Published on : 08 April 20193 min reading time
For most tourists, a hike is unthinkable without a fire. The fire allows you to warm up, to dry wet clothes, to cook … Many people even consider the fire as a talisman of real tourist …
Despite the apparent versatility, the fire has many disadvantages. Sometimes it is impossible to make a fire because of the lack of firewood, sometimes it is forbidden by law … It often happens that the lighting of a fire to cook is not rational …
Disadvantages of a campfire: need to look for and buy firewood, long ignition time, strong soot during combustion. In humid weather, it is almost impossible to fire.
Advantages: no need to transport fuel, possibility to heat and dry objects, illuminates the surrounding area and scares wild animals.
Is there an alternative to fire? Of course, there are oil boilers and gas burners. The Primus stove and the burner have both advantages and disadvantages …
Primusy on the liquid fuel.
Currently, there is a fairly wide range of Primus fuel oil. Most modern Primus can use different types of fuels: gasoline, kerosene, alcohol, etc. Despite the established stereotype, they are light and small.
Advantages of a Primus stove: Gasoline can be obtained everywhere, low fuel costs, transportation on an aircraft is not a problem, does not freeze at negative temperatures and maintains high maintenance.
Disadvantages of a Primus stove: long preheating time, possibility of fuel leakage during transport, gasoline has a strong odor, difficult to eliminate.
Gas burners.
The range of gas burners will leave no one indifferent. There are countless manufacturers and similar models …
Gas is an ideal fuel for the kitchen: it ignites easily, the flame is well regulated, it can be used for lighting …
Unfortunately, there is also a “fly in the ointment” – constructive differences in the attachment of cylinders and, directly, types of cylinders themselves. It is very likely that you can not find the type of cylinder you need in a city or, in particular, in another country … This puts the main restriction on the use of gas burners.
The main use of gas burners, in my opinion – short-term trips. In this case, you can afford to carry bottles at a rate of 50 grams of gas per person per day, which is forbidden on long journeys. If you’re not sure that the brand cylinder you need is on the road, it’s best to take a liquid fuel primus.
The advantages of the burner: ease of ignition and adjustment of the flame, tightness of the bottles and safety of the transport, possibility of use for the lighting and the heating of tents.
The disadvantages of the burner: need to wear the bottles depending on the total duration of the trip, difficulty of use at low temperatures, the bottles do not allow to transport the plane, difficulty finding the cylinder of the desired brand in the process of road.
To summarize.
Now, after learning the pros and cons, you’ll be able to decide exactly what’s right for your hiking or traveling conditions.
After experimenting with gasoline and gasoline in real world conditions, I dare to say that the gas burner is the ideal choice for traveling up to two weeks.