Has anyone tried this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130465484010?

Any feedback? Is it sturdy? Flimsy? Well made? Does it fit well together?

Thanks!

HJ

Trangia came out with something that is very similar and looks like it provides more of a wind screen. It is 2oz heavier, but I think it might be more functional.

Here is a review.

http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?26940-Trangia-Triangle-Stove-Review

From the EBay site - "The weight is approximately 2-1/2 oz"


This "Ultralight" stand would give very little wind protection, which is essential for alcohol burners to function efficiently, in even a gentle wind. Otherwise the heat is literally blown away.


A Trail Designs Aluminum Cone is about 1.5 ounces and gives 100% wind protection, and by enclosing the pot provides excellent heat exchange.

Edited by greg23 on 02/02/2011 15:29:23 MST.

I'm not a big fan of either design. They both look unnecessarily heavy and complex.

The eBay pot stand is heavy (2.5oz) and all it does is support your pot. There are much lighter and simpler ways to do this, like buying alcohol stove with an integrated pot stand.

The Trangia pot stand/windscreen thing is way too heavy (4oz) and it looks like it does a poor job as windscreen since it doesn't even come up as high as the bottom of the pot. I imagine you'd get poor real world performance and fuel economy with one of these unless you used a proper windscreen as well.

Simplicity, support, stability and weight of my cook system is an area I've been thinking about a lot lately. I really like the stability of the Caldera Cone, but I don't like how it doesn't store in my pot. I have one of the shorter Caldera Cones (ie. ULC or Sidewinder) so it fits into my pot, but then I need to carry two stakes (8g ea) which adds a significant amount of weight and complexity. For me, these two stakes aren't multi-purpose because I want to be able to cook and have my shelter set up at the same time. Also, stakes usually don't fit into the pot, so you have to go digging around for your stake bag which is unnecessary hassle.

My conclusion is that the best setup is one where the stove functions as the primary pot weight support, but the windscreen hugs the pot to add much needed stability. So essentially you'd use a short Caldera Cone (ie. ULC) but without the stakes and instead the pot would rest it's weight on the stove. A nice low stove (ie. Zelph Starlyte) is ideal.

IMO, Trail Designs should consider doing something like this. All they would have to do is add a few grams worth of a pot support onto their 12-10 stove and then users of the Sidewinder and ULC systems could ditch the stakes. It would be a lighter and simpler system, while still retaining excellent stability.

Edited by dandydan on 02/02/2011 16:31:42 MST.

The Vargo Triad stove is also a stand.

With the alky butner removed it's a great solid fuel stove. (Two tabs at a time is best.)

BUT, to conserve heat for faster cooking times I always use my MSR roll-up aluminum foil windscreen.

Quote - "My conclusion is that the best setup is one where the stove functions as the primary pot weight support, but the windscreen hugs the pot to add much needed stability. So essentially you'd use a short Caldera Cone (ie. ULC) but without the stakes and instead the pot would rest it's weight on the stove."

Thanks, Dan, I've been wrestling with trying to figure out how to use a cone, yet still fit it into the pot for storage. I didn't even think about using a stove that would also support the pot. Duh! Problem solved!

My favorite for a MYOG pot stand is aluminum flashing with a couple Ti stakes to hold the pot up. You get windscreen and pot stand in one and the dual use of the stakes. Easy to make.


http://zenstoves.net/PotStands.htm has the good stuff

Edited by dwambaugh on 02/02/2011 15:48:40 MST.

This is getting a bit off topic, but I've recently been thinking that the Zelph Starlyte is an amazing alcohol stove.



Here's why I've got really high hopes for the Starlyte:

1) It has an integrated pot support
2) It's really short (1.75" tall inc. pot stand) so you can use a shorter windscreen (lighter, more packable)
3) It's filled with wicking material that eliminates spills and makes it easy to light in the winter (big plus right now).
4) 16.4g

This low height is particularly key because:
1) A shorter windscreen can be used, saving 0.25-0.5oz
2) This short windscreen has a better chance of fitting in your pot, so you may not need to choose between good windscreen performance and good pack-ability.

I'm using the 850ml MSR Titan Kettle right now as my solo pot and it's 3.4" tall. Most 700-900ml pots are also of similar height (3-4"). Even though my pot is 3.4" tall, I can only fit about a 3" tall windscreen in the pot because the lid takes up some space inside. If I used a different stove at about 2.5-3" of height, then in order to fit the windscreen into my pot it would need to be so short that it would barely reach the bottom of the pot when I'm cooking, meaning sub par wind protection. With the 1.75" tall Starlyte, my 3" tall windscreen (18g) rises up the sides of the pot by 1.25" which gives me decent wind protection. The whole package is very light, simple, offers good wind protection and it packs very well.

The obvious improvement with this system would be to use a cone shaped windscreen instead of a traditional shape to improve pot stability. I plan to do this once I grab some more ti foil.

Edited by dandydan on 02/02/2011 17:15:25 MST.

Thanks all for all the replies. I learn a lot constantly and don't mind at all when a thread goes "off topic" (although hopefully the topic does get some consideration too).

I should have clarified what I wanted the stand for. I want it for winter use with a Borde stove.



I need something that I can slide the Borde under/into and then put the pot on top. The one I referenced would work if inverted, but I wonder if it can handle the heat of a white gas stove. I think that it probably can, but I was wondering if anyone had tried it. It is a little heavy though, isn't it?

HJ

The aluminum flashing with tent stakes would work great-- just nibble the hole for the fuel lines. This is a project you can tackle with a pair of kitchen shears and a hole punch.

You could probably fashion a windscreen/pot stand similar to what is seen at the beginning of this video. The simple V design could be pointed into the wind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeujsvY1N9s

Something like this V-stand I made for a Firefly stove would work well. It was pretty easy to make. FYI, the piece of aluminum tubing that the wires fit into (the "V" part) came from True Value hardware.

I go pretty cheap & easy with my windscreen. Unglamorous tin foil. :).

My favorite for a MYOG pot stand is aluminum flashing with a couple Ti stakes to hold the pot up. You get windscreen and pot stand in one and the dual use of the stakes. Easy to make.

Doesn't a Borde require a 1" armor plate windscreen at least 24" tall by 24" wide. ;-)

Actually, I prefer four feet of reinforced earthworks with overhead cover, but man that doesn't pack light. ;)

HJ