190g/4.5 = 42g. 42g is 40% of 106g. And if you are weighing and refilling you are discarding an emptier canister than the alternative of many less-empty smaller canisters. I could refill from one of the even larger ones , using a different adapter, which you "own" the canister and swap it for refilled one, lowering waste even more. I'm in UK and the larger canisters you swap empty for full are all over, popular for caravan/motorhomes who use them for cooking and for bar-b-ques. Sizes vary, 5Kg-47Kg. So you can make your waste significantly less than "marginal".
The Caldera Cone, from Trail Designs, makes a BIG difference to the efficiency of alcohol stoves. Not so much the speed of cooking, but definitely the amount of alcohol you'll need for a trip, including in windy conditions. For me, it's what tips the balance in favor of using alcohol stoves because it removes three of the negatives you mention: wind resistance, fuel efficiency and, because you can carry less fuel, weight.
The Caldera Cone does make alcohol stoves more efficient - but you'll still burn twice the weight of fuel as you would with a canister stove, even in perfect conditions. Most of the time you'll need a minimum of 14g (1/2 oz) of alcohol to boil 500ml. A canister stove will use 7g - 8g of gas.
@@jandal8905 True enough but for shorter trips the weight saved on gas is offset by the weight of the canister itself - unless you can dispose of it en route, you're carrying at least 100g of empty canister for the duration, regardless. That's around 8-10 extra boils by itself. (personally I almost always use a gas stove BTW so i'm definitely not against them, just pointing out a sometimes overlooked aspect of the pros and cons)
@@jandal8905 True but lets calculate the cost of gas and alcohol in my home country for an instance which is Estonia. The 450g PRIMUS gas canister will cost me roughly 10€ , 15€ for winter gas blend. 5L of denatured alcohol will cost me also roughly 10€ in one litre bottles, 5L canister is cheaper. With 450g gas canister and taking your 7-8g figure, I will be able to do 56 500ml waterboils. That is 18 euro cents per boil. 1L of alcohol is roughtly 2€. Lets take again your 14g alcohol figure. That makes me 71 boils per litre of alcohol. That is 2 euro cents per boil. The difference to use alcohol based on price is nine times against the gas. Its even worse for gas if you take winter blend. For that 10€ of 5L of alcohol I will be able to cook way way longer than on the gas, even if we take more liberal amount of fuel to burn, lets say 20g per boil or eve 25g per boil, or even 30g per boil...No brainer to use alcohol stove if you can get alcohol for free to burn. But its in my country, prices differ in other parts of the world, also not every place has cold winters where temps go below -20C. There is additional weight penalty with alcohol, sure, but since we do have winters here, alcohol stove during winter is very good choice. Also I am doing mostly bikepacking and bike can carry a lot of weight so bringing extra alcohol as a fuel is not a problem at all. The cost of alcohol is so low compared to gas canisters that it is very hard to pass alcohol stove. And as even in video was said, gas canisters is often harder to come by compared to alcohol fuel which is literally everywhere sold: gas stations as HEET or grill starter fuel, almost any shop including those extra puny small essentials shops that sells food will most likely sell grill starter fuel which is alcohol, etc. Now if you refill your single use gas canisters, then its totally different thing but refilling those canisters is dangerous and even outright banned in most countries because of the dangers. But you cant refill it on the trail but you can easily find alcohol to burn. So far have used gas stoves and they are realy good, clean, simple and easy to use but gotta try alcohol stove too for a while, especially since the price for alcohol is so low compared to gas and since we have winters here where gas will struggle at seriously cold temps.
Some advice with alcohol stoves; always use a 360 degree windshield, use one that is just fuel up and light(no stand, prime etc.), just use them to boil water. For a through hike the numbers say that a canister is more efficient weight wise. I have used my Zelph Fancy Feast and Minibull Elite clone for over 5 years now, still working great, and 7g/15g each respectively. If I go out with my wife I use a Jetboil type stove.
I totally agree. When I first started buying kit, I bought a Trangia because so many people raved about it, plus its lightweight and indestructible. But, as you said, it takes forever, the fule is heavy, and can be dangerous. So I tossed it in a box and haven't used it since.
This is the best alcohol stove video I've seen. I'm a solo backpacker and I've been using an alcohol stove made from fosters cans for about 8 years and it works great for me.
A very fair assessment, Luke. Personally my outings tend to be shorter so I carry a Trangia with the matching Triangle. It takes up less room in my pack than a canister and the triangle is quite stable on rough ground. It also works just fine up here in our cold Canadian winters. Thanks for the great videos!
I completely agree. I think it's the feel of manually refilling up the trangia itself and the whole contained kitchen set. The kettle, the frying pan and pots all fit together cosy contained in itself. I live in Northern Norway and I got gifted a trangia set off a camping friend to encourage me into the game. As much as I love it, I feel like I've got more sentiment attached to it than actual use. I use it every now and again but æ I ended up picking up a gas attachment for it instead 😂
@@jheighten7568 They've addressed that concern. You could either get Duossal which is steel on the outside and aluminum on the core, so no exposed aluminium to the food, hard anodized aluminum that does not scratch as easily and lastly non-stick (Teflon) coated aluminium. I've went for the non-stick and am extremely careful with my pots and pans. My friend has Duossal and likes the fact that you could also cook with it over an open fire.
@@SimonBrisbane there are other materials that are safer. I love how the companies support the products and make the people believe that they are safe. Go ahead keep trusting your government with everything they put in front of you. Lots of information about aluminum
Lol .... it seems everytime that I am frustrated by a choice I want to make, you come along and do a video! Thanks Luke! Hope all is well with you and your family!
In full agreement. Alco stoves are a lot of fun to use I have a few, but they often work out heavier on multi day hikes incorporating enough fuel, and often takes up just as much capacity as a jetboil system, once including a 500 ml liquid fuel bottle. For reference I use 100ml iso prop gas can 200 grams, and the BRS micro stove, which fits into my 500 ml GSI Glacier pot, and gives 16 boils. I refill the iso prop cans with butane using an adaptor. Cost per 16 boils now 50 UK pence, 16 boils of liquid fuel costs me £4.00 UK pounds. Sound advice from you, great vid, subbed for years but never commented before. Happy trails buddy...Bex
As a former scoutmaster I showed my scouts how to make these. They are easy to make and tend to work as well as purchased stoves. I had one scout spend a weekend building and testing several models to find which ones were the ‘best’. He came back and showed the troop his prototypes and results! I prefer my pocket rocket for ease and speed. In sub zero temps the canister like my water filter is in my bag or in my inside pocket. Thank you for a great review!
If I am UL backpacking...... Cat Can Stove all day long. 1) Quiet 2) Fuel is plentiful 3) I am not worried about an extra couple of minutes 4) Add a cozy and it doesn't have to be a rolling boil 5) Easily replaceable 6) mere ounces = )
I use my homemade alcohol stove almost everyday on my porch to make my coffee. But to cook with I'll probably use my canister stove. But I do enjoy my alcohol stove.
One pro you forgot is that the alcohol stove fuel makes a good martini. I spent half a hike of 4 days without any hot foods because the expensive and complicated backpacking stove we had quit working. It turned out it was plugged up in the tiny Ventura that you had to have a special tool to repair. The simplicity of the alcohol stove is a big, big plus.
I have used an alcohol stove for decades. They do demand a good wind break as wind does slow the cooking down dramatically. The best is the cook set, of the kind displayed in the video: the wind break is like an inverted bowl and I have never had problems with the cooking speed. As for heat regulation: I use methylated spirits (whatever you call it in the US). One tip I picked up is to add just a small dash of water with your metho, and that brings down the heat of the flame somewhat and it lessens the soot build-up that you can get on your pots. The fuel is available in any supermarket and I found that half a litre lasts a long time when used as I described above. Greetings from Australia.
I agree that there is a place for an alcohol stove but there are better choices. What a person needs to focus on is diversity. If you have many methods of cooking food then you are certainly better prepared. Thank you Luke for pointing out the pros and cons of alcohol as a fuel. Your videos are always top notch.
I like using an alcohol burner as a backup for my multi-fuel stove. Most of the time I can use twigs and sticks and keep the alcohol burner for when it rains. I’m not really concerned with how fast my water boils and I like not using single use fuel canisters.
The fuel consumption is one of the reasons I often use alcohol stoves. I usually eat one heated meal per day and use about 20 ml alcohol per meal, or about 2/3 of an ounce. So that 8 oz fuel bottle of yours would last me for 11-12 days on the trail and the total weight for fuel, fuel bottle, stove and wind screen add up to about 9 oz in total! (1 oz of volume alcohole isn't 1 oz in weight, it's 0.81 oz of weight, so the alcohole in your bottle weigh in at about 6,5 oz, I guess about 1 oz for the bottle itself, so 7,5 oz total for the fuel. The small canister and the lightest possible stove and wind screen weigh in at about 6.5+1+1 oz, so indeed, it's lighter, but with this set up, I can usually make 8-10 cookings, (or even fewer in low temerature,) so it add up to the about the same weight per meal for me. I can add some effect by using a better (and heavier) stove, so it still add up to about the same! When I use a bigger canister, there is an added weight benefit, but my break even is at about 2 weeks, so it almost never make sense to me (based on weight) to use a canister stove. Of course, if you make more than one hot meal and drink a few cups of coffee or warm beverage per day, that break even would end up in about half a week instead! And also, using a Trangia burner... that's almost 4 oz on it's own! That would move that break even to even less time. So, frequency of hot meals and what kind of burner is used play an immense role to change the weight benefits. It's brought up in the video, and yes, the alcohol stove is a one hit wonder. Once the objective is something else than just heat up water, I'll choose the canister stove every time! 😀 Despite my pride in my DIY alcohol stove. 😉 Thumbs up for the video, I'll say everything in the video is true, but not the entire extent of the truth. YMMV, depending on, but not exclusively, the above criterias.
I used one single filled trangia in roughly 15 days use (coffee and warm oat meal in the morning and one hot meal at night). This guy is doing it all wrong and spreading misinformation. It is not trangias fault he is incompetent.
@@suminshizzles6951 15 days of use, 2 meals and a cup of coffe each day? That's boiling roughly a liter water per day for 15 days. Are you talking about a Trangia alcohol burner? Assuming an average starting temperature of the water at about 20C (or about 68F) and about 100 ml capacity in a Trangia burner (slightly under 4 oz) then we talk about an energy efficiency when burning the fuel of about 240%! It's a physical impossibility! Or... we talk about warming up the meals to about finger warmth.
@@jackpoage5419 Yeah, I based my calculation on about 7,5 oz of weight for a full 8 oz alcohol fuel bottle, but you can probably find a lighter bottle. 🙂
I am going to go my own way on this and will say I have risked my life on my SVEA 123 and made it to 75 years old and can no longer go for extreme hiking but I did survive and still use it on my short camping trips of two or three days, my boys can do with it what they wish.
I use both, at the same time. I use my alcohol stove for boiling water exclusively, coffee, tea, soup, (cup a soup) or oatmeal and canister stoves for cooking actual meals. I find that by using two stoves, my fuel for both stoves lasts longer.
The Evernew ti stove with the cross stand is kinda pricy but it’s by far my favorite alcohol stove. The markings on the inside makes it easy to use just enough fuel, using it is important for efficiency. It can be used with no stand for lower temp and with for full on boil. The pop can stoves can be a great hobby for budget in mind, fooling around with to get the best performance. The Trangia is by far the best survival minded stove, being able to screw the cap on and no fuel leaking keeps wasting fuel to a min. I’ve have better luck when I keep the alcohol warm, cold alcohol doesn’t light easy. Keeping your trangia or a small fuel bottle in your coat pocket makes things easier.
I love my trusty Trangia 25 kit. Great for Car camping or when we might lose power. I love especially how quiet it is. My Pocket Rocket is fine for a quick cup of coffee BUT the noise is very off putting.. imho.
I love them for one reason, shtf factor. Whenever I make a purchase, I'm usually thinking about how useful it would be in an end of the world scenario. Once manufacturing and gas production comes to a screeching halt, I won't be able to rely on canisters for fuel anymore. Now my pocket rocket is useless. Not to mention that the moving parts of a canister stove will break. Acohol however, is going nowhere. It's been around since before recorded history and will survive as long as people do. And alcohol stoves are bomb proof because theres nothing to break. And so I keep one of these in my bug out bag just in case. My firebox nano is still king though for readily available fuel. And luckily I don't have to choose between the two because they pair together perfectly.
Just bought my first alcohol stove, I'll try it out and let you know. Great vid though. I love the unbiased candor and straight up approach. I am now a subscriber. 👍🏼
Like said several times by others I agree, you really need to read the manual. Trangia has like three pieces and you failed to assemble it correctly. FYI Finnish Defence Forces have used Trangia for decades.
@@martinandersson5278 engines run on alcohol because of compression i.e: drag racing engines compress the air & fuel to around 14:1 static compression then ignited to make a 💥
The quiet of the alcohol stove and the joy I get from fiddling around with it keep me using them for now. Yellow bottle Heet is the cleanest and most efficient burner. Thanks for the video Luke, I enjoyed it.
As of today (Oct 2021), the sky rocketing prices of canister fuel is makng alcohol stoves look much better. Also, there are work arounds to most of the cons you mentioned. I've used gas, propane, alcohol and wood over the years - and keep gravitating back to the alcohol stove. However, the convenience and speed of the canister stove is great, were it not for the price of the fuel canisters. Good review on the stoves.
I live in Canada. Just spent a week in the North with temperatures hovering just above and below freezing. Canister worked well. No issues. Fast and easy.
Luke, please give the Ti-Tri system from Trail Designs a try, I love mine. .5oz of fuel will boil 2 cup / 1L of water. That 8oz bottle should boil up to 16L of water 12-10 Stove will boil in 6-8 minutes and very hard to blow out. Luke, your fuel efficiency experience is MUCH different from my own. My summer alcohol setup is 6.3oz for a 1.3L pot wind screen and stove + 2oz for fuel. My Soto windmaster stove, (Very similar to the MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe) is 3.4oz + 8oz weight (small) fuel can, + 4.6oz pot = 1lb / 16oz for an overnight trip. Essentially double the weight. This assumes you are only planning to boil 4L of water max with the Alcohol setup.
There is some misinformation in this video. More safe, more efficient, and lighter options are available than the alcohol stoves mentioned in this video. My alcohol stove requires less than a fluid ounce of fuel to boil 500- 600 mL when used with a mini Caldera Cone. Also, my alcohol stove does not spill fuel (see Starlyte Stove). Including the fuel it is much lighter than a canister system for a weekend trip.
Ya he left out several other options. Including all the military and hard gel stoves. Sounds more like he hasn't even tried enough alcohol stoves to have a valid opinion
Jay S I completely agree I use the trail Designs Tri Ti with the kojin stove very efficient and spill proof with my 600ml it’s lighter than the thru hiker fav the BRS set up
I have a different experience with the alcohol stove known as the Caldera Cone. I agree with your assessment regarding alcohol stoves in general, the Caldera being the exception. I find the Caldera very efficient in terms of fuel usage because of the cone which not only keeps out the wind but also directs virtually all the heat generated from the stove to the pot. (Jetboil is a similar concept for canister stoves, but I don't have one, and won't buy one because of the weight and expense.) With the Caldera Cone I can boil 4 cups of water in 7 minutes using 1.7 Tablespoons of alcohol. (2 Tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce.) So for two people if we use 4 cups of water at breakfast and 3 cups at dinner, I need 1 1/2 fluid ounces of alcohol per full day (less for the first day and last day because we need only dinner on the first day, and only breakfast on the last). Personally, the time savings of what, 3 or 4 minutes compared to canister?, is insignificant. That extra 3 or 4 minutes waiting for the water to boil can be used to enjoy the scenery which is the main reason I backpack! I also love the absolute silence of the alcohol compared to the roar of a canister. And finally I like it that I can calculate exactly how much fuel I need for a trip, so I end up taking that amount and no more.
I love them, in the form of a Trangia that is.. Lightweight aluminium, wind shield and comes with pots and pans :) And I mix the denautured alcohol with ca. 10% water, that way it burns much longer, with a yellow visible flame for security, and it doesnt soot the pots, for added heat transfer.
Personally when i am done i drop the regulator on it cause 9 out of 10 full power is nice. Then just wait like 3 min and its cold to refill or pack. From my view it seems long enough for one time cooking. and refill doesn't seem that much of a hassle.
The reason you are experiencing excessive fuel consumption with your Trangia is that you are using the base upside down and not set up in its two parts, base and windshield. The part you put the burner in is the base. You need to flip it over, so the burner is off the ground. This allows airflow and the correct air/vapour mix for proper combustion. Now put the windshield on top of the base. This channels heat around the pot or kettle. The base has holes on one side, which you can turn to or from the wind. Turn further away as the wind gets stronger. This allows maximum fuel efficiency and minimum cooking time. Finally, using the burner in the base correctly almost eliminates fire risk. The way you demonstrate setting it up is incredibly hazardous. You probably find you're regularly leaving scorch marks in vegetation when you cook. This will be eliminated if you use the stove correctly. Like you say in the video, these stoves are tools. Knowing how to use them correctly is a big part of practicing your craft especially if you are trying to help others make an informed choice.
I have a stove addiction :) So whether it's alcohol, gas or wood.... I love them all. The methelated spirits in the UK (denatured alcohol) is pretty clean...only bi-product from burning them is water vapour. I like the silence of an alcohol stove but not the smell.....I like the smell of a wood burner, but not the soot.... I like the speed of a gas stove, but not the noise. Best wishes !
I bring several alcohol stoves to my trips so that I can use the other one when one ran out of fuel as it cannot be refilled when the stove is still hot. I prefer alcohol stoves over canister stove. A huge con of the canister stove is the disposal issue. It is extremely not environmental friendly because the small canister is not fillable. Also you suppose to poke a hole when you dispose the used canister. How many people has ever done that when they dispose it?
You idiots ever watch a program called "the news". Have you seen the damage done by fires in California? Only a small portion of hikers use these things, but they account for the majority of hikers started forest fires.
@@I..cast..fireball Don't think you got my joke, pal, but fine, yeah, it's widely known that California is as flammable as dry tinder, it's nothing new
This was the first video of yours I watched just a few months ago and now my wife and I watch your videos of cool trips almost every evening like we would tune in to an actual TV show. So nice especially during a brutal winter in the Midwest. Keep up the good work
Best video on alcohol stoves I have seen, I spent several months experimenting with them before deciding they are pretty useless. I gave up after refilling one of the top rated stoves three times without ever getting water to boil. I only ate that night because I was trying multiple stoves and ended up using a canister stove to boil the water. Cat food can might be an option for a cold soaker but I love my coffee. :)
I go out into the woods to avoid being in a hurry. Then again, I can get eight meals out an 8 ounce bottle. While I have a lot of stoves, I usually go with one that will let me burn wood or alcohol like a Caldera Ti-Tri or one of my homemade can stoves. I have alcohol when I don't want to fiddle with wood, and wood the rest of the time. If I'm too impatient to wait for my water to boil, I need to be spending more time in the woods.
Great overview! I have the Evernew titanium stove with a titanium windscreen from Amazon and use Everclear grain alcohol on my canoe trips. Quiet mornings on the river with zero stove noise. I still love my canister stoves though! Let you inner gear junky come out and use them all for different adventures! Cheers from Southwest Michigan!
mrmicro22 We are limited to the lower proof here. Fortunately I have friends who travel up from Indiana to bring the 190 proof. Burns real clean. I was a skeptic of the alcohol stove for a long time, but in the past 3 years I’ve really come to enjoy and understand where it fits in my kit.
I am with you on the Evernew stove. Just love how light it is. And as you say, the golden rule is proper use of a windshield and efficient fuel (In the UK Everclear is too expensive, but bioethanol is cheap). I bought 2 litres (excuse the British spellings please) of bioethanol for the equivalent of about $15 two years ago. I ran out about a month ago.
Besides being an excellent review, this video demonstrated exactly what these stoves are good for... heating water. For backpackers and thru-hikers carrying coffee and dehydrated food, these stoves work. For campers wanting to cook meals using regular food these stoves are nearly useless.
I had a bunch of alcohol gear in my Amazon cart to switch from canisters because I can’t find small enough ones (if any) around me. I thought the blocks would be easier for me but I checked TH-cam because I thought it strange there aren’t any back packers, on here using alcohol blocks. I haven’t seen any thru-hikers using alcohol stoves at all! I knew I could trust your videos to base my decision to switch or not. Thank you!
I have never seen anyone use the Trangia windscreen in the way you are using it. I would recommend flipping the lower windscreen over on the T-25/27.This will ,allow more combustion air, change the pot height above the flame and greatly improve the system efficiency. I agree that the canister stove is more efficient for just boiling water, but I hate the waste(carrying out) of the empty steel canisters.
Thank you for the honest review. You have become my go to channel when I choose gear. I would also point out a lot more the difference the fuel makes! Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) in my small experience creates too much soot for example. Concerning the toxic chemicals, well I would suggest that is not exactly true. Methanol is highly toxic to humans (we go blind if we drink it) but it burns very cleanly with a small chance of even making much of CO. The additives are added for tax reasons usually. Depending on the country, denatured alcohol has methanol added to it, so it would still be environmentally safe to use. My biggest concern when using one is starting a forest fire due to my own stupidity. That is why I spent days making cowboy coffee in my own back yard next to gallon jug of water.
Most honest review of a class of stoves I have read anywhere. Thank you. I like alcohol stoves but have denied the cons. Canister stoves are efficient with the only negative being the noise.
Thank you for a well rounded, factual presentation on alcohol stoves. I will add that the only time I have seen someone get lit on fire by a stove was with an alcohol stove. Not injured beyond a singe and partially melted jacket. But still, that colorless flame is tricky. He was an experienced backpacker as well.
One thing is sure: the alcohol stoves are dependent on many factors. I have two that I bought, five or six that I've made and even a small variation in size/numer of holes/distance from pot/wind conditions/support/quality of alcohol etc. can make a big difference in cooking experience. So in practice sometimes it takes 6 minutes to boil 400 ml of water, sometimes 15.
During my conscript time in army I used standart issued trangia sprii stove and not once I had to refil. But I give u that they are pian in the ass to lit when it’s freezing (which it was most on my time in service) over all quite nice wey to cook meal after harsh day at the forest! Ps. You make great videos keep it going💪🏼
I like my Triangia. To me it has the commendable virtue of being extremely quite, with a easy to conceal thermal signature. Gas stoves are pretty useful, but only if I want to advertise my presence, which frankly most of the time I don't. I like to wear earth colour's, move quietly and watch where I am putting my feet. It's amazing just how much more of nature you see that way. Also if I am not at a safe policed camp ground, I prefer to be well away from the route, somewhere I cannot be easily surprised.
I used to do that too; professionally, so to speak. Not only do you notice more nature but more human activity, as well. Makes finding the bad guys easier. :)
@@iTyncWithReality. Ominous?? Imagination?? I believe I was as clear and concise as I needed to be. Scroll down to another comment I made if you need more elucidation.
For hikes of up to 2 days/nights, my alcohol setup is lighter. For 3 days/nights, the weight is about the same as a canister gas stove - for longer durations than that, gas is lighter. Gas is always more efficient, always cleaner, always easier to use, and always faster. But I mostly choose alcohol because I just enjoy it more!
I have been watching this and chuckling to myself...... You have the trangia base and windscreen incorrectly assembled. Not sure if anyone else has commented on this fact. Try it correctly setup. 600ml of water, in the kettle, will boil in 3-4 minutes max. It puts out a large amount of heat when correctly setup and when setup correctly the wind actually is used as an aid to increase the burn temperature. Please watch a couple videos on how operate. I use my 27 series and love it.
In cold weather, it’s best to prime the alcohol stove. As for the weight.. the weight maybe the same or slightly more at first, but gets lighter as you use it.
