How to See the World on $25 a Day or LessARTOFTRAVEL.COM

 

Chapter 19

Stoves and Cooksets


Travelers who primarily stay at campgrounds will save money--and eat better--by carrying their own source of instant fire. With this method many can experience Europe for $15 per day, plus transport. You can cook your eggs just the way you like, make soups and stews, and call up a hot drink at any time at virtually no cost. You can combine your efforts with neighbors to create a gourmet meal, or at least one that seems so at the time. With the money you save you should also be able to occasionally splurge on feasts of local cuisine at better restaurants.

Note that some campgrounds and most hostels have cooking facilities available.


Stove Fuels

Isobutane
Butane and twenty percent propane which is sold in light steel canisters. It has replaced straight butane since it ignites in outside air temperatures down to about fifteen degrees F. It is the most convenient and clean-burning fuel for normal conditions since you just strike a match and turn on the stove.
Isobutane is mainly sold in two incompatible formats: canisters manufactured by Camping Gaz-Bluet, a French company that dominates the gas stove market, and more or less industry standard canisters sold by EPI (British), Primus (Swedish), MSR and Coleman (American), and Olicamp (Chinese).
Gaz-Bluet fuel canisters are practically everywhere in continental Europe, widely available in outdoor shops in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, and somewhat available in sixty-two other countries. In France, where the canisters are also used for lanterns and heaters, you can cheaply buy them in grocery stores.
Industry standard canisters are slightly more available than Gaz-Bluet canisters in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. In my experience, however, most shops that carry industry standard canisters also have Camping-Gaz, while the reverse is less true.
Butane
Same characteristics as isobutane, except it won't ignite if the outside air temperature falls below freezing.
Propane
A gas that must be contained in heavy steel canisters, making it suitable only for car and RV camping.
White Gas
Also known as Coleman fuel and Blazo. A hot and relatively clean-burning gasoline. Widely available in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in outdoor shops and some hardware stores.
Unleaded Gas
Available wherever modern cars run. Additives in fuel are noxious. Stoves and pans will require frequent cleaning.
Leaded Gas
Produces very noxious fumes, not recommended as a fuel. Will clog the jets on stoves quickly.
 
Kerosene
Available worldwide, this is the chief heating and lighting fuel used in developing countries. Cheap, but often of such a low grade it should first be filtered through a cloth. More difficult to light than gasoline, especially in cold weather. Usually the stove must be "primed"--the burner is initially heated with a flame begun from preheating paste, gasoline, or paper. Kerosene is also dirtier, smellier, and smokier than white gas, and it blackens your pots.
 
Jet Fuel and Stoddard Solvent
Similar to kerosene.
Alcohol
Coolest burning fuel with one-half the heat output per weight of any of the above. May be difficult to find in the 200 proof variety. I don't recommend alcohol-only stoves for travel.


Windscreens

Even a slight breeze greatly reduces stove efficiency. The windscreens built into stoves are insufficient. Make a windscreen from three or four feet of aluminum foil by folding it over a few times until you have a piece approximately six inches high by twenty-four inches long that just or nearly surrounds your stove. Attach a few paperclips for later anchoring and rigging. Or make a windscreen from a large pie plate. Or spend $10 to $39.95 (I'm not kidding.) for a pre-made windscreen at your outfitter.

Be aware you don't want to heat up your fuel bottle or canister with the windscreen.

Scorpion model I stove, industry standard isobutane canister, sierra cup, and aluminum windscreen. Scorpion I stove



Stoves Compared

Gaz-Bluet 470HP and Micro
$30, 8 oz. Are light, compact, very convenient, and have excellent fuel availability in Europe. Both simmer well. They pop on either a CV 270 or 470 gram isobutane canister ($3 and $4.50, two and four hours burn-time on medium) making heat instantly available for your pleasure. They burn plenty hot. The convenience of these stoves are unbeatable. Whenever you want heat, you flick your lighter and turn the valve. No spare parts necessary.
Gaz-Bluet 470HP stove, 470 gram propane/butane cartridge, and non-stick fry pan with folding handle.

