Video first looks at the Fire Maple Petrel Titanium Ultralight Backpack Stove & the Weschel Bella Tent

Two new items of gear arrived for review this week, the Weschel Bella tent and the Fire Maple Petrel Titanium Ultralight Backpack Stove (quite a mouthful, I'll just call it the Petrel Titanium stove). I've made a little video on the tent and an even shorter one on the stove. 

These clips are just my first impressions. I haven't used either item yet. I plan on doing so soon. Full reviews will appear in The Great Outdoors magazine next year.

Stoves I've used for long-distance walking over the decades - updated April 10, 2023

 

In the Grand Canyon on the Arizona Trail. Stove: Optimus Nova

Having been asked recently about stoves for long-distance walks I thought I'd revise and expand this article about the ones I've used. As well as other editing I've added weights, oddly omitted from the original, and a note on pots.

 

Unlike other gear stoves don't change much and all the models are still available bar the 1996 cartridge one.

Choosing a stove for a long-distance walk is partly dependent on an external factor – what fuel can you buy along the way. This has changed over the years but is still an important consideration. When I began backpacking in the 1970s the fuel choices were the same as today – cartridges, meths/alcohol, solid fuel tablets, paraffin, and petrol/white gas. The big difference was that cartridges were butane only, which was less efficient, especially in the cold, than today’s butane/propane mixes. Cartridge stoves have another disadvantage, which remains today. They can’t be easily repaired in the field. I have found the latest models more reliable than past ones though.  Combined with fuel availability that’s the reason I’ve only used cartridge stoves on two long-distance walks. As it is my stove choice has gone from meths/alcohol ones through various petrol/paraffin pressure stoves with a diversion into cartridges, then back to meths/alcohol and finally a cartridge stove for a specific reason (see below).

My original Trangia

 

On my first long distance walks, the Pennine Way in 1976 and Land’s End to John O’Groats in 1978 I used a Trangia methylated spirits stove. I couldn’t find out if cartridges were available along the way (this was long before the Internet of course) and anyway didn’t like the cartridge stoves I’d tried. Petrol or paraffin pressure stoves were an option, but I’d never used one of these and was a little nervous of them. As it was, while heavy and bulky (880g including windscreen/pot support and two pots + lid), the Trangia worked fine in all conditions. I still have it.

With the Svea123 on the Continental Divide Trail

For the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide walks in 1982 and 1985 I used a Svea 123 white gas stove (539g), as this was the model recommended by Colin Fletcher in his superb The Complete Walker, which I read to learn about backpacking in the Western USA.  Alcohol stoves hadn’t yet caught on in the USA – that was to come two decades later – and general advice was that white gas in various forms – gasoline, Coleman Fuel, generic white gas – was the only fuel I’d find everywhere. The Svea, an upright brass tin can in appearance, worked well, once I’d got used to priming it with liquid fuel and realised I needed a separate windshield for strong winds, though using it with leaded petrol, which I did a few times, was always a little unnerving as it flared badly. 

 

I still have my Svea, though I haven't used it for many years. It makes a nice shelf decoration! It's still available too, as the Optimus Svea. 

In the Richardson Mountains in the Yukon Territory with the MSR Whisperlite

I stayed with white gas  but changed stoves for my 1988 Canadian Rockies and Yukon walks. MSR had brought out the Whisperlite Internationale, which was lighter than the Svea at 340g and came with an encircling windshield and a separate fuel tank attached by a long hose. Again it worked really well.

In the Jotunheimen on the Scandinavian Mountains Walk with the MSR X-GK

For my Scandinavian Mountains Walk in 1992 I changed to a different MSR stove, the X-GK II (400g), because the only fuel available everywhere was paraffin in various forms and the X-GK ran well on this relatively dirty fuel and was easy to clean. Mostly I used lamp oil, a clean type of paraffin, but I did use some paraffin that smoked badly and clogged up the stove so being able to strip it down and clean it quickly was a boon.

