SIGG Inoxal Alcohol Cookset and Trangia 25 Duossal

Have you ever tried to cook your meal in outdoors, and found out you could not, because the wind was too darn strong, and you did not have anything to prop up to block out the wind?

Well, let me tell ya.

I want you to take a look at these beauties: SIGG Inoxal and Trangia 25 Duossal.  Unfortunately, they are no longer made, but you can still buy Trangia 25 and 27 (smaller cousin) in various (plain aluminum, non-stick aluminum, anodized aluminum, and ultra-light version).  What these enigmatic designators, Inoxal, or Duossal, mean is that the pot is constructed with stainless steel inside and aluminum outside.  Aluminum spread the heat evenly, therefore reducing the chance to burn food, and stainless inside is durable, and you can use a metal spoon.  But I use only wooden or heat-resistance plastic utensil, anyway.  Why put scratches on the pot for no reason?  Check out the paint job.


What this type of alcohol cookset does well is to cook in all weather.  The cookset cooks with an alcohol burner that burns for about 30 minutes with one filling.  That is enough for any kind of cooking outdoors.  It takes a little longer to boil a quart than, say, when you are using gas or liquid fuel stove, because alcohol has one half of the energy of the above-mentioned fuel types.  But any stove will have a longer boil time without a proper windscreen, and these alcohol stoves will get there surely for you, rain or wind.

The SIGG product appears to have been better made than Trangia product.  The stainless material seems heavier, and it comes with the black paint coating that absorbs heat.  The stainless steel is well polished, and there is no blemish.  Only it discolored, when it was used for the first time.  So what, I never intended it to be a museum piece.  I would have to see it go to eBay unused, after I die.  SIGG is slightly bigger than Trangia product.  I switched its own alcohol burner with Trangia burner, because I thought Trangia burner was more convenient to simmer with its own simmer ring.  Also the pot holder is Primus brand, and I took it from another Primus cookset, because it is well made.

Now, take a look at Trangia 25 Duossal:

The Trangia 25 Duossal is very similar to SIGG, but the pots exhibit the faint evidence that they had gone under the massive pounds per square inch.  The final finish is not as neat or polished as that of SIGG, but you will know that this is a product with a serious quality, nevertheless.

The SIGG had been subjected to the backyard initial cooking test, but I think I will hold off on Trangia 25 Duossal.  I have other versions of 25 which I had fired off without a second thought.  So, I will just leave it in the box for now.

Here are some shots of SIGG doing what it is supposed to.  See the pot holder?  It is by MSR.  The noodle is a Korean version of Udon.  I added the chopped green onion for the enhanced flavor.  What?  You cannot have the spicy stuff?  It gives you a fiery run?  Wow, dude!  A man may go celibate, but not without the spicy food!  I forget its brand name, but it was delish!

Military Canteen Cup Boil Off

I decided to compare the boil times of the following four military canteen cups.

From the left: USGI "L" handle, USGI wire handle, NATO Crusader, and Dutch wire handle. The stoves which I used are, respectively: aluminum "Kidney" stove; aluminum Stove Stand, Type II, manufactured in 1991; NATO Crusader canteen cup stove; and Dutch Military stove.

The stoves were not protected with any kind of windscreen. There was a steady breeze from behind the stoves.

Please excuse the subsequent pictures that appear shaken. It was a little dark, and the exposure time was a little longer than I could hold still, and I did not want to use the flash.

I put 2 cups of cold water into each respective cup. I placed three, round Hexamine tablets sold by Stansport in the first two stoves, one ounce of denatured alcohol in the Crusader stove, and Coughlan brand Hexi tabs in the Dutch one. I know, the heat output may vary, but I ran out of Stansport brand tabs.

Here is the shot with no flash: it shows the strength of the flames.
One observation on Hexi tabs: Esbit brand is of the best quality. It leaves virtually no residue. But it is also most expensive, $6 for 12 tabs. The next in line is the Stansport, I can get a pack of 24 under $4. It leaves very little residue, and burns quite well. The last, according to my prejudice, is Coughlan's brand. Under $3 for a pack of 24 tabs, identical in size with Stansport brand. Coughlan's leaves black ash that envelopes the tab, and does not burn all the way. It just extinguishes itself, when it is down to the last 5-10% (approx.) of the original mass. I suspect that the black ash blanketing the tablet actually hinders the combustion to a degree. The ash is easily removed with a stick, however. Then again, who has the time and energy to monitor the ash buildup? Next time, I will pay a dollar more, and get the Stansport brand.

As far as heat output is concerned, I estimate that two round Hexi tabs of Stansport, and of Coughlan's, equal one 14g Esbit tab.

As you can see, I put a makeshift lids on the canteen cups, except the Crusader cup. It does not really matter what the lid looks like. As long as you have something over the cup, it will cut the boil time.

The Gold Medal goes to the Kidney stove, achieving a boil at about 6 minutes. USA! USA! See the steam?
The Silver goes to the USGI wire handled cup at 7.5 minutes. The picture does not show any steam, because the picture was taken before it actually boiled. Sorry.
Please note that I have modified the stove above. I added 4 larger holes, and drilled small holes to insert wire grill. One could use the stove by hanging the cup on the edge by the wire handle, but it sits too low for the fuel to burn efficiently. There is less smoke, if I raise the height of the canteen cup about 3/4 inch higher (that is where the wire grill is) than the normal height where the cup would be. In the unmodified state, the stove's holes did not supply enough air, and the canteen cup sat too low for efficient combustion. The fumes stung my eyes, when I first attempted to use it in the factory form.

