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MOTOBRICK.COM => Welcome To Motobrick.Com => Topic started by: argent brick on July 03, 2012, 02:00:47 AM

Title: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 03, 2012, 02:00:47 AM: I know that at least a few of you camp when you ride. So my question is this. What type of small stove (and cookset) do you use and why? What do you like, or hate, about it. Would you purchase the same one again, etc?
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: motodude on July 03, 2012, 02:27:42 AM: Pocket Rocket, REI.

I backpack too and originally purchased the stove for backpacking. But, it works for moto-camping too.

I also have an old MSR Wisperlite, that I've used on many moto-camping (and backpacking) trips. On the motorcycle I use regular gas in the stove and the fuel supply doubles as extra gas in case I run out in the bike.

Tom
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: frankenduck on July 03, 2012, 09:00:55 AM: MSR Dragonfly is a good multi-fuel stove too.

(http://home.comcast.net/~smithduck/tours/bmw3/bmw3_album/slides/bmw3_0810d.jpg)
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: motodude on July 03, 2012, 10:29:01 AM: I suspect that just about any good backpacking stove will work adequately.

For my money, the more interesting question is, "what do you bring / cook?

My last experiment was Pelmeni (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelmeni) a Siberian food often used by hunters in the field. I found that once it thaws out, it is kinda dough-y though! Prolly works much better in Siberia.

Tom
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 01:11:43 AM: Is the MSR Dragonfly a modified version of the XGK stove? I think that they have the same burners.

And, I have to agree with motodude, the better ? is about the food.

All these motobrickers and only three types of stoves are used... come on guys, I know more than just 3 of you camp and ride.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: motodude on July 04, 2012, 02:22:03 AM: Most of the folks I know and have met mc camping, eat in restaurants. I've done so on several trips. It is easier if not cheaper.

The best things to make/eat are simple. Protein and carbs.

The Pelmeni is a good example of that. I have a seal-a-meal and vacuum sealed some Pelmeni along with some broccoli. Boiled the Pelmeni until it floated and added the broccoli and cooked it for another 5 minutes or so. It was cold and raining at the time so it really hit the spot. I ate it right outa the pot I cooked it in and drank the broth. Finished it off with some Wild Turkey to help me ignore the rain!

I've also brought a can of chicken and some rice. Cooked up the rice and added the chicken. You can add just about anything to that for flavoring. Dried onion, dried garlic, etc. Another variation on that is to use one or two of those foil pouches of smoked salmon instead of canned chicken.

Tom
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 10:14:21 AM: Tom, Anything with salmon in it always hits the spot with me.

I have a history of backpacking and snow camping. Because of this, I have collected various micro stoves over the years.
Snow Peak makes the smallest one that I own and it is one of my favorites. MSR makes some solid gear that is worth the money if you plan to use it more than a few times. The MSR Reactor is amazing!

I figured having something on the bike with me would be a good idea. That is what made me start this topic in the first place.

You have peaked my interest about the Pelmeni. I will have to try that.

I should of ask about the food, not the stoves. I probably would have gotten more people responding.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: motodude on July 04, 2012, 11:41:19 AM: Quote from: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 10:14:21 AM
Tom, Anything with salmon in it always hits the spot with me.

I have a history of backpacking and snow camping. Because of this, I have collected various micro stoves over the years.
Snow Peak makes the smallest one that I own and it is one of my favorites. MSR makes some solid gear that is worth the money if you plan to use it more than a few times. The MSR Reactor is amazing!

I figured having something on the bike with me would be a good idea. That is what made me start this topic in the first place.

You have peaked my interest about the Pelmeni. I will have to try that.

I should of ask about the food, not the stoves. I probably would have gotten more people responding.

Don't sweat the topic. I kinda hijacked it with the food thing. :embarass:

I bought the Pocket Rocket a couple of years ago and I like it very much for summer camping/backpacking. It is small, light, boils water quickly and fits inside my little pot when packed. I would not recommend it for winter/snow camping as it uses compressed gas and as you probably know they tend to fail in the cold.

Pelmeni was introduced to me by a Russian friend of mine. He and his wife keep it in the freezer all the time as a meal/snack for whenever they want something. I have made an American-ized version myself. But, it is very time-consuming to make. The only place I've found it is at Russian/Eastern European grocery stores.

Note, that it is normally kept frozen until placed into boiling water. And, when I took it moto-camping it was, of course, thawed and quite doughy-gooey but cooked up fine none-the-less. I've seen it made with beef, veal, pork, chicken and lamb. To me, lamb is the best, if you can find it. I have not had veal or chicken (Like most Americans I eat too much chicken as it is).

When I made it, I used homemade pasta dough which is not quite "traditional". But, the pasta dough was not nearly as gooey when thawed either.

When moto-camping, I've also just purchased hotdogs, buns, mustard & relish, cooked the dogs on a stick over a fire. No stove required.

I'm interested in hearing what others cook when camping as well. Chime in folks!

Tom
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: sh00ter on July 04, 2012, 01:30:21 PM: Quote from: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 01:11:43 AM
Is the MSR Dragonfly a modified version of the XGK stove? I think that they have the same burners.

And, I have to agree with motodude, the better ? is about the food.

All these motobrickers and only three types of stoves are used... come on guys, I know more than just 3 of you camp and ride.

+1 on the dragonfly. I carry it with white gas and a couple pans. Never let me down plus their cust service is unparalleled.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 01:48:40 PM: Tom, If it comes to food, hijack away.

I looked at the Pocket Rocket stove myself. I like it. For me, the Snow Peak stove beat it because of superior pot stability.
Did you get the rocket with the micro cookset? I think MSR calls it the Titan pot, but I am not sure.

Like you, I own the Whisperlite stove. One new and one old style. One for camping and one for in my CERT gear. I would like to replace them both with MSR XGK stoves, but that is about $300. City Bags are higher on my list than new stoves.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 01:53:04 PM: Sh00ter,

Why Dragonfly over XGK?
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: sh00ter on July 04, 2012, 02:19:32 PM: Quote from: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 01:53:04 PM
Sh00ter,

Why Dragonfly over XGK?

Never used an xgk but the differences I see by looking at the description are: better simmer control on the dragonfly, I can confirm this, it's great. And the dragonfly looks to be more stable, but cant confirm that. The df is very cery stable Only downside is on full boil the DF is loud, but this doesn't bother me. I've had mine for 10 years and hiked, mc camped, airplane camping, and back yard camping - if you take care of it it'll last forever.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: BobZ(IL) on July 04, 2012, 03:00:48 PM: I'm a restaurant person but I scored a Jet Boil from REI on Fathers Day. Plan to try it out at the MOA rally.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 03:41:47 PM: BobZ,

The Jet Boil is a fantastic stove. One of the best on the market. You can never go wrong with it. Very user friendly with lots of options.

Personally, I like the MSR Reactor over the Jet Boil stove. However; if I was forced to own only one stove, the Jet would be on my short list for consideration. Their are so many things you can add to it, making it a hard to beat unit. The other two stoves on my short list are both liquid fuel, MSR's XGK and Dragonfly.

I would suggest that you practice allot with your stove before your trip.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: frankenduck on July 04, 2012, 04:08:40 PM: I run my Dragonfly on Super. Always have a spare liter of gas for the bike that way.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: motodude on July 04, 2012, 05:16:45 PM: Quote from: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 01:48:40 PM
Tom, If it comes to food, hijack away.

I looked at the Pocket Rocket stove myself. I like it. For me, the Snow Peak stove beat it because of superior pot stability.
Did you get the rocket with the micro cookset? I think MSR calls it the Titan pot, but I am not sure.

Like you, I own the Whisperlite stove. One new and one old style. One for camping and one for in my CERT gear. I would like to replace them both with MSR XGK stoves, but that is about $300. City Bags are higher on my list than new stoves.

