I've been reading a lot about bug out bags today, and one of the decisions I'm having to make is what sort of cooking system to have in it. I was wondering what everyone had in theirs?
I don't really fancy carrying gas canisters so it looks like either some sort meths spirit stove or a hexamine stove. does anyone have a recommendation?
For a BOB the solid fuel is much better imo. It won't leak or evaporate no matter what happens to it.
I prefer Gell or Hexamine tablets over gas, prolly through habit, but I know and except the limitations IE just how toxic hexamine fumes are in a tent IE deadly, but only morons cook inside flammable or sealed places anyway. Besides I saw first hand the aftermath of only one 500 gram gaz canister going bang on Bellerby Moor, it totally ****ed a 12 by 12 army tent and quite badly scorched the lad using it.
I'm impressed with these Kelly stoves etc that are so popular these days.
Deliberating between hex stove or meths burner. Am relegating the trianga set up to vehicle kit, as it weighs too much for manual carrying. i think the meths set up may be more efficient & burns hotter in high wind. Also fuel replenishment should be easier. not many hexi tablets around. More likely to come across meths or a good substitute..?? Possibly carry both, but weight consideration is vital. Trying to seriously lighten the load at the mo.
Really chaps as your expertise and experience develops very soon you should not be worried about what fuel type you choose, you should be able to whip up a cooking fire from scavenged , salvaged and cached materials leaving only gell, gas, tablets and liquids for the first 24/48 hours.
Thats why I'm taking more of an interest in these better vquality made Kelly or Volcano stoves that can digest tablets, gell etc but then be fed on sticks and scrap timber, bit of coal etc.
most stoves weigh too much for an overweight 63 year old to carry very far, so i am opting for a HOBO stove if i have to walk or cycle out. if weight is no problem, i.e. i can drive out, then i will take my camping stove and when i run out of gas refills(the little canister type not camping gas) i then use my Rocket Stove.
thanks all for the replies
as for fires, hobo stoves and the like: firstly I love hobo stoves. making a cup of hot soup for lunch cooked on a few old pine cones is really satisfying. I've not used a kelly kettle but I know they've gotten people excited.
what I want for the bug out bag is a small stove that can for the first few days of bugging out provide us with easy, smokeless heat. when we're further away from the suburbs I'll be happier risking a fire. that said BP my hobo stove is basically a tin can with refined holes in it. I could easily stick that full of bits at the bottom of the bag to use later on rather than a campfire.
(4 March 2012, 11:24)preservefreak Wrote: [ -> ]thanks all for the replies as for fires, hobo stoves and the like: firstly I love hobo stoves. making a cup of hot soup for lunch cooked on a few old pine cones is really satisfying. I've not used a kelly kettle but I know they've gotten people excited.
what I want for the bug out bag is a small stove that can for the first few days of bugging out provide us with easy, smokeless heat. when we're further away from the suburbs I'll be happier risking a fire. that said BP my hobo stove is basically a tin can with refined holes in it. I could easily stick that full of bits at the bottom of the bag to use later on rather than a campfire.
yes, thats what my hobo stove is, PF, wife bought back a large tin she bought in a charity shop for 50p, i cut a square out of the middle, and thats a hobo stove, use it upside down so the bottom is now the top and is the hotplate.
(4 March 2012, 11:42)bigpaul Wrote: [ -> ]yes, thats what my hobo stove is, PF, wife bought back a large tin she bought in a charity shop for 50p, i cut a square out of the middle, and thats a hobo stove, use it upside down so the bottom is now the top and is the hotplate.
oh right, I always used it with the plate at the bottom. is there any advantage to using it that way or is it just how you use it?