The Bronze goes to the Crusader. It was fueled with 1 ounce of denatured alcohol, and it lasted about 10 minutes. The Crusader boiled 2 cups of water in about 8 minutes.
Although the Crusader kit looks cool, it is not really well-designed. Compared to the USGI cup, the Crusader cup's bottom acreage is far smaller than the opening of the stove. That wide space on both sides allows heat to escape. That is why it took the Bronze!

I think I wasted $100 on this kit. I wish I had not bought it. I am suffering from a buyer's remorse. Boo hoo.

The Crusader lid is made of plastic, and it becomes sticky, when heated. I intentionally put it on the cup slanted, so that it would not stick to the cup. It will melt, if exposed directly to the flame. It will melt, if the cup gets too hot. Mine did, after a few uses with alcohol whose flame tends to shoot up high.

The Crusader plastic bottle has the awful chemical smell that would not go away. It smells as if it will give you cancer way down the road. It is that bad. The only saving grace is that the smell does not seem to seep leach into the water. I tasted the water after one day, and I could not really detect the flavor. I also saw the poor workmanship in the bottle's interior finish. It appears as if the molding was not done in one smooth shot, but in two steps. I can see the internal crease which is not visible on the outside.

Compared to that, Nalgene brand plastic canteen fits USGI canteen cup perfectly (made in USA), and it is BPA free and does not smell at all. The water tastes like it should. Only the material is thinner than Nalgene's regular cylindrical water bottles, and you can push it in easily with finger pressure.

Finally, the Pity Medal goes to the Dutch combo. It did not even come close to a boil. It just stood naked in the wind which carried away from the cup most of the heat. It managed to make some bubbles at the bottom of the cup. The Dutch design absolutely requires a windscreen of some sort, in order to make it efficient. The Dutch combo works admirably in the garage, however (read: no wind!). The other three stove/cup combos at least have some sort of windscreen effect, so they boiled the water successfully.
So this is my verdict: if you want to carry a military canteen as one person cooking system, choose USGI Canteen cup and Kidney stove combo. It may lack the glory, but it is most efficient design. Actually, it is most efficient, because I modified it. This is what it looks like:
I bent the wire clothes hanger into a grill shape, and put it on top of the Kidney stove. The USGI canteen cup fits closely the stove's top opening, and that close tolerance focuses the heat onto the bottom of the cup.

To keep the Hexi tabs from contacting the damp ground directly, I used the lid that was cut out from a tin can, and folded the four corners to keep it off the damp ground. I also added holes, so that the Hexi tab would get plenty of air.

If you use the Kidney stove as is, then the cup sits too deep into the stove. And it is hard to get it out after use. This depth of seating does not allow the necessary distance between the fuel tab and the cup bottom, and the most heat will just escape through the five holes on the side. It is essential to place the cup on top of the stove! The mod is a must!
Three Hexi tabs (round ones) are more than enough to boil 2 cups of water. I used three, in order to make sure that the water would boil, in spite of the light breeze. Since there is a plenty of fuel left, you can continue to boil the water for a few more minutes, if you so desire.



[Update: USGI kidney stove with aforementioned mod and NATO Crusader went head-to-head one calm evening, outdoors, temperature in mid-60's.  I used 3 round Hexi tabs to boil measured .5L of cold water.  USGI achieved rolling boil in 6 minutes and 20 seconds.  The usable flame lasted up to 9 minutes.  Crusader slow-boiled in 9 minutes, but the usable flame lasted up to 15 minutes!  It appears that USGI one is very efficiently supplied with air, while Crusader was not.  It was apparent, because I could see a puff of smoke once every while on Crusader, while there was absolutely no smoke from USGI stove.  This insufficient air supply in the design, however, allowed Crusader to boil 3 minutes longer than the USGI kidney stove.  Just an observation that might be useful to someone.]

If you are using Esbit stove in the breeze, you will probably need one and a half tablets to achieve the boil. That is assuming that you have a windscreen.

Two cups of water is what you need to rehydrate most freeze-dried food. Mountain House is the brand I got acquainted recently, and if you choose the ones that has less than 800 mg of sodium, it is quite edible. Some are surprisingly yummy, too. I can imagine polishing it up, after a long, sweaty hike. The moderate sodium content of less than 800mg is adequate to replenish what you lost through sweat. Mountain House container holds heat surprisingly longer than I expected, and you need to be careful not to burn your tongue. You have been warned here. It is also tough, and could be used as a water container in a pinch.

I could have used the gel type fuel, but I am not a great fan, primarily because it is expensive. If you really want to use the Gel type, try hand sanitizer. It contains 62, 63% of ethyl alcohol, and it burns quite nicely. If you buy a large bottle, it will be a lot more economical than buying the dinky gel packs. My experience with the hand sanitizer is that it burns too quickly, flame is large, and most of the heat escapes.

Enjoy your outings!