Camping Gas/stove

[paddleboy17]

The question of stove type is based on the fuel you want to burn and that decision is often based on the type of the cooking you plan to do.

If you are a spendid cook and enjoy a well-kitted out kitchen, you will want the stout burner controller available on cannister stoves.
If all you do is boil water for tea and dried or freeze-dried meals then you can do alcohol or tabs wood or just about anything else.
If you are traveling with companions, you can split the load so weight is not a valid qualifier. 

I suggeest you explore alcohol stoves but there is also an interesting variety of battery-powered forced air stoves that will burn wood and other combustibles. Soot on the pans? You're camping!

Acohol stoves are efficient, ultrlight, and ultrasimple. There are many deisgns for do-it-yourselfers or thhere is the venerable Trangia that has been making tea for trekkers for at least a century. The fuel supply is easily predictable for spirit stoves. The fuel is easily and readily available across the States. But alcohol stoves have no finesse. They boil water. You're not making fluffy omelettes or unburned pancakes on a Trangia.

See backpacking online resources for thorough reviews of cooking systems.I just got a copy of the Adveenture Cycline catalog and they've settled on a particualr model. Should be a reliable testimonial.

I fancy my self to be a culinary snob, and I prefer cooking on my venerable Trangia.  The flame front is spot on perfect for cooking and then there is  that marvelous simmer ring if you need it.  I have not done omelettes as there is that whole eggs not packing well thing,  but I am pretty sure I could if I wanted to.  I have not done pancakes either but I will try that on my next trip.  I do marvelous grains and pasta with hearty red or delicate cream sauces. Are you sure you are not thinking about white gas stoves?  As I recall my Whisperlite had two setting, off and incinerate.

[bogiesan]

>>I fancy my self to be a culinary snob, and I prefer cooking on my venerable Trangia.  The flame front is spot on perfect for cooking and then there is  that marvelous simmer ring if you need it.  I have not done omelettes as there is that whole eggs not packing well thing,  but I am pretty sure I could if I wanted to.  I have not done pancakes either but I will try that on my next trip.  I do marvelous grains and pasta with hearty red or delicate cream sauces. Are you sure you are not thinking about white gas stoves?  As I recall my Whisperlite had two setting, off and incinerate. <<

Point taken, thanks for adding your experience. Reinforces the need to research these things carefully. You pointed out features and capabilities of the Trangia I had not considered.

I never really tried to actually cook on my Trangia. By the time I had gone ultralight for backpacking, I had decided cooking was a bit of an affectation for my hiking goals: walk till I didn't want to , set camp (5 minutes), heat up some water, read-write-chores, bed. Same in reverse in the mornings.

After watching dozens of different people use lots of different stoves (most with comic or near tragic results) I concluded the type of cooking one aspires to should be the deciding factor when shopping for and investing in a stove. As you say, many stoves have two modes, off and jet. One cannot cook without some kind of predictable flame attenuation. For that, many of the cartridge-style units seem to excel. There are several cansiter stoves designed to only boil water, though (off and jet), so one must still shop carefully.

[BobG]

I see that Walmart is now selling a Coleman cannister type stove with the same threaded fuel tank attachment as the MSR "pocket rocket" stove, and they carry the fuel replacements. In the past an MSR butane stove user would need to find an REI or EMS type of specialty outdoor store to re-supply fuel. This made the MSR pretty useless for an extended trip in a rural area. With Walmart carrying the MSR size tanks, that stove is now somewhat more practical. There's not a Walmart around every corner in the US, but certainly lots more of them than REI or EMS. Hopefully other hardware chains will carry them in their camp fuel section.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Butane-Propane-Mix-Fuel/20595064

sal99-

I think you could make it coast to coast on the TransAm using the MSR "pocket rocket"or equivalent if you prefer a cannister stove. I've made the trip several times in the past using white gas fuel.

Just for the heck of it I used the "check store availability" tool on the above Walmart link. (It's a boring March day here in NH!). I entered a couple of towns from each state where I remember Walmarts close to the route. "In stock" locations included Williamsburg VA, Christiansburg VA, Hazard, KY, Berea, KY, Carbondale IL, Farmington, MO, Chanute KS, Pittsburg KA, Pueblo CO, and Frisco CO.

