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Question: Which cooking stove is
right for me?
Answer:
There are three basic types of
stoves that are popular for overnight hiking trips: gas stoves, spirit burners
and liquid fuel stoves. They all work well, but are quite different from each
other and it pays to know about those differences when making a decision about
which stove to purchase.
Gas stoves are generally
the easiest to operate, and as everyone knows, cooking with gas is
easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy. Gas hiking stoves are compact units that are connected
to a gas cartridge or canister, and are sometimes equipped with piezo ignition
switches for easy lighting. Whether you are cooking elaborate meals (such as
stews, curries, etc) or are simply boiling water for soups, coffee and
freeze-dried meals, gas stoves will be suitable.
There are certain
situations, however, where gas stoves won’t operate very well – and maybe not at
all, so it’s a good idea to know a bit about where you are planning to use it,
and what the weather is likely to be. Depending on what kind of gas is being
used (butane or propane), gas stoves do not always operate very well at high
altitudes or in extremely cold conditions. Propane is the best alternative for
use in any condition (especially for high altitudes or cold climates), though
generally isn’t well suited for hiking because propane canisters are made out of
thicker steel, which of course adds to the overall weight. Propane/butane blends
are available but are not guaranteed to work in all conditions. Thus, we would
only recommend gas stoves for people hiking in mild climates and would otherwise
recommend a spirit burner or liquid fuel alternative. We are also hesitant to
recommend gas stoves for longer hiking trips because gas canisters are fairly
heavy and the stoves aren’t terribly efficient, which means you’d have to carry
several canisters for longer trips.
Spirit burners are also
very easy to use, and are very popular with hikers across the world. Without a
doubt, the most common spirit burner style stoves are the Trangia storm cooker
units. Incorporating the burner, windshield, 2 pots and a frying pan, storm
cookers are a total cooking solution that are well suited to cooking stews, stir
frys and similar meals.
A spirit burner is very easy to set up and
operate – it’s a simple matter of putting some methylated spirits into the
burner, holding a flame to the burner and hey-presto, your away. Not only are
they simple to use, they will operate in any condition and they are very quiet.
There are some disadvantages to spirit burners, however, and it pays to be aware
of these issues. The first potential problem is that they are not very
efficient, and can chew through quite a bit of fuel in a relatively short space
of time. The second potential problem is that spirit burners do not burn very
hot, and thus take longer to boil water than gas or liquid gas stoves.
Liquid fuel
stoves are a little trickier to set up and operate, but for many people, is
the best solution for cooking in the backcountry. There are several reasons for
this. Firstly, liquid fuel stoves are typically very efficient and do not burn
through fuel as fast as the alternatives, which means less fuel is required to
be carried. Secondly, liquid fuel stoves burn significantly hotter as well, and
are the best at boiling water efficiently. Finally, liquid fuel stoves are
capable of operating in extreme conditions and do not suffer the same problems
of gas stoves. The only down side to liquid fuel stoves is that they are more
expensive than the alternatives (for most of our customers, however, the extra
cost is money well spent) and that some of them are downright terrible at
regulating heat. This isn’t a problem for people who are simply using them to
boil water, but models with simmering capability are by far the most suitable
for hikers who take their backcountry cooking
seriously.
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