The West Wind model gives you the stove with lid and simmer ring (3.84 oz), collapsible stand & built-in windscreen (2.56 oz), for a base weight of 6.40 oz. It costs $20.00 complete and here is what it does:

.48 oz denatured alcohol takes 2 cups of 65F water to 212f in 9 1/2 minutes [180F in 8 minutes, which is where you can plainly hear it boiling using even less fuel]

.16 oz denatured alcohol takes 1 cup 65F water to 212F in 5 1/2 min or to 180F in 4 1/2 minutes

SIMMERS with .24 oz for 30 minutes with simmer ring 3/8 open and cooks a 30 minute meal with just 0.64 oz. Amazing!

Since you can store 4 ounces in the Trangia, and put the flame out with the simmer ring, you don’t have to estimate how much to put in at each boil as with a homemade stove and so no fuel is wasted.

Its strong point is 30-minute simmer consuming only .24 oz fuel. This is the single most important advantage of the Trangia for me as it allows me to purchase foods in supermarkets for my trips, which mostly require some simmering and the Trangia does it very efficiently.

Lightweight, compact, inexpensive, reliable, simmers well. The UN-CONTRAPTION!!! I love it.

I would also add that the stove is great, one of the most reliable and fuel efficient alcohol stoves available. And it isn't very expensive at all.

But instead of carrying the weight and bulk of the Westwind, you can make it lighter and smaller. Before you Trangia lovers beat me up, and before ya'll that don't know the Trangia get the wrong idea, it isn't that bulky or heavy to begin with. It is just heavier and biggr than homemade alcohol stoves.

So what you need to think about is:

a) Pot support. Get rid of the aluminum plates and replace them with a coathanger or hardware cloth stand.

b) When you reduce the stand size, then a smaller and lighter windscreen can be made. You need one anyway with the Trangia.

[QUOTE=SGT Rock]I would also add that the stove is great, one of the most reliable and fuel efficient alcohol stoves available. And it isn't very expensive at all.

a) Pot support. Get rid of the aluminum plates and replace them with a coathanger or hardware cloth stand.

I offer the following point concerning the pot stand- While ultra-lights may wish to shave every ounce, the 3 interlocking aluminum plates make for a very stable and secure pot stand and a passable windscreen in light breezes. My big fear with pop can or other alcohol stoves are spills and a fire that's hard to see in daylight. If you cook in the woods eliminating some of the risk of a fire is worth the extra weight.

My wife and I use a Trangia exclusively and love it. As to whether or not the included stand makes a passable windscreen even in a light wind (it doesn't in my opinion) it's not really relevant as you're going to need a windscreen for when the breezes pick up. We ditched the Westwind stand and MSR windscreen we had been carrying in favor of a combination potholder/windscreen made from aluminum flashing that weighs just over an ounce. I would rather reduce risks by way of using knowledge and a little extra prudence vice weight on my back.

We own 2 of them. Carried one on my thru-hike last year. Solid brass construction and very reliable. Rather than ditch the pot stand that came with the stove I drilled several 1/2" holes throughout each of the tree pieces of the stand. It added to the air-flow and lightened the overall stand weight.

You do need a windscreen to avoid the flame being spread and dissipated. I took a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil and triple folded it. That worked out to be about the height of my pot off the ground using the Trangia pot stand. I took foil tape and sealed the loose edges of the foil windscreen. I also punched a row of holes in the windscreen near the ground level to allow for adequate air-flow. That windscreen went all the way to Katahdin with me and is still going strong.

The whole mess ...stove, stand, windscreen (in addition to my cup, spork, lighter and bandana) fits inside my cookpot and makes packing/meal preparation fast and easy.

'Slogger
AT 2003

I also drilled holes in the base. I think about 7, 1/2" and as many 1/4" as I could fit in. That reduced the weight of the stand by half. Takes some time but worth the effort.

yep, it's the wonderstove! By some freak of coincidence, the windscreen I made for mine (aluminum flashing) fits perfectly around my full length blue foam pad. I like that you can go an overniter, maybe a weekend, without a seperate fuel bottle.

yep, it's the wonderstove! By some freak of coincidence, the windscreen I made for mine (aluminum flashing) fits perfectly around my full length blue foam pad. I like that you can go an overniter, maybe a weekend, without a seperate fuel bottle.==========================
Very true ...and I forgot to mention that in my earlier post. The Trangia has an O-ring sealed fuel reservoir so you can carry around 3 oz of fuel inside and avoid carrying a fuel bottle on an overnight hike. Only caution is that the O-ring doesn't do well if exposed to heat. One mistake some Trangia users make is to accidentally use the screw top (with the O-ring) to extinguish the stove flame when they're done cooking. That unfortunately toasts the O-ring and the stove will no longer hold fuel during transit. Just to be on the safe side, I ordered a couple spare O-rings. Haven't had to use them yet ...but there's a first time for everything !!

