Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Ford  I bought a Trangia a few years ago and used it just the once before it went into the loft. I was horrified with its weight and bulk for one-person trekking- it dominated my rucksack! Meths is only really suitable for priming a liquid fuel stove. As the main fuel it's inefficient, heavy, difficult to control (in a Trangia) and stinks your rucksack out. It's also dangerous because the flame is nigh invisible in sunlight! The only thing to be said for a Trangia is that it's OK for group camping eg D. of E., because it's difficult to break.
I think that the only reason people use a Trangia is because they used one on their D. of E. and - don't know any better. It's also somewhat of a fashion camping accessory.
|
Jim, very true that the Trangia stove is a tad on the bulky side compared to some modern cooking stoves on the market. But, saying that the Trangia is very windproof, the 2 pans and maybe the kettle can nest quite happily inside the main housing, also the burner unit go's inside the kettle minus the meths which is kept in the dedicated Trangia fuel bottle. Also there is a frying pan, I have the non-stick version. So, really the Trangia is class on it's own. The beauty of it, is that nothing can break and is very robust. There is a Gas Converter which can replace the meths if needed, but that costs £45 alone, but you can control the heat and flame much much better than meths and gas is more readily available than meths.
I used to have the Trangia Mini stove and that was a little beauty in it's self.
It is difficult to control the flame, but there is a simmer plate to overcome this and depends what you may be cooking.
On my Coast to Coast walk in May, I used the MSR Pocket Rocket stove along with the MSR Titan Kettle. This is called one pot cooking, I would like to next time use the Trangia Mini stove, but prices have soared and will stick to my Trangia 27 UL. I have a 2 week cycle-camping tour next year and most likely to take the Trangia 27 for my cooking. The Trangia 27 will fit very nicely in the Ortlieb Front Roller Classic panner.
The Honey Stove 2009 is a nice stove, but tends to be a bit fiddly to set up, esp with cold fingers and one would need to have some dexerity. However, it would make a ideal week-end stove.
I don't think it's a fashion camping accessory, far from it. When I go the York Cycle Show which held is every June on the Knavemire, a lot of cyclist's camp on the racecourse and I guess roughly 15-25% of cyclist's used Trangia's, some of the Trangias were really battered and blackened due to consisted use over the years. I was talking a old time cycle tourist and swears by the Trangia and is not stuck on these modern stoves nowadays.