Help me find my go-to cookset

[Starchild]

...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. ....

I've had good luck doing these things with the Starlyte burner by making a restrictor plate which by not centering it can reduce the flames to a simmer if needed. I'm sure it is be lighter and smaller then your Tangia.

[brancher]

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...

Agree. I've used a bunch of 'em - Trangia, Jetboil, Toaks Ti, Snow Peak Ti, etc, and even considered a CC setup last year. After many years doing this, my go-to is still my Coleman 1L anodized pot wiht a homemade flashing lid and a small ul canister stove. It was cheap and comes with a small nested pot setup inside (I think the inside one is about 500-600 ml, very minimalist). It came from Walmart, but what it lacks in brand-snobbery is more than made up in its performance and utility! I also cook in my pot, using Harmony House and Ramen (or somethign I throw together), and my anodized setup works extremely well.

But I am lusting after the Olicamp XTS these days for all the reasons listed above.

Cheers.

[Minos]

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

Regards

Since I am in the same boat as you are so to speak, may I ask why you elected the "Sidewinder" and not the "Fissure" from Trail Designs (I believe TD should have called it "fission" instead of "fissure" since they have a "Fusion" one...). I believe the "Fissure" might be more space-efficient in the pack due to its ability to store more stuff in the pot but on the other hand it is probably not as widely tested by UL backpackers as the Sidewinder design.

Just curious.
(I am trying to substantiate my Fissure preference but I am lacking definitive arguments. So I am looking for some!)

Minos

[Connie]

I like my Starlyte. It fits in the Vargo 750 Sierra, along with my Snow Peak short spork and scrubbie for cleanup.

I have had the others: alcohol stove, wood stove, canister stove... windscreen, Caldera cone or clone specially made for my Vargo 750 Sierra.

The Vargo 750 Sierra and Caldera clone is my favorite.

Titanium is worth every penny. And alcohol fuel burns clean.

The only other stove I consider is the Soto canister stove.

Wood burning is only fun for camping, as far as I am concerned.

I do not want the mess and odor on my best backpacking gear.