Stove Recommendations

[MatteoBoneo]

Hi Guys,

New to the forum, thanks for having me!
Im looking to get into bikepacking. Just brought a 2015 Salsa Warbird, and have some Apidura bags.

Im looking to get a stove to take on overnight trips on the bike, also to take out when walking. I want to go gas.

Any recommendations?

Ive looked at the Jetboil Minimo, great reviews, but price and size puts me off.
Also the Optimus Crux, and MSR pocket rocket.
I like the idea of the Jetboil, as its all in one and looks very neat when in operation.

Thanks
Matt

[whitestone]

The Jetboil is pretty big for a stove, something you'll notice when packing.

A minimal gas stove like the Alpkit Kraku https://www.alpkit.com/products/kraku (it's one of several very similar rebranded stoves so you should be able to find one locally as well) plus one of the smallest gas canisters will fit inside an Alpkit MyTiMug 650 https://www.alpkit.com/products/mytimug leaving room to spare for lighter or matches and a few tea bags. You can make your own windshield out of aluminium foil.

I've only linked to the Alpkit stuff because it came to mind, I've actually got the Vango version of the stove along with the MyTiMug.

If you want to go lighter and/or more compact then gas isn't the fuel to be looking at, it's meths. Either Stuart's 8g or 20g stoves or make your own pop can stove. This plus foil windshield and titanium mug will come to under 100g.

Edit: I should add that using the above setup (either gas or meths) it's more about boiling water to rehydrate things rather than cooking in the traditional sense. i.e. boil in the bag type meals. Boil water in the mug, pour in to bag and leave to one side, boil more water for brew, etc., eat meal from bag. This way you've little or no washing up to do. It's not for everyone though.

[HaYWiRe]

Only recommendation I can give for gas stoves is the Pocket rocket. Light, simple, no nonsense.

I find the problem will all in one kits is they limit you to a bigger pot than you usually need, where as building a modular kit lets you decide how much water needs boiling and how many people you're cooking for.
Cant really go wrong with a rocket, mytimug and the smallest canister you can find.


Most here prefer meths and its alot more compact and simple, but not my thing, I find I'm either doing alot of cooking and need to simmer, fry, boil,ect something more gourmet or ill just eat cold food if I need to go light.

Incase you haven't guessed, I tend to eat alot of cold food whilst out...

[Bearbonesnorm]

Yeah, you lost me at gas

[whitestone]

Who let that fr***ing giant in?

[benp1]

A giant with surprisingly small fingers!

For me, the thing with gas is that you need to consider what you want to do with it

If it's boiling water then something like the jetboil is ace, but it's rubbish for cooking and is quite big

The worst thing about gas is the size of the canister, you ideally want your cup big enough to fit the 100 canister in, at a minimum. Which means most 400-450ml cups will be too small, but most 650-700ml cups will be perfect. Next you want a gas stove small enough to fit into whatever space you want. A pocket rocket is quite long, whereas the Primus and Crux ones tend to be smaller so can lay on top of the canister inside the mug.

I also prefer non-piezo stoves and taking a separate lighter

If you're using it somewhere windy then you'll need a windscreen. The Primus one is excellent, and fits perfectly round a 250 canister or inside the MSR Ti Kettle, but it won't fit in most mugs bit enough for a 100 canister

Oh yeah, get canister legs, they're very useful!

Make of that drivel what you will!

My gas set up, which I've not used in ages, is
- Jetboil for the back of the car
- Primus Micron Ti, Primus windshield, primus stove legs. Usually with an MSR Ti Kettle, sometimes with a Snow Peak Ti set

[ddraver]

I'm a fan of MSR and have, amongst others, a pocket rocket. With characteristic Dutch bluntness, the bloke in the shop said to me, there are cheaper and there are lighter but this is what you want if you want to throw a s**tload of heat at a pot...which i would agree with

[TimBB]

I bought a Kraku and marvelled at its great design and lightness.
The problem was it wouldn't work with two types of gas canister ~ Colemans and another by go gas ltd.
I rang Alpkit and they said yes there was a problem with Coleman but it should work with the others.
Unfortunately mine didn't work with others ( and also found it difficult to find stockists of other brands)

So I bought an MSR Pocket Rocket. It doesn't have the great looks etc of the Kraku but it does work ~ brilliantly!
Watch out ~ it gets seriously hot.

[Welsh Steve]

I've not done a lot of Bikepacking/bivibiking yet, but I've done a bit of mountaineering in the past.

Gas works well, but you always end up taking full cylinder as your not quite sure and then carry half a cylinder home. A jet boil is vaguely exciting as an out of the car brew kit, but is way too bulky/heavy for anything else.

I've just bought the 22g stove from bearbones, Not used it n anger yet, but it worked well last night in the garden (with the wife laughing at me from the kitchen. Light to carry, small to pack, quick to boil water and fuel efficient, Whats not to like. Next weekend I'm out, so will see how it goes.

