Ive been cooking all my meals on a Trangia (model 27) since late July.
They prefer 93-94% ethanol. Any higher and things get sooty (thats when you add a few drops of water) One German brand of rocket fuel was so concenterated I had a flare up and heat-treated the aluminium base. I had to move the stove using the handle and extinguish using the simmer rinmgTest your fuel before cooking anywhere near your tent.

The usual meal was fried onions and peppers, other bits, add rice and prev boiled water then cover and simmer for 8-12 mins. Other bits inc chorizo, sardines, peppered smoked makeral. hot or cold as required.

Most ambitious meal was 3-course:
starter:steamed green beans with olive oil and ground pepper
main: fried steak hollandaise with onions, peppers, rice, cougettes\zuchini layered on top of rice to steam.
desert: pear poached in water and honey.

Adjusting the simmer ring just right takes practice. some leatherman pliers are really useful here.
Late in the tour, the rubber seal of the fuel cap fell off onto the burner and I didnt see it. They burn but dont melt.

For wild camping, I gave up on spaghetti as it uses too much water and fuel. Rice is good, couscous is better.

I really like the simplicity and reliability of the system. I cooked a few meals in the dark. It is quick to set up for a noodle lunch.
You can guage fuel use quite well and it is widely available in N Europe (but called various names)
Some people make real coffee in the kettle.

Im not sure about lighting by dropping a match in the burner, you end up with a few carbonised blocked holes. I used longer cooks matches or a lighter.
My beated and dented Trangia is now a trusted piece of kit.

That looks pretty cool. With the Westwind there is a bit of bending and flexing involved with getting the pieces together (it's kind of like when you weave the flaps of a cardboard box together to make it stay shut without tape - you can do it, but the last one requires a bit of careful bending). This one you linked to seems to just slot together in straight lines, which is useful and simple. Otherwise they are pretty much the same concept - three pieces of metal that forms a stable tripod for the stove to sit in, and the pot to sit on. Not rocket science, but rather beautiful in its simplicity.

I think I prefer this type of setup to the larger Trangia kits like the 27-8 HA/UL which I also have. On the one hand, I do like the integrated windscreen and base on the 27. But on the downside, you have to reach down into the enclosure to do anything with the burner, e.g. tweak the simmer ring, and the outer enclosure can get hot after a while, so it's a bit of a delicate operation to make sure you don't touch the edges. Also, the enclosure/windscreen is a fixed size, which means you can't use other pots - you pretty much have to use the ones that come with the kit. I have recently purchased a Black Ice cookset by Texsport (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P9F1EQ/) and I really like it so far. The integrated handles wouldn't work well with the 27. The Westwind style is much more open and flexible, though it seemed a little slower to boil water the couple of times I have played with it - I think some experimentation is needed to get the optimal windscreen setup.

I found a really nice and simple way to make an adjustable windscreen: You just get some aluminum flashing from the hardware store, and cut it to a length where you can make a roll around the largest pot you are going to use. Then get three jumbo size paper clips and use them on the bottom to make a tripod. They both hold the roll together, and also you can raise the screen off the ground by varying amounts simply by sliding the clips further onto the screen. I got this idea from a youtube video, but I can't find it again right now. Very simple idea, and seems to work well. The video was demonstrating how the burner was affected by the amount of air that was allowed to come underneath the screen - raising it up a bit seemed to make it burn much better, or if it was really windy then you could lower it. Ingenious in its simplicity, in the same spirit as the Trangia itself.

Neil

I've used the pot stand of the mini Trangia as a wood burning stove. Just fill it with paper and a few twigs and it's good to go. You can feed the fire through the scalloped openings. Things get sooty, but if you want to save on alcohol it's a good option without having to build a full fire

i've made my own pot stand(s) with discarded spokes (heavier gauge) and some aluminum tubing from the hardware store. it all collapses into my snow peak cup or pot.
windscreen - aluminum flashing from the hardware store. drill or punch holes.

and, i also have a combo screen / pot stand that uses tent stakes through the wind screen to hold up my cup.

I have been using the smaller Trangia cook set. I think its the 27 with hard anodized pots. My issues are the same as yours but I especially don't like the two small, same sized pots that came with mine. They are just too small for my cycltourist sized hunger. I like to cook one pot meals and use lots of fresh local veggies in my soups which take up a lot of space in the pot. I don't want to go to much larger because that may increase boil time and fuel usage but I do want to experiment with other sizes.

Your problems with the Westwind may have to do with how far away the burner is from the pot you are using. I don't remember the website but I saw some tests done where the guy changed the distances between the burner and the pots and it had a pretty big effect on boil time. Closer was not always better. Maybe you should measure this distance with your Trangia 27 and compare it to the Westwind? Also, dont forget that when using the fry pan, the pan is much FURTHER away than when using a pot because of how the wind screen works.

I was looking at buying the MSR folding aluminum windscreen and a Westwind or ebay pot stand. I am in Asia so these things can be hard to find unfortunately...

Yes, I saw a couple of references where they talked about inverting the Westwind stand, which puts the burner further away from the bottom of the pot, and this apparently decreased the boil time by some substantial amount (maybe even 50%).

