Okay, so I was window shopping at the REI a month ago and saw this cool little alcohol stove made out of titanium, and it only cost $29. Not having ever used an alcohol stove for anything (well, we used to use alcohol burners in chem class back in high school, but that's different), I decided I might as well go for top o' the line. I recalled I had read a couple of good and not so good reviews on this little unit. But I had some bills in my pocket and figured I should probably spend them before they lose any more value. I got it home, and did a bit more internet research. Apparently the model I got was the "new and improved version", and allegedly works better with "HEET" fuel additive than the denatured alcohol that was recommended in the instructions. Not one to ever follow instructions, I went with the internet recommendation, and was reasonably pleased with the blue flame that eventually emanated from the stove.

So now what to do with it? So I had been eyeing one of these Stanley camp pots, made out of stainless with a flip out handle and housing two green thick plastic cups. I found one for $20, and decided it was for me. So it has a line for 20 oz of liquid, and I decided to see what the little stove would do with that. The instructions said to fill the stove, light it, and let it stoke up till the blue flames come out of the little holes around the top. Then you are to sit the pot right on the top of the stove, which helps regulate the combustion a bit. So after about 12 minutes of standing there, watching the flames undulate around the bottom of that little pot, checking the water inside for signs of a boil, and checking my watch to keep track of burn time, I concluded that the stove does not get hot enough to boil the water in this pot before running out of fuel. It did get the water hot enough to make a nice cup of hot cocoa or tea, so it was probably around 180 degrees, but I think 20 oz may be too much at one time, at least for this configuration. Maybe if I used a flatter, larger diameter pan instead, more btus would've been absorbed.

So next time I will cut it to 16 oz and see if it will get it done. I also need to come up with a windbreak, probably just an expedient heavy aluminum foil type. Another time I tried using a sterno fold up stove stand. Even though the little stove fits in the stand well, the grill holds the pot too high up off the flame.

I guess I would recommend the little stove, if you can afford it. Otherwise spend some time with a soda can or two and see if you can come up with something comparable. As for the Stanley pot, it is a decent little pot, and the handle is pretty functional, so if it had a stronger heat source it should make a cool kit pot. Ditch the plastic cups, though. Unnecessary bulk.

I saw another store here is selling the brass triangia alcohol stoves for $19. Maybe I should get one and see how that does.

Of course, I have a little coleman canister stove that I know will get the job done, but canisters are disposable, and I was hoping for something more durable.

Thanks Tons for the review will look into this stove.

One of the very best deals at REI, or anywhere else, for that matter, is their Mini-Trangia cookset, which lists for about $34 dollars. It includes the Trangia stove, a windscreen, a small (750 ml) pot and a lid, which doubles as a frying pan (stickless coated, as well). I have two of them and the set is more than enough for solo trips. I also use the set, minus the Trangia, with my canister stove.

With any alcohol stove, and especially these lightweight titanium doodads, a good windscreen is crucial. You are correct that an alcohol stove fashioned from a discarded aluminum can will work as well as anything else out there - the cost is effectively zero. I have never used the Decagon, but it doesn't seem to get very good reviews. It is titanium -that is enough for some people, The Stanley pot is stainless, rather heavy and clunky. Maybe OK for car camping, but many things are better when you have to carry the weight.

I like stoves and carry a Trangia alcohol burner on hikes and day hikes, but I gotta confess to a reverse honeymoon period where I almost chucked the thing. I realized its an effective burner sure, but without a wind screen its not. A $2 turkey basting pan solves that. but then I had to laugh as over the next few outings my 4 inch dia pot would upset the burner and me when the flaming alcohol would engulf my cook area and spoil my meal. In other words, balancing a 4 inch pot on a 2inch burner in the real world with winds and breezes results in comical and predictable results. That's a design flaw if you ask me, and I've been on a hunt for a stove stand to provide the stability that I get from my Sveas and MSRs. Various options cost a multiple of the cost of the trangia burner, which has the priorities just about right. So cute little burner, but a poor batting average in delivery of meals absent plenty of after market upgrades.

I mucked about with can-based methanol burners for a while, and found that a vienna suasage can with holes punched around the rim worked as well as any. Dog liked the sausages, too. Thing is, using this requires a paradigm-shift, wherein one uses the extended heating time to enjoy how quiet the burner is as it slowly, slowly, slowly heats your water. Enjoy a glass of wine, reflect on the harm that petroleum products do to the environment, celebrate the fact that your alcohol burner can operate on on organically produced fuel. Very french in outlook.

Add it to the list of things that make life seem to last longer.

Slightly OT, but related -- On the subject of organically produced fuel, rather than another alcohol stove, I went with the Vargo Titanium wood-stove. Wood in the form of small twigs and branches is much easier to find in the backwoods than alcohol, all you need is a way to focus the heat so you don't need that big fire to heat a small pot.

In use it's much like any wood fire except that you stop with kindling size wood; you don't need a roaring fire to heat water. The stove folds flat and packs easy. When I carry liquid fuel, it's either white gas or kerosene, although for clean and quick it's hard to beat an MSR MicroRocket and canister fuel; otherwise, my back-up is small and uses stuff you can find on the ground.

The Liberty Mountain Westwind Stove setup for the Trangia burner is nice and stable. It consists of three flat pieces of aluminum that link together.

Sump'in ain't right. I have never, ever upset a pot using a Trangia, or other burner, for that matter. I favored the Trangia especially for SAR, when you wanted to heat something up, and you didn't want to fiddle with it. You put the water on to boil and then tended to other pressing matters. In really wintry condition, you carried a SVEA or some other liquid gas gadget. Heat right now,and plenty of it!

