Used an alchol stove for the first time last weekend. Was a bit confusing mainly with the fuel count necessary. Took 2 oz's to boil 16 oz's.
Was cold enough that the pond I went by had ice on the edges and the wind was pushing 20 mph at times. Another end that is going to take some getting used to is no sound and the fact the flame can't be seen. Had to refuel and relight once.
I can't figure out why carry all these stoves that take up so much room. I used an esbit and it worked great. a tenth of the space of these stoves plus it heated water and would even boil the water. So it took a while longer. All I had was time.
I got my trail name (FarmerChef) for cooking crab chowder one night on the trail. When I go, I take my DIY penny stove and have actually prepared the above eggs from actual in the shell eggs in a nonstick pan. Just to up the ante, I dug a can of cinnamon rolls out of my pack and made 'em up like flapjacks that same morning. Mmmmm. The simmer ring on my alky allows me to cook food just like I do at home. I can even bake cakes on mine but that's a story for another time...
I've had some fun with a Jetboil Sol Al - it is very fast. But I gave it to my son. Why? Partly because it was his birthday, partly because he's always in a hurry, and partly because the Jetboil just isn't my style.
The Trangia always works. I don't have to babysit it. I can fry and simmer if I want to. It won't break because I step on it.
All I do is FB cook anymore, and the Jetboil certainly is the fastest water-boiling setup I've ever used. But speed means less to me than reliability. I own a Whitebox and a bunch of Trangias. Even though the WB is much lighter, I find myself carrying a Trangia setup most of the time. I dunno, maybe I'm just getting old
Soda can hombre.
Alcohol you can get just about any where in the world but what I call gas cylinders change in just about every country - so almost impossible to buy the right standard canister for the cooker you take. After being caught out a couple of time I always now use alcohol, its no different to cook with but you do need a safty container for the fuel and its all a bit heavy - also be careful its out as the flame is not very visible and you can get a nasty burn or start a major blaze!
I did purchase the pan for the JetBoil. The heat exchanger works well. However, the moment you take it off the heat, the heat exchanger helps it to cool down faster.
For that reason, I use the provided adapter for my other pots and pans instead.
In this manner, the JetBoil works reasonably well for cooking. However, I limit that use to car camping or Rest Stops on a long-distance drive.
Most of the time, I use the JetBoil for boiling water for hot coffee at Rest Stops.
As I wrote earlier, I only take it backpacking if I have all lightweight or ultralightweight gear. Then, I take no other cookware, limiting all my cooking to Freezer bag Cooking.
I have used my jetboil for years and is normally better in colder conditions than my alcohol stoves. Although so far this year, due to the mild winter, i have been using the Evernew Titanium Alcohol stove.
I have been using my Etowah alcohol stove for five years now, but wondered if the jet boil would be better. Then I checked the weight of each with the fuel and found that the alcohol stove was more to my liking for the weight, but the jet boil could be controlled for simmering and different cooking methods.