Jay Wanders Out I switched to an alcohol stove about year ago. I like it better for several reason that Luke suggested: quieter, simple to use, etc... I also found that I can carry 10 oz of fuel and still weigh less than my canister stove. Even on longer trips, when the canister is empty, there is weight to carry. As for the alcohol fuel, I know how much fuel I have and have used. I know I can boil two cups of water on 1 oz of fuel. A canister stove I have to mark or weigh to know how much fuel is left before or after each trip. I like both canister and alcohol stoves. IMO the alcohol is easier to maintain, carry, and use.
With the Trangia set, you can use a tealight underneath the alcohol burner to increase efficiency. At 2:41, you see him use it the wrong way. The shield is supposed to hold the burner up from the ground with the burner on top. Underneath, you place a tealight and then you add the wind screen / pot holder on top. I'm fairly certain that it is designed to be used with a tealight.
Set up like this, means that you don't get the correct air flow which slows down the cooking time. Also, the stove is not as stable as when set up properly. Saw this, stopped watching. If you can't put up a Trangia stove properly, your advice is not going to be as believable.
@@nickhayley I wandered about that, did it more than once too I think. Maybe I should try it his way just once to see if there is any advantage to using it that way. And if all else fails read the instructions.
Love my Trangia! I don’t know what/how you’re cooking, but I can’t imagine going through as much fuel as you seem to. That bottle you show would last me probably 5 or 6 days on trail - of course, I also start with my stove full of fuel. I basically just boil water and add it to my meals, so the couple of extra minutes it takes to boil is filled with getting everything else ready, and I don’t notice a delay. You are correct about the wind factor - a good shield is a must with an alcohol stove. Thanks for the video!
Before anyone decides on not getting the Trangia alcohol stove, PLEASE watch the video by Vahid Cullsberg from 3yrs ago called " commentary on 'the Outdoor gear review of the Trangia alcohol stove '" for the "proper use" of this product and the system!
I thought about buying an alcohol stove, looks like I’ll be sticking with canister stove. I live in the desert so it doesn’t get very cold here to worry about canister giving me a hard time. Matter of fact I think I’m going to break out my camp set and do a backyard camping trip lol
They are so cheap that it doesn't hurt to buy one and try it though.
Or ten minutes to make one. Search it on YT.
Or maybe multi-fuel pressure stoves. Canister/kerosene/gasoline/diesel/alcohol/etc.(primus/MSR/&other companies)
If your only boiling water sure, but the trangia is capable of dry baking, cooking as well. Always a different use for different tools
@@Canadian_Craftsman I have done dry baking but it's really not very practical in the Forest...
I do love watching Tinny dry bake in his videos...
minibulldesign.com
Dont buy one, build one out of a Soda can: lighter and cheaper.
As a stove collector, I have around 600 stoves from around the World, the oldest dating to 1866. That stove is an alcohol stove! I love white gas stoves, and kerosene stoves, and also have several favorite canister stoves. As for alcohol stoves, I have tons of them, too, and find them excellent, IF you know how to use them. The Trangia stoves are basically windproof, IF you setup the windscreen the proper way. We use two of them to cook bacon and eggs, for breakfast burritos, and they really work a treat! There is very little that a good Trangia, properly used, cannot do, and we find them "fairly" fuel efficient, again, if used properly. For what it's worth...... - Doc Mark
You need to post a video of your collection! That sounds amazing.
@@backandforthupanddow Many thanks for your kind words! In truth, most of my collection is packed in tubs and boxes, which is the only way to actually store it. I do have some display shelves, and keep a trestle table setup with a selection of stoves that I can enjoy everyday. I rotate that selection, now and then, just for fun. Being self-employed, I don't have as much time for actually getting out to camp, but am hoping to squeeze in a trip in the Fall. But, which stove to take? THAT is always a head-scratcher, and part of the fun in stove collecting!
I enjoy using a very old Coleman stove passed down to me sure there is nostalgia but I like to take myself back and think of allthe adventure the great uncle had lit by that very lamp.@@markrutledge-docmark41
Lamp don't know where "stove came from.
@@markrutledge-docmark41 precisely...IF.. but many don't work it out.
While thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, there was a particularly nasty Arctic front that pushed down from Canada. Three other hikers at my campsite, all had JetBoils stoves that seized up because condensation froze in the fuel line. I used up all of my alcohol making hot water for their dinners, breakfasts, and coffee on my always reliable Trangia.
The reliable Trangia that the guy in the video don't know how to use. ;)
@@gerardogarcia-trio3572
Yes, I noticed that immediately too... There was an immediate feeling of being ashamed of others.
The right setup is actually self-explanatory. Carrying the Trangia cookware, which is in principle large and heavy, only makes sense if you also benefit from the well thought-out system: trangia.se/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Trangia-stovespirit-burner-1080x721.jpg
- The bottom of the windshield raises the burner off the ground (protects from heat damage and wildfires) and has the air intake that you can always turn to face the wind. (Therefore, it is considered a "storm cooker")
- The upper part of the windshield encloses the pot so that the hot air flows around it. This makes an alcohol stove much more effective!
Of course, these system advantages also work with the optional gas burner from Primus.
So far I have always used the large set to cook for 2 people, which puts the high weight into perspective, because then each person only carries half (purely arithmetical). If you want to cook real meals, the system is great; for just getting small amounts of hot water for coffee and instant food is kind of "overkill".
Sorry aboot the cold heh we'll try and keep it in leash better next time 😅
I have used Trangia since 1980s and used it for car-camping and backpacking. Agree it's bombproof very little can go wrong. When cold it's a good idea to refill the stove and store on your person to warm it up so it cooks faster. However I have been nudging towards gas purely for weight+volume reasons. I have a Jetboil and with a week's fuel the Trangia is 1.2Kg heavier and about 2L more volume. I tried going to more mininalist alcohol stove but they hate wind. True the Trangia can cook more things in varies ways, far more than just boiling water. When carrying the Jetboil - as gas has more ways to fail - I carry two Esbit tabs in the base of the Jetboil as a backup, but so far never needed. So depends on the trip type, duration, if you're carrying everything daily. If car-camping I'd take Trangia, if backpacking the Jetboil (+Esbit backup). Recently got the Trangia gas conversion and a canister refiller adapter so lower gas costs and so set off always with a full 100g canister.
How in the world do people hike in the freezing cold with a Jetboil? Personally, I will not trust isobutane(even is MSR) if the weather forecast is below 20f, unless I'm in a proper national park campground. I have a Kovea Spider that can allow isobutane to function properly in the cold, but I just not confident enough to use them up a mountain with some altitude and beg them to function in cold.
Plus, the Jetboil Flash weight is similar to the liquid fuel stove like the MSR whisperlite Universal, other than the MSR needs few 100g extra for the liquid fuel and a titanium cup. In freezing weather, I would rather bring this set with me no matter I'm heading to thru-hike or some overnight camp, or even car camping.
Yeah, it looks a lot heavier with liquid fuel and all that, but considering the cooking time, and the fuel consumption in freezing weather, I much appreciate carrying a heavy stove instead of waiting 20plus minutes for an alcohol stove to melt some ice for me. BTW, alcohol is not efficient, so to boil the same amount of water from snow, alcohol consumes more grams than liquid fuel like a white gas stove.
I really love the Trangia and its intended cookware. Last time I was out in the wild I did a serving of fried vegetables, fried halloumi cheese, as well as couscous (boiling water) mixed it together with spices for a really yummy dinner. During the evening I heated water for some tea and a water bottle to keep warm in my sleeping bag. and in the morning I made oats porridge and boiled water for coffee.... I did all of this without refilling the stove... I even had some alcohol left. I wonder if there's different efficiency to different alcohol fuels because I can't relate to the "always needing to fill up the stove". In Sweden we use a Swedish product called "T-Röd" by the company Kemetyl. Perhaps it's really efficient? And I also use modern trangia cookware, which is stackable and the aluminum windshield greatly decreases heat loss. The "tower" of cookware helps to isolating the heat, as well as spreading throughout all components... I generally preheat the frying pan by using it as a lid when boiling water. If I make two pots, let say one with rice and one with stew, I will start with the stew pot, until it gets to simmering temperature, then I switch it out for the rice pot stack the stew pot on top... It requires a bit of re-learning. but is a really efficient way of cooking and not wasting the heat or fuel. If I am feeling particularly brave, I stack the frying pan on top of the Stew pot as a lid, but I could fry some mushrooms (since they are best fried at low temperature. :) It's a juggling act, but I like it. Since I am out in nature I try to live in the moment enjoying the quietness the alcohol stove provides. Listening to the sounds of nature while focusing only on the cooking. :)
Just tested the stacking with my own army surplus Triangia (Jägarköket)
And I can't stack the bigger pot on the smaller without drastically reducing the smaller pots availiable volume.
Unless I use the frying pan as a lid in between and then have to get an extra frying pan to lid the upper pot.
@@SonsOfLorgar SonsOfLorgar sorry to hear that. perhaps they have done some design revisions lately. I use their cheapest current cookware (around 36$ in Sweden). 1-2ppl Trangia 27-3 UL. and basically the bigger pot will rest on the lip of the smaller pot, quite sturdily as well, about 0.5-1cm down into the smaller pot. Trangia is a brand that has been around since the early 1900s and I bet that they have done hundreds of models over the years. I can recommend this set if you are making solo dinners. they have a larger model, the 25-3. But I have no experience with it. although it should be the same as mine. :)
Thanks for the 'Experienced User' advanced tips!
I'm only starting this but I want to think in an emergency life saving, possibility in starting a fire with Alcohol stoves, Alcohol is easier to spark on possibly maybe allowing 15 minutes or so so drying, burning wood, time to start a little bigger fire.or warm your hands enough to start one.
agreed, i think a full 4oz of alchol in a Trangia burns almost 40 minutes in normal weather conditions and a wind shield
I have my dads trangia that he bought in the 70's. I used it today and it worked as well as the day he bought it, brilliant things in the UK
I'm an alcohol stove DIYer. I love toying with different setups, hole patterns and fuel mixtures. I've even got several designs that do have the ability to simmer. That being said, I also have several different canister stoves and even a larger butane burner. You've nailed it in that they all serve a purpose and I don't rely on just one design. I'm really big on solo bicycle camping for few days at a time. For these trips, the alcohol stoves work great. However, if I'm cooking or making coffee for more than just myself, a canister stove is the way to go.
And you may have heard about the struggles we had with losing power, in February's freeze, here in Texas. WIth four of us here, the butane burner had it's time to shine in keeping my wife and I in hot coffee and the whole family getting hot meals.
Please can you advice which alcohol I should use for alcohol stove that has cotton inside? I used simple alcohol and my house smelled of Gas. I think I have used a wrong fuel.
@@KindQuotes - I use about a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol (with the "green" label, from the hardware store - in the thinners/strippers section) and HEET gas-line anti-freeze from the auto-parts store.
Get the HEET with the blue label, NOT the red. The blue label burns clean, the red will produce black tar.
You can go 100% HEET, if needed. It is just more expensive. I mix it to make it cheaper.
Also, if you are burning this stove inside, do it near an open window. It won't produce a massive amount of carbon monoxide, but with low ventilation, it will become dangerous without notice.
@@chickensmack thank you for the advice , I’ll try to find HEET brand in Switzerland ☀️🙏
@@KindQuotes - The blue label HEET is 100% methanol (methyl alcohol). That might help you find it. It burns much cleaner than rubbing alcohol.
@@chickensmack thank you for the additional information. Indeed I could t find HEETS in online and technical stores here. Will look for methyl alcohol solution.
Been using a Trangia For 35 years and it has never failed me.
I’m brand new to all this and have brought the Trangia stove with a OneTigris evil eyes burner. I don’t know what it is about the trangia but it’s like it reminds me of something I’ve seen when I was a child or seeing a man using one and it left a fond impression on me. Mine arrives this Saturday.
Haha, except for all the times you got fuel on your fingers or in the food and it tastes like sh***t :)
@@TiborBerki Buzz kill...
