Top 5 Stealth Camping Stoves

Here are my top 5 stoves when stealth camping. Some are ultra light for backpacking, some are smokeless and odourless. Some involve an open flame fire and others use liquid fuel or gas. Either way, all have their place and all are in my opinion great stoves!

The Stoves (UK Links):

The Stoves (US Links):

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#stealthcamping #bushcraft #survival #camping

[ArktinenPeikko]

One thing I usually count as a disadvantage is the requirement of a specific fuel. Trangia and that Firemaple are good stoves, but always require either gas or alcohol to operate. I prefer fireboxes for their low volume when packed, and you can basically burn any dry twig you can find in them.

But I do understand this isn't something everyone would consider a disadvantage as gas and alcohol are easily available. My mindset just might be slightly on the "this has to work every time" side of things. And living in Finland, there's no real shortage of trees or twigs.

[lildevilgamer]

For the most efficient use of the gasifier stove, the first one in the video, you should pack it right with sticks. Then start a small fire on top of it. When done like that or will easily boil half a liter of water without adding any more sticks and will continue to burn after that. Sorry from that great video as usual.

[purplephoenix]

Good video. All I would add is that with the Trangia spirit burner, you need to let the flame bloom first, then put the pot on. It doesn't take long for it to bloom and then it would be running at full efficiency. Putting the pot on before it has bloomed is like putting a pot on the fire before you've got the fire properly going. If you'd waited until it bloomed, the time it would have taken would have been shorter. It's still much slower than a jet boil, but quiet.

[georgejones]

Load your gasification stove vertically with twigs, maximum thumb thick. Don't stuff it, but fill it. Put your fire starter on top, as it works best with a top down burn. You should get 40-50 minutes of burn time. You can also try it with wood pellets.

[bobhead]

Trangia cookset, works quietly and in all weather conditions .

[Zendo]

I've been using a stove similar to the Firebox, but a tiny titanium version- weighing around 130g and packing to ~2 credit card thickness. Hobo stove is what I call it. I love it because I do not have to carry any fuel with me. I was able to boil water high up in the mountains, where there are no trees- just using dried cow dung. Also was able to find enough random branches to boil water on a boulder field next to a glacier. The amount of twigs you need, you will be able to find absolutely anywhere. 30s after cooking you can already pack it up as titanium doesn't hold the heat at all.

[johnsmithfakename]

I have a stove similar to the silver fire scout. The most efficient fire for the stove is similar to a top down fire. In short fill the stove up with twigs, add the tender and ignition at the top and let the stove burn. I can get a 1 hour worth of fire and 1 hour worth of coals out of the stove with this method.
The method you used was the constant feed method, which as the name suggest you need to feed the stove constantly.

[fredflea]

Excellent video, highlighting the best options. All have their pros & cons. I like to combine the trangia with the firebox. The firebox has a special configuration where you can use the trangia in it. This gives me the choice of creating an easy, fast and stealthy fire with the trangia, or use the infinite resources of wood, depending on the situation.

[TomasPiliponis]

Couple of thoughts. Since you are judging these stoves in the context of "stealth camping" I would be interesting to also hear your impressions on how noisy are each of the contestants. Also, regarding Hexi stove, I use mine with small twigs, similarly as you showed in your Silverfire Scout example. I bet few of those would have finished the job with those 500ml of water. Other than that - great piece of content, thank you!

[cobberpete]

I still have my Hexi stove from my Army days in the 70's. We would get one with every one day Rat pack,

[in]

Let the trangia bloom before putting pot on and you will almost half that boil time, placing pot on trangia as soon as its lit hinders the burn, cool video

[andywilliment]

Hi Mike. I have both the firebox stove and the Firebox Nano. They can both be used as twig stoves or with Trangia burner if you you want to be more stealthy. Keep up the good work. 😎🇬🇧

[sarkybugger]

Methylated spirit is only odourless if you have no sense of smell. To everyone else, it has a very distinctive smell, and it hangs around.

[sparker]

Made my own firebox from an old pc case - cons pretty heavy - pro's I can actually stand on top of it with no problem (unless there is a fire lit inside). I love the stealth properties of spirit burners and the performance of gas burners but wood is free and readily available with no need to carry it. Recently made some fire lighters from sawdust and melted wax. Great and honest test mike <3

[mrfitz]

Erm... hate to break it to you Mike but you set the hexamine stove upside down. Despite the instructions it's best to always have the sides fully unfolded and locked at 90' to the base & push the wavy "teeth" edges deep into the ground for stability. If the ground is hard scrape some slits with your knife. This method places the fuel tablet closer to your pot, protects from wind, & helps the water boil quicker. The "top" pan supports are now flat & closer together so you can heat mugs without wobbling or spillage. Although the original military issue stoves had instructions showing both methods, 50 years of trial and error by British soldiers proved this way is better.

[swnorcraft]

I believe it's worth noting that all of the current Firebox models will support use of Trangia or alcohol burner. You can also use solid fuel tablets. Some of them may require an accessory add on to do so. My Firebox Nano will boil a liter of water in under 10 minutes with wood and still have burn time left, if I load it right. Steve has a bunch of videos on You Tube showing the different methods for loading your Firebox stove. Great Video! Thanks for

[Swearengen]

For backpacking/camping - Pocket Rocket 2 w/ a titanium pot large enough to nest the unit and canister. Obscenely light. There's a reason it's the choice of many thru backpackers out for weeks or months at a time. If you're into bushcraft, survival, or go with a wood burner. Your canister will run out, burnable resources won't.

[JoPro]

My dad used to use a Trangia to boil water when we were out in the woods or mountains, but it was incredibly slow, especially during the cold Norwegian winters, so we got a Primus burner (Butane gas) and we have never looked back since. Faster, more weatherproof, and easier. We have tried some gasoline burners that run pretty much the same way, but find them much harder to ignite.

[marthathompson]

You can add sticks to that next to last stove you reviewed. I typically use a scrap of the fuel just to start, and then feed twigs, as you did with the others

[hansesselink]

I love the firebox and also the methylated spirit one. The gasstove is the most convinient one.
Love the videos BTW