I've been really getting into the Trangia alcohol stoves lately. What I like is their simplicity - no moving parts, no pumping, no pressurized containers, no flare-ups, no jet-engine noise, and very quick to start. From most accounts, alcohol in some form or other is very easy to find in most places, though I haven't confirmed that for myself on tour yet. The only downside for me is that the Trangia simmer ring is a little fiddly to use, though I am getting better.

I used, and thought I liked, the MSR Dragonfly stove for years. But on my tour in 2008 I had some problems with it going out unaccountably while I was cooking. The thing was clean, and pumped up and everything seemed to be working, but it just kept on going out. I have no idea why. It was pretty irritating. I have also heard quite a few accounts of people breaking the plastic pump. Also, look at the number of little bits and pieces in the maintenance kit - it's a little scary if you're in the middle of nowhere, frankly, to have something that fiddly.

I don't know what I would take if I was going somewhere really remote like Outer Mongolia or any of the 'Stans, but so far I have to say the little Trangia has won my heart. I recently tried the 27-8 UL/HA, but didn't find the "Hardanodized" (they run it into one word like that in the manual) to be very non-stick at all. I think the 27-5 UL would probably be better for my purposes, since it is true non-stick, and I have found that one of the most important aspects of a pan, for me personally, is that food not stick to it when cooking. I hate cleaning up food that has burned into the pan.

The only thing about the 27 and 25 series of Trangia sets, as far as I can tell, is that the windscreen, while very cool in concept, seems to restrict what sizes of pans you can use. You pretty much have to use the pan that comes with the set, or one of similar size. You can't easily use a larger one, like for example the older MSR Blacklite non-stick which I have, since it doesn't fit inside the windscreen. And another thing that struck me was that you have to reach down into the windscreen in order to do things like adjust the simmer ring - and it's very hot in there after a while, which makes it a little tricky.

I have the Clickstand for the Trangia, and while it seems to work ok I don't like the windscreen that comes with it - like the Trangia 25/27, it restricts you to a certain size pot. I like a bit more flexibility.

I am going to be trying out the Trangia Westwind next. This is such a simple concept - three pieces of interlocking aluminum makes up the stand. Then I'm going to make my own windscreen, either out of thick foil, or a disposable baking pan, or maybe aluminum flashing (to be decided). The thing I like about this setup is that you can access the simmer ring very easily right from the side of the stove, no reaching down into a hot area from above. With a home-made windscreen it should end up very light, small and flexible, working with any pot or pan.

Neil