All these stoves were quite heavy and I wanted something lighter for my next walk, the Munros and Tops, as this would involve a great deal of ascent. This was the first walk when I really tried to keep the overall weight down. I reckoned a cartridge stove would be okay in Scotland as it would be easy to replace if it failed and I’d manage for a few days on cold food if I had to. Cartridge stoves were a bit heavier than today back then but still very light compared to the stoves I had been using. I took one of the lightest then available, the Coleman Micro (156g), a simple screw-in burner. The first one of these did fail. The second was fine. I can't find a photo of this stove on the walk. Maybe I didn't take one.

A chilly camp on the Arizona Trail with the Optimus Nova

I really liked the light weight and ease of use of a cartridge stove but the failure had confirmed my views that relying on one on a remote walk wasn’t a good idea so for the Arizona Trail in 2000 I went back to a pressure stove, the Optimus Nova (505g). Although heavier this was easier to light and to simmer with than the MSR models, so I used it again on my 500-mile circular walk through the High Sierra two years later.

The Caldera Ti-Tri at a wet camp on the Pacific Northwest Trail

During the 2000s the ultralight backpacking movement took off in the USA and with it came a wealth of alcohol stoves made from drinks cans. People also realised that various forms of alcohol suitable for stove use could be found in hardware stores and gas stations and that this availability made it an excellent fuel for long-distance walks. I tried a few of these little stoves and really liked the Trail Designs Caldera Ti-Tri (156g), which was like an ultralight version of the Trangia but could also be run on solid fuel tablets or wood.  

In the NW Highlands on the Scottish Watershed with the Ti-Tri

 

In 2010 I took the Ti-Tri on the Pacific Northwest Trail and was so delighted with it that I used it on my next three long-distance walks, the Scottish Watershed, Yosemite Valley to Death Valley, and the GR5 Through the Alps. I’ve finally found the ideal stove for long-distance walks. 

Ti-Tri at a desert camp on the Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk

 However I didn't use it on my next long walk.

The Ti-Tri on the GR5

The summer I walked the GR5 in the Alps I had planned on hiking the Continental Divide Trail in the Southern Colorado Rockies, following the high route I'd been forced to abandon for a lower one due to snow on my CDT thru-hike in 1985. But wildfires meant much of the route was closed early in the summer so I changed plans and went to the Alps instead. Those wildfires also meant that stoves without on/off controls were banned. The Ti-Tri doesn't have an on/off control.

The MSR Pocket Rocket 2 in use in the Colorado Rockies

The next year late snow meant the Colorado Rockies were wet and wildfires were not a threat. However knowing regulations might ban stoves like the Ti-Tri if conditions changed I decided to take a gas canister stove, the little MSR Pocket Rocket 2 (75g). Since the only other time I'd used such a stove on a long walk, the Coleman Micro on the Munros and Tops walk in 1996, fuel efficiency had been improved enormously. In the Rockies I got eleven days out of a 250 gram canister. In 1996 it was around four days. The Pocket Rocket was just under half the weight of the Micro too though I did take the tiny 45g Alpkit Kraku as well in case the Pocket Rocket failed. It didn't. It worked really well.

Pots

For my fairly simple camp cooking I like two pots with capacities around 600 and 900ml. 

On my first long walks available materials were plain aluminium or stainless steel. The first dented and pitted quickly, the second was tough but heavy. Hard anodised aluminium and titanium were a long way in the future.

The Trangia came with its own aluminium pots. When I changed to white gas/paraffin stoves I used lighter aluminium pots (312g including lid) and went through a set three times before moving to heavier (455 grams) but much longer lasting stainless steel ones. 

Those pots are long gone. In the early 1990s titanium arrived. I was seduced by the light weight and bought a 900ml Evernew one for what seemed the enormous sum of $40. It weighed just 147g. The cost was well worth it as it's been on every long-distance walk since (and many shorter ones) and is still in good condition. At first I paired it with a 475ml 113g stainless steel Cascade Cup that doubled as a second pan and a mug but soon swapped that for a 600ml 82g titanium MSR pot. 

I wrote a general piece about pots for backpacking here.

