Ever since I was in high school I have always used a Trangia Alcohol stove. I remember when we would all gather together as a class in a circle and practise cooking meals on our stoves before we head off on our camping excursion.
It was good fun and since then I have been using a Trangia for a bike touring camp stove ever since I started bike touring around three years ago. They are the best stoves in my opinion as they allow you to actually cook great meals appose to some stoves, like very lightweight ones which only really allow you to just boil some water.
Especially when you are on month long tours you want to cook your own food, so you can save some money on food expenses and for longer tours you want a stove that can actually cook you some decent meals, I would get sick of 2 minutes noodles!
It is fantastic as it allows you to cook up some decent home style meals while travelling through the most remote corners of the earth. The model I have also includes a kettle, so you can make coffee or tea.
The Trangia, is a very neat design, and compact storage and packing solution for the bicycle traveller. A quality product that is guaranteed to stand the test of time.
Cooking is one of my passions and to combined that with cycle travel another passion it is a match made in heaven and I am glad I can enjoy cooking up a storm on the Trangia while enjoying the camp environment and vibes at the same time.
I have a old version of the Trangia stove, so the top lid or frying pan is not the best. Over time food started to stick to it and became less useful. But Trangia have fixed this with the new and updated version which features a non stick pan.
Above is everything you can expect to get with the Trangia stove.
- Ultralight Aluminium upper and lower windshield
- 2 x ultralight aluminium 1L saucepans
- 1 x 18cm ultralight aluminium frypan
- 1 x ultralight aluminium kettle 600ml
- Spirit burner with simmer ring control
- And a Spondonicle – the metal tool to pick up hot pans
*If you want to buy a Trangia, doing it via the links give Cycle Travel Overload a small commission which goes into creating more great resources for the bike travel community.
Things to consider about the Trangia
Be Careful Not to Burn Your EG25 Washer
This is user error on my part. But if you don’t use the washer underneath the lid to seal whatever liquids you may have left over in the spirit burner. It will leak into your bowls and make dinner taste awful for next time.
I had missed place my simmer ring control piece and was just using the lid. Sitting it half on the burner for simmering. This was very silly and caused the rubber washer to burn. As I was out in the middle of nowhere I had trouble getting a new washer. When you but the Trangia new it includes a spare washer, for your connivence. Don’t be silly like me.
The Skillet is Okay!
(This is for the older model, which is now updated with a non stick fry pan.) This also could be user error. But the skillet or frypan which also acts as the lid of the kit when packed away. It seems to stick to food after too many time cooking. Maybe I was not using enough oil, I am not sure. But when I try to cook my vegan sausages they just stick like poo to a blanket. This is probably the only negative I can think of this cooking set.
Maybe a Bit Heavy
Depending on the type of bicycle touring you plan to do. This kit maybe to heavy and take up too much room in your panniers. If you are really cutting it for weight, like bikepacking it is probably not best suited for that. It weighs 998 grams and is about 18 cm in diameter by 10.5 cm tall when packed. But having that said I still manage to pack it on my bikepacking setup. I store it in my Blackburn frame bag.
All you need in addition to what is provided are a couple of utensils (spatula, wood spoon, etc.). Use utensils that wont scratch things up.
Positives About The Trangia
Cooks Appose to Just Boil Water
Being able to cook great meals is one of the things I love most about the Trangia. Some stoves only allow you to really just heat up some water and add it to noodles or something like that. But with a Trangia the sky is the limit with the potential possibilities of recipes.
Stealthy Flame
When you are camping you will not draw attention to yourself. As the light signature is very small on this camp stove.
Fuel Availability
One of the most attractive things about this stove is that you can just about get access to fuel anywhere in the world. Anything with a flammable enough alcohol content should work fine. Denatured alcohol and some rubbing alcohol will do the job, which can be found in pharmacies or hardware stores. I typically use Methylated Spirits for my Trangia.
Works in Most Conditions
Even in very extreme weather conditions, this stove is adaptable. In snow, rain, and wind, it still manages to stay alight and will work. It does loose a little bit of heat and flame size when in very heavy direct winds, but the overall design helps to guard the wind enough.
Trangia
Trangia Small Ultralight Aluminium Camp Stove with Kettle
Final Thoughts
I can not recommend this stove enough. I have cooked on it numerous amounts of times for many, many bike tours and it has stood the test of time. It is made in Sweden with quality materials resulting in a robust product.
It is more then capable of being that one in all camp stove tool that can cook some epic meals. I like how it use alcohol as fuel no need to be wasteful with gas canisters. And the availability of the alcohol fuel is easy to find in all the countries I have toured in.
If you are looking for a camp stove for your next bike touring adventure. Look no further this Trangia stove can get the job done for you! I highly recommend it!
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