So I just tried an experiment - first I boiled 2 cups of cold tap water with the burner in the "standard" position (i.e. resting on the Westwind the way it's pictured in their literature). It took 9 minutes to come to a boil. Then I turned the burner off, emptied the water, and let everything cool down for 15 minutes, and tried again, same amount of water - this time with the Westwind inverted, and the burner resting on the ground, so it's further away from the pot. This time the (new, cold) water boiled in just over 5 minutes. Big difference, more than 50% in fact. Wow. So now I am kind of mystified as to why Trangia would market something that clearly works better upside down... in any case, the distance between the burner and the pot clearly makes a HUGE difference to the boil time. Good to know.

Neil

If it works both ways, it may well have been designed that way, and the message lost somewhere between the designer and the ionstruction writer.

I still have my Svea 123. What a complete p.o.s. Good thing they don't make them like they used to. I have been happy with the Primus EtaPower

My Trangia Mini performed great on my Pacific Coast tour this past summer. Light, easy to use, and finding fuel was never an issue.
http://s3i.dotphoto.com/iF3372E9E-3E...3706CC1911.jpg
Grilled cheese sandwich with Tillamook cheese curds.
http://s3i.dotphoto.com/i070F2B36-40...8B6ADC986F.jpg

Looks like Trangia Mini it is. I'm doing a PacCoast tour this summer, hopefully I'll be eating as well as you!

I love cooking with wood on my Bush Buddy stove but for those times of the year when using it represents a fire hazard, I'm considering the purchase of an alcohol stove.

I've read good things about the Packafeather stoves (FeatherFire or XL). [strike]Have any of you used one of these?[/strike] I like their light weight and the fact that their heat output is fully adjustable.

Occasionally when I tour I'll bring along my old, circa 1986 MSR XGK white gas/burns anything stove. Can't simmer worth anything, but it gets so hot that it will allow you to weld bike frame joints should you need to :-)

Mostly I'll use my MSR Whisperlite Internationale, which also burns auto gas (petrol). I like being able to find fuel just about anywhere. I do also have a Gaz cartridge stove, which is also quite nice. I'm not keen on the canisters, though. Expensive and hard to find.

Seriously, this stove will burn ANYTHING flammable. I even accidentally packed paint thinner on one weekend trip and it worked. (Note to self: don't put identical-looking white gas and paint thinner cans next to each other in a dark shed.)

Svea & Sigg Tourist
 

I'm still using a Svea 123 inside a Sigg Tourist cookset ...

... a design tested over the decades.

I burn Coleman fuel.

I bought mine in the 1980s. I have used it on many backpacking trips, and one canoe-camping trip, and will use it when I finally get out there on a bike tour.

I don't think the Sigg Tourist is still available, but the Svea 123 is.

+1. I STILL use my Svea 123/Tourist set from the 70's. I did upgrade to a JetBoil pot. It's not ultralight but it is simple, rugged, and reliable.

For a cheaper option I am using the Trangia Mini Cooking Stove -

http://www.rei.com/skuimage/657906/220

Then at Academy added the $15 Magellan Cook set that it fits packed inside -

http://www.academy.com/images/produc...40-0002-p1.jpg

Is there any issues finding the yellow Heet fuel cross country? I hear every gas station, wal-mart, and auto supply store should have it?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

Are those stainless steal pots? I can't make up my mind if I love SS or hate it.

I had no trouble finding it along the Northern Tier last summer. It varied in price quite a bit, from $2 to $4, but it was always available. I was surprised, however, by how quickly I could go through a bottle. Still, the Trangia worked very well for me. But, I didn't eat nearly as well as MattP. I just used it for oatmeal, noodles (Raman, mac 'n cheese, etc) and tea. I really need to expand my cooking skill set!

I can't let a stove debate go by without beating the gong for my favorite stove.

http://www.zzstove.com/sierra.html

I've been using them for about 20 years and love the simplicity. I can boil a pot of water on 2 pinecones. Everyone always says 'what about the soot?" I just ignore it, seriously I don't care that the pot is black. It gets washed when i get home and yes a lot of it doesn't come off. I use a similar pot to the one liter one on the above website. Inside gets washed, stove goes in a plastic bag, when then goes in the pot, lid goes on and the whole thing is put in another plastic bag and tossed in the pannier.

I know stoves are a personal issue, but I have never understood why more people don't use wood burners, especially this one which will boil water faster than my MSR whisperlite.

Not quite anything - multifuel stoves cannot use alcohol:

http://cascadedesigns.com/MSR/FAQ/Stoves

"Q: Can I burn alcohol in my MSR stove? A: No, MSR stoves will not burn alcohol, and alcohol will damage MSR Fuel Bottles."

Neil

I believe that the newest version of the Primus Omni Fuel can burn alcohol. I seem to remember reading a review with someone who did.

Here's one thread that discusses this:

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/f...hdte/0/v/8/sp/

Peter Clinch's comment was interesting:

While further down, there's this from someone else:

This sounds rather inconclusive, with one person saying that it will cause problems, and another saying no it won't. I personally wouldn't trust one person posting that they tried it with alcohol and it seemed to work, because while that might be true for short term use, you might also be ruining your stove in the long run. It may just take a while for that to become apparent, I don't know. I'd like to find out for sure, though. Maybe I'll contact Primus and ask them.

Neil