'Slogger
AT 2003

:-?
Footslogger where did you get the O rings?
Thanks

:-?
Footslogger where did you get the O rings?
Thanks

I got one at Home Depot.

:-?
Footslogger where did you get the O rings?
ThanksThruhiker.com used to sell them in a package of 2 from the mfgr. I purchased spares this year from them, but didn't see it on the website

Well in my case the pot stand is actually WAY overbuilt for the size pot I use, plusit makes a lousy windscreen for an alcohol stove. Makeone from whatever you wish, but I wouldn't want the one that came with the stove for my solo pot, and based on what I have seen from a lot of other lighter weight hikers it would be way over built for their needs too.

Well in my case the pot stand is actually WAY overbuilt for the size pot I use, plusit makes a lousy windscreen for an alcohol stove. Makeone from whatever you wish, but I wouldn't want the one that came with the stove for my solo pot, and based on what I have seen from a lot of other lighter weight hikers it would be way over built for their needs too.
Good point Sarge, I wasn't aware the gear reviews were limited to an ultra-light viewpoint exclusively. If so would would a true ultra-light proponent even consider a trangia burner compared to say a pop can or cat stove? From many a die hard UL's viewpoint the stove is fatally flawed by its brass construction.

:-?
Footslogger where did you get the O rings?
Thanks==========================================
I ordered them from an outdoor goods vendor but I'll have to dig to get the exaxct name. It was an outfit in Oregon that speicialized in Trangia stoves/accesories. They are the specific replacement parts for the Trangia. I ordered two and they weren't very expensive.

I wasn't successful in finding the exact diameter and thickness O-rings at hardware stores or Home Depot. Maybe things have changed since last year. I got mine in advance of my thru-hike early last year.

:-?
Footslogger where did you get the O rings?
Thanks===========================================
I found the vendor that sold me my replacement Trangia O-rings:

http://www.outdoorsportz.com/

Happy Trails ...

'Slogger
AT 2003

.48 oz denatured alcohol takes 2 cups of 65F water to 212f in 9 1/2 minutes [180F in 8 minutes, which is where you can plainly hear it boiling using even less fuel]

.16 oz denatured alcohol takes 1 cup 65F water to 212F in 5 1/2 min or to 180F in 4 1/2 minutes


Tell me where on the trail you can find 65F water. You wont find it unless you are hiking in the dead of summer, and even then such temperatures are often not reached. Water from mountain streams averages more like 45F, and even colder in the winter. This fact seriously increases the boil time of water. Home tests like this provide only a basis for comparison, but the real values are meaningless. I'll stick with my simmerlite unless Im hiking in the desert.

Well in my case the pot stand is actually WAY overbuilt for the size pot I use, plusit makes a lousy windscreen for an alcohol stove. Makeone from whatever you wish, but I wouldn't want the one that came with the stove for my solo pot, and based on what I have seen from a lot of other lighter weight hikers it would be way over built for their needs too.
That thing's supposed to be a windscreen? :) It's not. Good pot stand tho'. If I turn into a gram weenie, I might drill it and cut it down. I've usually got another person with me and am cooking two-serving meals, so I carry a bigger pot. 'Course I like coffee by the pint, too.:bse

Tell me where on the trail you can find 65F water. You wont find it unless you are hiking in the dead of summer,... Home tests like this provide only a basis for comparison, but the real values are meaningless. I'll stick with my simmerlite unless Im hiking in the desert.

I live in Florida; I used what I had available. Besides, the "home test" was to indicate the smallish quantity of denatured consumed more so than the time to boil. Anyway, I suspect that most tests here are really just "home tests", right? Which is not to take anything away from any of them. And it wasn't so meaningless to me-I really like the little alcohol burning Trangia.

And, I also agree that a pot stand comes with the Westwind-not a wind screen. I also made a combo stand/windscreen out of aluminum flashing and clotheshanger wire that only weighs 0.64 oz. & it fits snugly inside my .85 L pot. If I can figure out how to upload a foto, I'll provide it. I also need to remember which site I plagerized it from and modified it to suit me so as to give them credit, though.
:D

I live in Florida; I suspect that most tests here are really just "home tests", right?:D

Well then maybe your water is 65F. And like I said, its okay for comparison, but not for reality.