@@TiborBerki Then get a Trangia bottle.
@@TiborBerki Get Cooking Alcohol, it is not bitter and would not spoil the food even it you are not able to keep food and fuel apart.
I’ve been using my Trangia for 27 years and I love it it.
Trangia is unmatched and tested by the Swedish Army for 70 years. Temperature tested 40 Celsius to minus 30 Celsius. Those -30 are Requirements by the Swedish Army.
Aye, bloody good stove.
Ordinary Sessel , all the years I’ve been using it, it has never let me down, what could be better than that
I swear by them as well and find his assertions hard to believe. His problems with the trangias are created by himself and he cant even see that.
@Ordinary Sessel For me, the sub zero performance. Since I was 17 (now 50) I've visited Scandinavian countries and more recently, North West Russia, wild camping and the Trangia has never let me down. Worst weather I ever experienced was in East Iceland, in a Blizzard, in my little tent, with my Trangia at -28C. Terrifying, but the Trangia was heroic that day.
I use my alcohol stove through every season here in Ohio and Pa, never had an issue, one ounce of alcohol boils two cups of water in less then 5 minutes. I’m out enjoying where I am, cooking is part of that. Never in a hurry even in the morning. Everything nests in my pot along with my cup, pot stand and wind screen. Alcohol bottle on the outside of the pack. 8oz is good for more than 3 days.
never pressed for time either when hiking. doesn't matter to me if it takes 2mins or 10mins to cook
Thank goodness I’m not the only one not in a rush like the other said 2 or 10 minutes. And aside from that it’s silent. Minus a bubbling pot
In perfect conditions I get 2 cups boiling with .5 ounces on a titanium stove. Love it but of course I agree I wouldn’t take it for a group kitchen.
I find 2 oz per day is sufficient.
Can you link in a photo of your setup?
I've used Trangia meths stoves for over 30 years both in the UK and Australia . Never had a single problem . Spares are readily available in good camping stores .
Tip , if you put two tea spoons full of water in the burner before adding the methylated spirt it cools the flame a little and help avoid soot build up during heating .
My personal experience is that I've really struggled with gas stoves in windy, high altitude mountain conditions but I've used meths (alcohol) stoves reliably in all sorts of hostile environments and they have never ever let me down. The simplicity and reliability does it for me every time - when you're in really remote, cold and hostile place you can't take any chances. That hot meal or drink could really literally be a life saver. BTW - you had the Trangia base upside down; that may well affect it's performance! 😉
I noticed that too, the wind brake should be inverted. Great vid though.
I have a micro camper My main source of heat is camping gas, I also use a British army solid fuel block, when I make tea I put one mug of water in my kettle put it on the army stove I then prepare my meal on hot days it will fully boil on cold days I may have to use gas for one minute, on hot days I will put a pan on until the flame goes out this way my gas canister can last up-to 3 weeks having used the stoves 3 times a day
I live in my van and cooked outside on a Trangia 27 nearly everyday for years, Yes it does take practice to judge the right amount of fuel and set the simmer ring and refuel. Only in really high wind I found it really fuel hungry. A litre of fuel lasts me about a week if I don't simmer stews. The trangia however is the whole system of windsheild, frying pan, pots and kettle not just the burner and in combination I can cook everything I can cook on a home stovetop, its compact and silent. I use it for day hikes with cooking in scenic location, very relaxing so who cares about a couple if minutes to boil a bit of water.
I agree that for a long distance hike it would probably be too fiddly to set up everyday just to boil water and heat food. But for cooking proper meals from scratch it's great ( with practice)
I noticed that Luke was not using the Trangia base and windsheild correctly so the burner was not getting the right airflow, it does make a difference
But I have to agree I made a few pop can stoves with foil windsheild and they do work but are quite inefficient with fuel.
The Trangia system is perfect for my purposes, but for long distance hiking it would be heavier than expected and fiddly
Try find a pot with a heat exchanger base if you ever want or need to get faster cooking times out of your Triangia or any field stove system for that matter. :)
I was thinking he had the 27 set up crazy too. Maybe it’s more wind proof that way? Air flow would be different. Hmmmm.
@@kgilliagorilla2761 Trangia base and windscreen (of 25 and 27 kits) was designed to take advantage of wind blow, creating a column of hot air that helps the burner.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trangia#/media/File:Trangia_diagram.jpg
To SIMMER with can type alcohol stoves I place the stove in a small saucer (metal or plastic) and after the stove is burning fully, pour a bit of water (1/2 oz?) in the saucer. It cools the alcohol and metal stove body reducing the fuel vaporization and thus flame output. Works.. More water, less heat for you trail sous-vied roast. You're welcome. : )
I love my alcohol stoves. Pure simplicity with no moving parts to lose or break. I always use the yellow Heet with mine.
Thank you for making this video. The statement I fully agree with is that one tool is not appropriate for every job, and there are better times and circumstances for different kinds of stoves. That said, I think this presentation was definitely biased and not "just the facts" as presented. This is a long comment, but a lot of points were made in the video and I'm offering rebuttals or more information to many of those points:
(Disclaimer) I've taught backpacking for over a decade and I've used and own most kinds of stoves. The system I've settled on for most trips is a used cat food can with holes in the side which is its own stand. That stove is 1/3 oz plus about an ounce for wind screen/pot stabilizer. It isn't even the most efficient among alcohol stoves, but it does very well with my wider "grease pot". ALL stoves benefit from a wind screen so I don't count that weight. ALL stoves require fuel, and even wood burning stove users know the wisdom of carrying enough dry fuel to cook their next meal in very wet/rainy conditions.
1. Fuel weight - I carry (generously) 1 oz fuel per cooked meal AND 16 oz. hot drink - basically, about 1.5 L total volume heated. I carry my fuel in a bottle that weighs almost nothing, and I'm not limited to whatever fuel is in a pressurized metal canister, whether full or nearly empty. (The canister weight averages about 40 percent of the total fuel+canister weight, which pretty much negates the roughly 2:1 efficiency advantage of canister stoves over alcohol stoves.) Also, don't forget that canister stove users will often end up carrying TWO canisters when one is somewhat low on fuel, and they have to pack out relatively large, uncompressible, and heavy empty canisters to a place where they can be properly collected and transported to a landfill.
2. Environmental impact? Imagine throwing away a stove after every few uses. From a manufacturing and materials perspective, this is exactly what you're doing with canisters. When it comes to the actual fuel, I think the petrochemical industry is worse for environmental impact than alcohol production. If I'm wrong and alcohol production has more impact ounce-for-ounce, and this is about environmental impact from production, then for most folks, drinking alcoholic beverages is far more of an impact by volume and frequency than the average of 1 ounce cleanly burned per meal only when backpacking. If you drink alcohol while decrying alcohol stoves for their environmental impact, that seems hypocritical. (Your body "burns" alcohol and produces the byproducts of combustion - CO2, H2O, and heat.)
3. Warning labels on methanol? Yes, it is extremely toxic to drink and slightly toxic on the skin. Of course, if fearful of this, you *could* use ethanol or isopropyl alcohols. As for displaying warning labels... Hint: EVERYTHING has warnings these days. My advice is don't drink the methanol and don't leave it on your skin. Plus, I notice you didn't display the much lengthier warnings on gas canisters - maybe because there is so many warnings in such a tiny font that the print just looks gray. That seems biased to me.
4. You treat alcohol stoves as if the gases produced by burning are somehow worse than liquid petroleum products. Really? Do you have any actual evidence for this? Bottom line is that no open flame stove should be used in an unventilated area, primarily due to the risk from carbon monoxide, even though a properly burning stove will minimize even that risk.
5. I agree that gas stoves tend to be more idiot proof. However, in all my years and thousands of trail miles of using alcohol stoves, I've NEVER had my alcohol stove spill or squirt burning alcohol, and I've NEVER tried to add alcohol to a still-burning stove. No offense, but that is pure user error and if your cooking area is properly prepared, even a tipped stove is not dangerous at all. If anyone is the kind of person who tends to make those kinds of mistakes, I agree that canister stoves may be a better option, though it is certainly possible to make those dangerous as well if you ignore instructions and warnings.
6. Speaking of canister stoves, I have seen them get knocked over and shoot out flames as the LP fluid exits the nozzles. I've seen singed eyebrows from people leaning over a canister stove while trying to light it. And heaven help you if a canister ends up in (or too close to) a hot fire and is not retrieved immediately. (I haven't seen that one, and hope I never will.)
7. Never try to make a rational decision based on a California law. I've lived in CA. It isn't all bad and there are still a lot of nice folks there, but the lunatics are definitely running the asylum now and the sane folks are fleeing in droves.
8. Cooking speed - If your goal is to boil water and pour it into a Mountain House type of "meal" as quickly as possible, you are probably better off with a gas canister stove. I cook things like steel-cut oats, fresh greens or mushrooms I've foraged while hiking, in addition to my own dehydrated meals. These take more time to cook or rehydrate and they actually benefit from the slower heating time. With an alcohol stove, I can measure my fuel accurately, start my meal and take care of other things while it cooks knowing it will go out on its own when done.
9. As for using thru hikers as an example for all backpackers, don't make someone pursuing a focused goal the measure of how to do something "normally". This is true in many intense sports. Is the best way to drink water to gulp it down from a paper cup, throw the cup on the ground, and run away? Is peeing your pants rather than stopping during a race or a game really "normal" behavior? Is going for days or even weeks at a time without bathing while sweating and getting covered in grime "normal" behavior? Unusual choices like these may be acceptable in some circumstances and for some goals, but pushing physical boundaries may also mean temporarily ignoring other boundaries. The requirements of the extremes don't have to be the standards for everyone else.
10. Finally, if you are an early riser like I am, don't underestimate the value of being able to silently prepare your meal while enjoying a sunrise without disturbing any fellow campers who prefer to sleep a little later. Same applies if you're a night owl who might want to cook after folks go to bed.
Again, none of this is personal, and I appreciate anyone who tries to help people do outdoor activities better. As a professional analyst (including forensics), I know that truly unbiased analysis is an elusive target, and in most cases it is better to simply acknowledge your bias before presenting evidence to support your argument. Even a forensic analysis starts with an hypothesis, but the final report should only demonstrate how that hypothesis is proven OR disproven by the evidence. Plus they are really dull reading. Inherent bias is why we don't trust the same attorneys to present both sides of a case. Each side is responsible for doing their best to present a compelling argument and evidence for prosecution or defense, and both sides are needed to help a judge and sometimes a jury get closer to the truth. For gear choices, a lot of that "truth" boils down to (see what I did there?) personal preference and backpacking style.
Yep.
Great detailed reply with many excellent points. Especially the problem of canisters that are partially used. I hate trying to figure out if I can get by with a partially used one or need to carry two or a new one and have more partially used ones! What a waste!
Hear hear 😉🙏🏽
I just ordered a trangia stove and this video made me start to think it was a bad idea, but your response has made me feel all warm again about my trangia. Cant wait to get it and try it out!
When he says "unbiased" he's obviously using the term casually, meaning "I'll try to put my biases aside". As humans, we all have certain biases, naturally. Therefore we can't really be 100% neutral, but we can try to be objective... for example, comments such as "I've been using my stove for over 30 years, it's the best stove of all time" contain a lot of bias, but little facts. If you care to look around, most people out there voice their opinons in that manner... I think he does a pretty good job at being mostly objective (= factual information). It's his right to conclude with his personal opinion after going through the pros and cons.
Technique: assuming you've got the Trangia with full-size base, get it going as soon as you stop to camp - because it's so sturdy you don't have to worry about knocking it over as you pitch your tent and by the time you're set up you've got boiling water for your tea or coffee.
I've started using a cannister more these days, but always loved my Trangia. I always thought the "time to boil" being used as a negative point was silly. If I've hiked into a beautiful spot in the mountains somewhere, I don't care whether it takes 2 minutes or 5 minutes to boil my water for dinner, while I'm sitting back taking in the view. I'm not out there just to rush around and do everything as quick as I can and get to bed. I'm there to enjoy myself.