You'll run out of Walmarts across WY but there are backpacking stores in Lander WY and W Yellowstone MT. West from there you can fuel up in Missoula MT, Redmond OR and Eugene OR. "Out of stock" today includes Charlottesville VA, Newton KA and Baker City OR, but there are Walmarts and/or backpacking stores in those towns.

A 220g cannister is $4.88 at Walmart, maybe a buck more for the MSR tank at a backpacking store. I would always have a cannister in reserve in case you come to a town out of stock. Yes, $4.88 would buy over a gallon of petrol...... but butane is so convenient.

[adventurepdx]

I fancy my self to be a culinary snob, and I prefer cooking on my venerable Trangia.  The flame front is spot on perfect for cooking and then there is  that marvelous simmer ring if you need it.  I have not done omelettes as there is that whole eggs not packing well thing,  but I am pretty sure I could if I wanted to.  I have not done pancakes either but I will try that on my next trip.

I have cooked both eggs and pancakes on a Trangia, and have done just fine. Even with the mini-Trangia (28) set. Yes, you have to watch them carefully, but you can do it. I don't have any photos of cooking eggs, but I just so happen to have a couple of cooking pancakes. Ironically enough, the caption on my flickr stream for it is: "The perfect pancake. Who says you can't make pancakes with a Trangia?"

[Salsa fan]

I was on a tour with riders who had gas and wood burning and I have to say the guy with wood burning had no trouble at all. Even in the rain. Plus wood burning can satisfy the little pyro in you.

[janetanorth]

I don't find it hard at all to find cannister fuel, though the larger sizes are more difficult to locate. I travel with one large one, and a backup that can be smaller, if necessary. Most are universally connected to any stove- i did have to update my device to enjoy this convenience. The empty canisters are now recyclable, if one has the proper emptying tool.
I would recommend surfing several of our outdoor stores to check for fuel compatibility with your stove:
Www.rei.com
Www.ems.com
Www.sportsmanswarehouse.com
Let's hear it for the box stores.
Regards, janet

[newfydog]

The new super efficient JetBoil has brought me back to canisters.  The new canisters were tough to find in Montana, but not impossible.

[NothingClever]

I've used an alcohol / methylated spirit stove up to 13,000 ft and it performed well.  The extra minute or so required to boil water is offset by the ease of finding denatured alcohol / methylated spirits in even the most basic of towns in the U.S.  That facility is valuable to me now.  Finding cool camping stores along the way while in search of white gas or canisters isn't near the enjoyable diversion it used to be.  I also like that denatured alcohol / methylated spirits doesn't have toxic fumes, isn't volatile, burns cleanly and can be used as a mild cleaner.

Strongly recommend the Esbit CS2350HA cook set if you can get one.

If camping in really cold weather, one can use a whiskey flask to pre-heat your fuel.

My other stove is an MSR Dragonfly but it's a museum piece in the garage now.

[CanvasAndSteel]

+1 for Trangia alcohol. I've also used mine at 13, 000 and also at well below 0. It's quiet (compared to my svea and whisperlite), dead simple and durable, with fuel available anywhere. It takes a bit longer to boil, but if you were concerned about losing the odd minute or two you'd be driving your car instead of riding your bike.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

[zerodish]

Airlines are not going to allow you to transport a stove back home. You will need to abandon it. So the cheapest option under these condition is a propane stove. The stove can be had for $10 and the fuel canisters are $2. The canisters made for torches will also fit the stove. Propane is around 2 to 4 times as expensive as gasoline. It has the advantage of starting in much colder temps gasoline has problems at 0 centigrade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmjd_6WgkTE

[DaveB]

So the cheapest option under these condition is a propane stove. The stove ...... Propane is around 2 to 4 times as expensive as gasoline. It has the advantage of starting in much colder temps gasoline has problems at 0 centigrade.

It has the disadvantage that the containers are much, much heavier than butane or any other fuel. They have to contain much higher pressure and have to be much stronger.