The Truth About Alcohol Stoves - When, Where, Why and Why Not

I thought about buying an alcohol stove, looks like I’ll be sticking with canister stove. I live in the desert so it doesn’t get very cold here to worry about canister giving me a hard time. Matter of fact I think I’m going to break out my camp set and do a backyard camping trip lol

For long hikes, you may consider using an alchohol stove with a stainless steel windshield which - if the conditions are suitable - can be turned into a wood stove. Too bad the standard Trangia windshield is made of aluminium.

So much ignorance and utter lack of real experience and knowledge. You prove your lack of experience by using the Trangia base upside down! you must use a windbreak with one of these stoves & then you’ll not use substantial quantities of fuel at all. You speak falsely. I always use a cone windshield and I boil my water only slightly slower than my jetboil friends with little fuel consumption. It’s misrepresentation by folk like you that clearly do not have genuine experience. I challenge you on this matter. I’ll fly to U.S. and we’ll do a real outdoor winter trip, around freezing or below, of your choosing. If I’m right then I’ll pay my expenses. If I’m right then you’ll pay my expenses. Challenge is on!
As for melting the fuel bottle, totally avoidable. Only a fool won’t check the stove is not burning before refuelling.
Next, simmering. Again utterly incorrect. You can’t state slow cooking and no simmering together. I use a Des Cattys stove with a cone windshield. I can eat a hot breakfast and heat my evening meal (not dehydrated or freeze dried) plus hot drinks for 5x day winter hike using an 8oz fuel bottle FOR TWO PEOPLE. Yes, you can also do that with a jet boil with a gas cylinder but I’ll always know exactly how much fuel I have and mine will work in sub-zero conditions when the jetboil has frozen.

Two things you failed to mention are the cost of a canister stove and the canister itself; i.e., they are relatively expensive. Alcohol burners are very inexpensive, as is alcohol. Secondly, availability of canisters when you run out of fuel. Sure, the canisters will be available on the AT (et al), but not in other places where hikers/campers go.

I made a cup of coffee on Pikes peak in minus ⁰f temps using a homemade alcohol stove...do that with isobutane. You can't 😂

What is he cooking that he used 8 days of fuel in 2 days? Hell, my Turbo Choke Hazard stove with simmer ring can and does boil 2 cups of water using 2 tablespoons of denatured alcohol.

Do you suffer from Photokeratitis hence the constant wearing of sunglasses?

I think you need to set it up with Trail Designs - Caldera Cone, which I hear greatly improves the efficiency of alcohol based stoves, .5 oz of alcohol can boil 2 cups of water, even with strong wind and within 5 mins.

I've been looking at the "Evernew 600ml UL Pot + Sidewinder Ti-Tri Bundle" at Trail Designs. I was sitting here thinking okay, today's the day, I'm going to buy it. But figured it would be good to watch a Luke review first. With your experience and thoughts in mind, I think I'll pass. I'll stick with with my Soto. Thanks!

There's a lot of bad and false info here. Alcohol stoves are great. It only takes 2 spoonfuls of fuel to cook for 10 minutes. A bottle of fuel that size will last you a week, - week and a half. Excelent for UL cause its so fuel efficient. Water comes to a boil in one minute. (Idk why you brought your grandma's giant kettle hiking, lol, that amount of water is gona take any stove half an hour to heat up). I recommend a max size of 700ml and usjng 500ml of water. It burns super clean when you use the right fuel, which is methylhydrate - 99.9% pure alcohol (not 70% rubbing alcohol which the off gas fumes are toxic). If the guy knew how to use his stove and what he was talking about it could have been a better video but he doesn't know what he's talking about .

Trangia makes a danister gas add on 12t5$ apx.

I always appreciate the simplicity and silence of an alcohol stove. I also like that I'm not wasting fuel or having to dispose of a spent canister when I'm through. They are my first choice in most short-ish backpacking situations. That said, when needed, I can take my pocket rocket. For example, I know there are places where burn bans are in place most of the time. And I'm always going to respect those restrictions! But in all, I don't mind the time it takes to boil water because I'm not in a hurry -- especially when the difference is typically just a few minutes. What it really comes down to, of course, is just plain personal preference.