Note that the folding handle was so long it tipped over the fry pan at every opportunity. Hence I ripped it off and now use a potgripper, which saves weight and works well, as pictured below.
Gaz-Bluet makes several other stoves compatible with CV270 and CV470 cartridges. Beware, however, the Gaz-Bluet model 206 stove. It uses an old-style cartridge which is punctured by the stove, and therefore must remain attached to the stove until empty. The 206, while cheap, is inefficient and, in my opinion, dangerous.
Olicamp Scorpion
$25, 8 oz. This nifty Taiwanese stove (a very good simmerer) uses industry standard fuel canisters. The latest model III has a large built-in windscreen, although it is still much less effective than the external screen pictured above.
Other stoves that use industry standard canisters
are sold by EPI, Primus, MSR (RapidFire only), and Coleman.
Beware
Hank Roberts and certain models of Optimus stoves which use incompatible canisters (but at first glance may look standard) that are difficult to find anywhere.
MSR XGK
$90, 15.5 oz., including windscreen, fuel bottle and pump, and stuff sack. Burns white gas, auto gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, diesel, Stoddard solvent #4, and AV gas. Burns very hot and very loudly, like a blow torch. It doesn't simmer. (For all practical purposes it's either on or off.) XGKII Stove
The XGK is a proven design used on expeditions for melting snow and boiling water. It has a large-diameter generator tube which resists clogging. This is the most omni-fuelish stove, and it cleans easily. Spare parts and repair kit, $10. Mountain Safety Research is based in Seattle.
MSR Whisperlite Internationale 600
$60, 14 oz., including windscreen, fuel bottle and pump, and stuff sack. Burns white gas and with a change of a jet, kerosene. Burns hot. More compact, quieter, and slightly better at simmering than the XGK. Cleans easily. Spare parts and repair kit, $10. Don't confuse this stove with the MSR Whisperlite, which burns white gas only.
Sigg Fire Jet
$70, 13 oz., including windscreen, fuel bottle and pump, and stuff sack. Burns white gas, gasoline, and kerosene, but simmers about as well as most other multi-fuel stoves (hardly at all). Sigg is a Swiss company best known for quality camping cookware.
Peak One multi-fuel stoveColeman Peak1 Multi-fuel
21 oz., $65, burns white gas, kerosene, and jet fuel. Has a built-in twelve-ounce fuel tank, which burns on high for ninety minutes. Not as compact for a given burn time as other designs, but is a proven, convenient design. Coleman stoves simmer better than other multi-fuel designs, and require little or no priming.
Zipstove Sierra
15 oz., $43. Burns bits of wood or charcoal. A single AA battery powers a fan which intensifies the heat. It works. Some people love it, some hate it. A friend hiking the Appalachian Trail hated hunting wood every time he needed fire, as this is a "busy" stove. Others consider the Zipstove a magnificent invention, with fuel available everywhere. Blackens pots and your hands.
Optimus and Primus
Stoves by these Swedish companies were often used by travel backpackers/explorers from the end of the last century until about 1980. While Primus has moved to gas stoves, Optimus still manufactures remarkable (albeit obsolete) bits of history with its 8R/Hunter and Svea/123R models.


Stove Recommendations

For travel backpacking/camping throughout the developed world I recommend a newer model Camping Gaz-Bluet or industry standard gas stove. I prefer their no-mess convenience and their space and gravity advantages.

When I wake up after a night at the pub what I want to do with my stove is flick, turn, and cook or kick back. I never want to deal with the pumping, priming, lighting, relighting, monitoring, adjusting, fiddling, and cleaning rituals of gasoline and kerosene stoves.

When I need more fuel I'll pick some up at the camp store or the next time I pass an outdoor shop.

Furthermore, gas stoves burn so cleanly they leave nothing on the bottom of your pots, unlike sooty gasoline and kerosene stoves which also heavily pollute that all-important local environment below your nose.

Overall I would give an edge to Gaz-Bluet fuel canisters over the so-called industry standard for worldwide availability and lower price.

The MSR XGK, as the most omni-fuelish stove, is recommended for camping in remote areas and developing countries where fuel supply is likely to be a problem, or for expeditions that will be boiling lots of water or melting snow for drinking.

While this stove simmers about as well as a Saturn V rocket, it is matchless for producing a reliable, hot flame from many different fuels. It is also extreme overkill for European campgrounds at 6:30 in the morning.


Cooksets

Cook scene less food bag.For one or two people a one- to two-quart pot should handle all the pasta and soups you can eat. (A one-quart pot is just barely adequate.) I use a light eight-inch non-stick frypan for much of my cooking. It cleans with an easy wipe, which is a big plus after a big feed.

Every camper should have a sierra cup, which is stainless steel and has a wire around the rim that quickly cools the rim. Sierra cups are great for heating tea and coffee water, as well as sauces, vegetables, and soups. You can do a lot of cooking with just these three items. I also carry a light aluminum plate for use as a lid, and for guests.

For utensils I carry a knife, fork and spoon. My knife and fork are made from Lexan, which saves an ounce. Note that Lexan melts if left in the frypan (although this led to one of my greater inventions--the spife.) Some diehards travel with only a spoon, and use their Swiss army knife for cutting and buttering.

 Travelers' Tips

When traveling in China bring your own utensils or buy your own plastic chopsticks because poorly washed or even unwashed wooden chopsticks are a leading cause of sickness there. Jennifer H., Vancouver, Canada


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How to See the World on $25 a Day or Less is copyright © John Gregory 1995, 1996, 1997. Except for personal use (like showing to a friend), it may not be reproduced, retransmitted, archived, or altered without author permission (
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