IMG_3575.JPG (68.65 KiB) Viewed 5556 times

Steve

[Welsh Steve]

With wind shield.

IMG_3577.JPG (75.76 KiB) Viewed 5556 times

I'm a newbie to all this, so have no actual experience. But ive recently been through the same as you, and after a lot of reading and advise, this seems to be a pretty good solution.

[ootini]

I like gas. It's easily turn on and off-able. https://bikepackingonabudget.wordpress. ... -kit-pt-1/

[cycleofaddiction]

Like others have said the small lightweight designs like the alpkit kraku are a crap for actually cooking as they just burn stuff no matter how much stirring you do. You might get better results with a wider burner and karrimor do one with an ignitor but it might not be the most robust of cookers but at £12.99 it's got be worth a punt?
http://www.karrimor.com/karrimor-explor ... e=78743790

[Trail-rat]

yeah not a gas fan here for the reasons mentioned above.

cannisters big and aukward to store on the bike + a pain in the arse to find on the road.

I have an 8gram stove and 400ml ti mug for ultra light multi day missions where i want a cup of tea or some noodles

i have an alpkit bruler and a 650ml ti mug for longer single person trips.

and an MSR whisper lite and alpine pot set for multi person cooking or if im off the beaten track for a while as it burns almost anything flamable. It has reviews for similar issues to the kraku but there is a knack to cooking on them and its not about stirring. Ive often wondered about making some sort of stand off to sit under the pot when im using the whisperlite as anything more than melting snow or boiling water and its a bit over kill but really robust.

My one tour i did with gas i ended up on mull and i ran out on a sunday - was a bummer and i couldnt find any gas anywhere - plenty of meths though so i was pretty convinced from then on.

[fatbikephil]

Vango Ti gas stove has done me well. 100g canisters can be had cheap from on line builders merchants stores. I use it with both my big and little mug and its my go to for 3 nights plus trips as it works out lighter than a meths stove and 3+ days worth of meths plus its idiot proof and quick.

[Charliecres]

It's a little thing but meths is silent. That's nice when you're brewing up alone under the stars in the middle of nowhere.

[ScotRoutes]

Another gas fan.

I had an excellent Pocket Rocket but use a Crux now as it packs into the space under the gas canister. Pots with heat exchangers use less gas but the smallest I've seen is the Terra HE. If course, if you pack it wisely then you can use all of the internal space so it has minimal impact on your luggage space.

[ScotRoutes]

It's a little thing but meths is silent. That's nice when you're brewing up alone under the stars in the middle of nowhere.

And when cooking with meths you've certainly got more time to do that..

[whitestone]

The time to boil thing is a bit moot really. Unless you are in a race, in which case you are more likely to be eating stuff cold, what difference does an extra couple of minutes make? It boils when it boils.

I use both fuel types, each have their pros and cons. Meths is slower; needs more fuel to boil a given amount of water; is a bit of a faff at times; can be hard to get going in cool/cold weather. On the other hand it doesn't need a specialised non-reusable fuel container; much cheaper; lighter and more compact.

[Mart]

I've made the move to Meths thanks to the 8g stoves. Through trial and error I've experimented with my menu's to be able to go with just a 400ml mug
I'm constantly amazed what's possible with a little thought and preparation

[polarcherry]

100g canisters can be had cheap from on line builders merchants stores

Do tell more?

Any web links to the correct ones?


Normal outdoors 100g canisters are nearly as much as the 250g!!

[fatbikephil]

100g canisters can be had cheap from on line builders merchants stores

Do tell more?

Any web links to the correct ones?


Normal outdoors 100g canisters are nearly as much as the 250g!!

Here you go - http://cpc.farnell.com/highlander/gas02 ... EML007-005
Actually Farnells rather than a builders merchants

[Moder-dye]

I really like meths stoves for the reasons others have said above and the time isn't an issue for me. On family camping trips we even use ( shock horror!) full trangias

But I really like the silence of them! Dont under rate it. On a long trip my mate had a pocket rocket and the racket of it drove me mad every time he used it. It was so bloody annoying especially first thing on a morning.

[MatteoBoneo]

Thanks for all your replies, been very useful!
Meths does sound a good idea, but for now ill go with gas i think.
Narrowed it down to the MSR PR or the Vango Ti looks pretty good for the price.

[Steezysix]

@ Trail-Rat - Have you had much use of your Alpkit Bruler? I fancy a meths stove (already have gas & petrol) and have been happy with the Alpkit stuff I've already got. Just wondering what boiling times and ease of use are like - there aren't really any reviews of it that I can find. Cheers!

[Mart]

When I go gas (when Family with me) ive used these - Pretty small and the legs fold into form a neat package

http://www.sportswarehouse.co.uk/vango- ... 82Pqa2V-Uk