Also weight training is good for you 😉
@@peterc5167 They're not _that_ heavy - I prefer to think of it as 'robust'.
I note he has the Trangia up-side-down in the video. Dunno if that's intentional, or he doesn't know?
@@detpekandefingret He'd soon find out as he'd have no pot supports!
I agree, I have went full circle myself. Started out with a Jetboil 10 yrs ago. Switched to a homemade fancy feast catcan alcohol stove, got tired of the time required to boil with no weight savings in the end. I'm trying a Snowpeak titanium stove and canister this year.
Loved my Trangia when I used to hike. No idea who's saying they're crap in cold weather, I used mine all over Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and North Western Russian Boreal with no problems. Trangia is very well shielded from the wind.
And cooking times are longer, but it never concerned me, I'm not in the office. I'm kicking back in the outback.
I'm 23 and will probably never use something else than a fire or my Trangia cooker.
which model of trangia would u recomend for solo?
I'm 62 and I agree 100%
@@vvs3796 The Trangia 27-1UL stormcooker set is perfect for 1 or 2 persons, its small and has everything you need to boil water and cook a meal.
If you can pick one up (as they are tricky to find at the moment) I would definitely suggest a Trangia Mini (saucepan, frying pan, burner, Windshield & pot handle, all in a small & transportable pack)
have used Trangia for about 30+ years; when they first came out. yes a learning curve... after a few trips i worked out the human - stove time, handling, refueling, vs no parts. have taught stoves in scouts with so many different ones including homemade. Trangia works well if you plan your meals. 1 full charge will cook a pizza in a bag as thick with ingredients as you want. No speed demon to heat water but does the job well. for more water use the larger kettle. When i watched a fellow adult lose a part on a can gas fuel burner(ended his hot meals), talking about him sleeping with the fuel can... i looked for an alternative. Say what you will, TRANGIA IS FOR ME.
Have you ever used fuel tabs. Good for a single cup of coffee
Trangia stoves are one of the few types that burn quicker with a breeze, so long as you point the windshield in the right direction. You can also leave unspent fuel in the burner. My favourite feature of a Trangia, however, is that the pots and kettle are all part of the system.
I love my Trangia stove. I even got the one with stainless steel lined pots and pan. It has a clever design that makes it unlikely to tip over and is good in the wind. It’s not the fastest to boil water but it’s fast enough. The flame regulator allows for cooking of real food and if used properly, saves a lot of fuel.
I have the trangia 25-2 cookset (made in Sweden, not China!) and also the trangia gas burner. I’ve tested both boiling roughly 800ml in the included pot. Ambient temperature was 20° Celcius. The gas took a loud 5 minutes to obtain a rolling boil, the spirit burner was 6 minutes. I put in 50ml of liquid fuel and still had an estimated 10-20ml after the experiment.
So from my experience I could not understand his complaints. They just do not correlate to my experience. I also felt he was constantly giving us his resumé as if that were to make him more credible. Hopefully he doesn’t act this way all the time. The most respected experts do not need to regularly remind their listeners of their credentials. He seemed to be at pains to make us understand he was commenting without bias. “Just facts”. I’m left perplexed as to how his facts are so different to mine. Maybe as others have said, he is using terrible quality fuel. Maybe he doesn’t appreciate the trangia has exceptional wind shielding and that you can easily vary the burner intensity with the included attachment. And perhaps he doesn’t realise you can leave the unburnt fuel in the trangia burner and just use the included lid with the rubber seal so it doesn’t leak. There is no need to pour the fuel back into the fuel bottle.
The only time I would prefer a gas/canister stove is when keeping weight minimal is essential and I had confidence that canister fuel supplies were not going to be an issue. If you accidentally leave your canister on or it has a leak you can run out of fuel quickly. This could spell disaster in extreme conditions. In extreme cold the canister stove can struggle to vaporise the fuel. My experience is it’s hard not to like the Trangia.
@@SimonBrisbane Looks to me like he has got his Trangia set up completely wrong? 2:53 - he's nested top section inside the lower, instead of having them 'stacked' as they should be?
@@SimonBrisbane Yea I’m with you. Trangia is great, been using it for 40 years. We use one Trangia for me and my girl, but two burners, both gas and alcohol. Sometimes gas is better, sometimes you have to use alcohol. But if I’d have to choose one to keep me alive in emergency, alcohol all day every day.
@@OscarTahr Yeah he didn't assemble it at all. Weird.
I like my trangia for boiling water quickly and food that cooks in less than 10 minutes. Just cooked a small ribeye wrapped in bacon, seasoned with a dash of Montreal seasoning last night at camp. It was done in about 10 minutes. Very tastey.
Also, it's nice to be able to use a little alcohol to get a wood fire going quickly when you dont want to screw around being bushcrafty. Like when your boots are frozen and you want to get them thawed out asap. Been there, done that. I also carry a diy firebox style stove for when I want to ration the alcohol reserve and there is tinder available. Always have a backup.
You are right though, there are tradeoffs with anything. Canisters are handy and good for when you have extended cook times but I do not like throwing away the cans I have to pack out when they're spent...seems like a waste. Of course I have tossed out my share of empty Heet containers supplying my alcohol stove.
Anyway, good review. My Trangia stays in my kit as a good, efficient light weight option, maybe not "the best" camp stove, but definately a great option to have available.
Hi Luke, and thanks for outstanding videos!
In the Swedish Army we typically use alcohol stoves mainly för three reasons. First, the trangia-style alcohol burners
are indestructible. You could probably drop one from an aircraft into the forest, and still be able to use it.
Secondly, they do not pose the risk of explosion as gas-canisters do. You can imagine a group of soldiers trapped
in a burning vehicle with a few gas-canisters in each backpack. Third, as you mentioned, they work in low
temperatures, where gas will not. If you turn the gas-canister upside-down you can use it a little colder, but alcohol
is still much better. The only time we would use gas-stoves is on LRP or other remote missions, where a fuel supply
chain is not available. ALL WELL!
Har haft ett Trangia kök i ca 30 år och skulle testa ett gaskök men fick det inte att fungera så jag fortsätter med mitt Trangia kök istället. Har det också i nödfall hemma i elavbrott för värme och laga mat eller elda maten som vi säger på Island.
Agree.. .
I use also over 30 years the tangria on both gas and alcohol. With gas the tangria is quicker than any domestic stove. But also with the alchol burner it is quit qick. At low temperatur the bottom heater is a good investment and speeding up the burner. The alcohol one is in my compay car, because its saver especially in sommer. For me the tangria is the most compact and best to use under nearly all cobdition.
as you said there is a when & why for every stove, I use alcohol (Trangia), twig-stove (Firebox), fuel (Whisperlite, Primus), canister (Optimus, Trangia)... most of the time I carry 2 (Firebox + Trangia). The only thing I would add is that when speaking about alcohol stoves the Trangia set (25, 27 or military) is something QUITE different from a catfood-can stove...
Exactly
You're have some experiences with alcohol stoves, right? May I know which alcohol stove is better; standard alcohol stoves or copper coil alcohol stoves?
@@MASViper I am not an expert just an amateur, and I am afraid I cannot answer your question: 1 because I have never used a copper-coil alcohol burner, and 2 because first we should define what we mean with "better"... But independently from any other consideration, I know that coil burners are quite efficient in terms of heat generation and fuel consumption, in my grandparents house there used to be such a thing (about 100 years old) to heat water in the bathroom, and it worked quite well. But if I should make a decision, here and know, I would not hesitate one second, and choose the well known and proven Trangia burner!
@@MASViper If you are in the woods, a standard alcohol stove is better than a copper coil stove. The windshield and pot stand are simpler.
@@MrPetuP remember that boiling water is not equal = cooking...!!! Ease of use, fuel efficiency/economy and availability/price of fuel are all important aspects, but also simplicity! (fewer parts + no moving parts = fewer potential problems). Actually my favourite systems are alcohol stoves (Trangia!) and twig-stoves (Firebox), which I usually carry together (back-up). If high efficiency/output is needed my old Primus/Whispy will do. I am not a great fan of IsoPropane (environmental issue) but it is a clean, efficient and easy to use method, because of regulatory restrictions about open-flame systems I am sometimes forced to use it, but I thing that wood-burning stoves are by far the most logical alternative (you do not have to carry fuel).
1
Used a Trangia mini for years. Love it. Learn to use them and they are the best minimal kit. I get the bit about the weight but with the mini you have a fry pan, pan lifter and saucepan included.
Thanks for posting this. Each stove has their limitation and there's simply not a "one size fits all" approach to backpacking stoves and you presented that well here. There are too many voices out there pushing their favorite as the best, etc., etc. In the end, do your homework and figure out which one works for your situation. I've had a Svea 123 for decades and it's a tank that just works, but so does the Trangia. The canister stoves don't do so well in extreme cold, alcohol stoves are more temperamental in windy conditions, et cetera.
I think for me, the main factors leading to alcohol generally being my first choice (for trips less than a few days, or for longer trips where I'll have refueling opportunities)
1) Wind. I find I still have issues with wind with a minimalist canister stove. There's things like a jetboil or windburner, but those are substantially heavier and bulkier, and they are still subject to wind. With my caldera cone + alcohol stove, wind is not an issue - but that's not an option with canisters - unless you get a stove connected to the canister via a hose. But again, that adds substantial weight and bulk.
2) Refueling. Canister fuel is substantially more expensive, and the canister itself weighs as much as the fuel. The lack of flexibility in the amount of fuel you can bring can be annoying on shorter trips. A canister can be heavy and bulky compared to the amount alcohol you'd need for a day or two. And you end up with a bunch of partially-used canisters to manage - which you can't trust to last your trip, so you need to bring a second canister as a backup if you want to use those up... With alcohol, I can see exactly how much fuel is left, and simply refill the existing bottle, without having a collection of partially-full canisters to manage, or empty ones to figure out how to recycle. And the fuel for alcohol stoves can be sourced pretty much anywhere - not limited to specialty camping stores.
For me the arguments for a canister stove are: speed of setup and boiling, and density of the fuel - handy on longer trips.
I think which to bring depends on how long you'll be out for, and your refueling options.
In many places alcohol stoves are simply banned, though - due to forest fire danger - despite alcohol stoves stuffed with a wicking material not having that fuel spill danger that others have.
My Dad gave me my tranger , he used it in his younger days,I am 60 now
and it Still going strong if you like old fashioned things and not in a rush
They are great,if you use it properly it will never let you down
Trangia is best.
As a person who has made hundreds of alcohol stoves. I would say you nailed it. I use them for times when I want to relax and don't mind the wait such as a evening cup of coffee, but when I am hungry I pull out my pocket rocket and let it roar.
I have 3 alcohol stoves and 2 twig stoves. I decided alcohol would be better as a backup than a canister stove for me because of the fuel availability issue. I’m not a ‘hiker’, more of a survivalist. Great video Luke. Thanks for the info!
As a back up the alcohol stove is perfect.
I am one of those people who loves his homemade alcohol stove. I love the peace and quiet, free from the jet noise spewed out by both canister and white gas stoves. I also enjoy the extra quiet time in the morning waiting for my water to boil for coffee and oatmeal.
That said, I'm not a fanatic, and appreciate the balance you provided between the advantages and drawbacks of using alcohol, especially on long distance hikes. Thanks for being fair to both sides.
Thank for your comprehensive and helpful review. It could be helpful (for beginners) if you would mention in your video to never refill a gas stove such as the Triangia without having closed the stove with the lid for at least 30-60 seconds before refilling in order to avoid burns. Very often, one doesn't see the flame as you correctly mention. So very easy sequence: need to refill - if yes, cover the stove with the lid 30-60 secs- only then refill.
a couple years ago i went through my "alcohol stove" phase, i was obsessed. i tried so hard to make it the best piece of camp gear i owned, but in the end, i pretty much reached the same conclusion as you.
What are you going with now?
