[chaunfa]

Hi,

If you check sporting goods shops in C.P. you might find Korean butane stoves. They take very little space and will heat water, noodles, provide heat and all easily. They are reasonably inexpensive. Check places like cabelas for camping gear. They have magnesium fire starters (you file some shavings off with a knife and strike the knife at the other end to spark the filings into a hot flame, they are so hot that they will heat up damp wood to burn)...Bear Gryls uses them frequently in man versus wild. Since you travel to very cold places you can carry cotton wool soaked in petroleum jelly. This will make a great fire starter, provided you keep matches, lighters etc. with you.

Chaunfa

[Ushuaia]

Not sure if you found answer

1. Cabsons usually has 3 and 5 kg compact stoves
2. Any device which uses solid fuel are usually warmers and not burners
3. Since at high altitude air is rarified, cooking is tough
4. No point buying a Magnesium fire starter (Bear Grylls [man vs wild]), practical wisdom is in carrying matches (may not work due to wind) or better still carrying click starters (150 - 200), let me elaborate, firestarters look fancy but its a pain for novice folks, angle to flick, side to use and then material, transfer embers and so on
5. Buying a 5 KG compact is good, I carried it on numerous occasions and prepared basic food. It really works if you can ingeniously stop the beautiful cold mountain wind from wooing your flame
6. Best way to carry in a 4 wheeler is by putting the stove in a plastic bucket with old cloth as insulation between stove body and bucket, never put stove upside down as it puts pressure on stove neck connecting pipe to
7. Though most of the camping sites or shops will sell you these stoves, my practical experience says, unless you are a real loner, by second day you'll shed tears without company. But like acquired taste if you start liking it, you enter a club few from fairer sex want company. Most expedition or even trekking tour cooking is done on Gas, which our porter daju's carry with them.

Try it, its interesting, teaches a lot about yourself and shows a lot of character. After you've bin through let us know your view

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by Devil on Wheels

Another alternative you can consider is buying a Fridge. It keeps food well preserved.

What if you take a break for an hour or so. all that is inside the fridge will be back to normal? I guess its only useful when you are doing not stop drive

The best I have learned after going all these technique is Hot Water bottle.

Yes, when leaving from home or hotel, just ask to fill boiling hot water in the bottle/thermos, it will remain hot for 8-9 hours.

Keep some cup noodles with you. When hungry, just pour little hot water into the cup, keep it wrapped in some warm cap for 5-6 minutes. And you are done.

Simple, practical, cost effective and less messy.

And in any case as Tanveer mentioned, you can find at-least Maggi in remotest place of India

[Ushuaia]

Found similar device used by some french folks during Parvati Valley trek

Buy Campingaz CAMP'BISTRO Stove from Campingaz shop at Playgroundonline

Its available within India, and also the replacement cartridges can be bought from Adventure18 or this site, especially playgroundonline folks are quite helpful.

[trammway]

Cool topic here

I don't intend to do trips to carry stove with me, but I've got a necessary to have a portable stove at the farm. Hence I was looking around for a kerosene fueled stove and finally landed in the original western design of yester years. This stove is made of brass and weights lesser than 1kg and it can continuesly burn over 12 hours when the tank if filled with kerosene which is more than sufficient for any cooking.

Getting kerosene is not that difficult as you can get them in most of the villages and even in towns.

I must say that this kerosene stove was picked up from a scrap dealer while surfing for cycle parts and the stove was restored by Powertwin (my best friend and restorer of many vintage vehicles). Here are the pics that shows before and after pics of my perfectly working stove.




Other safer option for camping is to have a Electrical stove (hot plate) with a portable genset (fuel is petrol), best one is Honda EM650 (upto 450VA or watts)

[amitk26]

Hey saw a method of preparing french toast on discovery , Eggs and bread was wrapped in almunium foil and kept on head of SUV engine , Engine heat prepared the hot breakfast in 10 mts.

Originally Posted by trammway

Cool topic here

I don't intend to do trips to carry stove with me, but I've got a necessary to have a portable stove at the farm. Hence I was looking around for a kerosene fueled stove and finally landed in the original western design of yester years. This stove is made of brass and weights lesser than 1kg

This stove is still sold and used in countryside, but be careful while using it
If you pump in more air then needed it can throw jet of kerosene and cause serious injuries.
A better safer and more fuel efficient kerosene stove is the one which uses cotton wick one which burns clean and does not need air to be pumped.

