Originally Posted by
Rowan
I would suggest that whatever system you choose, experiment with it at home to get to know its idiosyncracies. The aforementioned heat control is one, but also the amount of fuel that you might burn or any particular task. You can also experiment with things like pot-cozies to see how they work with stuff like rice and conserving fuel.
I should also mention that it is not unknown in the bicycle touring world for people to take small cast iron pots and pans with them... but that does tend to be overkill, in my opinion.
Years ago I used butane canister stoves, but I also found them to be unstable and got frustrated by never knowing how much fuel I had left so i went over to a Trangia. I used this with an Antigravity Gear solo cookset for a while, but as I mostly just make tea and heat up noodles, soups and couscous it seemed like overkill. I like the Trangia style of stove, but now have the Evernew TI version and use it with am Evernew, 2 cup, TI mug. There's no need for a pot stand as the stove has 2 sets of holes and the mug sits directly on the stove leaving the lower set open, it's actually most efficient in this configuration, and I just have a roll of AL foil as a windscreen.
I also used to use a pot cozy, but socks and other items of clothing work just as well. After I have boiled a couple of cups of water in my TI mug I usually use half to make tea in a Sea to Summit X-mug and then I add half a cup of couscous and some chicken stock, or part of a flavour pouch, or some honey to the water left in the mug. I then wrap the mug in socks or a T-shirt and wait 10 mins for the couscous to cook.