There are actually a myriad of reasons a burner/stove can underperform expectations. What do you think the main problems were? The five main categories of causes I've found for dissatisfaction are fuel choice, burner build choice based, pot choice based, and ambient condition and thermal insulation based. These are the big picture factors in the alcohol burner heating efficiency game. If you understand how all the factors work together, you can assemble a moded burner that will perform well.
Hey spot on from my experience! I use my al stove for day hikes in the winter ( nothing better than instant soup for lunch!) to 1-2 nights year round ( just to qualify, I do not “cook”; just boil water). After that, fuel volume carrying becomes an issue. Absolutely reliable, especially at altitudes above 10k in the winter; something that cannot be said about gas canister stoves. Thanks for your analysis 👍
For me personally, I prefer an alcohol or gel stove when I am pretty sure I will have the luxury of time, which is most of my overnighters and day hikes. I'm usually not in a hurry to heat up my coffee or my packet meal; I enjoy the process and do not feel rushed... after all, that's what I go into the outdoors for! And I hate the roar of a Pocket Rocket! With gel stoves (at least the ones I've used) you can see the flame, which is quite nice in itself.
However, I will choose a canister stove if it's going to be very cold or wet and I will want to get things done quickly or if I was thru/section hiking (I've never done this but plan to!) I know alcohol stoves work better in the cold, but a canister works just fine if you warm it up a little in your pocket or sleeping bag. Just takes a slight bit of forward planning. And as Luke says, I would expect the novelty of an alcohol stove to be lost on me pretty quick on a long trip.
Both types have their uses :)
I agree that the noise really isn't nice with the canister stove. Prefer biofuel when it is available. Sometimes pack in some wood pellets. I like collecting tinder, etc. as I go along. The alcohol stoves are kind of convenient for a short dayhike, htough.
Well, Luke, after hearing your spiel I read every comment. Wow, folks are passionate about their alcohol stoves. One dude wrote in saying that if he is upset that he has to spend a few extra minutes heating his food, then he knows he needs to spend more time in the woods. Once, years ago, I bought a pump up stove, went on a camping trip, I want you to know, that frigin’ thing failed right out of the box. Yeah, there is a lot to be said for keeping it simple esp if you are 20 miles out. Enjoyed your video.
One thing I'd add is that there are some alcohol stove systems like the trangia which present a reasonaby priced cooking set with pots and a fry pan. Then to cover other adverse conditions you can upgrade to gas burner or multi fuel burners later. So can be great to start out and develop. We love the trangia here in the UK and temperate or Northern European regions!
I love my DIY alcohol stove where I fine-tune it until it gets the rice cooked when the alcohol is finished. I simply light it, put on my pot and go for my other chore and come back with a pot of perfectly cooked rice. No need to wait and switch off anything and I think this is so cool.
I have three specific mods I make to all my burners to increase fuel efficiency. On top of the burner build mods, my setup is adjustable, for further customization (including a flame booster option by placing a candle, buddy burner, or fuel tab under the burner to increase the burner's btu output; this option actually decreases fuel efficiency, just for the record, but speeds up boil times significantly, so there is a trade-off made; it just depends on your individual purpose at the moment).
I love that my setup is highly customizable, as a result of so much testing I've done. I'm highly considering selling my design mods and even sourcing my customized setup.
I use the gas stove when I am working with children and so generally I need to eat and get back to work. If i am on my own, I like the Trangia stove as I find the light and the quiet very therapeutic. Thanks for the video though, more help during our lockdown in the UK x
If I had to work with a bunch of children, I'd choose the alcohol. Who needs a stove?
"Pro tip", actually two tips, if you use the Trangia version with a lid -
Always check to see that the rubber o-ring seal in the lid stays in the lid. I had one come loose and be left on the burner and in my haste and otherwise engagement with food-preparation-related activities I failed to notice this fact and I lit the stove with the rubber ring on it.
I did, however, most certainly not fail to notice the smell and black smoke from my field-kitchen; something rather unusual for the normal routine. I had to put it out and deal with the now burned stuck rubber. Most of it could be peeled off in flakes once dried, but it took some work, and what little was left was kinda burned-in and not smoking or so during further use. They work well without the o-ring seal though and this one continued to serve me well for the rest of my time with it (until I gave it back to the Swedish Air Force as it wasn't owned by me). Without the o-ring seal you can not store and carry fuel the same way you can with an intact burner equipped with one though, but see point and second tip below.
You are not supposed to store fuel in them for transport or long periods anyways we were taught unless for absolute necessity, such as if you for some reason really need to bring fuel and have no suitable container at all for some reason because someone shot a hole in your fuel container or something. I don't know, they didn't specify.
Anyways, this is for a few reasons. One is because they *can* leak and particularly so with older burners as the brass and o-ring seal age and with heavy use. For example they may come to develop small cracks or so on the lid around the screw-threads (which mine had by the way, perhaps also a contributing factor as to why the o-ring seal came off that one time). Long time exposure to the fuel can also damage/weaken the rubber o-ring which would be good to have in case you really do need to use it as a fuel storage container at some point. For that reason it is preferable to fully burn out or vent the burner a little to keep it dry and best cared for when you are not using it. At least such is what I gathered as for the reasons not to store and carry fuel in the burner itself. Of course the o-ring seal may also keep residue vapours contained when need-be, so it is good to have regardless in that way.
One other added benefit I can conceive for not having fuel stored in them may be to lessen the risk of spillage when opening the burner itself (more easily done if cold enough to lose dexterity, under stress, etc) as covering yourself in flammable liquid prior to intending to light a fire is probably a bad idea.
So there you go. Don't go burning your rubber unless you're making donuts and know what you're doing if you're storing fuel in the burner itself.
I enjoy DYI. So I've made a lot of different types of stoves and have used them out in the woods. I love the penny alcohol stove but just like this video points out they have their time and place, their pros and cons. Their biggest pro is making and using gear adds another dimension to your out door hobby.
A big factor for me with the alcohol stove compared to a canister stove, is the lack of waste. I use a white gas MSR over a cannister, because I don't like throwing away canisters. That makes the alcohol definitely more eco friendly.
You can buy a refill adapter, put the smaller emptier canister in freezer for 20 mins then put it under the adapter under the larger canister and open for a short while then weigh the smaller til it's approaching it's full weight. As larger canister are cheaper per unit fuel it also saves money after 3 refills.
@@GeekfromYorkshireThen you have to throw away your refill canister. I don't see how this is anything but marginally better.
@@calibos3329 Waste is reduced by 60% refilling 100g from 450g. Marginal? An empty 450 canister is 190g, and refills 4.5 times a 100g empty 106g canisters. 190g/4.5 = 42g. 42g is 40% of 106g.
And if you are weighing and refilling you are discarding an emptier canister than the alternative of many less-empty smaller canisters.
I could refill from one of the even larger ones , using a different adapter, which you "own" the canister and swap it for refilled one, lowering waste even more. I'm in UK and the larger canisters you swap empty for full are all over, popular for caravan/motorhomes who use them for cooking and for bar-b-ques. Sizes vary, 5Kg-47Kg. So you can make your waste significantly less than "marginal".
@@GeekfromYorkshirethis guy knows what's up ↑👍
I don't understand... Won't you have to throw away more plastic alcohol bottles (that may or may not be recycled) since you use more fuel?
The Caldera Cone, from Trail Designs, makes a BIG difference to the efficiency of alcohol stoves. Not so much the speed of cooking, but definitely the amount of alcohol you'll need for a trip, including in windy conditions. For me, it's what tips the balance in favor of using alcohol stoves because it removes three of the negatives you mention: wind resistance, fuel efficiency and, because you can carry less fuel, weight.
The Caldera Cone does make alcohol stoves more efficient - but you'll still burn twice the weight of fuel as you would with a canister stove, even in perfect conditions. Most of the time you'll need a minimum of 14g (1/2 oz) of alcohol to boil 500ml. A canister stove will use 7g - 8g of gas.
@@jandal8905 True enough but for shorter trips the weight saved on gas is offset by the weight of the canister itself - unless you can dispose of it en route, you're carrying at least 100g of empty canister for the duration, regardless. That's around 8-10 extra boils by itself.
(personally I almost always use a gas stove BTW so i'm definitely not against them, just pointing out a sometimes overlooked aspect of the pros and cons)
@@jandal8905 True but lets calculate the cost of gas and alcohol in my home country for an instance which is Estonia.
The 450g PRIMUS gas canister will cost me roughly 10€ , 15€ for winter gas blend.
5L of denatured alcohol will cost me also roughly 10€ in one litre bottles, 5L canister is cheaper.
With 450g gas canister and taking your 7-8g figure, I will be able to do 56 500ml waterboils. That is 18 euro cents per boil.
1L of alcohol is roughtly 2€.
Lets take again your 14g alcohol figure. That makes me 71 boils per litre of alcohol. That is 2 euro cents per boil.
The difference to use alcohol based on price is nine times against the gas. Its even worse for gas if you take winter blend.
For that 10€ of 5L of alcohol I will be able to cook way way longer than on the gas, even if we take more liberal amount of fuel to burn, lets say 20g per boil or eve 25g per boil, or even 30g per boil...No brainer to use alcohol stove if you can get alcohol for free to burn.
But its in my country, prices differ in other parts of the world, also not every place has cold winters where temps go below -20C.
There is additional weight penalty with alcohol, sure, but since we do have winters here, alcohol stove during winter is very good choice. Also I am doing mostly bikepacking and bike can carry a lot of weight so bringing extra alcohol as a fuel is not a problem at all.
The cost of alcohol is so low compared to gas canisters that it is very hard to pass alcohol stove. And as even in video was said, gas canisters is often harder to come by compared to alcohol fuel which is literally everywhere sold: gas stations as HEET or grill starter fuel, almost any shop including those extra puny small essentials shops that sells food will most likely sell grill starter fuel which is alcohol, etc.
Now if you refill your single use gas canisters, then its totally different thing but refilling those canisters is dangerous and even outright banned in most countries because of the dangers. But you cant refill it on the trail but you can easily find alcohol to burn.
So far have used gas stoves and they are realy good, clean, simple and easy to use but gotta try alcohol stove too for a while, especially since the price for alcohol is so low compared to gas and since we have winters here where gas will struggle at seriously cold temps.
Yellow HEET is the best for this type of stove. I switched to ESBIT Tabs when I solo pack.
Some advice with alcohol stoves; always use a 360 degree windshield, use one that is just fuel up and light(no stand, prime etc.), just use them to boil water. For a through hike the numbers say that a canister is more efficient weight wise. I have used my Zelph Fancy Feast and Minibull Elite clone for over 5 years now, still working great, and 7g/15g each respectively. If I go out with my wife I use a Jetboil type stove.
I totally agree. When I first started buying kit, I bought a Trangia because so many people raved about it, plus its lightweight and indestructible. But, as you said, it takes forever, the fule is heavy, and can be dangerous. So I tossed it in a box and haven't used it since.
This is the best alcohol stove video I've seen. I'm a solo backpacker and I've been using an alcohol stove made from fosters cans for about 8 years and it works great for me.
A very fair assessment, Luke. Personally my outings tend to be shorter so I carry a Trangia with the matching Triangle. It takes up less room in my pack than a canister and the triangle is quite stable on rough ground. It also works just fine up here in our cold Canadian winters. Thanks for the great videos!
I completely agree. I think it's the feel of manually refilling up the trangia itself and the whole contained kitchen set. The kettle, the frying pan and pots all fit together cosy contained in itself. I live in Northern Norway and I got gifted a trangia set off a camping friend to encourage me into the game.
As much as I love it, I feel like I've got more sentiment attached to it than actual use. I use it every now and again but æ I ended up picking up a gas attachment for it instead 😂
Man the package looks so good I wish it was another material but aluminum will kill you it is not good for the organs.
@@jheighten7568 They've addressed that concern. You could either get Duossal which is steel on the outside and aluminum on the core, so no exposed aluminium to the food, hard anodized aluminum that does not scratch as easily and lastly non-stick (Teflon) coated aluminium. I've went for the non-stick and am extremely careful with my pots and pans. My friend has Duossal and likes the fact that you could also cook with it over an open fire.
