Camp Stoves

Experiment with 3 tin-can Hex burners

I have been interested in the ‘outdoors’ for some time. When I say ‘outdoors’ that encompasses woodcraft, desert, jungle and arctic living and survival.


Anyway, I decided to test out three ultra simple burners made from tin cans and each using a single square Hexamine fuel tablet to see if they would work. The photo shows the three burner designs I experimented with. In all cases I used an army Crusader mug. This was filled with 500ml of cold water. A lid was made from a fairly thick aluminium foil obtained from a ready-meal of some sort. I put a hole in the lid to be able to see a jet of steam issue when boiling point was reached, rather than constantly lifting the lid.







Burner one  was a Tomato can with triangular holes cut with an old fashioned can punch and the large cut-outs made with some kitchen scissors. This burner did not work well with the tablet burning out after 12 ½ minutes, and before boiling was reached.

Burner two was made from a small Spam can. This was not as good as I had hoped and just managed to boil before the Hex tablet burnt out, again at 12 ½ mins.

Burner three  was made from another Tomato can but with the sides cut away and bent to locate the base of the Crusader mug as can be seen in the photo. This was the best burner, producing a hard boil in less than 10 minutes (tablet burnout 12 ½ mins.).

I did not use a wind shield and all three burners were tried out at the same time on several occasions, hence the rusty condition of the cans. A fireproof base is needed, as the burners get very hot and could cause grass or wood to catch fire, also flames around the mug can be quite large. I don’t like the Hex fuel tablets for the mess they make as they burn although it does wash off the mug fairly easily.

In short, the experiment continues.

RKDC

This blog post about remote camping and campstoves is one thats pretty much based on personal taste to be honest so if your views differ do let us know, we are always interested to hear others opinions - seriously!

Most people I will assume buy camping stoves for use at commercial (i.e. you  stay, you pay) campsites but it is becoming increasingly popular to camp remotely away from the hustle and bustle of everyone else but usually requires a hike in to really escape from it all.

I've camped remotely in the Lake District, Dartmoor and Snowdon for the most part - I find its difficult to find a place in the Brecon Beacons as there aren't many places away from the crowds wandering up Pen Y Fan from the nearby A road (so if you do know anywhere in the Brecons feel free to share!)

So heres my list of my preferred camping stoves to take with me on remote camping trips. Results are based on the following:

Weight of the camping stove
Easy set up?
Care free operation?
Stove size?
General boiling times - they're not officially timed to be honest and sometimes the wait for boiling water feels longer than it normally is!


Trangia Camping Stove 27-6

From my days of Air Cadets and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme I've spent many a time cooking on trangia stoves. Even though made from aluminium the whole lot (bear in mind it can include kettles and frying pans) can weight in and if you add a gas or multi fuel burner (which is a clever but somewhat expensive idea) that adds again. I remember sharing out parts of the stove as it is quite bulky but then if you want to cater for groups in remote areas I don't think

MSR Dragonfly Stove

I know the MSR Dragonfly stove is popular with many and I admit its design is highly stable but I've never personally got on as well with these as say the Go Systems Trail stove. However thats not to say I discount it its just that given the option I'd go with something else. The arms of the stove do look like they could do with being slightly thicker (they look flimsy to me). Overall this stove is highly capable if a little noisy and to me a tad slow but then it works well at high altitude and runs on a variety of fuels. It packs away well into a rucksack and I think it will be a favourite for a long time to come (for others, just not for me perhaps)

GoSystems Trail Stove

I have to say I have a personal favourite here and one thats always 1st choice to take with me. The Trail Stove is very light classic cooking stove, and offers great control. When needed you can really crank it right up to get boiling water fast - though do note it eats gas cartridges for breakfast so you might think about taking 2 cartridges with you just in case (so it will end up adding in quite a bit more weight to your rucksack). Attractive price mind!

Jetboil PCS Stove

Weighing in at just 425grams (about a pound in weight) I can't I really even noticed this camp stove in my backpack as I hiked into Dartmoor one cold frosty Saturday morning earlier this year but I do know there are lighter camp stoves around. Dead easy to set up and operate I did however find it has to be carefully balanced... it looks little top heavy in my opinion so I probably overcompensate by struggling to find the perfect flat surface especially when out wild camping. The litre container quickly boils water - it took just over 2 minutes (though PCS suggest under 2 minutes) - it might just be that I filled mine slightly higher than required for 2 drinks (around 250ml). Probably not as popular as your MSR's or Primus stoves but certainly one that I'd take again.