 

Stoves I've used for long-distance walking over the decades - updated June 1, 2020

In the Grand Canyon on the Arizona Trail. Stove: Optimus Nova

Back in the spring I posted pieces about the packs and shelters I’ve used on long-distance walks. I’ve been meaning to follow these with ones on stoves, sleeping bags, footwear and more but it’s taken a while to find the time. Here’s the first of those: stoves.

Unlike with other items choosing a stove for a long-distance walk is partly dependent on an external factor – what fuel can you buy along the way. This has changed over the years but is still an important consideration. When I began backpacking in the 1970s the fuel choices were almost the same as today – cartridges, meths/alcohol, paraffin, and petrol/white gas. The big difference was that cartridges were butane only, which was less efficient, especially in the cold, than today’s butane/propane mixes. Cartridge stoves have another disadvantage, which remains today. Most can’t be easily repaired in the field. Combined with fuel availability that’s the reason I’ve only used cartridge stoves on one long-distance walk. As it is my stove choice has gone full circle from meths/alcohol ones through various petrol/paraffin pressure stoves with one diversion into cartridges and back to meths/alcohol.

My original Trangia

 

On my first long distance walks, the Pennine Way in 1976 and Land’s End to John O’Groats in 1978 I used a Trangia methylated spirits stove. I couldn’t find out if cartridges were available along the way (this was long before the Internet of course) and anyway didn’t like the cartridge stoves I’d tried. Petrol or paraffin pressure stoves were an option, but I’d never used one of these and was a little nervous of them. As it was, while heavy and bulky, the Trangia worked fine in all conditions. I still have it.

With the Svea123 on the Continental Divide Trail

For the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide walks in 1982 and 1985 I used a Svea 123 white gas stove, as this was the model recommended by Colin Fletcher in his superb The Complete Walker, which I read to learn about backpacking in the Western USA.  Alcohol stoves hadn’t yet caught on in the USA – that was to come two decades later – and general advice was that white gas in various forms – gasoline, Coleman Fuel, generic white gas – was the only fuel I’d find everywhere. The Svea, an upright brass tin can in appearance, worked well, once I’d got used to priming it with liquid fuel and realised I needed a separate windshield for strong winds, though using it with leaded petrol, which I did a few times, was always a little unnerving as it flared badly. 

In the Richardson Mountains in the Yukon Territory with the MSR Whisperlite

I stayed with white gas  but changed stoves for my 1988 Canadian Rockies and Yukon walks. MSR had brought out the Whisperlite Internationale, which was lighter than the Svea and came with an encircling windshield and a separate fuel tank attached by a long hose. Again it worked really well.

In the Jotunheimen on the Scandinavian Mountains Walk with the MSR X-GK

For my Scandinavian Mountains Walk in 1992 I changed to a different MSR stove, the X-GK II, because the only fuel available everywhere was paraffin in various forms and the X-GK ran well on this relatively dirty fuel and was easy to clean. Mostly I used lamp oil, a clean type of paraffin, but I did use some paraffin that smoked badly and clogged up the stove so being able to strip it down and clean it quickly was a boon.

All these stoves were quite heavy and I wanted something lighter for my next walk, the Munros and Tops, as this would involve a great deal of ascent. This was the first walk when I really tried to keep the overall weight down. I reckoned a cartridge stove would be okay in Scotland as it would be easy to replace if it failed and I’d manage for a few days on cold food if I had to. Cartridge stoves were a bit heavier than today back then but still very light compared to the stoves I had been using. I took one of the lightest then available, the Coleman Micro, a simple screw-in burner. The first one of these did fail. The second was fine. 

A chilly camp on the Arizona Trail with the Optimus Nova

I really liked the light weight and ease of use of a cartridge stove but the failure had confirmed my views that relying on one on a remote walk wasn’t a good idea so for the Arizona Trail in 2000 I went back to a pressure stove, the Optimus Nova. This was a bit easier to use than the MSR models, so I used it again on my 500-mile circular walk through the High Sierra two years later.

