Help me find my go-to cookset

[fastfoxengineering]

I have been using stoves and pots for a bit of time now. I have a snow peak canister stove and multiple homemade alcohol stoves. I have had a 700ml and 1300ml titanium pot to cook in. I have had enough time to figure out what kind of cooking I do on the trail.

So I'm looking for my "perfect" go-to cook set for my thru hiking, camping, back country, hunting, & world adventures. I believe there is one out there.

And I'm eyeing the Caldera Ti Tri Sidewinder with great hopes that it is everything I'm looking for.

Things I like:
It's lightweight
It's multi-fuel compatabile
It's efficient
It's a proven design
It fits inside your pot

What I don't Like:
I've never seen one in person
There's a lot of parts
It's a heavy investment
Not sure how easy they are to cook with

I also want to pair it with the Toaks/Evernew 900ml wide bottom pot. I prefer wide bottoms like my Evernew 1300 ultralight pot. I think they are easier to cook in and boil water faster with alcohol stoves. I feel I do not all the space the 1300ml offers and can move down to a 900ml for all my solo adventures. And I always appreciate cutting out some real estate from my pack space.

I do A LOT of in pot cooking. I'd say 50/50 when I'm on the trail. It's one of those things I just enjoy doing. There's also something about eating out of your pot and not a freezer bag that makes me feel better at the end of a long day on the trail. I successfully cook over alcohol stoves. But prefer one that doesn't burn on FULL blast. One that has a smaller flame output.

All though I never really use esbit, I do cook over a fire and WILL utilize the stove as a wood burner. I'm actually very excited about having a real dedicated wood burning stove. Not specifically for an AT thru-hike, but I would use it on overnighters/hunting trips all the time if I had a wood burning stove. I've never really found the need to use Esbit...yet. On the AT or most other hiking trails I'll use the alcohol stove most of the time and maybe do some wood burning when I feel like it.

So my research has led me to the Caldera Cone Ti-Tri Sidewinder with Toaks 900ml pot and modified starlyte stove. I'm about to pull the trigger on this setup. I feel its everything I need/want in a cook set.

I have not really found any other systems that are competitive with the CC setup. The Ever new Appalachian set is the only other one but I have not read good things. I've already crossed that one off the list of possibilities.

Any other options out there before I go ahead with the CC? Anything I should know about it? I feel as if I need to do more research especially with all the options it comes with. But, that's why I'm here asking.

Regards

[rocketsocks]

Not to be difficult, but as long as your considerin' have you thought about going stoveless?

[fastfoxengineering]

For a thru-hike on the AT I've entertained the idea. But for overnights with friends and family, as well as, other outdoor trips I do, I need to bring a stove.

[Starchild]

So I'm looking for my "perfect" go-to cook set for my thru hiking, camping, back country, hunting, & world adventures. I believe there is one out there.

You want one stove for all that? Different stoves different purposes and different temperatures. I have not found a ideal single stove, but bring a stove that appears best suited for the task.

[Odd Man Out]

I have an Olicamp XTS pot, which is similar in size to your Toaks 900 mL. However, it is annodized aluminum instead of Titanium and has a heat exchanger on the bottom, for excellent efficiency of heat transfer. I've used it with good success with a regular Starlyte (not modified). I think the heat exchanger makes the enclosed Calderacone set up unnecessary, although you would need a pot stand to go with it. Of course that makes it heavier so you may want to stick with your Toaks. But as I also cook in the pot, having the non-stick annodized Al is nice. You must use a center burning stove with it (not a sideburning stove like a super cat), but you would want that anyway to maximize efficiency. Both the Toaks and Olicamp have close to a 1:1 height:diameter ratio with gives you the maximum volume for a given surface area. I think this is helpful in that it minimized pot weight and also heat loss if you are cooking in a pot cozy as I do (bring food and water to boil, remove from heat, let set). Pots that are wider or narrower will cool down faster and will need more insulating material to cover their relatively large surface area. I also like this diameter for eating out of. Not too deep/not too shallow. It's tall enough to carry a tall windscreen inside, but also wide enough to hold a gas canister, cup, etc...

[The Cleaner]

My camp cookware and stove are pretty simple. I use a Svea 123 since I do more cold weather camping and do not want to worry about canister stoves working due to cold. Also I like to cook real food sometimes which takes 15-25 minute cook times so canister stoves would just cost more. I think most small canisters only have about an hour burn time so I buy Coleman by the gallon and it lasts several months.(also empty canisters are a common trash item left behind at shelters). For cook pots I have an 1100ml pot w/lid which is just a bit bigger than my Svea (which I pack my stove in) and only use it to boil water. For cooking dinners I use an MSR 2 liter titanium cook pot w/separate pot grabber. I also pack a titanium 3 tine grill which only weighs a few ozs. for cooking on a fire or toasting bagels or pop tarts. Also I store fragile foods in the MSR pot to prevent being crushed and at night I can put it in it's mesh bag and either hang it or just leave on top of my stove without worrying about mice getting into. I use the 1100 pot for heating water only and use it to heat water to clean the 2 liter pot if I've cooked something in it. Most folks consider the Svea too heavy but it always fires up in the coldest weather and saves $$ on fuel.048.jpg Here's a pic of the grill, pop tarts are much better toasted.