I’m confused by your amounts of alcohol used. If 1 ounce of alcohol burns for 15 minutes, but you are using 4 ounces per day, are you cooking with it? Or just boiling water?

That's too much work. A simple twig fire will get water boiling within a couple of minutes and there's no need to bring fuel in or worry about conditions (wind, humidity, temperature, etc...). Oh yeah, and it's free and the supply is unlimited and the ashes nourish the ground.

From South Africa can you fly to another country with a canister stove ? If not are you guaranteed to be able to buy a matching cannister in your country of destination ?

Oz army Hexmine any day, no juice, hot as, clean, multiple uses,.. smelly yeah.. but worth it

Trangia fuel you can see you have some.gas canister you can get it wrong and run out ,that’s why Swiss army volcano comes along too😹

They are great for just what you said you can find the fuel anywhere they never break and light weight.
Time and use will help you adjust to using them for any situation. I keep a set for a backup to my jet stove.
I use them both at the same time sometimes 1 for oatmeal, jet stove for coffee.
☕️🏕️

So why was Luke flogging Swedish mess kits that run on alcohol stoves.

Turn on CC Closed Caption. The CC button reads Subtitles/closed captions unavailable. For those of us with hearing difficulties, CC is a major help understanding what you are saying. Thank you.

The trangia system was made and used in a country that is cold and windy. It helps if you put it together right

Any alcohol stove is good for a stealth burn when a wood fire can be seen. I wouldn't use it every day for cooking but again for a stealth burn yes.

Thanks for posting this. Each stove has their limitation and there's simply not a "one size fits all" approach to backpacking stoves and you presented that well here. There are too many voices out there pushing their favorite as the best, etc., etc. In the end, do your homework and figure out which one works for your situation. I've had a Svea 123 for decades and it's a tank that just works, but so does the Trangia. The canister stoves don't do so well in extreme cold, alcohol stoves are more temperamental in windy conditions, et cetera.

For SHTF/Prepping/emergency use alcohol stoves beat the pants off of gas canister stoves.
For camping, car camping, i use a Coleman white gas dual fuel stove and a Solo lite with either wood or its alcohol burner as a backup.

Maybe I can use it with my mini cast iron cooking set and enjoy slow cooking, while do other cool food preparations

It's just a tool...not about love...but I like the trangia since I can burn 70% in it and it is cheap.

Great video. I started with a Svea stove back in 1974 and have never looked back. That stove probably has more miles on it than my current truck. Simple, easy to use, few moving parts - it just works. Great 4 season stove. You can set it as low as you need it, or high enough to weld (jk).

Jesus God people. It's called wood. Try it. It's in abundance everywhere that humans go. If there's no wood? Don't go there!

Points well taken.

Good summary.
In my 55+ years of camping I have and continue to use white gas stoves, canister stoves, alcohol stoves, and twig stoves. To piggy back on your opinion, I like them all but don't necessarily love any of them. I pick the stove I use based on the situation I'm likely to be in.
This past summer I started a bike tour with a canister stove due to space and weight considerations. After a couple days I had had it with the racket it made while cooking. I wasn't in any hurrry to get meals prepared and I can manage fuel consumption pretty well with the use of pot kozzies. So, I sent for one of my alcohol set ups and used it for the rest of my trip. Did I need to resupply fuel? Yep, but it is easy to get fuel anywhere. Did fuel take up more space and add weight? Yep, but I had 4 panniers and a bicycle to carry it.
For that trip and what I needed a stove for, my minimal Trangia setup worked great. Would it be right for a backpacker? Maybe not, but it work well for me in that situation.
BTW, you had mentioned spilling alcohol and fire as a danger with alcohol stoves. That is true but an advantage of alcohol fuel flame it that they can be extiguished with water without causing the fire to spread like white gas might. While I have never had to put out an accidental fire with any of my stoves, I think being able to put out a fire with water is a benefit in the outdoors.