Well hopefully I have passed on a little wisdom! If you want to find out more on Camping Remotely then I suggest you look here:

http://www.campingexpert.co.uk/staying-safe-remote-campsites.html

We stomped around Corndu, Pen Y Fan and Cribyn - in the Brecon Beacons - over the weekend. Keeping an eye on the weather we were told that even though the chance of showers was at a minimum the wind would be from the North East so we knew it would be cold. We didn't realise that it would be so windy - continual winds in places of 30mph plus, 3 gliders ridge soaring (a sight to behold) and the luxury of a multifuel Primus Omnifuel Stove which boiled us up a lovely cuppa over lunch.

We also grabbed some photos too for you to enjoy - take a look below!

My brother recently announced that he was going to buy a tent, sleeping bags and a camping stove and take the family camping this summer!

I’m sure that with the current economic climate and recent chaos across Europe caused by the volcano in Iceland he won’t be the only man considering a first venture into the world of camping.

Knowing that we regularly go camping he asked for some advice on what to buy, where to go and essentially “What’s camping all about?”

The first piece of advice I gave him was not to rush out and buy loads of camping equipment. The increased popularity of camping holidays over the past few years means that you don’t have to spend a lot to kit yourself out for a camping holiday, but why spend anything at all if you can help it?

I suggested he borrows the camping equipment (including camping stoves) he needs from us or friends for the first trip – plenty of time to buy his own once he knows if it’s something they want to continue.

Next piece of advice he needed was where to go camping and for how long?

A first camping trip is all about getting to grips with pitching your tent, sleeping under canvas & cooking outdoors on a camping stove. You shouldn’t therefore look to run before you can walk and make your first camping holiday 2 weeks rough camping in some remote part of the country.

Select a campsite with a few creature comforts to ease you into everything gently (decent showers / toilets really do make a difference in those early days) and keep the first trip to just a few days – stuck on the camping holiday from hell for a full 2 weeks is something to avoid at all cost.

Also, if at all possible, go on your first trip with experienced campers as this can help you feel much more comfortable about everything if you have someone with you to show you the ropes. Then if you get the camping bug you can be more adventurous on where you stay and for how long.

So with all of that understood my brother's preparing for his first camping trip with us over the summer holidays, fingers crossed all goes well.

As the weather starts to improve and the first rays of early summer sunshine come upon us our thoughts have turned this week to planning our first camping trip of the year.

First question to answer is where do we go?
Should we re-visit a tried and tested site or be more adventurous and look for somewhere new?

Living just north of Bristol we’ve opted for somewhere to camp in the South West and having done some research have come across a couple of campsites which we think look really good and worth a visit:

www.hiddenvalleypark.com

This award winning site in North Devon certainly looks a great unspoilt spot for a relaxing stay. The site appears to have a good selection of facilities for the whole family and what’s more their green credentials aren’t bad either!


www.trevella.co.uk

This Cornish campsite is situated in extensive parkland and can also be found close to the beaches at Newquay and within easy reach of other Cornish attractions seems to offer everything you could want from a family friendly campsite.

Now we have some ideas on where to go, the next job is to locate the tent and camping equipment from the darkest recesses of the garage and check everything is working correctly. Do we have any gas left for the camping stove or is the gas bottle empty like the one for the BBQ/ (Which by the way we found out just as we were about to light it last weekend)!

What happened to the new Primus Eta Pot we bought last year?

Campsite selected, tent and camping equipment ready – all we need now is for the weather to continue and we are good to go!

Some of these video's of tents on fire are extremely eye opening and show the dangers of how cooking inside your tent can lead to disaster IN SECONDS!

Watch the video's below to make your own minds up but we really do want to state here that we NEVER condone cooking inside a tent, in our opinion its just not worth the risk!















What To Do When Your Camping Gear Catches Fire - Useful Tips

Amazing Irish Landscapes.

We like to hear from all our customers from their trips in the Great Outdoors - for that reason we welcome anyone to send us their photos and even video of their trips in the UK or abroad. We'll give you full credit and for really good photos we offer discounts on camping gear - call 01454 315430 to find out more!

One of our customers recently went to Ireland and scored these amazing photo's - take a look below and see just how pretty Ireland is!