No, I did not get the Pocket Rocket with a cookset. I have a small aluminum coffee pot (purchased several years ago from REI, and quite a bit cheaper than the Titan) that I removed the percolator basket from and I use it, a lexan cup and a spoon/fork as cooking utensils when camping. I really don't like doing dishes so the less that needs cleaning, the better. The coffee pot will hold one of the large gas cartridges and the stove so it all packs up nicely. And, I can still make "cowboy coffee" in the coffee pot!

My WhisperLite is prolly close to 20 years old. Still works good.

Tom
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: motodude on July 04, 2012, 05:20:06 PM: Quote from: frankenduck on July 04, 2012, 04:08:40 PM
I run my Dragonfly on Super. Always have a spare liter of gas for the bike that way.

Super is out of my price range but I run regular gasoline in my WhisperLite when I'm moto-camping too. Same reason.

Tom
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on July 04, 2012, 06:26:40 PM: Why the added cost of high octane when the brick does not need it?
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: wmax351 on August 10, 2012, 05:48:25 AM: I am a back-country gourmet. I usually like to cook things, rather than just heat them up. That usually involves simmering, which is difficult on a stove that has 2 settings "off" and "Nuclear." That being said I have a range of stoves.

Technologically, I love the jetboil I got at REI scratch and dent. Needed an o-ring. That sucker boils water like no-ones business. But it will burn soups, etc, and heats frying pans unevenly. Great for coffee though. I carry it sometimes when I'm not camping, just for making coffee anywhere.

I have a snow-peak, tiny little one, that I also got at scratch and dent. Also needed an o-ring. Its nice, and has a wider flame than the jetboil. It is a nice compromise. It can simmer a bit.

For non-backpacking, I prefer the "Bluet." It has a normal burner, with a wider, more controllable flame, and is very stable. Perfect for cooking anything from pancakes to steaks.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on August 10, 2012, 01:19:41 PM: What in the world is a "Bluet"?

I like all of the options the Jet Boil has to offer. Lots of bells and whistles. A friend of mine has one and claims that the only problem with it is that the burner is very small. Says the heat is concentrated in a very small spot so it is easy to burn things. Same friend has now retired the Jet Boil and shifted to the MSR Reactor. He uses it at work at least three time a week.

Like my friend, I also own a Reactor and have been very happy with it. Follow the Reactor with a Snow Peak like yours, one MSR XGK, 2 Whisperlites and a two burner propane stove for car camping. My wife says I have enough stoves, but I disagree. The Snow Peak micro stove is my favorite, because of the size. I think it simmers better than any other stove I own. I still need to find a pot for it that I am happy with. Size and build quality are the issues for me. Weight of the pan is not important.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: frankenduck on August 10, 2012, 01:38:34 PM: Quote from: argent brick on August 10, 2012, 01:19:41 PM
What in the world is a "Bluet"?

Stove with pressurized gas in a canister. They've been around a long time. Were very popular back when I was in scouting.

(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_o5608HJMn44/S7i_-Rt-UbI/AAAAAAAAHXE/IgINBycEFYU/IMGP0447.JPG)
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: mystic red on August 10, 2012, 10:13:49 PM: Back when the Earth was still cooling. :neener:
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: Scott_ on August 11, 2012, 12:22:03 AM: I'd have to admit, before I could think about a cooking device to take along, I'd have to think about what stays behind.
I probably take too much as it is, as the Duck and MR could probably vouch for when I was at their places this last weekend.
So I guess that makes me a restaurant person, or cook over a campfire, which I have done years ago when I camped more frequently.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: argent brick on August 11, 2012, 10:04:19 PM: Quote from: mystic red on August 10, 2012, 10:13:49 PM

Back when the Earth was still cooling. :neener:

LOL That is a great! LOL

You guys just made my day. Thank you.
Title: Re: Motobrick Camping
Post by: leecow on August 11, 2012, 11:13:43 PM: Have been using a Jet Boil for several years on my long backpacking trips (7+ days back country) and it translated to the Brick camping last year quite well.