[rstms]

You didn't mention wood, but I have one of these, http://qiwiz.net/CookingOptions.html
I made a 5th side from aluminum flashing with scissors to convert it to a wind screen. You can also get his foldable windscreen adapter. I use a brasslite http://brasslite.com/ stove for it's simmer capability when not using wood.

[Zipweber]

I just started pairing up a Evernew Ti alcohol stove with a Firebox Nano. Gives me the flexibility to use wood when possible and save fuel. I don't do much pot cooking but this set up works well with my Snow Peak 700 or my GSI Microdualist. I don't think this meets some of your requirements but is another options.

[Another Kevin]

My pot and stove look like this.


Top: Windscreen, made of a dollar-store cookie sheet.

Middle: Grease Pot and lid. Penny (for the Penny Stove). Aluminum disk and coil (another dollar-store cookie sheet). Pot stand.

Bottom: Primer. Penny Stove 2.0 (this configuration has more smaller jets than Mark Jurey's). Simmer ring.

Burning alcohol, the whole stack is used. If I'm not steaming anything, the disk goes under the primer, under the stove, as a heat reflector and ground protector. If I am steaming something, the disk and aluminum coil hold whatever I'm steaming out of the water. I carry a Leatherman Squirt to put the simmer ring on and off.

The primer, turned upside down, and placed on top of the stove, serves as an Esbit burner. I virtually never use Esbit. The stench makes me gag.

I can't use the setup as a wood stove, but I can use the pot stand as a trivet, on top of a flat rock with coals scraped out of a campfire. That works pretty well.

With the simmer ring, I can do a limited amount of real cooking. In particular, I can do real rice and/or lentils, real quinoa, and steam-baked muffins. Or I can simmer a sauce while instant rice or small pasta reconstitutes in the freezer bag cozy (a Reflectix envelope, not shown).

My GSI insulated mug my Melitta coffee filter, and the stove all nest inside the pot.

As you can see, I've been using this stuff for a while.

[rstms]

That does have some miles on it...must work well.

[zelph]

Trail Designs has the best of the best kits. Go with them, and don't look back

[q-tip]

SOTO stove, Olicamp cookpot, best combination I have come up with

[xokie]

http://lawsonequipment.com/Backpacking-Grills-c129/

[hikehunter]

Well...now....when it comes to fire from a few sticks inside a can or some stones most anyone can do that....

alci stoves are a different ballgame as is the canister fuel stoves...

where are you going and when.... is it ice and snow at 10k plus feet ?? at Ice water Springs in the GSMNP and it is 20deg. with a 15 mph wind??

different types of stoves work in strange ways in different places....in different types of weather....

You can always get wood to burn....as long as you got oxyagen.

The "jet boil" works well for most hikes in the cont. US.
Alci stoves can work very well in high elevation as well as in the wind....(wind screens may be needed).

Practice and research... that is the best thing.....

Find what is best for you...for where you are going.... "try and maybe error" ....


there are hundreds of youtube vids about stoves....look and learn some are good ...some are better..

GOOD LUCK...fining what you like best.

[Odd Man Out]

SOTO stove, Olicamp cookpot, best combination I have come up with

q-tip. That's what I wanted to do. Do you have the Olicamp with the heat exchanger? And which Soto stove? With that heat exchanger, I worry that the pot supports have to be wide enough to reach the perimeter of the exchanger. It is difficult to tell from the published specs. BTW, the dimension specs on the SOTO web page are wrong. I e-mailed the company and their support people from Japan e-mailed me right back. Nice customer service. Nevertheless, it would be nice to hear first hand from a user about this combination.

[Andy P]

I had a great summer using the jetfoil titanium.

[Damn Yankee]

We used the MSR Whisperlight in the Sierras and it was awesome. If your looking for lightweight alchy stove, you can go with the Evernew Appalachian set or you can try the Trangia 27-2UL which has all the pots you need.

[zelph]

[QUOTE=fastfoxengineering;1907647

So my research has led me to the Caldera Cone Ti-Tri Sidewinder with Toaks 900ml pot and modified starlyte stove. I'm about to pull the trigger on this setup. I feel its everything I need/want in a cook set.

I have not really found any other systems that are competitive with the CC setup. The Ever new Appalachian set is the only other one but I have not read good things. I've already crossed that one off the list of possibilities.

Any other options out there before I go ahead with the CC? Anything I should know about it? I feel as if I need to do more research especially with all the options it comes with. But, that's why I'm here asking.

Regards[/QUOTE]

Did you get the Caldera Cone system?

[horsefarm]

interested to hear the answer as well. considering the same kit as my diy stuff is slowly showing its shortcomings

[freightliner]

I have tried so many stows that now I have a box full of Stowes and the thing I keep going back to is my old faithful Tangia stove and MSR kettle. The stove and the pot stand all fit nicely right into the kettle making a very small camp kitchen. There are two reasons I keep going back to the stove one is I can simmer which is nice for rice and lentils and and noodles and when I'm done cooking I can put it out and save the alcohol for later. I don't have to measure or guess how much alcohol I need I just fill it up and use whatever needed and cap the rest for later. Yes she is a couple ounces heavier then everybody else but she's worked in sub zero weather all the way up to hundred degree weather and never failed me. There is one more reason to you can find alcohol from Georgia to Maine with no problems. The one thing I find people who have canister stove is before you know it you have two cans in your pack one is half-empty and one is in reserve.