Clikstand T-2 Alcohol Stove System Review

Dave,

Nice review. I would like to see a review of the Evernew Appalachian set-up and compare it head to head with a Caldera Cone system, which allows the cone to be stored inside the pot. The Evernew looks beefy, it is a little heavier than most other systems, but if it performs well compared to a Trail Designs system it might be of interest to the community. However, I suspect the Cone will do better.

Tor, I did not monitor the fuel amounts. By the time I did the timed tests I had a good enough intuitive sense of how much was required without running out of gas (so to speak).

Damain, that's really interesting. By Trangia you mean the good old heavy brass burner, yes? Is the design different, or does the material make a difference?

I think part of that may have to do with the fact that the Evernew burner has more jets/holes (a set on the upper level, and another on the lower level). Perhaps it burns it fuel more vigorously, and hence extinguishes it's fuel quicker? Maybe the jets around the outer perimeter waste more heat because they are less concentrated on the center of the pot?

Just a couple of theories… :-)

Ron, I setup the stove out of the box with and without the pentagonal wire. The evernew burner was a bit loose without it, i.e. I could get it to fall through the hole with an amount of force such that I was not concerned about it happening during normal use. During the many nights/mornings I used in it the BC, I never used the wire and never had any issues.

I may be playing the devils advocate here because I have never had my hands on a clikstand. I really like the idea, looks to be an excellent system.

however…

I think there are a few holes in this review. One being that the only "data" is the cost of a clikstand vs. a caldera cone. Other than that, it is just one man's opinions and untested theories. The thing is, that a comparison to the caldera cone system isn't really the point. Yes, it supports any pot you choose and that is a plus. But to say that it is a big plus in comparison to the caldera cone is just opinion. That totally depends on the style of hiker or trip. Many of us will only use one pot anyhow, so if you are only concerned with weight get something that is both lighter and cheaper. If you want to really cook, get something that is cheaper and can simmer. I'm not saying the clikstand isn't a good system, just IMO, it seems to fall a bit in no man's land.

The reason the system doesn't work well with narrow pots is because of the stove design. Look at the flame pattern of a trangia burner vs. a 10-12 burner. The 10-12 has a more centralized pattern that is much more efficient with narrow pots. The trangia (or copy) has a wider pattern that will work better to have even heat distribution on wider pots. Use your equipment as designed. I wouldn't throw a 4.0 liter pot on a jetboil because it isn't designed for that, neither would i put a tall, skinny pot over a trangia (or copy) type burner.

My other thought is that if you want to really "cook", then the titanium may not be worth the price as much. The T2 clikstand may be light, but the multiple pots necessary to really cook are not. For the price of a T2 clikstand, you could buy a trangia 27 that was recently reviewed by Hikin' Jim, and that includes the ability to simmer as well as two pots and a fry pan. Of course a trangia 27 is heavy, but IMO, if you are going to be willing to bring multiple pots, might as well go all out. I've never actually searched, but i'd bet that you'd have a hard time finding a wind protected simmering capable stove setup that includes 2 pots and a fry pan that weighs much less than a trangia.

I see the T2 clikstand as a possible alternative for someone who likes to really cook occasionally and usually just boils water, but only wants one stove. With a trangia burner and a simmer ring and an extra pot or two, you could really cook. Then use the evernew burner and a wide pot for when you just want to boil water. Then again, I'd think a mini trangia would serve the same purpose for about $40. And if you add the clikstand with a evernew 900 pot and evernew fry pan, or even an evernew pot/pan combo, you are heavier than the mini trangia. Not to mention you will have spent close to another $100 in cookware.

The Clikstand is great, and I'd love to have a Ti version were it not for the price (ouch!).

The one problem I see with using a pan with the Evernew burner is that there's no way to moderate the flame. A Trangia burner has a variable simmer ring, but the Evernew burner is either on or off (unless you DIY something). Seems to me that using a pan with a burner with no control is a great way to enjoy some charcoal. :)

By the way, a Caldera Cone can be used with a pan, at least on the Ti versions of the Caldera Cone. One needs a pan big enough span the width of the opening of the cone (or a pan sized to fit within the opening).

Here, I've cooked scrambled eggs with a pan on a Caldera Cone:

The Clikstand is quite flexible in that it can handle a wider variety of pots and pans (if they're wide enough), but don't count the Cone out completely.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

The Trangia simmer ring is not threaded. It will probably fit although how well it will fit I'm not sure. Sounds like an interesting experiment. Let us know how it goes.

The other thing of note about a Clikstand is that standard Coke can type alcohol stoves will fit in. For example, here's a DIY stove made from standard Coke can sized beverage cans:

Note that there is no rim on the stove to rest on the Clikstand, so either the stove rests on the ground or you have to put something under it. The stove in the photo above is taller than average.

Here's a very short DIY stove in a Clikstand:

I'd probably want to put something under the stove to elevate it slightly.

The Clikstand is a really nice system and is one of the most flexible out there. However, even in Ti, it's not as light as a Caldera Cone set up, and a Caldera Cone is a lot more efficient.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

Pulled out the Evernew ti stove and fired it up. Once burning well, I tried the Trangia simmer ring on it. It sort of worked, but not well.

The lower level of jets on the Evernew is just slightly wider than the bottom of the simmer ring, so about half of them stayed lit. The central flame was also much stronger and harder to control the limiting effect.

At this point, I'd take the Evernew if I was doing a freezer bag only (or other boiling only) style of meal prep, and take the Trangia stove instead if I wanted to do some frying or simmering as well as boiling.

YMMV

Ron Bishop wrote: > Secondly, I've considered buying the Clikstand for use with my SP Mini Solo Combo Ti (3.75" pot diameter) and/or SP Trek 900 Ti (4.5" pot diameter) but, if what you state is true about the slower burn times with narrower pots, I'm not sure I could justify the Clikstand purchase.

Ron, I don't think you can even use a SP Mini Solo on a Clikstand. The SP Mini Solo would fall through straight onto the burner.

The pot supports on a Clikstand have about a 2"/5cm radius (4"/10cm diameter). In other words, about a 4.25"/11cm diameter pot is the smallest that you could conceivably use, but that's kind of pushing it.

A 4.5"/11.5cm diameter pot will work better in terms of fitting the pot supports, but it will not be all that efficient.

I found that going up to a 1000ml pot with a 5.75"/14.5cm diameter worked really well on the Clikstand in terms of efficiency and stability.

EDIT: The other really nice thing about going with a bit larger pot is that the Clikstand will then fit inside the pot. When I used my 780ml and 850ml pots, the Clikstand would not fit inside. With a 1000ml pot, the Clikstand, burner, spoon, lighter, small fuel bottle, fuel measuring cup, and windscreen all fit inside the pot. See The Clikstand — A Brief Introduction for more info.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving