Stove options for Bug Out Bags | Get Home Bags and Go Bags | What works best and why 

Nice explanation of stove options. I went a bit mad on bug in and bug out options after Nord Stream 2 was blown up and blackouts in the EU were expected last winter. An unusually warm winter saved us. Couple of things. Methylated spirits for my Trangia cook kit have an unlimited shelf life. I bought a 20 liter container. Well sealed and robust. Put away safely and left unopened. I bought a small bottle for practicing. One thing I did get was a Primus multifuel stove, it will run on any liquid including gasoline or diesel with the included interchangeable nozzles or gas cartridges. Very robust, comes in a sturdy bag and a comprehensive repair kit is £20.00 extra. Very pricey, but the old steel models can be found for £100. Good point on the noise, the Primus is ridiculously loud unless you buy a pricey3rd party simmer ring attachment. The Pocket Rocket is loud but there are models with a broader flame jet base that are quieter. Some of these type of gas stoves don’t have a simmer control! I found the large 500ml gas cartridges for half the prices of the Camping brands with exactly the same propane/isopropane fuel mix for half the price in the tools sections of a large DIY outlet. They were still available at the normal price of €5.00 when the Camping brand cartridges were all snapped up after tripling in price last winter. The shelf life of these cartridges is very long, while digging through my camping stuff I found an old half full cartridge with the price sticker in Spanish pesetas not Euros so at least 20:years old. Some rust on the threads of the valve so I have greased my new ones. Works fine but lives outside on the balcony due to it’s advanced age. I would take the gas cartridges stove for a GHB, easy, light and convenient and the Primus Multifuel for anything over 72 hours (Post SHTF WROL) with a siphon hose to scavenge gas/diesel from vehicles. Good point on the noise though the Trangia would be very quiet. The Trangia fuel bottle is very light and you can easily refuel a hot stove with it. Kelly Kettle cook systems are interesting, been around for ages in the US. I might try that if I was relying on wood for fuel. Again thanks for the review, didn’t think about the noise, guess I have to buy that quiet simmer attachment ring for the Primus. 😊

For those using a gas setup and want to learn more about the effects of pan size (diameter), flame level, the benefit or not of using a lid, wind effect and the benefit of heat exchanger pots, the current 'Gold Standard' is the series of videos by GearSkeptic. Well worth a watch !

Brilliant range of stoves and excellent explanations. I have the pocket stove from Backpacking Light and think it is excellent with my Trangia burner. For my bug out/get home I prefer the Esbit Mini folding solid fuel stove twinned with a 400ml stainless pot from Decathlon and instead of hexamine tabs I use Half a BCB Fire Dragon - what's not used goes in a zip lock bag. Tin foil for a lid. I also have a wind shield made from the base of a meat tray that slips into the water bladder pocket of the pack. The obvious reason for choosing FireDragon is simply it's ease of use when it comes to lighting (especially in adverse conditions) and if I have to heat water for a dehydrated meal then 400ml will do that easily. I completely agree with you about the need for a fire - dig a hole and have one if it is a must.

Excellent, comprehensive review of stove options. As a backpacker, rather than a prepper, I'll probably give more attention to weight, but for trips of up to a week my set up of choice is alcohol (bioethanol), inside a stormin norman cone, which is very similar to your Caldera cone, but is designed to come as two pieces (and fits inside a 700ml pot). For a trip of over a week cannister gas becomes the lighter option overall. My choice being a remote cannister stove, with the burner sitting on the ground rather than on top of the cannister. I find this setup more stable and easier to shield from wind.

Excellent options. In my car, I have a plastic bin with camping equipment that includes a 2 burner stove. If I am able to stay with my car, I would use that until my fuel ran out. For my GHB, I have a few of fuel cubes, an alcohol burner (trangia), and the little crown like holder, and the stove that is smaller than your honey stove. With that stove I have three options for fuel: twigs, alcohol burner, and the fuel cubes. I have a nesting titanium backpacking cookware. Foe my BOB I have all of these options plus extra fuel (alcohol and fuel cubes).

Interesting look at the different options. We have gas stove in our cars which is usually just for a cuppa when out and about, but obviously can be emergency kit if you’re stuck and still with the vehicle. Then in my opinion, the folding BCB stove is the best option for the GHB. To be fair, I generally just carry hexi blocks but I agree the fire dragon pods are a better idea. Atb mate 👍

I routinely carry two "stoves" in my bug out/get home bags... the BCB folding firedragon, and the US GI canteen cup heater. I do have a copy of the Bundeswehr three piece kit thats quite good for camping. Enjoyed your video!

My homemade little dandy is ideal you can use solid fuel, wood or alchohol it packs down into a pouch made from a breast pocket from a shirt. If you're handy with a few basic tools they aren't hard to make. Plans available online. For more long term or greater numbers or when traveling in vehicles a kelly kettle is a good option. Mine has done great service over the years from camping and picnics to blackouts due to storms .Stood in our open fireplace in the house.

For get home I have a really small fire dragon stove carries on gel tab inside, weighs nothing and costs a pound or two. Only recently discovered them, works well with a mug

1. Gas stove (Light and go, higher BTUs). 2. Alcohol stove. (Lower BTUs but easier fuel to get and make your own stove for free) 3 Tablet stove.(Very low BTUs but compact fuel, worst of the 3). All three can be used indoors with care, important as most of us live in urban areas. 4. Would be wood stove, but you then have to hunt down wood for your fuel, not ideal in bad weather. If solid tablet stove, then plan to carry twice as many tabs as you plan to use, regardless of brand, they are not very good. Use windscreens, and in cold weather make a V out of coat hanger and put between your alcohol and pot to life off the cold pot from the burner.

The bcb crusader mk2 stove is fantastic ( used with the mk1 bcb crusader canteen cup ) The mk2 stove fits the trangia burner ,or the fire dragon gel , or twigs , or monkey stove , or penny stove , or hexamine , ... Being anodised aluminium with many vent holes it does not melt when used with hot burning hard woods .... Not many of us get excited by stoves but sadly I'm one...lol 😂

I favour the m71 swiss gel stove and can carry a bottle of firedragon gel. Fairly light and lasts ages tbf

I see that you too have the affliction of buying stoves and cook kits 😂. My stuff is geared more towards camping and hiking needs, which can double for emergencies. Any Trangia or military surplus stuff is good in my book. Very thorough video with the pro’s and con’s, thank you.

Thanks for sharing, I've not seen those Honey stoves before I'll have a look. Like you I tend to go with a trangia pot (carry 2 so can do a quick swap for longer cooks or for fancier scrans when sharing) and either the small sit on stand for small pots or a triangular one for sitting bigger pots like a Zebra or frying pan. I'm a bit of a kit tart so have lots of options from hexy through to gas and a cracking Coleman dual fuel a mate gifted me (a few fell into his bag when he was leaving the army 😉) and I've enjoyed playing with them all. Keep going back to the simple trangia pot set up, as you say, they take longer than gas but they're a simple system that's hard to kill. I've not tried the Fire Dragon stuff yet, I need to give it a test run compared to Hexy, what's your preference between the two mate.

oh boy I like my stoves, and i prefer alcohol stoves, I've thought about this a bit, for 1 or 2 people I go for the small twig stove, can use twigs alcohol burner or solid fuel. i find the bcb is limiting, an esbit with a puck burner gives the option to use the gel in the lid as well, I've tried using twigs in the esbit, which isn't that good. what pots would you use to accompany the stoves, and are you only looking at mre packets?