Best outdoor cooking practice

[Alun]

I've just been sent 'The Outdoor Cooking Guide' by camping stove company Primus. It's pretty standard stuff but it's surprising how many happy campers don't realise the extent of heat and energy loss by not having a wind shield and that cooking on ¾ power is the most efficient setting.

I'm surprised to see they recommend stuff like pasta over pre-packed meals that just need hot water. Speaking of which has anyone tried the pre-packed Mountain House, they're so bloody good I eat them in the house.

Here's Primus top ten cooking tips for when you're out on trail

1. It is best to use an aluminium cooking pot with a heat exchanger. Used together, they reduce boiling times and fuel consumption by around a third.

2. Choose food that cooks quickly. Food like spaghetti or other thin pasta.

3. Small pieces of food are better. It is quicker to cook food that has been divided into small pieces.

4. Do not cook the food completely on the stove. Let it finish cooking off the stove, using an insulation pouch where possible (like the one that comes with the EtaPower EF and MF models).

5. Reduce the output. Using around ¾ of the stove’s output as this will make best use of the energy.

6. Protect the stove from the wind. Shelter it from the wind and use a windscreen.

7. Gas is good. It doesn’t need any preheating and is more efficient than liquid fuel.

8. Save on heat. If you have any hot water left over, save it in a vacuum bottle for your next meal.

9. The right combination gives the best effect. Don’t use a small pot on a large burner. It is best to make sure that you have the right burner for the right size pot.

[Warthog]

Nice to see I fail on almost all of those!!!

I must say that I'm not a massive fan of aluminium. It bangs around in the luggage, and leaves a fine aluminium powder everywhere and, frankly, I have enough brain related problems without having expedited alzheimer's setting in due to aluminium ingestion!!

I'll stick with my steel MSR pots...

Good to know about the other tips, though...

[Curzon]

Not wishing to kick off the best camping stove debate all over again. But I've got a Primus EtaPower EF stove, and i'm well impressed with it! Quality bit of kit. Even better I got mine half price when Blacks Leisure's parent company went into administration last year, and they shut half their stores.

[Mr Toad]

Gas is best, one mans meat is another mans poison etc, Not saying petrol stoves are best but considerations, you need petrol for your bike so a handy supply for your stove. Petrol doesn't suffer from the cold as much as gas, it is cheaper than gas, easier to source in out of the way places and I know any riding a bike may not always thinks of carbon foot prints etc but there is a lot of waste in the empty gas cyclinders. Yes is can be dirtier to use because of the priming and is less easy to regulate or cook things slowly. But my MSR Whisperlite has never let me down in over 15 years of use. But what do I know.

[2 wheeled tourist]

Thanks for that Alun. All I have is a very tiny “CAMPINGAZ” (model 1309, I think) and screw-on Butan/Propan combo and a Eurohike knife, fork and spoon set and pots and pans, while tiny and compact (CAMPINGAZ) it works a treat. Does the tin of beans & sausages quite nicely.

Tried it out for the first time at a certain race track while watching the track day then some weeks later at this years National Road Rally, having the second hour break, and you know what, it’s fun and helps fill that gap in the old tummy.

The only snag and downside I have is not having to clean the pots but how to clean the damn things out in the field…

There are better models out there but this is, again, compact and it’s enough for me.


Thanks for the tips, observed and digested…

[davsato]

most of those tips only work if you happen to have primus's kit.
we reccommend insulated pouches like the ones we happen to make? no shit.
use a windshield/ally pot with heat exchanger? no need on my trangia, all the heat goes past the pan saving time and gas.

[Warthog]

Curzon wrote:

... I've got a Primus EtaPower EF stove, and i'm well impressed with it! Quality bit of kit ...

I bought my dad some camping gear ofr his birthday last year and I opted for that same stove as he likes stuff to be minimum fuss.

Having seen it in action it is great that everything is packed into that small bundle, that it seems so efficient (a standard canister seems to last ages) and that it has all the gadgets included such as a colander!!

The only chink in the armour is that it is single fuel, but if you travel in Europe mainly that should not be a problem.

[snaphappy]

I'll stick to the Swedish Army trangia, excellent piece of kit I also have a Coleman petrol stove but it packed in on a trip and we were forced to use the one trangia for us all, after the third day and no spirit left we cooked on vodka

[davsato]

just back from the XRV owners meet in north yorks moors, there were 60+ of us, with what looked like 60+ different cooking systems, 61+ if you include giving up and eating in the pub.

[Guest]

Self heating meals - the way ahead!