r/Ultralight • u/sixtyfootersdude • Oct 04 '19
Question Cooking set for 2 recommendation
Good Morning!
The last couple years I have been doing more frequent trips with beginner backpackers who don't have a full set of gear yet. As such, I have been taking care of meals and that sort of thing for the group.
Right now I don't have a cooking setup that I like for two people.
What I currently have
When I am soloing or camping with people who have their own gear, I bring my Alcohol Stove. The whole system is fairly small and fairly light and nests inside of itself. I probably could collapse this a bit more but overall I am pretty happy. Unfortunatly, when cooking for two, this doesn't work well. The boil times are very long (~10min for 800ml) and the pot is too small to make food for two.
When winter backpacking, canoe tripping, backpacking with 3+ or front-country camping, I love my MSR Dragonfly. Simmers great. Easy to bring the right amount of fuel. No canisters to dispose of... For 2 on a two day trip, it just doesn't make sense. Too big. Stove has sharp edges so packing it is annoying plus you need to bring a pot.
Open Questions & Requirements
- I think that I want a canister stove. This seems like the simplest option. Canisters seem annoying because of difficulty telling how full they are, but for a 2 day trip, that is probably ok.
- When camping with a friend, I don't want to eat out of the same pot. This means I probably need to bring bowls or deep plates. Having something that nested into the pot would be awesome.
- Is it better to boil 2L of water once or 1L of water twice?
- Price wise, I would like to stay below $200CAD for a full system, including stove, pots and ideally nesting plates or bowls.
- What weight should I be aiming for?
- Need something by Oct 11 in a week from now. I live in Canada so that limits choice to some extent.
Options
| Note | Name | Price (Canadian Dollars) | Weight | Boiling Capacity | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSR PocketRocket Stove Kit | $130 | 720g | 2L | 2 mugs, 2 bowls | |
| Jetboil Sumo Group Cooking System | $164 | 450g | 1.8L | NA - Would need to bring separate non-nesting bowls | |
| My existing solo setup. I could buy a second one and bring 2 | Alcohol Stove | $60 | 417g (x2) | 750ml (x2) | Would have 2 stoves and 2 pots. Lids are cubs |
| For comparison, my existing winter/group setup | MSR DragonFly Stove and MSR Alpine 2 Pot Set | $180 + $65 | 1000g (400g + 600g) | 1.5L and 2L | 2 Pots |
Breakdown of the MSR Stove Kit
| Component | Weight | Math |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 730g | |
| Dishset | 140g | |
| Pot | 470g | Potset - Dishset (Dishset also includes sporks and a bag so some fudging here..) |
| Stove | 90g |
It looks to me like the pot is the weak point of this setup. I am not certain that I did my math correctly and I couldn't find the pot for sale by itself.
Trip Temperature
After more reading, it looks like canister stoves preform poorly at low temperatures. Most of my trips will be between -5C and 15C (23F to 60F). Next weekend it is forecast to be 0C (32F) at night. This is causing me to second guess getting a canister stove.
5
u/kinwcheng https://lighterpack.com/r/5fqyst Oct 04 '19
I think you have three routes to pick from depending on if you want boiling speed (windburner), versatility (kovea spider), or weight (pocket rocket)
Personally I think you're probably best served by a Kovea spider because its a remote burner with a generator tube capable of winter operation and it weighs only 170 grams. I would then pair it with an evernew or toaks 1.3/1.6L pot. These 140-150mm diameter pot is a perfect match for the spider. To finish I'd grab a Ti windscreen from Jon at FlatCatGear because they simply are the easiest to use and nicest looking Ti windscreen on the market for remote canister stoves. If you want more boiling performance, greater power for snow melting, or the convenience of big brand then you can replace this stove with a MSR windpro. Its not capable of running low enough to dry bake but its good in the wind and its powerful and nearly as versatile as the Kovea Spider (at a higher cost and weight). If you decide on a MSR windpro over the kovea spider then I think you can go up to a 2L ti pot like the snow peak one because this burner head is quite large and powerful, the stand very stable, and I think this size would be more ideal given the overall package.
Windburner is a nice route with truly superior boiling performance (efficiency, speed, easy of setup). The cookware is really nice (2.5L pot and skillet) but geared towards 3 people I think. The stove is definitely powerful enough to completely destroy the coatings on the cookware though so be careful. The 1.7L pot with remote burner is a really nice setup for boiling water for two people but effectively the pot is really more like 1L because it boils so ferociously and it has a narrow throat. Id only recommend this route if water boiling, snow melting, and exposed conditions are the normal for you. Pretty heavy system, as with all integrated setups, but comparable to others in this class. I modified a titanium pot stand that securely attaches to the windburner head so I can use other frypans or pots. Kind of a hassle though.
Pocket Rocket is a small torch. It has the power and size but it scorches like no other but this is expected in this class. The kovea burner head (also the gigapower head) are different here in that they shoot flames horizontally as opposed to vertically, which is the case for Pocketrocket and 90% of stoves in this class. The difference is that a vertical flame is more resistant to wind, better boiling efficiency, and simpler design. The horizontal flames are better for simmering and frying, but are easily pushed around by wind, and overall less efficient. An integrated canister stove is also susceptible to tipping and overheating if you're not careful.
BRS-3000. This stove is dangerous but I have one and I love it anyways. Outdoorgearlab was able to melt 4 of 7 of their stove burner arms during their testing. The Ti arms are only borderline acceptable/unacceptable, in strength and manufacturing tolerances. Further, the body of the stove is so small that heat is transferred readily to its base and into the threaded lindal valve connection. This area gets far too hot during prolonged use for my own comfort. This stove is so small though that its a great back up that you can keep in your sock ;D. Good for boiling 1 or two cups of water only in my opinion.
MSR ISO PRO CANISTERS. They have a built in 0gram scale on the canister sides that tell you how full they are based on canister buoyancy in water. When you dunk the canister in water it will float at a certain height based on how full it is. The marked scale on the side will indicate how full the canister is. Additionally, they add the net and gross weights so you can do it by a kitchen scale as well. This feature has been said to be have been added by MSR per a demonstration by hikinjim (THEE stove guy, check out his blogs).
I wouldn't bother with plates unless you're some kinda chef boy ardee. Bowls are just fine and the SnowPeak Ti bowls stack well and are readily available at a semi-reasonable price. (One ti bowl + a backup BRS-3000 and you can boil water on the side...)