Alcohol is far better for travel.

100% agree. There is a time and place. But, brilliant stoves.

In terms of toxic emissions indoor, which is the safest way to go?

You could also dig a hole and drop it in, so no wind. They are not fuel efficient but at least they are dependable. It really does depend on the type of cooking you intend to do and support you have on a long walk, but I’ve had all sorts of problems with a gas stove, NEVER with an alcohol burner. My only advice would be to never carry it full of fuel as it can leak. Either way, have loads of fun ❤

No surprise they're banned in CA.

As a former scoutmaster I showed my scouts how to make these. They are easy to make and tend to work as well as purchased stoves. I had one scout spend a weekend building and testing several models to find which ones were the ‘best’. He came back and showed the troop his prototypes and results! I prefer my pocket rocket for ease and speed. In sub zero temps the canister like my water filter is in my bag or in my inside pocket. Thank you for a great review!

I have never seen anyone use the Trangia windscreen in the way you are using it. I would recommend flipping the lower windscreen over on the T-25/27.This will ,allow more combustion air, change the pot height above the flame and greatly improve the system efficiency. I agree that the canister stove is more efficient for just boiling water, but I hate the waste(carrying out) of the empty steel canisters.

Luke. . .You are sooo brave giving the Alk-e's the truth about alcohol stoves!
No doubt they are all meeting as we speak to plan your demise!🤣🤣🤣
All the Best you Lone Wolf You! - D

P.S. For those Alk-e Stove purists,. . .if you really care about the environment you will capture and
pressurize your flatulence's to cook your Kale and curd's. . . As Martha Stewart used to say. . ."Its a good thing"! 🤣

Can you review the swiss m71 gel stove?

It's no wonder you use so much alcohol using your Trangia like that! The distance from the burner to the bottom of the pan is critical, and makes a huge difference to boil times. Also, when the system is used properly, it is effectively impervious to wind.

Excellent advice, totally agree 👍

I agree with everything you said. My biggest issues are the weight of the fuel and guessing the amount of fuel required for the specific type of food, the weather and even altitude. I definitely agree with the statement that the people that really like their alcohol stoves are the ones who made their own. This includes me lol

Disclaimer: most things are banned in Commiefornia

I think an alcohol stove just give off really nice vibes in general.

You can also use the alcohol as wound disinfectant, grease cleaner (wipe with alcohol + tissue instead of soap), and firestarter. Just gives it a kind of swiss knife feel as a fuel, which is something I like in regards of camping.

The only concerning downside is the safety issue. Just have to make sure nothing big would happen even if it spilled.

Can we run alcohol stoves on gasoline or crappy 10-15% pump gas? Best part of alcohol stoves is they can be made for free, with used tuna cans. Also alcohol isn’t the only fuel can be used. Alcohol doesn’t pump out deliciously fragrant smoke so if you’re wanting privacy it’s better than a rocket stove or camp fire. White gas stoves are the best because you can get cooking fuel for $2-$4 a gallon

Great content. thank you. Agreed.

Very helpful dead on review. One use I like for alcohol stoves us on a bike tour. Because the fuel is easy to find anywhere, even at gas stations, if you're on a long tour, on a bike, you can carry the extra fuel and easily get it when you run out. I wouldn't use it for a backpacking trip more that a few days. Too much fuel to carry.

Before anyone decides on not getting the Trangia alcohol stove, PLEASE watch the video by Vahid Cullsberg from 3yrs ago called " commentary on 'the Outdoor gear review of the Trangia alcohol stove '" for the "proper use" of this product and the system!

In your video you improperly used the product and gave your "opinion" of the system and its use without knowing how to correctly use it. There are many other videos that show correct use and the benefits to this product and system. I've seen some of your other videos and didn't see the lack of quality. I hope this video is an exception and not be be expected.