Stoves and cooking gear

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Matt Brown

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I've never been one for cooking on the bank. I remember what seemed like hours for my Camping Gaz stove to warm stuff up back in the 80's.

All this talk of food on the other thread and the fantastic breakfast prepared by Andy, Greg and Paul at the Selby 3 Lake roach fish in, has promted me to give this cooking lark a go again. Well that, and the fact that I'm only going to get fatter eating biscuits all the time!

So what should I go for? There's the small stove option, or would the big Coleman thing be better? I'm not too keen on carrying too much gear so if I go for a small stove, does one brand stand out above the others? Primus? Coleman? Trangia? What price point should I jump in at? Do I need a windshield? Do I need anything else (other than a pan)?

Cheers fellas.
 
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Malc Bason

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Hi Matt.

Whichever option you go for, just be aware that during very cold weather some gas stoves won't work! Ok, its warming up now, I know, but something to be aware of in the future.

If you go for a Coleman Double Burner (unlikely as you don't want to carry too much gear) try a camping company like towsure who sell them for practically half the tackle shops!
 
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Wooly

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Matt,for me it has to be the meths burning Trangia. I've had mine for over 20 years and it has never let me down in any weather. It has no moving parts and other than running out of fuel it has never failed ever. It works just as well when its cold - I've used it at -15, as when its hot. All the pots and pans come with it and it all folds down into itself for easy carrying and storage.
I've even had races with other cookers boiling a cup of water (shows how exciting my fishing can get!)and it usually wins.
Gas tends not to work well when its cold and petrol invariably gets everywhere.
 
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BAZ (Angel of the North) aka Fester

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That looks the busines, I'll have a look at them. Meths is nice to drink as well.
 
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matt

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I've used gas, colemans, and trangia and for me its the trangia. The coleman boils a kettle in the a jiffy but it will let you down eventualy and is difficult to avoid burning your food. Gas suffers in the cold and is affected by wind. The trangia just keep on cooking with little or no maintenance.
Go for the largest size and get a fuel bottle with a tap on top available from camping shops to keep your fuel easy to pour.
 
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mattzzzzzz

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Hi Matt,
Knowing you fish in all weathers and also winter I would recommend a petrol stove,I have an MSR whisperlite International stove which does me proud,its fully strippable with spare parts included incase it goes wrong and you use a seperate fuel bottle so no spillage issues.
The whisperlite also folds down into a small pouch and comes with an alloy windsheild which is a bit heath robinson but does the job,i just bought a Chub Windshield to go with it though.
I started with a Coleman Sportster which was ok but found a few limitations with it
-It has a fairly small tank and required refilling over a night session if used for tea making a lot
-Having a flat bottom it has a problem with most riverbanks as you struggle to get it level
-It is a bugger to pump !!
In my mind an MSR or a Primus multifuel would be the way to go but they are both about ?100 (mine was ?35 off fleabay)
Hope that helps ,if not Mail me for more info.
www.msrcorp.com-the aftersales is good too after i broke the pump housing I returned it to America and a Brand new one was with me FREE within a week,take into account its probably about 8 years old that aint bad in my book!!
also these stove are built for extreme use by climbers and expeditions so tend to be bulletproof (I was too heavy handed!)

cheers Matt
 
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mattzzzzzz

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Just another selling point,I am a proper tea junkie and a sigg/primus/msr fuel bottle in 1 litre last me about 3 sessions before a refill is needed,but I always keep a spare in the car just in case

these look pretty good value
http://www.breaking-free.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=512

http://www.outdoormegastore.co.uk/acatalog/Outdoor_Megastore_MSR_Camping_Stoves_71.html

edit;just found the whisperlite for ?60!
http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/eshop/MSR-Whisperlite-Internationale-Multi-Fuel-Stove.html

cheers Matt
 
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Paul B

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Cheshire.
Greg did the cooking at 3 lakes on his petrol stove (top lad!)with help from Andy; my gas stove struggled in the cold. It helped when I put a new cartridge with more pressure on though.
My father-in-law has an MSR stove and is well pleased with it.Personally I went with gas because I didn't fancy stinking of petrol while fishing(I make sure I fill the car the day before I go)and have just got a primus gravity gas stove as my last one wouldn't down low enough to simmer stuff.
I found an interesting link on trangias trangias
 
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Matt Brown

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I spent a good few hours reading up on stoves and it seems dual fuel is the way to go. I think I may well go for one of the upper end MSR or Primus stoves, but it'll have to be next payday as I'm skint after paying for all those new permits!

Thanks!
 
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Bryan Baron 2

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Trangia for me if i have to carry it anywhere. had mine 20 odd yeras from when i use to do a lot of fell walking. never let me down there are faster for brewing but as been said they tend to burn. There is also a set with no stick pans.
 
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Bob Watson

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Just a point about the MSR Matt, the whisperlite is either on or off I believe, the dragonfly has a fully adjustable flame so it's good for a simmer when cooking food.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

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I fancy ordering a Trangiar System myself. I have used Colemans (horrible) Gaz and all sorts of other things in the past.

The only problem as I see it with Trangiar stuff is if you are close to Liverpool.

The Scousers will nick your fuel to drink. They did The Monk one evening I will have you know.
 
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David Gifford

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try the argos stove with a pack of gas cartridges. Think the stoves are about ?15-00 gas bottle 99p each somthing like that.

We use them all the time , buy one for the kettle and one for the fryup.

Have a look , cheap and cheerful but they are brilliant.

Weve used ours for the last two years without any trouble.

Dont know why anglers have to pose so much.

Practicality, reliability and low cost thats what we wanted.
 
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mattzzzzzz

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Nope can turn my whisperlite up or down from a simmer to a full blown forge(for melting lead):)
 
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