Vargo Triad Titanium Alcohol/Fuel Tab Stove

Weighed On Our Scales » 1.06 oz (30 g)

Catalog No. VAR50061

Vargo Triad Titanium Stove

Made from ultra-lightweight quality titanium, the Triad by Vargo is a long awaited advancement in alcohol stove design and functionality. Using alcohol stoves with small burner hads always been problematic because few of them include an integrated pot stand. That's why we like the BrassLite and Vargo alcohol stoves. The Vargo Triad Titanium Alcohol Stove takes alcohol stove design a step further, for those that like to cook with larger pots, or who want additional stability out of their alcohol stove. Fold-out pot supports and legs make the Vargo Triad Titanium Alcohol Stove supremely stable on uneven ground, and capable of securely holding both small mugs and large pots.

Weight: 1.06 oz. (28 grams)
Burner Diameter: 60mm
Diameter when pot support is open: 85mm
Fuel Capacity: 1.75 oz.
Collapsed height: 27mm
Boil Time: 7-8 minutes (1.5 cups)
Burn Time on Full Burner: 30 minutes

Caveats and Tips

Myth #1. The Vargo Triad is impossible to run with its burner below its full fuel capacity, and thus, is impractical for the ultralight backpacker who cooks water volumes less than a pint. The result of this is the inability to prime the stove when the burner is below its full capacity, since priming requires that fuel be pooled in the center depression of the burner.

Fact: With a burner that is less than full, simply drop a few drops of alcohol into the pressfit burner seam around the edge of the stove. Wetting the seam with fuel (this requires less than 1 g of alcohol) is sufficient to preheat the burner in moderate conditions. In colder (subfreezing conditions), the burner can be preheated easily by using priming paste in the same location, or by placing a few grams of alcohol into a metal bottle cap below the stove burner.

Myth #2. The stove spits alcohol and flares violently after a few minutes, indicating that the pressfit seam is a poor design.

Fact: Dude, tone down the priming enthusiasm. You have too much fuel in the stove (creating a pool of fuel in the burner depression that is too high in volume) or you have primed it too hot. Your windscreen may be retaining too much heat while allowing too much air, causing the stove to burn too hot.

Myth #3. The stove blows out in the wind because the flame power is too low.

Fact: Use a windscreen, even a simple one made out of aluminum foil is better than nothing. And get out of the wind - alcohol stoves are notoriously sensitive to windy conditions. Make sure to leave a few holes in the bottom of the windscreen for fresh air to aid combustion. Moreover, don't put too many holes in the bottom or you'll overcombust the fuel, the stove will run too hot, and your pot won't boil, or worse, the stove will get too hot and flare up. Windscreenin' is an art, man, and just because it works for one stove doesn't mean it will work for another. Experiment!

Myth #4. The Vargo Triad Stove is perfect!!

Fact: Nice try, buddy. Nothing is perfect.

Results of BackpackingLight.com Boil Tests

Description of Test: We used an Antigravity Gear 1L cookpot with lid, a double-layer aluminum foil (standard weight Reynolds kitchen type) wind screen that left 1/2" of clearance around the pot perimeter and encased the pot height to within 1/2" of its top, with 1/2" triangular cutouts in the bottom spaced at 1" intervals, for oxygen intake. After adding 1.00 (+/- 0.05 oz) of alcohol (100% ethanol) to the Triad, we immediately lit the stove, started the timer at 0:00 (m:ss), placed the pot on it, and encased the pot with the wind screen, a process that took about 10-15 seconds. Conditions: no wind, ambient temperature: 66 °F, elevation 4,750', water temperature 40 °F. Boil time was calculated as the time at which steam was pouring out of the pot at the lid perimeter - i.e., a heavy, rolling boil. The stove was immediately extinguished (by blocking out oxygen by placing a large pot over it, and reweighed to calculate fuel consumption.

Results:

Vargo Triad Titanium Stove:

• Boil Time, 16 oz of 40 °F water: 7 min 45 sec
• Fuel Consumed: 0.65 oz

Compare to (using the same test) Brasslite Turbo F Alcohol Stove

• Boil Time, 16 oz of 40 °F water: 7 min 00 sec
• Fuel Consumed: 0.53 oz

Summary comparison of Brasslite Turbo F Alcohol Stove to Vargo Triad Titanium Stove:

Both of these stoves are solid performers for bringing cold water to a boil. Both require the use of a wind screen to maximize their performance. Both stoves are compact and very well made. The primary differences between the two stoves are that (1) the Brasslite Turbo F Alcohol Stove is more efficient, and (2) the Vargo Triad Titanium Stove is more stable.

Which one to choose?

The Brasslite Turbo F Alcohol Stove is lighter, and based on our standard boil test, it is both more efficient and brings water to boil faster.

The Vargo Triad Titanium Stove is more stable with pots greater than 4" in diameter, a significant amount of the unused fuel can be expelled from the stove and returned to the fuel bottle easier than with the Turbo F.

So, to answer the question "Which one to choose?" simply and concisely, here is our simple answer:

• You don't need either of these stoves. Build a fire.
• You need both of these stoves: they're really cool pieces of lightweight gear that perform exceptionally well, considering that they each weigh more than 80%-200% less than a Trangia Alcohol Stove setup.

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