Thanks for the info I’ll check
@@jheighten7568 I researched it and found that claim is actually false. Check your sources 👍
@@SimonBrisbane there are other materials that are safer. I love how the companies support the products and make the people believe that they are safe. Go ahead keep trusting your government with everything they put in front of you.
Lots of information about aluminum
Lol .... it seems everytime that I am frustrated by a choice I want to make, you come along and do a video! Thanks Luke!
Hope all is well with you and your family!
In full agreement. Alco stoves are a lot of fun to use I have a few, but they often work out heavier on multi day hikes incorporating enough fuel, and often takes up just as much capacity as a jetboil system, once including a 500 ml liquid fuel bottle.
For reference I use 100ml iso prop gas can 200 grams, and the BRS micro stove, which fits into my 500 ml GSI Glacier pot, and gives 16 boils. I refill the iso prop cans with butane using an adaptor. Cost per 16 boils now 50 UK pence, 16 boils of liquid fuel costs me £4.00 UK pounds.
Sound advice from you, great vid, subbed for years but never commented before. Happy trails buddy...Bex
As a former scoutmaster I showed my scouts how to make these. They are easy to make and tend to work as well as purchased stoves. I had one scout spend a weekend building and testing several models to find which ones were the ‘best’. He came back and showed the troop his prototypes and results! I prefer my pocket rocket for ease and speed. In sub zero temps the canister like my water filter is in my bag or in my inside pocket. Thank you for a great review!
I’ve had a Trangia 25 for nearly 30 years, wouldn’t be without it
The best is the Fancy Feast stove, .4 to .8 oz works in -30f temps and one of the more efficient.
If I am UL backpacking...... Cat Can Stove all day long. 1) Quiet 2) Fuel is plentiful 3) I am not worried about an extra couple of minutes 4) Add a cozy and it doesn't have to be a rolling boil 5) Easily replaceable 6) mere ounces = )
I use my homemade alcohol stove almost everyday on my porch to make my coffee. But to cook with I'll probably use my canister stove. But I do enjoy my alcohol stove.
One pro you forgot is that the alcohol stove fuel makes a good martini. I spent half a hike of 4 days without any hot foods because the expensive and complicated backpacking stove we had quit working. It turned out it was plugged up in the tiny Ventura that you had to have a special tool to repair. The simplicity of the alcohol stove is a big, big plus.
I have used an alcohol stove for decades. They do demand a good wind break as wind does slow the cooking down dramatically. The best is the cook set, of the kind displayed in the video: the wind break is like an inverted bowl and I have never had problems with the cooking speed. As for heat regulation: I use methylated spirits (whatever you call it in the US). One tip I picked up is to add just a small dash of water with your metho, and that brings down the heat of the flame somewhat and it lessens the soot build-up that you can get on your pots. The fuel is available in any supermarket and I found that half a litre lasts a long time when used as I described above. Greetings from Australia.
I agree that there is a place for an alcohol stove but there are better choices. What a person needs to focus on is diversity. If you have many methods of cooking food then you are certainly better prepared.
Thank you Luke for pointing out the pros and cons of alcohol as a fuel. Your videos are always top notch.
I like using an alcohol burner as a backup for my multi-fuel stove. Most of the time I can use twigs and sticks and keep the alcohol burner for when it rains. I’m not really concerned with how fast my water boils and I like not using single use fuel canisters.
The fuel consumption is one of the reasons I often use alcohol stoves.
I usually eat one heated meal per day and use about 20 ml alcohol per meal, or about 2/3 of an ounce.
So that 8 oz fuel bottle of yours would last me for 11-12 days on the trail and the total weight for fuel, fuel bottle, stove and wind screen add up to about 9 oz in total!
(1 oz of volume alcohole isn't 1 oz in weight, it's 0.81 oz of weight, so the alcohole in your bottle weigh in at about 6,5 oz, I guess about 1 oz for the bottle itself, so 7,5 oz total for the fuel.
The small canister and the lightest possible stove and wind screen weigh in at about 6.5+1+1 oz, so indeed, it's lighter, but with this set up, I can usually make 8-10 cookings, (or even fewer in low temerature,) so it add up to the about the same weight per meal for me.
I can add some effect by using a better (and heavier) stove, so it still add up to about the same!
When I use a bigger canister, there is an added weight benefit, but my break even is at about 2 weeks, so it almost never make sense to me (based on weight) to use a canister stove.
Of course, if you make more than one hot meal and drink a few cups of coffee or warm beverage per day, that break even would end up in about half a week instead!
And also, using a Trangia burner... that's almost 4 oz on it's own! That would move that break even to even less time.
So, frequency of hot meals and what kind of burner is used play an immense role to change the weight benefits.
It's brought up in the video, and yes, the alcohol stove is a one hit wonder.
Once the objective is something else than just heat up water, I'll choose the canister stove every time! 😀
Despite my pride in my DIY alcohol stove. 😉
Thumbs up for the video, I'll say everything in the video is true, but not the entire extent of the truth.
YMMV, depending on, but not exclusively, the above criterias.
I used one single filled trangia in roughly 15 days use (coffee and warm oat meal in the morning and one hot meal at night). This guy is doing it all wrong and spreading misinformation. It is not trangias fault he is incompetent.
@@suminshizzles6951
15 days of use, 2 meals and a cup of coffe each day?
That's boiling roughly a liter water per day for 15 days.
Are you talking about a Trangia alcohol burner?
Assuming an average starting temperature of the water at about 20C (or about 68F) and about 100 ml capacity in a Trangia burner (slightly under 4 oz) then we talk about an energy efficiency when burning the fuel of about 240%!
It's a physical impossibility!
Or... we talk about warming up the meals to about finger warmth.
@@jackpoage5419 Yeah, I based my calculation on about 7,5 oz of weight for a full 8 oz alcohol fuel bottle, but you can probably find a lighter bottle. 🙂
I am going to go my own way on this and will say I have risked my life on my SVEA 123 and made it to 75 years old and can no longer go for extreme hiking but I did survive and still use it on my short camping trips of two or three days, my boys can do with it what they wish.
I use both, at the same time. I use my alcohol stove for boiling water exclusively, coffee, tea, soup, (cup a soup) or oatmeal and canister stoves for cooking actual meals. I find that by using two stoves, my fuel for both stoves lasts longer.
The Evernew ti stove with the cross stand is kinda pricy but it’s by far my favorite alcohol stove.
The markings on the inside makes it easy to use just enough fuel, using it is important for efficiency. It can be used with no stand for lower temp and with for full on boil.
The pop can stoves can be a great hobby for budget in mind, fooling around with to get the best performance.
The Trangia is by far the best survival minded stove, being able to screw the cap on and no fuel leaking keeps wasting fuel to a min.
I’ve have better luck when I keep the alcohol warm, cold alcohol doesn’t light easy. Keeping your trangia or a small fuel bottle in your coat pocket makes things easier.
Even if you let the fuel bottle get cold just put it next to your body, it'll warm in no time. It's not ice.
I have the small trangia stoves I actually like them
Brian Ferris Trangias are the best
They are decent stoves but alcohol stoves in general are awesome, cant beat em
@@Canadian_Craftsman versatile to have you have a great day and night 👍
@@brianferris1233 you to brother thanks for your support my man🤙be safe out there
I love my trusty Trangia 25 kit. Great for Car camping or when we might lose power. I love especially how quiet it is.
My Pocket Rocket is fine for a quick cup of coffee BUT the noise is very off putting.. imho.
I love them for one reason, shtf factor. Whenever I make a purchase, I'm usually thinking about how useful it would be in an end of the world scenario. Once manufacturing and gas production comes to a screeching halt, I won't be able to rely on canisters for fuel anymore. Now my pocket rocket is useless. Not to mention that the moving parts of a canister stove will break. Acohol however, is going nowhere. It's been around since before recorded history and will survive as long as people do. And alcohol stoves are bomb proof because theres nothing to break. And so I keep one of these in my bug out bag just in case. My firebox nano is still king though for readily available fuel. And luckily I don't have to choose between the two because they pair together perfectly.
Just bought my first alcohol stove, I'll try it out and let you know. Great vid though. I love the unbiased candor and straight up approach. I am now a subscriber. 👍🏼
After using gas for years, I finally bought a Trangia 27.Wish I'd bought one years ago. For solo camping, it's just perfect - !
Like said several times by others I agree, you really need to read the manual. Trangia has like three pieces and you failed to assemble it correctly.
FYI Finnish Defence Forces have used Trangia for decades.
Then again Finnish army needs something conscript proof. Trangia is near there... I wouldn't trust your average conscript with gas canisters...
@@_Ekaros yeah like average people are average, most average people shouldn't even drive a car.
@Cuddly Cat alcohol vapour with the right stoichiometric will burn/explode as gas will. How do you think engines run on ethanol/ methanol?
@@martinandersson5278 engines run on alcohol because of compression
i.e: drag racing engines compress the air & fuel to around 14:1 static compression then ignited to make a 💥
The quiet of the alcohol stove and the joy I get from fiddling around with it keep me using them for now.
Yellow bottle Heet is the cleanest and most efficient burner.
Thanks for the video Luke, I enjoyed it.
Hmmm.. I heard that the Heat brand has some additives which might be harmful? I stick with Denatured alcohol.
The cleanest is Bioethanol, ist almost pure spiritus, try it
The red bottle heat definitely has some impurities, but yellow bottle Heet seems to burn clean.
As of today (Oct 2021), the sky rocketing prices of canister fuel is makng alcohol stoves look much better. Also, there are work arounds to most of the cons you mentioned. I've used gas, propane, alcohol and wood over the years - and keep gravitating back to the alcohol stove. However, the convenience and speed of the canister stove is great, were it not for the price of the fuel canisters. Good review on the stoves.
Swedish Army Mess kit works great. Key is the windbreak/base and the tight-fitting mess pots which let you trap and use all the heat.
I live in Canada. Just spent a week in the North with temperatures hovering just above and below freezing.
Canister worked well. No issues.
Fast and easy.
Luke, please give the Ti-Tri system from Trail Designs a try, I love mine. .5oz of fuel will boil 2 cup / 1L of water. That 8oz bottle should boil up to 16L of water
12-10 Stove will boil in 6-8 minutes and very hard to blow out.
Luke, your fuel efficiency experience is MUCH different from my own. My summer alcohol setup is 6.3oz for a 1.3L pot wind screen and stove + 2oz for fuel. My Soto windmaster stove, (Very similar to the MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe) is 3.4oz + 8oz weight (small) fuel can, + 4.6oz pot = 1lb / 16oz for an overnight trip. Essentially double the weight. This assumes you are only planning to boil 4L of water max with the Alcohol setup.
2 cups is 1/2L you're not getting the efficiency you think you are.
There is some misinformation in this video. More safe, more efficient, and lighter options are available than the alcohol stoves mentioned in this video. My alcohol stove requires less than a fluid ounce of fuel to boil 500- 600 mL when used with a mini Caldera Cone. Also, my alcohol stove does not spill fuel (see Starlyte Stove). Including the fuel it is much lighter than a canister system for a weekend trip.
Surprised that at least one felt stuffed burner option wasn't in his line up. No spillage then.
Ya he left out several other options. Including all the military and hard gel stoves. Sounds more like he hasn't even tried enough alcohol stoves to have a valid opinion
So new cone when you get a new pot .... ???