The Caldera Ti-Tri at a wet camp on the Pacific Northwest Trail

During the 2000s the ultralight backpacking movement took off in the USA and with it came a wealth of alcohol stoves made from drinks cans. People also realised that various forms of alcohol suitable for stove use could be found in hardware stores and gas stations and that this availability made it an excellent fuel for long-distance walks. I tried a few of these little stoves and really liked the Trail Designs Caldera Ti-Tri, which was like an ultralight version of the Trangia but could also be run on solid fuel tablets or natural fuel.  

In the NW Highlands on the Scottish Watershed with the Ti-Tri

 

In 2010 I took the Ti-Tri on the Pacific Northwest Trail and was so delighted with it that I used it on my next two long-distance walks, the Scottish Watershed and Yosemite Valley to Death Valley. I’ll almost certainly use it on the next one too, though with the new Kojin burner rather than the 12-10 one as the Kojin is more durable and can retain unused fuel. I think I’ve finally found the ideal stove for long-distance walks. 

Ti-Tri at a desert camp on the Yosemite Valley to Death Valley walk

Update, June 1, 2020. I did indeed use the Ti-Tri with the Kojin burner on my next long walk, the GR5 Through the Alps in 2018, and it performed really well. I didn't use it on my long walk the year after that though.

The Ti-Tri on the GR5

The summer I walked the GR5 in the Alps I had planned on hiking the Continental Divide Trail in the Southern Colorado Rockies, following the high route I'd been forced to abandon for a lower one due to snow on my CDT thru-hike in 1985. But wildfires meant much of the route was closed early in the summer so I changed plans and went to the Alps instead. Those wildfires also meant that stoves without on/off controls were banned. The Ti-Tri doesn't have an on/off control.

The MSR Pocket Rocket 2 in use in the Colorado Rockies

Last year late snow meant the Colorado Rockies were wet and wildfires were not a threat. However knowing regulations might ban stoves like the Ti-Tri if conditions changed I decided to take a gas canister stove, the little MSR Pocket Rocket 2. Since the only other time I'd used such a stove on a long walk, the Coleman Micro on the Munros and Tops walk in 1996, fuel efficiency had been improved enormously. In the Rockies I got eleven days out of a 250 gram canister. In 1996 it was around five days. The Pocket Rocket was much lighter than the Micro too. It worked really well.

For my next long walk? It depends!

Stoves Review Coming Up In The Great Outdoors

Every time I've been out this year I've taken a different stove with me, whether on camping trips or to make brews during the day. That's because I've been trying a selection for a review that'll appear in the August issue of The Great Outdoors.

I've just submitted the review and can now think about something else! That'll be trail shoes for the September issue.

Here are pictures of some of the stoves.

Stoves for Wild Camping

In the Richardson Mountains in the Yukon Territory with a gasoline stove

Having been asked a few questions about stoves recently I’ve thought I’d post this piece. It first appeared in TGO last year and has been updated to take into account a couple of new stoves.

One point not covered in the piece is lighting a stove. Some come with Piezo igniters – in my experience these break after a while. I’d never rely on just one type of lighter anyway. I always carry at least two – a fire steel and a lighter and/or matches. Paul Kirtley recently wrote a warning tale on this on his blog.

Choosing a stove is as much about choosing the fuel as choosing a burner. The availability of fuel, how long a given amount lasts and how well it works in different conditions are all factors to take into consideration. For short trips in Britain the first and second factors may not matter but on long trips or if you're going abroad then being able to buy fuel is important (you can't fly with it or send it through the post).  On my last two long distance walks, the Pacific Northwest Trail and the Scottish Watershed, I used a meths/alcohol stove because that was the only fuel I knew I would be able to buy in small towns along the way other than petrol/gasoline, which is harder to use and requires a much heavier stove. How well fuel performs becomes important in sub-zero conditions, especially for snow melting.

The main fuels are butane/propane, white gas (Coleman Fuel and similar), and methylated spirits (meths)/alcohol. Less commonly used are petrol/gasoline, paraffin/kerosene, diesel, solid fuel and wood. Some stoves are multi-fuel, which can be a big advantage. The heat output from butane/propane, white gas, petrol and paraffin is similar but meths/alcohol is much less powerful so more fuel has to be carried.

For travel to different countries it's useful to know the local names for different fuels, especially white gas and alcohol. This is a pretty comprehensive list.