Originally Posted by trammway

Other safer option for camping is to have a Electrical stove (hot plate) with a portable genset (fuel is petrol), best one is Honda EM650 (upto 450VA or watts)

Well electric heaters are 1Kw or higher so it may damage your 450 VA Genset

[bblost]

At a 129$ this does a little more than cook your food.
BioLite CampStove - BioLite Stove

It charges your iPhone

[recker_us]

Originally Posted by RX135

We have a tiny foldable device (can't call it a stove, but it claims itself to be one), which we have used in the past to heat up milk made from milk powder. Fuel for this, is a camphor like solid material.

I am not sure if it can generate enough heat to cook enough amount of noodles for an adult, but you can experiment with it at home beforehand.

A friend of mine from Delhi told me about these Solid Fuel Cakes available in stores which sell Army stuff. He used it for making tea and Maggi during his trek to Pindari glacier.

Personally, I have used a MSR Whisperlite stove.. runs on petrol and kerosene.. extremely efficient, very lightweight(less than 300gms) and burns pretty well with uniform nice blue flame even at low pressure conditions in High altitudes.. Though it costs a bomb, recently a friend of mine bought for $69 from an online site. He used my stove for 15 days solo trek to Lahaul/Ladakh where he used it several times at 4500m.
MSR WhisperLite International Backpacking Stove - Free Shipping at REI.com

[tsk1979]

Reviving this thread.
After I started this thread, I borrowed an ISI mark 2kg cylinder from Anupmathur.
It served us well.

So I have decided to buy a similar item.
Guess what, for 300-400rs I can get this including LPG. Only hitch?
There is no ISI mark on the cylinder, and it carries a sticker "Not for LPG".

Then for what? CNG?
I am now wondering is it possible to buy a 2kg LPG stove?

Other alternatively is to rent.
Rent = 200rs for 20 days + 300rs for small propane/butane cannister available at camping shops.

Buying - camping shops sell this for 1200rs. However, ebay.com has them for 6-8$.
I guess they are getting a huge margin.

But if I can get a normal ISI mark 2kg LPG cylinder it will be great. unfortunately, Kabsons has stopped making those, and I am not aware of any other reputed vendors. Do not want to go for something non ISI.

[wanderernomad]

Tanveer any pictures of the stuff you are talking about? Is it a stove which can be screwed onto a cylinder?

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by recker_us

A friend of mine from Delhi told me about these Solid Fuel Cakes available in stores which sell Army stuff. He used it for making tea and Maggi during his trek to Pindari glacier.

People in Bangalore searching for solid fuel cakes ( in local lingo , ask for tablet stove) can also try in a shop at Chamarajpet and this store is on the left side of the road ( coming from Uma talkies and after the traffic signal). My parents carry them when they go for piligrimages to Badrinath, Hrishikesh ...also heard that this is available in Gayathri stores in Jayanagar 4th Block and also 9th Block.

[mpksuhas]

Saw this in wildcraft side, very expensive compared to other options mentioned here http://www.wildcraft.in/Products/Wil...cid=CU00066789

[johy]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Saw this in wildcraft side, very expensive compared to other options mentioned here http://www.wildcraft.in/Products/Wil...cid=CU00066789

The Wildcraft cooker you have mentioned is not a normal cooker. They are ultra-light weight or lightweight and are directed to multi-day hikers/adventure trips where each ounce of extra weight will make a difference, both to the animal (possibly a mule/yak) carrying it or in your backpack. Thus the premium cost.

Having said that, the stoves in India for such purposes are expensive. A typically good Primus/Coleman stove in the US, of a better quality and lighter will cost less, $70 to $100 tops.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by johy

The Wildcraft cooker you have mentioned is not a normal cooker. .

Thanks for the info, thought the price due to better quality . However, what is the fuel used for that?

[johy]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Thanks for the info, thought the price due to better quality . However, what is the fuel used for that?

Most multi-day trek stoves will use multiple fuels like kerosene, petrol, gas, butane; in our settings we would normally use Kerosene as it is widely used.

I am not sure of the Wildcraft, but I am assuming it is a multifuel-using stove.