Well then maybe your water is 65F. And like I said, its okay for comparison, but not for reality.Keep in mind that this thread is about the Trangia and not comparisons. You're right ...high mountain streams have cold water in them (you oughta take a sip outta some of the ones we have here in Wyoming) but the Trangia still does a bang up job of heating a cup or two of water for a meal in a reasonable period of time. I've got several brands/types of stoves but for OVERALL ease of use and convenience it's hard to beat a Trangia.

Stick with what works for you but don't count the Trangia out because of water temperature.

'Slogger
AT 2003

I don't have a normal stand or windscreen for my trangia. Instead, I use 3 metal tent stakes placed around the stove as my potholder. Or, if there are plenty of smaller/medium-sized rocks around, I just arrange them as my potholder instead.

I own 2 trangias and they were my first alcohol stoves and performed great!
I used them for numerous hikes with my daughter...then made my own and was not satisfied with the performance (not a good stovemaker).

Ordered a stove from tinman...and it has performed as well or better than the trangia and no need for a separate potholder and weighs much, much less!

I do not worry with fuel as I carry a empty film canister that measures 1 oz of fuel which will perform my most elaborate cooking at ease using a SGT. Rock lemonade jar as a cozy.

I still use my pot (.85 liter and lid/coated frypan included with my model 28 trangia and I am completely satisfied with the performance and weight.

I must have made about a zillion pop can stoves ,coffee can stoves and a plethota of other styles oef homade cookers before I literally stumbled onto the Trangia westwind. It worked for me first time outa the box in zero weather all the way up to warm sixty five degree nights. I've even boiled peanuts on one!

Being ever the tinkerer I have designed a windscreen that acts somewhat like an afterburner on a jet engine that can get you two cups of 200 degree water in a little less than six minutes don't matter if you are using 65 degree tap water or snow.

I no longer waste my time with pop can stoves. I got the best technology available to me in the westwind. Oh, yeah, after several attempts I have discovered that it matters in both size and location as to where the holes go in the pot stand. and a couple of pieces of 5/32nd inch ID aluminum tube creates the afterburner, the heart of the flaming beastie. While my pot stand is still aluminum it is of a much higher grade than the original. My afterburner melts the original stand material and should only be used in conjunction with HIGH quality titanium pots. I go to race car fabricators for mine. End user ones suck, quality wise, in my appolication. I am looking at carbon fiber pots with ceramic coatings that can actually be folded flat for storage. If they test out they should weigh in at about ,012 oz for 800 ml capacity With carbon fiber lids at .001 gm. current pricing would be about $500.00 for the set. Plusses: 99.98%heat transfer, light weight , unbreakable, non staining non marring cool to the touch within 3 seconds of removal from the flame and simple water clean up.
Minuses: cannot use metal utensils nor store with metal objects. if you crease the pot where it ain't supposed to crease, you induce a stress point and it will eventually fail.

I believe this system is a bit too high tech for the average backpacker, but it's definately" in the mail" as the saying goes.

I love my buddies in the aerospace buisness!

Hacksaw

Being ever the tinkerer I have designed a windscreen that acts somewhat like an afterburner on a jet engine that can get you two cups of 200 degree water in a little less than six minutes don't matter if you are using 65 degree tap water or snow. I no longer waste my time with pop can stoves. I got the best technology available to me in the westwind. Oh, yeah, after several attempts I have discovered that it matters in both size and location as to where the holes go in the pot stand. and a couple of pieces of 5/32nd inch ID aluminum tube creates the afterburner, the heart of the flaming beastie. While my pot stand is still aluminum it is of a much higher grade than the original. My afterburner melts the original stand material and should only be used in conjunction with HIGH quality titanium pots. Hacksaw
High heat will certainly disintegrate aluminum. But are you saying that a pot with liquid inside will also melt? That would surprise me. Unless it's under pressure you can't get water over 212 +/- a bit depending on the barometer.

Weary

Hacksaw:
Now what powers that exotic device-a battery or just hot air? :)

Spring time in December? More specificly, April 1 on December 2?:clap

:-?
Footslogger where did you get the O rings?
Thanks

Fellow Whiteblazers:

Point your browser to the following URL:

http://www.ultralight-hiking.com/o-ring.html

Thought Trangia stove users' would find this useful. Can you say FREE?! LOL. ;)

Fellow Whiteblazers:

Point your browser to the following URL:

http://www.ultralight-hiking.com/o-ring.html

Thought Trangia stove users' would find this useful. Can you say FREE?! LOL.

pixpusher Thank you very much :clap :bse :banana