Solid fuel burner?

[Dan_K]

Saw this on the Class Ohlson website. There's a shop down the road from me. Anyone tried one out?


I thought I'd go and have a look at this, and managed to find the empty shelf where they were stocked.

Ditto. I work in Croydon and called in there on Friday to find an empty shelf. I'll try again next week and see if they can order one in for me.

[TimO]

Saw this on the Class Ohlson website. There's a shop down the road from me. Anyone tried one out?

I thought I'd go and have a look at this, and managed to find the empty shelf where they were stocked.

Ditto. I work in Croydon and called in there on Friday to find an empty shelf. I'll try again next week and see if they can order one in for me.

Bugger.  You're not allowed to go in there before I do.

I can't be arsed to get them to order one in.  If they've got them in stock I'll throw a tenner their way, but I'm not that enthusiastic about it!

[peevafred]

Any reasons against the solid fuel burners?

You might want to work for the MOD and explain why the Armed forces use Hex burners and have been using them for at least 50 years.
Yeah, they're fooking 'orrible.  They'll cover all your pans in soot and shite.  They'll stink out your kit and they don't even work very well.

As something of a stove nerd I reckon that the Trangia mini is a dead good off the shelf solution.  You might also want to consider a White Box stove or even a home made pop can stove.

My favourite meths cooker is my Tatonka stainless Trangia clone, teamed up with a Clikstand and a tall pot.  You can make half a litre of meths last well over a week if you don't drink too much tea...

[Charlotte]

Squaddies use hexy stoves because squaddies are ridiculously tough on kit.  Specifically, they lose and break stuff all the time, so whatever you give them needs to be simple, cheap and plentiful.  My Clickstand wouldn't last five minutes in the hands of Private Klutz.

Also, you have to assume that your average squaddie is as thick as shite, so if you can limit the instructions to "unfold, set on fire", you're onto a winner 

[ScumOfTheRoad]

Talking about squaddies, if you browse ARRSE as I sometimes do, Jetboils seem very popular.
As you say Charlotte, hexamine blocks are issued, but those squaddies who buy their own kit seem to favour the Jetboil.

Never having been in a foxhole in Afghansitan, I am of course likely to be talking out of my ARRSE.

[rogerzilla]

Squaddies also use Coleman Peak 1 stoves like mine.  They run them on paraffin (mine was army surplus and ONLY came with a paraffin jet so I had to buy a white gas jet) and use hand sanitising gel to pre-heat them.

[Charlotte]

Squaddies also use Coleman Peak 1 stoves like mine. 

Not if they're infantry 

[Wascally Weasel]

Squaddies use hexy stoves because squaddies are ridiculously tough on kit.  Specifically, they lose and break stuff all the time, so whatever you give them needs to be simple, cheap and plentiful.  My Clickstand wouldn't last five minutes in the hands of Private Klutz.

Also, you have to assume that your average squaddie is as thick as shite, so if you can limit the instructions to "unfold, set on fire", you're onto a winner 

We used to have loads of those kicking around the house - my dad, being an inveterate hoarder, probably still has a few kicking about, likewise the rather good little folding tin-openers.

[Charlotte]

P38s!

There have been times that I have been The Saviour Of The Whole World in the eyes of fellow campers for having one of those little pieces of steel in my bag.

[mark]

P38s are excellent, one of the better ideas the US army ever had.

[peevafred]

Squaddies use hexy stoves because squaddies are ridiculously tough on kit.  Specifically, they lose and break stuff all the time, so whatever you give them needs to be simple, cheap and plentiful.  My Clickstand wouldn't last five minutes in the hands of Private Klutz.

Also, you have to assume that your average squaddie is as thick as shite, so if you can limit the instructions to "unfold, set on fire", you're onto a winner 

You shouldn't assume any such thing.

[Tewdric]

Squaddies use hexy stoves because squaddies are ridiculously tough on kit.  Specifically, they lose and break stuff all the time, so whatever you give them needs to be simple, cheap and plentiful.  My Clickstand wouldn't last five minutes in the hands of Private Klutz.

Also, you have to assume that your average squaddie is as thick as shite, so if you can limit the instructions to "unfold, set on fire", you're onto a winner  

Bit of a stereotype isn't it?  I didn't think you were into that sort of thing.  

In any case, Coleman Peak One naptha stoves have been standard squaddie issue for arctic conditions for years, and they are hardly simple or robust.  They are supplied in a metal case to protect them from being thrown out of helicopters in rucksacs etc etc

<EDIT> posted before reading the last page!

[Charlotte]

Squaddies use hexy stoves because squaddies are ridiculously tough on kit.  Specifically, they lose and break stuff all the time, so whatever you give them needs to be simple, cheap and plentiful.  My Clickstand wouldn't last five minutes in the hands of Private Klutz.

Also, you have to assume that your average squaddie is as thick as shite, so if you can limit the instructions to "unfold, set on fire", you're onto a winner 

Bit of a stereotype isn't it?  I didn't think you were into that sort of thing.   

I'm sure that the vast majority of Our Boys And Girls are, in fact, warrior poets; careful, sensitive and resourceful 

[Canardly]

Went into local military second hand supplier resplendent with uniforms, sporks, silva compasses, mock guns back packs et al. Do you have a p38?

Oh one of those old fashioned things no sorry......

[mark]

Went into local military second hand supplier resplendent with uniforms, sporks, silva compasses, mock guns back packs et al. Do you have a p38?

Oh one of those old fashioned things no sorry......

Still available, just have to know where to look:
http://www.rei.com/product/696009

In fairness to the folks at your military second hand supplier, the US military hasn't used canned field rations in quite a few years. I wonder how many people are even aware of the origins of the P38.

[TimO]

I found some P38s a year or two back, it was one of the more mainstream mail order camping stuff companies, possibly F&T or Cotswold.

[Deano]

The local army surplus store has a box of the things (as well as more guns, ammo, swords, crossbows and pointy stabby killy things than I feel is entirely necessary).

[Canardly]

Managed to get some copies from Blacks for the princely sum of £1.99 for two.

[Dan_K]

Saw this on the Class Ohlson website. There's a shop down the road from me. Anyone tried one out?
http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?id=158410255

Saw these today in my local Clas store (Croydon). Do seem to be good value for money but I refrained from buying as I think it's a little big (i.e the pots) for what I need. I'm going to pick up a mini trangia instead as it seems a better pack size to me and probably has a slight edge on quality.