trangia westwind vs Mini

[flop]

Has anyone had experience with the Mini Trangia? The T-28 seems to offer a better windscreen then the westwind.. Although that is just from a few pictures I looked at.. Anyone have experience with both and can offer a little advice? Are there better alcohol stoves out there then the Trangia line?

Thanks!

flop

[highway]

The Trangia, at a cost of $20.00, gives you the stove, complete with burner, simmer- ring and screw-on cap and three-part stand. For a little more for the Trangia 28 you get the same complete stove, a lighter and more compact stand, pot, Teflon lined pan and potholder. The pan also serves as lid for the pot and it all packs into a compact package inside the pot. The weights of each component are below listed:


Trangia 28 WEIGHT
Burner, simmer ring, screw-on cap 3.84 oz
Stand 1.60 oz
Pot (.80 L) 3.20 oz
Pan (5 5/8” diameter) 2.72 oz
Pot Holder 0.64 oz
Total Weight 12.0 oz

Trangia West Wind
Burner, simmer ring, screw-on cap 3.84 oz
Stand 2.56 oz
Pot (.80 L) NA
Pan (5 5/8” diameter) NA
Pot Holder NA
Total Weight 6.40 oz



The water capacity of the aluminum pot with the Trangia 28 is 800 ml (3 1/3 cups or 2/3 cups less than 1 quart) and the Teflon lined pan is 5 5/8” diameter, somewhat smallish.

I normally use the West Wind with a MSR .85 L titanium kettle (4.32 oz) for cooking, slightly larger (and 1.60 oz lighter) than the pot which comes with the 28, and I find it almost to small. I have to exercise care when I stir most of the evening meals I cook. The MSR Kettle is taller and narrower than the 28 pot and I have observed that the flame licks around the outer edge, probably wasting some BTU’s into the air. The 28 pot is squatter, wider and so will better utilize all, or more, of the flame from the burner, giving perhaps a faster rate of boil. In my opinion anyway as I have not tested it yet.

The Trangia performance has been expounded upon in numerous other places. It is slower to boil but uses less alcohol doing so. It is only a few ounces heavier per day to carry than others, particularly the home-built ones, but for the extra 3 ounces or so in weight/day you get a stove with proven durability, one which may even outlast yourself. In other words, it will heat your water and food whenever you want it to. And, it simmers extremely well, using denatured alcohol like a frugal miser!

Good luck.

[flop]

Thank you highway! I couldn't ask for a better reply. .. although one last question. I have grown quite fond of the MSR titan kettle . . will the t-28 and stand nest inside it for travel? Does the westwind?

Thanks again!

flop

[highway]

Flop:
1. “….MSR titan kettle . . will the t-28 and stand nest inside it for travel?”

Yes it does; the stand and stove nests perfectly inside and saves you weight over the heavier West Wind stand



2. “Does the westwind?”

It does not. It is a 3-piece aluminum stand, in 3 separate pieces that, by way of slots, come together for the stand, which supports the Trangia stove and holds your pot above it. When the pieces are separated, just cut and fitted aluminum, laying on top of each other, they measure 3” wide X 5 ¾” long by 1/8” thick, and will not nestle inside your Titan Kettle. I wrap a rubber band around the three pieces and stuff it inside my food bag with the kettle and stove, but am always wondering if the stand may rub a hole in my bag. Hmmmmmmmmm.....

Perhaps what you appear to be leaning to is the better choice. Pay $30.00 and get the T-28, use it with the lighter stand in your kettle, and you still have a nifty pot and pan for whatever.

Another advantage of the Trangia is that it has a fuel reservoir which will hold, filled 1/4" from the top, with 4 weight ounces of alcohol, so you don't have to measure out alcohol each time you want to use it. Just unscrew the top and light! When cooking stops, extinguish with simmer ring, let it cool and screw on the screw-on cap with the rest of your alcohol still in its reservoir. Nifty! The manufacturer states that it should be filled no more than 2/3 from the top but I stopped that shortly after I got it and began using all the space. I detected little, if any, difference in fuel consumption whether the reservoir was full or near empty. Filled to the top it cooks enough for me for three days without taking a separate container of alcohol.

And I used to carry a heavy whisperlite and then a heavier Dragonfly with heavy aluminum bottle and pump!



Check out Trangia's site:

http://www.trangia.se/english/inledande/inledframe.html

[SGT Rock]

I would get the Westwind, make a pot stand from hardware cloth, and a windscreen from an oven liner. My experience is you get the same performance from the Trangia, but cut the weight to 4.8 ounces. If you make a simmer cap from a soda can bottom instead of using the Trangia's (very close in performance) you can cut another 0.8 ounces off.

[flop]

Highway -

Just picked up the t-28 and am putting it through its paces. I will post a full review in a few weeks after a field test or three.. Only major thing I have noticed is that rubbing alcohol is a last resort fuel. The standard 70% Isopropyl burns sooty. I added 5, 10 and finally 15% water to the mixture and still ran into problems with soot. On the other hand denatured alcohol with a 5% addition of water works very well.

Thanks for your help I am in love with this little stove!

Sgt - It took a 6-pack but I've finally made a simmer cap that works well enough to replace the stock one. Thanks!


flop

[highway]

Dont use Isopropyl(rubbing) alcohol unless you absolutely dont have any other choice. It has water(40%), takes longer, soots everything up. Go to hardware store and get denatured alcohol(almost no water) works great. Up north you can get something like Heet, for unfreezing gas lines I think, but here in Florida I dont imagine its a heavy seller and I havnt triewd to find it! Every hardware store, though, has denatured alcohol.

And dont use drinking alcohol either, unless as a last resort. It want soot but you cannot buy it anywhere close to the 200 proof (100 % pure)that denatured is so its going to take close to twice as long with 151 proof rum(75.5 % pure) or 153 proof everclear (76.5 % pure)than 100% denatured.

I still use the original simmer ring for simmering and close it to shut the stove off, saving and conserving what alcohol remained in the reservoir. That feature is one of the Trangia's strong points so whatever you use make sure you can extinguish the flame with it. That way you just fill it up every 3 days instead of every time you want to use it. I have made camp in the evening after having walked in rain and sleet, body trembling with cold, beginnings of hypothermia and the last thing I would want to do would be to measure out a tiny thimbleful of alcohol with my shaky hands to put into a dry stove. I often top mine off in the mornings after using it so it will be ready in the evening if weather and I turn to s***!

[Peaks]

What a waste of good alcohol

[highway]

Peaks:
I agree. I don't usually admit it to everyone but I usually take a small Platypus filled with vodka. A little taste is great and helps me snooze in the evening when I am lieing there in pain, with body aches and burning feet. I just have to make sure I don't confuse the cooking and drinking alcohol!