I'm sorry hikermor, its true - a 2 inch burner with a full 4 inch pot on top, do the math - while you can balance it at some point it will tip over, and it has on me. Don't want to jinx you, but its a balancing act if you ask me. Like I said I do carry the trangia on most hikes, I like the burner, but its the old razor - razor blade story - you need both, a burner and a steady stand to avoid tipping over. So for me a $20 stove becomes a $40-60 stove assembly once its kitted out properly.

I have never adopted the ultra light philosophy though so who cares if I end up with 9 oz instead of 3oz stove, I'm ok with that. For me its always about volume or space in my pack and not the weight.

keep an eye out for the alcohol stove made for the Swedish Army cook kit.there the size of a hockey puck and one fill should last a couple meals and made to last.

I believe with less water, and a good windscreen, the Vargo Decagon stove will eventually bring the water to a boil. It won't be quick, and it will be temperature sensitive, and it is not easily regulated, but it will work, and it is quite portable.

Unlike the tip-easy trangia, the Decagon has a much wider base plate, so the stove itself is not easily tipped, but a pot sitting on top would still have the same problem if it's diameter is much more than two inches.

I have in mind a couple different designs for a more stable and hotter burning alcohol stove. I am thinking a donut shape about 4" diameter, with an indented ring around the middle of the top part, roughly 1/3" deep. Inside the indented ring is a row of perforations, and a small dent perpendicular to the indented ring intersecting at each hole. You should be able to double the fuel capacity and the btus/min enough to get a liter of water boiling in about 6 minutes. You could also build a windscreen around the outside, tangent to the outer diameter of the donut, going up vertically. Maybe I will do some autocad tomorrow at work.

It would also be nice to find a packable, portable rocket stove. I may have to work on that as well.

If you have a trangia and use it as it is design to (the 25 and 27 models), not the useless ultralight version. Than the setup is almost as stable as a big rock on flat ground. Not the 25 and 27 are not super light, but very efficient, stable and reliable.

You can take your pick of 3oz burner heads for canister stove - MSR's Pocket Rocket and Micro Rocket.as well as Snow Peak's model, the Giga Power. All tuck away nicely and are blazing hot, except when it gets really cold.

I love my GigaPower stove; pair it with something like the GSI Soloist (my choice) or Minimalist and you get your stove, fuel & pot all in one compact package.

I like my Jetboil stove. Boils fast and it is not too heavy.

(Except when it gets really cold. Then I go back to my good old Wisperlite burning white gas.)

A Vango Powerex Kettle may help with the fuel efficiency with the decagon stove.

http://www.outdoormegastore.co.uk/vango-powerex-kettle.html

I have put a spare Mil spec Trangia burner in with a Ghillie Adventurer Kettle + Cook Kit. A 500ml Trangia bottle fits into the Chimney along with some fat wood stick + tinder + firesteel.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trangia-0-5L-Bottle-Safety-Valve/dp/B000AR7966/ref=pd_sim_sg_20

Benjamin .. quick hint. I have fooled around with homemade stoves (fueled by alcohol) for urban survival ... i mostly used them to boil a small amount of water for tea or soup. the vapors from the alcohol can condense on cooler stuff above the stove. I dunno if that will happen with a professional alcohol stove. maybe not. it does with homemade stoves made out of Coke cans. so if your pot containing the water (to be boiled) is open, you can wind up with some alcohol in your water. the moral is - make sure you cover up the container you are heating ... add a lid :-)

Pete2

I could the potential for that happening. The Stanley pot I used has a lid, and you have to use it to get the temp up, so pretty safe there, but a sierra cup might could have such an issue in the right circumstances. Methanol would be bad news.

Any time you attempt to boil water without a lid, you are wasting time and fuel. Foil works as well as anything.

I began looking at home-made alcohol stoves when I read on another forum of the long distance hiker (name escapes me) who took a pole of hikers on the Appalachian trail a dozen years or so ago. He just asked them what kind of cooking system they used and whether they had problems with their choice of stove. He reported the hikers using homemade alcohol stoves experienced zero failures, all the other systems; gas, butane, wood etc. had some degree of difficulty or failure. And as pointed out, a homemade stove is essentially free.

JPicket,

Unscientific polls are just that - unscientific - and should not be used without a lot more information. It could be that the homemade stoves were being used by people who understood the tool (since they took time to make them and probably spent time learning how to use and fix them) and the other systems were being used by people who did not even read the directions. The homemade stove owners also had a self interest in "not having problems" since they had pride in their work. Commercial alcohol stoves seldom cause problems either. Gas canister stoves seldom give problems when used according to instructions. I have used lots of stoves over the years, most of them were problem free except for operator error.
Admittedly easier in a more complex stove.

Respectfully,

Jerry

There is a vast array of stoves from which to choose these days, and they will all bring water to a boil in a reasonable amount of time. I think I have used most major types at one time or another; for different circumstances, some are better than others. Dealing with major cold (-40F or so) you want a liquid fueled stove. Light weight? - alcohol, probably one of any number of home made varieties, or solid fuel (Esbit). Ease of use, adjustable flame,and reasonable weight - canister stoves.

If it weren't for the internet, I wouldn't know that there is a problem with stoves tipping over - I have never had that problem with any stove - just start with a stable base and exercise reasonable care. An effective wind shield and a decent lid on your pot are extremely important in obtaining cooking efficiency.

When all else fails, be sure you have the materials and skill to build a campfire out of available materials. It will be a bit fussier, but you will get to eat.

It is my understanding that alcohol stoves are banned from all National Forests. I have been told this by a ranger, but have not bothered to check it out. Seems like the tip over problem has caused some serious fires. I can see it happening too. It would spill and the fire is almost invisible. Not a good thing.

But check the rules of your favorite National Forest to be sure.

Nomad