Jay S I completely agree I use the trail Designs Tri Ti with the kojin stove very efficient and spill proof with my 600ml it’s lighter than the thru hiker fav the BRS set up
I have a different experience with the alcohol stove known as the Caldera Cone. I agree with your assessment regarding alcohol stoves in general, the Caldera being the exception. I find the Caldera very efficient in terms of fuel usage because of the cone which not only keeps out the wind but also directs virtually all the heat generated from the stove to the pot. (Jetboil is a similar concept for canister stoves, but I don't have one, and won't buy one because of the weight and expense.) With the Caldera Cone I can boil 4 cups of water in 7 minutes using 1.7 Tablespoons of alcohol. (2 Tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce.) So for two people if we use 4 cups of water at breakfast and 3 cups at dinner, I need 1 1/2 fluid ounces of alcohol per full day (less for the first day and last day because we need only dinner on the first day, and only breakfast on the last). Personally, the time savings of what, 3 or 4 minutes compared to canister?, is insignificant. That extra 3 or 4 minutes waiting for the water to boil can be used to enjoy the scenery which is the main reason I backpack! I also love the absolute silence of the alcohol compared to the roar of a canister. And finally I like it that I can calculate exactly how much fuel I need for a trip, so I end up taking that amount and no more.
Gee cant you speak metric like a normal person ???
I love them, in the form of a Trangia that is.. Lightweight aluminium, wind shield and comes with pots and pans :)
And I mix the denautured alcohol with ca. 10% water, that way it burns much longer, with a yellow visible flame
for security, and it doesnt soot the pots, for added heat transfer.
Personally when i am done i drop the regulator on it cause 9 out of 10 full power is nice. Then just wait like 3 min and its cold to refill or pack. From my view it seems long enough for one time cooking. and refill doesn't seem that much of a hassle.
The reason you are experiencing excessive fuel consumption with your Trangia is that you are using the base upside down and not set up in its two parts, base and windshield. The part you put the burner in is the base. You need to flip it over, so the burner is off the ground. This allows airflow and the correct air/vapour mix for proper combustion. Now put the windshield on top of the base. This channels heat around the pot or kettle.
The base has holes on one side, which you can turn to or from the wind. Turn further away as the wind gets stronger. This allows maximum fuel efficiency and minimum cooking time.
Finally, using the burner in the base correctly almost eliminates fire risk. The way you demonstrate setting it up is incredibly hazardous. You probably find you're regularly leaving scorch marks in vegetation when you cook. This will be eliminated if you use the stove correctly.
Like you say in the video, these stoves are tools. Knowing how to use them correctly is a big part of practicing your craft especially if you are trying to help others make an informed choice.
I have a stove addiction :)
So whether it's alcohol, gas or wood.... I love them all.
The methelated spirits in the UK (denatured alcohol) is pretty clean...only bi-product from burning them is water vapour.
I like the silence of an alcohol stove but not the smell.....I like the smell of a wood burner, but not the soot.... I like the speed of a gas stove, but not the noise. Best wishes !
Try Antibac alcohol hand sanitizer. No smell at all. A little more expensive but it is worth it when cook inside a tent.
I bring several alcohol stoves to my trips so that I can use the other one when one ran out of fuel as it cannot be refilled when the stove is still hot. I prefer alcohol stoves over canister stove. A huge con of the canister stove is the disposal issue. It is extremely not environmental friendly because the small canister is not fillable. Also you suppose to poke a hole when you dispose the used canister. How many people has ever done that when they dispose it?
"And in fact they're banned in California"
What isn't?
Unfortunately that illness is moving to all parts of our country.
Exactly. I wasn't super interested in alcohol stoves until he said it's banned in Commiefornia. Looks like I'll buy one just for the "eff you" factor.
Weed?
You idiots ever watch a program called "the news". Have you seen the damage done by fires in California? Only a small portion of hikers use these things, but they account for the majority of hikers started forest fires.
@@I..cast..fireball Don't think you got my joke, pal, but fine, yeah, it's widely known that California is as flammable as dry tinder, it's nothing new
This was the first video of yours I watched just a few months ago and now my wife and I watch your videos of cool trips almost every evening like we would tune in to an actual TV show. So nice especially during a brutal winter in the Midwest. Keep up the good work
Best video on alcohol stoves I have seen, I spent several months experimenting with them before deciding they are pretty useless. I gave up after refilling one of the top rated stoves three times without ever getting water to boil. I only ate that night because I was trying multiple stoves and ended up using a canister stove to boil the water. Cat food can might be an option for a cold soaker but I love my coffee. :)
I go out into the woods to avoid being in a hurry. Then again, I can get eight meals out an 8 ounce bottle.
While I have a lot of stoves, I usually go with one that will let me burn wood or alcohol like a Caldera Ti-Tri or one of my homemade can stoves. I have alcohol when I don't want to fiddle with wood, and wood the rest of the time.
If I'm too impatient to wait for my water to boil, I need to be spending more time in the woods.
After walking 20 miles in freezing temperatures I want my tea and hot meal now. Not in 15 minutes.
@@maksenDK Take a thermos.
Great overview! I have the Evernew titanium stove with a titanium windscreen from Amazon and use Everclear grain alcohol on my canoe trips. Quiet mornings on the river with zero stove noise. I still love my canister stoves though! Let you inner gear junky come out and use them all for different adventures! Cheers from Southwest Michigan!
Are you able to find an appropriate proof of everclear in Michigan?
mrmicro22 We are limited to the lower proof here. Fortunately I have friends who travel up from Indiana to bring the 190 proof. Burns real clean. I was a skeptic of the alcohol stove for a long time, but in the past 3 years I’ve really come to enjoy and understand where it fits in my kit.
I am with you on the Evernew stove. Just love how light it is. And as you say, the golden rule is proper use of a windshield and efficient fuel (In the UK Everclear is too expensive, but bioethanol is cheap). I bought 2 litres (excuse the British spellings please) of bioethanol for the equivalent of about $15 two years ago. I ran out about a month ago.
Besides being an excellent review, this video demonstrated exactly what these stoves are good for... heating water. For backpackers and thru-hikers carrying coffee and dehydrated food, these stoves work. For campers wanting to cook meals using regular food these stoves are nearly useless.
Unless you’re using a Trangia stove system which is the best stove on the planet for real cooking.
I had a bunch of alcohol gear in my Amazon cart to switch from canisters because I can’t find small enough ones (if any) around me. I thought the blocks would be easier for me but I checked TH-cam because I thought it strange there aren’t any back packers, on here using alcohol blocks. I haven’t seen any thru-hikers using alcohol stoves at all! I knew I could trust your videos to base my decision to switch or not. Thank you!
I have never seen anyone use the Trangia windscreen in the way you are using it. I would recommend flipping the lower windscreen over on the T-25/27.This will ,allow more combustion air, change the pot height above the flame and greatly improve the system efficiency. I agree that the canister stove is more efficient for just boiling water, but I hate the waste(carrying out) of the empty steel canisters.
Thank you for the honest review. You have become my go to channel when I choose gear. I would also point out a lot more the difference the fuel makes! Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) in my small experience creates too much soot for example. Concerning the toxic chemicals, well I would suggest that is not exactly true. Methanol is highly toxic to humans (we go blind if we drink it) but it burns very cleanly with a small chance of even making much of CO. The additives are added for tax reasons usually. Depending on the country, denatured alcohol has methanol added to it, so it would still be environmentally safe to use. My biggest concern when using one is starting a forest fire due to my own stupidity. That is why I spent days making cowboy coffee in my own back yard next to gallon jug of water.
Have you tried mixing the rubbing alcohol with some water? 9 parts alcohol to one part water significantly reduces soot.
Usually not the most practical but I love them
I have 3 alcohol stoves in my collection of stoves. I really like my alcohol stoves, but they are a right time right place stove!
LOL I get where you're coming from.
Most honest review of a class of stoves I have read anywhere. Thank you. I like alcohol stoves but have denied the cons. Canister stoves are efficient with the only negative being the noise.
Thank you for a well rounded, factual presentation on alcohol stoves.
I will add that the only time I have seen someone get lit on fire by a stove was with an alcohol stove. Not injured beyond a singe and partially melted jacket. But still, that colorless flame is tricky. He was an experienced backpacker as well.
One thing is sure: the alcohol stoves are dependent on many factors. I have two that I bought, five or six that I've made and even a small variation in size/numer of holes/distance from pot/wind conditions/support/quality of alcohol etc. can make a big difference in cooking experience. So in practice sometimes it takes 6 minutes to boil 400 ml of water, sometimes 15.
During my conscript time in army I used standart issued trangia sprii stove and not once I had to refil. But I give u that they are pian in the ass to lit when it’s freezing (which it was most on my time in service) over all quite nice wey to cook meal after harsh day at the forest! Ps. You make great videos keep it going💪🏼
I like my Triangia. To me it has the commendable virtue of being extremely quite, with a easy to conceal thermal signature.
Gas stoves are pretty useful, but only if I want to advertise my presence, which frankly most of the time I don't. I like to wear earth colour's, move quietly and watch where I am putting my feet. It's amazing just how much more of nature you see that way. Also if I am not at a safe policed camp ground, I prefer to be well away from the route, somewhere I cannot be easily surprised.
I used to do that too; professionally, so to speak.
Not only do you notice more nature but more human activity, as well. Makes finding the bad guys easier. :)
Well said.
@@WolverinStudio well, that's not ominous...
My imagination is going wild now🙂
@@iTyncWithReality. Ominous?? Imagination??
I believe I was as clear and concise as I needed to be.
Scroll down to another comment I made if you need more elucidation.
For hikes of up to 2 days/nights, my alcohol setup is lighter. For 3 days/nights, the weight is about the same as a canister gas stove - for longer durations than that, gas is lighter. Gas is always more efficient, always cleaner, always easier to use, and always faster. But I mostly choose alcohol because I just enjoy it more!
I have been watching this and chuckling to myself...... You have the trangia base and windscreen incorrectly assembled. Not sure if anyone else has commented on this fact. Try it correctly setup. 600ml of water, in the kettle, will boil in 3-4 minutes max. It puts out a large amount of heat when correctly setup and when setup correctly the wind actually is used as an aid to increase the burn temperature. Please watch a couple videos on how operate. I use my 27 series and love it.
In cold weather, it’s best to prime the alcohol stove.
As for the weight.. the weight maybe the same or slightly more at first, but gets lighter as you use it.
That may actually support Luke's statement becaue alcohol stove kits weigh lighter much quicker than canister stoves because it uses more fuel.
Jay Wanders Out I switched to an alcohol stove about year ago. I like it better for several reason that Luke suggested: quieter, simple to use, etc...
I also found that I can carry 10 oz of fuel and still weigh less than my canister stove. Even on longer trips, when the canister is empty, there is weight to carry. As for the alcohol fuel, I know how much fuel I have and have used. I know I can boil two cups of water on 1 oz of fuel. A canister stove I have to mark or weigh to know how much fuel is left before or after each trip. I like both canister and alcohol stoves. IMO the alcohol is easier to maintain, carry, and use.
With the Trangia set, you can use a tealight underneath the alcohol burner to increase efficiency. At 2:41, you see him use it the wrong way. The shield is supposed to hold the burner up from the ground with the burner on top. Underneath, you place a tealight and then you add the wind screen / pot holder on top. I'm fairly certain that it is designed to be used with a tealight.
You didn't set that Trangia up right...
Yeah definitely set up differently (not as intended) but maybe he wanted it closer to the ground so as not to tip it over.
Set up like this, means that you don't get the correct air flow which slows down the cooking time. Also, the stove is not as stable as when set up properly. Saw this, stopped watching. If you can't put up a Trangia stove properly, your advice is not going to be as believable.
@@nickhayley I wandered about that, did it more than once too I think. Maybe I should try it his way just once to see if there is any advantage to using it that way. And if all else fails read the instructions.
Love my Trangia! I don’t know what/how you’re cooking, but I can’t imagine going through as much fuel as you seem to. That bottle you show would last me probably 5 or 6 days on trail - of course, I also start with my stove full of fuel. I basically just boil water and add it to my meals, so the couple of extra minutes it takes to boil is filled with getting everything else ready, and I don’t notice a delay. You are correct about the wind factor - a good shield is a must with an alcohol stove. Thanks for the video!
He doesn't set up his Trangia stormcooker correctly and loses a lot of heat and efficiency.
Before anyone decides on not getting the Trangia alcohol stove, PLEASE watch the video by Vahid Cullsberg from 3yrs ago called " commentary on 'the Outdoor gear review of the Trangia alcohol stove '" for the "proper use" of this product and the system!