Camp Stoves

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