Swedish Army emergency gel cooker/stove

[Geordie_Rob]

Product review - Swedish Army emergency gel cooker/stove

This is my 1st product review so please bear with me.

http://www.sids-surplus.co.uk/Swedish_Ar...66647.aspx

I got this free via our very own BeardyMan as part of his Gift It idea.

At the time of writing, they are also available from his website for £3.00 each from the link above.

I tried to do this as a test so other members would know what to expect from it performance wise.

I used my smaller mess tin with 2 standard mugs worth of water in since my NATO mug wasn't to hand. It measured at just under 1 pint of water in total.

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What you get

When you buy a stove, it comes shrink-wrapped, complete with a pot stand & a booklet of matches.

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The Test

Once unwrapped & the lid removed you will find a foil seal. I cut this away with my EDC knife & scraped the gel stuck to it back into the stove.

After putting the pot stand on, I used a long reach gas lighter rather than using the matches to light it outside. The ambient temperature was 5 degrees C & there was a light breeze throughout the heating time.

It took the flame instantly & I put my mess tin onto the pot stand with the larger tin over as a make shift lid to retain heat.

Then I went & stuck the kettle on.

I checked it every 2 or 3 minutes for temperature using the age old method of dipping my finger in to see if it was hot. After just short of 14 minutes, i decided it was hot enough to use for coffee. I made a cuppa up using the water & although it wasn't as hot as from the kettle, it was still too hot to drink straight away.

To extinguish, I was instructed to flick the pot stand off & put the lid on to suffocate the flame. I blew it out instead & nearly paid the price with my eyebrows Next time ill use the lid.

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Am I happy with my purchase?

Although I didn't buy it, if I had of paid the £3 cost of it, I would've been very happy.

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Would I recommend this to my friends?

Absolutely. Without a doubt.

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Would I buy another one?

Yes. Infact I fully intend to buy a few of these to store in various locations (car, fishing tackle box, bag, rucksack etc..)

Special thanks to BeardyMan for very kindly Gifting me this camp stove.

[I-K-E]

thanks for the review

need to buy an emergency stove or two and was thinking about a hexamine stove for the stuck in the car bag (GHB) I'm building at least this gives me another option

[Geordie_Rob]

To be honest mate, I would go with these if its just for emergency use. Then leave them sealed so you know everything is there for if/when you need them. I know you can also buy pouches of fuel gel on eBay so you could even refill it.

[I-K-E]

sounds good to me and I'll have a fire starting kit in the bag to ...... once I find my flint and steel or a buy a magnesium fire lighter

[Shaysdad99]

rob you got a link for the replacement pouches mate

[Geordie_Rob]

These aren't replacement pouches as such but they are fuel gel sachets so I can't see what harm they would do (please use caution, I've never tried them so be careful & I hereby take no responsibility for any outcome from using the sachets in the above mentioned cookers)

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewite...cmd=VIDESC

They are from Ronnie Sunshine's eBay shop so may be cheaper again if you try his website direct (no eBay fees for him to pay).

[BeardyMan]

These work best with a wind shield to be honest, or modify the pot stand to make it a little lower.

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(8 December 2012, 21:39)Geordie_Rob Wrote: These aren't replacement pouches as such but they are fuel gel sachets so I can't see what harm they would do (please use caution, I've never tried them so be careful & I hereby take no responsibility for any outcome from using the sachets in the above mentioned cookers)

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewite...cmd=VIDESC

They are from Ronnie Sunshine's eBay shop so may be cheaper again if you try his website direct (no eBay fees for him to pay).

I wouldn't use the green snot tbh. If you really want to refil the containers then use the proper stuff:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-x-Gen-Heat-...1c28f475f8

These are pretty much the same, but the gel doesn't have quite the kick to it as the mil one. BUT, it will do the job. Unfortunately we've found that the aperture on these cans isn't wide enough to give a decent sized flame. They are, though, only designed to keep things warm rather than cook them. These are much better than the sachets though.

Also, Ronnie Sunshine? Dudes, you lot must have a lot of spare cash!! Everything he sells, and I mean EVERYTHING, can be found cheaper on ebay in seconds!!

[Geordie_Rob]

(8 December 2012, 23:09)BeardyMan Wrote: These work best with a wind shield to be honest, or modify the pot stand to make it a little lower.

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(8 December 2012, 21:39)Geordie_Rob Wrote: These aren't replacement pouches as such but they are fuel gel sachets so I can't see what harm they would do (please use caution, I've never tried them so be careful & I hereby take no responsibility for any outcome from using the sachets in the above mentioned cookers)

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewite...cmd=VIDESC

They are from Ronnie Sunshine's eBay shop so may be cheaper again if you try his website direct (no eBay fees for him to pay).

I wouldn't use the green snot tbh. If you really want to refil the containers then use the proper stuff:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-x-Gen-Heat-...1c28f475f8

These are pretty much the same, but the gel doesn't have quite the kick to it as the mil one. BUT, it will do the job. Unfortunately we've found that the aperture on these cans isn't wide enough to give a decent sized flame. They are, though, only designed to keep things warm rather than cook them. These are much better than the sachets though.

Also, Ronnie Sunshine? Dudes, you lot must have a lot of spare cash!! Everything he sells, and I mean EVERYTHING, can be found cheaper on ebay in seconds!!

I did mean to include in my review, as with all stoves, a windshield would help. They are still cracking little stoves though & im planning on buying 1/2 a dozen after new year.

For refilling it, there you have it folks. Ignore my suggestion At the price you are flogging them for, probably wouldnt be economical to refil them anyway.

I found ronnie sunshine to be fairly reasonable but cheaper is better (as long as quality matches).

[Terro]

(8 December 2012, 17:49)Geordie_Rob Wrote: Product review - Swedish Army emergency gel cooker/stove

This is my 1st product review so please bear with me.

http://www.sids-surplus.co.uk/Swedish_Ar...66647.aspx

I got this free via our very own BeardyMan

At the time of writing, they are also available from his website for £3.00 each from the link above.

Didn't know that was beardymans website just bought a Swedish parka
Can't wait on it coming

[BeardyMan]

I did a bit of a test the other day, refilling an empty burner with the gel from a Flamos chaffing burner. The gel in the flamos is red, rather than clear, and evidently not as potent as the original stuff. I'd add another 10% to the cooking time.

Be careful if you refill them, I didn't spot that I'd had a small spillage of the gel (overfilled the container) I used the lid to extinguish the flame, but cause there was too much gel in the stove I kind of set the lid alight. Then I put it on the kitchen worktop, and set the spillage I'd had earlier alight too. The wife noticed before I did (my arm was getting dangerously close to the flames) and disaster was avoided. Doesn't help that you can't really see the flame in daylight!!