Butane/Propane Stoves

 
 

Soto Micro Regulator

Stoves that run on butane/propane cartridges are very easy to use. They're clean too, with no liquid fuel to spill, and the smallest burners are very light and compact. There are two types of gas stove (so-called because the fuel is burnt as a gas though it's liquid when under pressure in the cartridge). Upright or piggyback stoves are ones where the stove screws directly into the cartridge. These are the lightest gas stoves and fine for use in above freezing conditions. They're also best used with small pots as they're not very stable with big ones. When the temperature drops below freezing these stoves can be slow as the fuel doesn't vaporise easily. In extreme cold or with almost empty cartridges the stoves may barely work at all. Warming the cartridge with your hands and insulating it from the ground can help to increase the heat output. Using a heat exchanger pot can make a difference too as more of the heat goes into the pot rather than the air.

Jetboil MiniMo

Of the upright gas stoves I've used the MSR Micro Rocket, Soto Micro Regulator, Optimus Crux Lite, Coleman Fi Lite and Primus Express Ti all work well and are very light weight. Slightly heavier is the MSR Superfly but it's worth considering for use in some European countries, as it's one of the few stoves that will work with Campingaz CV resealable cartridges as well as standard ones. Some years ago I used a Superfly on the GR20 in Corsica where CV cartridges were the only ones easily available. Heat exchanger stoves that come as units with pots are heavier but use much less fuel. Here I'd go for the Jetboil MiniMo for three-season use or the MSR Reactor or Windboiler for winter, especially snow melting.

For larger pots and winter weather remote cartridge stoves are excellent. These have a lower profile than upright stoves and so are more stable. Because the cartridge is connected to the stove by a long hose it can be warmed more easily. More significantly as long as the stove has a preheat tube - a section of fuel pipe running through the burner - the cartridge can be inverted so that liquid fuel runs through the fuel line rather than gas which means the stove will work well in the cold. Some stoves such as the Optimus Vega come with fold-out legs to support an inverted cartridge. With other stoves the cartridge has to be lent against something or supported with tent pegs.

Inverted cartridge for cooking in freezing temperatures

 Remote cartridge stoves weigh more than upright stoves but are still quite light. My choices would be the Optimus Vega, Primus Spider, MSR Whisperlite Universal, Alpkit Koro and, with heat exchanger pots, the Primus Eta Spider Stove Set and Primus Power.

How much fuel is needed depends on how much the stove is used of course. I generally boil 2-4 litres of water a day and run a stove for 30-45 minutes. Used like this a 250 size cartridge lasts me three to four days with a standard stove and pot and six or seven days with a heat exchanger unit.

Liquid Fuel & Multi-Fuel Stoves

For long distance walks, especially in remote places, liquid fuel stoves running on white gas (purified petrol) such as Coleman Fuel, petrol or paraffin were standard a few decades ago. I used them on half a dozen multi-month walks. They were also good in sub-zero temperatures and for group cooking so I also used them when I led ski tours. Such stoves usually have pumps so pressure can be maintained as the fuel bottle empties so the heat output is constant even in the cold. Most stoves have remote fuel bottles that detach from the stove for carrying too. Good examples that I've used successfully are the Optimus Svea 123, Optimus Nova, MSR XGK EX, MSR Whisperlite Internationale and MSR Dragonfly.

These stoves will run on white gas, unleaded petrol, paraffin and diesel so even in remote places some type of fuel should be available. The latest models will also run on butane/propane cartridges and it's one of these that I'd choose now because of the versatility. I'd mostly use it with cartridges too, only using liquid fuels if that's all I could get. I used to prefer liquid fuel for snow melting in winter but now I use a gas stove with inverted cartridge and heat exchanger pots. The Primus OmniLite Ti and MSR Whisperlite Universal are both good multi-fuel models that will run on cartridges.

With liquid fuel stoves I find a litre of fuel lasts at least ten days. A big advantage of these stoves is that most are field-maintainable, unlike most gas stoves. That could be important on a long trip in a remote area.

