Clikstand T2 Alcohol Stove System Review

[Addie Bedford]

Companion forum thread to:

Clikstand T2 Alcohol Stove System Review

[T N]

Did I miss something or did you not state how much fuel was used per half litre boiled? Its easy enough to get quick boil times if you burn alot of fuel.

[Nick Gatel]

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.

[Damien Tougas]

I am a big fan of the Ti Clikstand system. One thing I have noticed is that for larger pots, and larger volumes of water, I get better performance from the Trangia burner. It is a lot heavier though… I found that for pots of around 2L, the Evernew burner ran out of fuel before I was done cooking my meal. With the Trangia, I could boil water and had plenty of time to simmer as well.

[David Chenault]

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?

[Richard Scruggs]

David —

Re relative efficiency of an Evernew burner and Trangia burner, here's an excerpt from Hiking in Finland's review comparing a stainless steel Clikstand (using Trangia burner) to a titanium Clikstand (using Evernew Ti burner):

"The Evernew Burner is a lot faster than the Trangia, needing about 5 minutes to bring 500 ml of cold water to a boil, whereas the Trangia needs about 7 minutes. However, the Evernew burns only 7,5 minutes with 30 ml of alcohol, whereas the Trangia goes on for 10 minutes with the same amount of alcohol."

See: http://tinyurl.com/Clikstand-Review

[Damien Tougas]

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 B]

I always understood that the Clikstand was initially designed to be used with the Trangia burner, then was later adapted for the Evernew burner if used with the titanium burner adapter (i.e. a pentagonal-shaped wire). Did you have any problems using the Evernew burner without the burner adapter (i.e. was the Evernew burner loose inside the stand)?

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.

Thanks for the review.

[David Chenault]

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.

[Ron B]

David,

I'd be interested in further study of the Evernew burner with the Evernew Ti Cross Stand and/or Evernew DX Stand, unless it's already been covered in a previous review.

Cheers.

[ben wood]

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.

[HkNewman]

Wonder why they chose not punch a couple holes on the top so stabilizing rods can put through, forming a grill?

Forgot which company sold a windscreen that had an integrated grill (think it was discontinued).

[Addie Bedford]

The manufacturer of the Clikstand T-2 notified us that the price listed for the stand portion of the system had been reduced this past fall. I've added corrections to the text, and BackpackingLight regrets the error.

[Stephen Barber]

The Trangia stove has been around forever, and though the brass makes it heavier than an aluminum or ti stove, it has a lot going for it the other alcohol stoves don't. You can extinguish the flame and leave the fuel in the stove for the next meal (thus you really don't need a measuring cup for the alcohol); you can reduce the flame for warming, simmering, or sauteing.

And it works great with the Clikstand! I use the Evernew 900, which could almost be designed for the Clikstand, and have used it nicely with my MSR frying pan as well (sans windscreen).

Count me as another fan!

[Hikin’ Jim]

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

[Stephen Barber]

Can the Trangia simmering ring be used with the Evernew stove?

I'll have to try it this weekend, unless someone already knows the answer.

It still wouldn't allow you to keep alcohol in the burner, as the Evernew doesn't have a threaded top, but if I remember correctly, the Trangia simmer ring is not threaded.

[Hikin’ Jim]

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

[Hikin’ Jim]

ben wood wrote: > 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.

Ben,

One option is to use the Trangia 27 pots on a Clikstand. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but there is a Clikstand underneath the stacked Trangia pots.

The Clikstand is quite a bit lighter than the upper and lower windscreens of a Trangia. You do need to add a windscreen, but a Ti windscreen is quite light. The 1 liter sized Trangia pots are a good fit for a Clikstand.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[Stephen Barber]

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

[Hikin’ Jim]

Yeah, that sounds right: Evernew burner for boiling only; Trangia for anything more complicated. Unfortunately the weight of the Trangia burner more or less negates the weight savings of a Titanium Clikstand. Even if you bring the lightweight Evernew burner, the Evernew's higher fuel consumption also negates some of the weight savings.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[Hikin’ Jim]

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

[Hikin’ Jim]

Nick Gatel wrote: > 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.

Nick,

I did a comparison of the Trangia burner on a Clikstand to a 12-10 burner in a Caldera Cone a few months back (see Caldera Cone vs. Clikstand Alcohol Stove Tests). The Caldera is more efficient than the Clikstand with a Trangia burner. A Clikstand with an Evernew burner will be even less efficient. I don't think the Clikstand should be chosen for efficiency. The Clikstand is really durable and is more flexible in terms of the pots and pans that you can use with it.

The Clikstand can also be used with Coke/Pepsi can sized DIY alcohol stoves. I frequently use the Clikstand to test my DIY stoves. If you've got a nice, lightweight DIY stove that you like and does what you want, the Clikstand is a really nice option.

There's a lot more choices with a Clikstand than just Trangia vs. Evernew burner. Like I say, the reason to choose the Clikstand is flexibility. If one is looking for efficiency, stick with a Caldera Cone.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

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