Eventually arrived from AliExpress,
A nod to this post Stainless steel, titanium or blue steel cookware suitable for hiking and where to buy
BRS 3000T stove
1100ml pot
300ml pan/ lid
What can I say that’s not positive?
Well that’s simple titanium transfers heat quicker than anything else on the planet. When heating, the handles are the same temperature as whatever’s inside the pot - so pouring is an issue - expect foul language when I’m making my morning coffee!
I have since tried putting “heat shrink” over the handles but I doubt that’ll help much!
I initially brought it as a back up being so small it can go in anywhere but having used it a couple of times I can see it being reliable.
For a sense of size these pics summit up perfectly the stove is absolutely tiny it weighs an advertised 25g - at sea level that works out to nearly 26g! The pot set and stove less than 200g. There’s even a handy heavy mesh net which increases the weight!
Now this thing has a rates heat power of XXX thinggy’s I can’t remember, but what I can say is that it’s an absolute bomb delivering a bucket load of heat at full blast and makes a racket (spoiler alert not good for trying to be discrete) and pumps out the flame at the pot so much so that with this small pot I need to turn the power down as it’s being wasted with no extra heating. I think that with one of those heat exchange pots it wound be magical. Ive got one but not tried it on this yet.
On the subject of turning down the power you can, and it really can simmer cook food! Wow
I was kind of worried that the support fins (feet) were going to melt and the 900ml of boiling water would spill on me so I tried to grasp the pot handles and steady it - this is where I learned about titaniums Hades-like ability to transfer heat. Scorched fingers withdrawn the fins diddnt melt or warp or bend - it all remained stable.
I’ve kept all my stoves over the last 30 years except the rusty brass pressure stove that exploded on me and those stupid solid fuel folding stoves you get on basics in the rat packs.
This gives you a sense of size - To think the Coleman 442 “feather” was the ultralight back in the 90’s - I still use that hand grenade its especially useful when camping on a motorbike as it shares fuel, Ive done never run out of fuel with it yet on up to 6day hikes, (Yes it needs some polishing!)
Left to right:
BMS 3000 T (with 1100ml and 300ml pot set.) can you see it?
Firemaple 103
Firemaple 108
Coleman 442
MSR Windburner Duo 1.8L
Must say that all have been (ab)used over the years and each has a special place.
The MSR Windburner Duo being ideal for my family or small groups.
The Petrol Coleman 442 being for the motorbike camping sharing the same fuel, I call it the hand grenade obviously much heavier and uses a liquid fuel that is pressurised but it if the fastest cooker Ive experienced so far.
The Firemaple 108 for larger pots where stability is important specifically with the GSI Silicon Heat Exchange pot. (Ive bent the supports in a bit so it fits inside the heat exchange portion) It also fits neatly under a potpie pot, and simmers, plus has its own pixie ignitor
The Firemaple 103? Well truthfully its days are numbered, if the BMS performs as I expect it will in the field then the 103 has been made redundant! (I’ve only boiled 7l of water through the BMS so far and I will take the 103 as a back up) But Im absolutely getting a spare BMS.
I will do a timed boil of 800ml of water in the same pot (excluding the MSR Windburner) to identify which boils the fastest, unfortunately I dont have a kitchen scales so cant measure the weight of gas used (which might be more important.)
On the subject of light weight and cheap - you know the very expensive Nalgene bottles that everyone swears by?
Well the “Return for Deposit” 1.5L coke bottles are simply brilliant they are not affected by boiling water, take an absolute beating and are extremely cheap - I carry two, one with a Source https://sourceoutdoor.com/product/convertube/ adapter on it and the other closed off, its a great way to ensure youre hydrating enough and to monitor how much water youve got. Plus if its cold - fill with boiling water, put into two socks and put against your sleeping bag: - toasty
Tent wise I have come across four reasonably priced ones: and settled on one (Maybe)
-
Nature Hike Spire (Minarette) this is about 1.4kgs is a Square Flysheet Hiking pole tent, with a rectangular sleeping area, but it also has a triangular area with an access zip Pictured) that sort of curves around the pole 15D Silicon coated nylon in a rescue me Orange flysheet:
This I’ll be using on the Kruger trail, well see how it goes! - Lanshan 1 (230cm version) Rectangular space single hiking pole tent Great quality materials single entrange at under 1 kg it is the lightest, make sure you get the more recent 230cm long one. Love the Khaki flysheet
- Geer Top Pyramid 1 pax 1.4kg but using 2 hiking poles is significantly more stable than the Lanshan or NH Spire in any winds. Its a simple rectangle sleeping area which opens both sides, made from really high quality materials
- Lanshan 2 a traditional A frame style of tent using 2 hiking poles, also extremely light weight, and 2 pax is light!
On the Lanshan tents Id say avoid the [“Pro” versions]( Lanshan 2 ) which are lighter single wall tents, and use a stronger double sided silicon coated material that is not waterproof treated on the seams (you need to do it yourself) But the biggest issue is that single wall design will have much more condensation and worse - any night time predators, will be able to look under the “flysheet” through the mesh and see you clearly, I cant think of anything that would entice a leopard interest than that!
Lastly (my Cumulus XLite 300 sleeping bag arrived No I dont have big hands:
Man I’m impressed, like really properly impressed! Its made with a “Artistic” material inside and out which is apparently the lightest Down proof material at 19gm2 What I can say is that it doesn’t feel weak at all and it is silky smooth comfy!
My previous Down experience has been with 650loft, its filled with 900 loft down its remarkable how it compresses into a bag not much taller than a toilet roll! but lofted out, its ridiculously lofty. This is next level stuff!
Its also quite roomy, more-so around the shoulders than my Deuter Dreamlite 500 but noticeably tighter around the legs where the mummy shape comes in - If you cross your legs you get a bit of spread feeling! nice hood, and different types of chord for the hood closure, a nice touch for personalising how you want it fitted.
Obviously a baffle on the 3/4 length zip, that didn’t get caught, (I am babying it at the moment) Warmth factor? Pretty darn impressive, cant wait to properly test it out on a miserably cold night. I should point out that as down compresses so much, when youre lying down the compressed bottom part offers less thermal value than Synthetic bags, so a ground pad with a thermal rating is more important
All in all, aside from the weight reduction, my bag has found so much extra space with these miniaturisation’s I could get away with a significantly smaller bag, Now a 65l is feeling empty!
I will update with the boil times once Ive had an opportunity to do so. I will also feed back on the Kruger trail experiences with this stuff towards the end of May
