I am looking at making my kitchen lighter for solo's (usually 5-7 days). Please recommend your favorite stove and cookware that can achieve the following:

- Light weight
- Packs small
- boil water (most meals are homemade dehydrated)
- Make coffee
- Possibly fry fish (not essential but any options I should consider would be appreciated)

Thanks!

i seriously doubt you could properly fry fish on one.

I really like my Whitebox burner. But, I agree with Kanoes, it would be tough to fry a fish on one.

I made this stove last year. It was pretty easy but the Bud light aluminum bottles were kind of hard to find. It will boil 2 cups of H2O in about 5 minutes. Bud Light stove

tony

Trangia makes a good stove....comes in various "kit combos".
I think you could possibly fry fish with a Trangia, or one of the gravity feed "off stove" fuel tank types (don't recall their names)

I made up this solo cook kit. I've yet to use it on BW solo trip but I have used the homemade stoves on group trips.
Kit is formed around a GSI Soloist kit. I added a small fry pan with a holder, a dish/plate, kit has a insulated bowl/mug, 2 alcohol stoves with a snuff cap, a foldable spork, a measuring cup, wire pot stand and a ground plate. It all nests inside the GSI pot.
Missing from the pic is a Titanium cup with the alcohol fuel bottle inside.

I don't know what you are using now. Alcohol stoves have a lot of advantages, but also some disadvantages. They can be a little fussy in cold weather. If you're not intent on making your own, you might want to look at the Caldera Cone system as well as the Trangia. Or maybe one of the lightweight canister stoves would be a better choice for you. Then, of course, there are the twig burners if a fire ban isn't a problem. A lot also depends on the length of the trip. There's a lot of information and discussion of various stoves out there on the web to be googled up.

Trangia stove in emberlit twig stove with GSI pinnacle solo pot. I use the emberlit with twigs when everything is not soaked. It uses very little wood. If It's raining or I want to go a bit quicker I put the trangia and use the emberlit as a stand. I dehydrate my own meals. This was a perfect system for 27 days this past May and June.

The fish would be done over open fire I suppose I could just use foil for that night.

Any more suggestions? Thanks!
PS. Made my first pop stove last night. It was actually fairly easy and fun. It's giving me something to do while I wait for October :)

Try this Zen of alcohol stoves
I use the Brasslite but they're easy to build.

Another thought is a woodburner that also takes an alcohol burner.
We use a Lilbug stove woodburner. It has a slide at the bottom for use with an alcohol burner. 2 stoves in 1 idea.
We have the sr. model, love it.
CB

Consider a Trangia with simmer control placed in a Clikstand holder.
Clikstand website

I've made pizza on mine in the BWCA several times, so you could probably fry fish as well if the pan isn't too big.

Trail Designs is a link to the Caldera system, as well as other products and info you may find useful.

Of course, there is always the Jetboil and similar systems.

Great suggestion's everyone. I've been making pop can stoves all weekend and am testing them outside (very windy). I am eager to try something new on my Man Chain solo this October. I am going to try to get my weight for everything outside my sin to about 75lbs (all clothes, boots, canoe, paddle, etc).

Quick follow up question, how often do you use the emerit? I've been eying it. The weight gained would be saved in less fuel carried. I cook over open fire but when going light need to boil water (which is easier under gas). Thanks!

GEorge

quote George: "Great suggestion's everyone. I've been making pop can stoves all weekend and am testing them outside (very windy). I am eager to try something new on my Man Chain solo this October. I am going to try to get my weight for everything outside my sin to about 75lbs (all clothes, boots, canoe, paddle, etc).


Quick follow up question, how often do you use the emerit? I've been eying it. The weight gained would be saved in less fuel carried. I cook over open fire but when going light need to boil water (which is easier under gas). Thanks!


GEorge"

I had my Trangia and Emberlit with me mid May through late June. There were some very wet stretches during that time. The only time I did not use my Emberlit was when everything was just soaked. It's an amazing little stove. A small pile of twigs and you have plenty of fuel for dinner and a hot drink. I highly recommend it. Take the Emberlit (for use on its own and as a stand for the Trangia), the Trangia and a small, 500 ml bottle of Alcohol and you'll be good to go.

Good to hear. I am looking at the emberlit and the firefly. They both look like very high quality Nd fun pieces of gear thanks for the suggestion!

I have the clickstand also, with the trangia. find it makes a nice stand to set the pots on. But use an additional wind screen around the clickstand.

Great for boiling water and cooking, tougher to just simmer, as not like a white gas stove or a butane type stove in that regard.

Benefits, NO noise, and not packing around a bunch of butane canisters the whole trip. So better for the environment I think

SunCatcher

Littlbug

It is a twig burner and in wet conditions the Trangia fits perfectly underneath. The stove is designed to be used with the Trangia and with a two quart pot.

Does anyone have an experience with the Gram Weenie Pro alcohol stove?

Looks to be a smaller version of the White Box...

I find it best to not mess with stoves of any sort when combining pot and alcohol.

I have a trangia with clickstand, an emberlit and a vargo titanium twig stove.
I use a snowpeak 900 and a 700. The trangia and fuel nest inside the 700 which nests inside the 900 even with the cooking cozies.

I like the twig stoves but they can be messy - leaving your pots full of wood pitch. They also take longer to boil a liter of water than canister or alcohol fuel stoves. The trangia is great until temps get cold. The alcohol doesn't burn as well unless you warm it - I place a small tea candle under the trangia to warm the fuel and get a better burn going - then snuff out the candle. The trangia also fits inside my twig stoves which then can act as a windscreen if needed.

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I love my MiniBull. I have two versions, the larger one that burns 2 oz at a time max for a quick boil and also serves as the container for the little one that takes unlimited alcohol through tubing and can simmer.

I can fry fish, cook popcorn, simmer rice, boil water for ceal or hot chocolate, etc. I also dry bake coffee cakes most mornings on the alcohol stove. The only downside is when its cold and windy. Just does not have the juice for that, but in thise situations I can boil water on my LittlBug and still eat dehydrated food. The LittlBug serves as a good windscreen for the alcohol burner too.

I do like the minibull design - especially the new one with tubing you describe. Haven't got there yet.

Takes me 30-40 min to bake a coffee cake and just use a few oz of fuel with the Minibull. Very fuel efficient.

quote Banksiana: "I find it best to not mess with stoves of any sort when combining pot and alcohol."

;-)

You got that right!!!!!

Pot and alcohol combo could result in serious munchies, so one needs to be careful not to eat all the food packed on the first night.