let's see a picture of your camping setup and how it all fits on your bike... please

You might look at some backpacking forums too. A lot of it will depend on what kind of cooking you are looking to do. If you just need to boil water for a cup of coffee in the morning or heat some noodles then an Esbit or alcohol stove (which you can make yourself out of a Coke or Redbull can) can do the trick and still be small enough to sit inside your cup or bowl. I made a range of alcohol burners from Redbull-size to Heineken Keg Can-size to try out, using plans I found on the internet, and often use the littlest one for overnight trips where all I want is hot coffee in the morning and noodles or instant rice for dinner.

I use a Whisperlight International which will run off of kerosene, white gas, or unleaded gasoline if I need to melt snow, boil water for more than one person, or cook actual meals. So theoretically I could carry a single fuel source for the stove and bike, but so far I have just used white gas because it is apparently better for the stove. It is great for boiling water/melting snow, but it puts off so much heat it would be hard to do any delicate cooking. There are some other stoves that offer better heat modulation if you'll be caramelizing onions in the wilderness, or the like, but they usually won't burn gasoline.

If you want to do some real cooking but like the ease of use of a canister stove something like the JetBoil is no harder to use than a stove at home, but if you plan to fly with it you need to make sure you can buy canisters at your destination, and for long trips you'll need to find places to purchase them along the way (again backpacking forums usually provide the details of what they are called and where to buy them in each country). I haven't used one of these personally, but it seems like they have some great features.

Great post! I haven't done any camping with a stove, back in the day it was just fire wood. I was thinking too that I'd like just alcohol, and what you posted really calls my name.

Yeah, saw those coke can stoves, pretty neat! I don't plan to fly with it, just something for the bike. I need to be able to cook more than just coffee/rice/oatmeal. This post also very helpful.

Sounds like it's between Jetboil (compact size); MSR stuff; alcohol stove.

I'm intrigued by the small space that alcohol stoves take. This video is pretty neat. Maybe I need 2 of them. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPCD31YrRiE

http://www.trueactivist.com/gab_gal...-into-the-only-camping-stove-youll-ever-need/

Well, mine came in the mail on Thursday and I tested it out camping Saturday night. Wow, did I get a great sleep with it! It beats the pants off my Exped synmat (even when it isn't leaking air ) in the comfort department. It's also really roomy in comparison, particularly the width, which is a big plus since I have fairly wide shoulders. Another great point about it is that it doesn't creak or make noise at night when I move around on it, as has been my experience in the military with cots.

Putting it together is self-explanatory and pretty easy. The only problem I encountered was when snapping the legs into the frame, they had a tendency to grab the cover. I have to pull the cover away from the frame by the legs when snapping the legs on. This isn't a huge deal and only adds a couple of seconds onto the process, but it was aggravating at first. I'd say setting this up takes just about as long as it takes to blow up the Exped mattress... Except I'm not light-headed at the end!

The one big downside to it is the packed size. I read the dimensions before buying it, but I guess I just didn't picture it as large as it is. It's not unmanageable, but definitely MUCH larger than my Exped mat. I'll have to rearrange my packing a bit to accommodate this.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it after only one night camping. I just wish it packed smaller... But I guess I can't get it all!

That's brilliant, I have to give that a try :)

This is so much about personal preference, and convenience. Since I don't do much but heat water to a boil anymore (coffee and oatmeal in the morning, freeze-dried backpacking food or instant noodles other meals) I use a small Brunton stove that screws onto a gas canister and a Brunton 1/2 liter aluminum teapot (the stove fits inside it) that comes to a boil in less than 3 minutes. The canisters are available almost anywhere- I get the isobutane or similar mixed-gas canisters that still perform okay in cold weather. My stove has a great simmer, which is sometimes hard to find in these smaller versions. I have friends that love the Jetboil, but my system is cheaper, smaller, lighter, and more versatile.

Here's a great discussion of stove types.
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/backpacking-stove.html

also known as the Stever Stove, as far as the alcohol stove goes, i made several of them using a $1 aluminum water bottle from Dollar Tree, the aluminum is thicker and gives the stove a stronger structure (in case of a tip over) it works great, i can boil water in under 3 minutes, faster than my home stovetop.

If you intend to cook food that requires big size pots and stirring, I would rule out the Jetboil or any top-canister stove for this purpose. Even more so if you are not sure to find a stable surface for cooking. They are excellent to boil water / coffee in smaller pots on a stable surface, but very unstable with bigger pots due to the high center of gravity.

GOOD POINT!

howsumever, you can use one of those folding wind break/pot holders, to resolve that issue & they don't take up any room in your kit

bet someone, on here, will chime in real soon w/ links to some

I cook a lot when camping. Most meat is cooked over the fire, unless it's raining so badly I can't be bothered.

I use an isobutane canister stove and bring two pots (MSR Base 2 set with 2.5L and 1.5L pots -- there are two of us). I've only ever knocked the larger pot over once in years of camping because I was careless (surface wasn't flat).

I just bought a canister stand and will try it out in a couple of weeks on the first camping trip of the year.

Here's a very lengthy article all about canister stands.

I cook with a Snow peak Giga power. I don't just boil water. I also make bacon and eggs, rice, chicken, steak, even spam! as long as you can find a spot to put it, its the best thing going in my book. I put the tiny little burner in one camp shoe and two small canisters in the other and I am ready to go while taking up no extra space. I have an old school boy scout style stainless steel mess kits and it rides in a bag where ever it fits when im done packing.

Great advice. I've got one of the canister stoves and it's wonderful for boiling water and the like, but i can't stand cooking on it, as it's super unstable. I'm in the market for a new stove as of now, and will be looking for a multifuel type

I carry one of the Trangia 25 cooksets. I also carry a second trangia burner along with a clickstand. It's nice to be able to keep one dish warm while cooking the second.

The peppers are in a pan on top of the clickstand/trangia while I'm cooking up
some pasta in the main stove.

MSR Whisperlite, doesn't simmer too well but I like it. I take a bottle of white gas, then when that runs out, switch to bike gas. My son bought it for me after using one on a NOLS trip. I wanted a propane canister stove (instant lighting) but then when I ran out of fuel in the middle of nowhere, I was happy to have one that would burn bike/pump gas.

Figures. The cot is listed as backordered now. I ordered one anyway, so we will see if I can actually get it.

Good review. Even if it doesn't pack smaller, at least it's a good nights sleep!

You can improve simmer by pumping fewer times (less pressure - better simmer.)

many years ago, i picked up the CANISTER version of the WHISPERLITE, which i have carried it many miles, at a flea mkt for $5

YOU ARE CORRECT w/ the statement about the convenience of the liquid model and it's being much more handy, when you run out of fuel

i was lucky & found a Ti cook pot that an extra canister fits into

i guess the "Q" is if it is more convenient to carry an extra canister or a smelly syphon hose

i, honestly, don't have a FINITE ANSWER, for the NOOB who is outfitting his/her kit, @ retail prices/for the 1st tyme

it reverts to PERSONAL PREFERENCE, RUN WHAT YOU BRUNG or USE WHAT YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON, for a price you are comfortable with/willing to pay

just an OLD MAN'S 2¢ worth

sw