Methylated Spirits/Alcohol Stoves

  

Unlike liquid fuels and butane/propane meths doesn't need to be pressurised for use in a stove. This means that stoves can be much simpler with no moving parts, so there's little to go wrong. Indeed, you can make your own meths burner out of old drinks cans. Meths is also a quiet fuel with none of the hiss or roar of pressurised fuels so you can hear the sounds of nature rather than the noise of the stove. However there are cons to meths as a fuel too. The main one is that it's not as efficient as pressurised fuels so more is needed. I find a litre lasts me 5-7 days which fits in with Trangia's claim that a litre of meths will boil twenty litres of water. As with all stoves some models are more fuel efficient than others.

Trail Designs Ti-Tri

Also, the flame is just about invisible in bright light so care needs to be taken when checking to see if a stove is still lit or not . Don't add more fuel until you're sure it's out! I make sure by holding my hand a few feet above the stove and slowly lowering it to see if I can feel any heat. Simmering can be difficult with many meths burners too, though some do have crude simmer controls. Because meths isn't pressurised it has no wind resistance so a windscreen is essential in even a light breeze (I recommend a windscreen with any stove for fuel efficiency anyway).

Meths is an easy fuel to find as I discovered on my last two long distance walks. Chemists and hardware stores usually stock it. It can be carried in ordinary lightweight plastic bottles too, unlike white gas and paraffin which need heavier special fuel bottles, which partly counters the extra weight of more fuel.

Meths stoves can be used in freezing weather but they're slow for snow melting and most need refilling often as they don't hold much fuel.

The classic meths stove, which has been around for over fifty years, is the Trangia. This comes in various configurations of windscreens and pots, all with a sturdy brass burner. Trangia units are tough and functional - this is a stove that will last a lifetime -but also quite heavy and bulky.

For many years there were few alternatives to the Trangia. However the last few decades has seen a whole host of them appear, mostly in the form of  burners made from drinks cans by small cottage industries. All of these are much lighter than a Trangia but only some are as functional. Of the ones I've tried my favourite by far is the Trail Designs Caldera Cone, which comes in an array of different sizes to match different pots. This combines a burner with a windscreen/pot support like the Trangia but at a much lower weight and size. I've used the Ti-Tri version, which is made from titanium, on two long distance walks and many shorter trips including the TGO Challenge.

Solid Fuel & Wood Stoves

Blocks of solid fuel such as Esbit tablets are an alternative to meths. Tiny stands are available for solid fuel such as the Trail Designs GramCracker, which can be used inside a Caldera Cone. Solid fuel is lightweight and compact and of course can't be spilled. The flame is even less powerful than meths though and simmering is just about impossible. Even so it's a viable fuel for boiling water.

Trail Designs Ti-Tri with Inferno insert for wood burning

The big advantage of wood as a fuel is that you don't need to carry it with you. The disadvantage is that finding dry wood in wet conditions can be difficult even in woods. In Britain combining wood with another fuel is wise. Many meths or solid fuel burners can be used with wood-burning stoves and some stoves are designed to use wood. The Trail Designs Ti-Tri can be used with wood, which I did frequently on the Pacific Northwest Trail but only twice on the rather wetter and much less wooded Scottish Watershed. I used the Inferno insert with the Ti-Tri, which meant the twigs burnt to a fine ash and produced much heat. Other good wood burners I've used are the BushBuddy Ultra and the Backcountry Boiler. Meths burners can be used with both of them.

Personal Choices

Currently my first choice for long distance walks is the Trail Designs Caldera Ti-Tri as it's lightweight, windproof and durable (though you do need to protect the meths burner against crushing) with no moving parts to fail. It can also be used with solid fuel, meths and wood. For shorter trips in places where a stove failure wouldn't be a disaster I use a gas stove as these are so easy and convenient. I wouldn't take one on a long remote country solo trip though as they're not field maintainable and I have had failures (the weight of upright stoves is so low that a spare could easily be carried though). For winter use I like remote cartridge gas stoves with heat exchanger pots. I'd now only use a liquid fuel stove if going somewhere extremely cold or somewhere it was the only fuel available (I once led a ski tour in Greenland where we used jet fuel as that’s all we could get).