(Stove) Kovea +1 Booster $110
Posted: Fri 01 Jun, 2018 2:31 pmAs per my previous review of a new Klymit sleeping bag. the other piece of kit that I bought for the trip was a new stove. Again, a lot of research ensued and I ended up deciding on the Kovea 1+ Booster.
I managed to snag it for a very competitive price from an Australian seller on eBay. I tried it out in the garage the week before the trip boiling some water and it got 250mil to a rolling boil in under 3 minutes; much faster than my old Trangia!
There is a very comprehensive review of this stove on the excellent Adventures in Stoving website so I won’t replicate that information here. Suffice to say that whilst the stove is a little on the heavy side, it heats up water and cooks meals very quickly and efficiently.
One pointer for this stove in liquid fuel mode; make sure you prime it sufficiently to ensure that the heating tube across the top of the stove is hot enough to vaporise the fuel once you open the fuel valve to cook with. I made the mistake of opening the valve to early a few times which resulted in the stove spluttering along and eventually going out. Once I had the knack of it, everything seemed to work as it should. I think the stove is pretty efficient as the one 600ml bottle that was not full at the start of the trip still had plenty of fuel left over after being used for cooking and hot drinks for two over two full days hiking and a few false starts due to driver error! I’m yet to use it with a gas canister so that might be on the next trip.
I’ve still got to practice a bit in flame management but, like my new sleeping bag, this presents an ‘opportunity’ to get out on the trail more often!
PROS
Dual fuel without having to change anything, everything you needs comes with it (E.g. MSR stoves don’t come with a fuel bottle), fits into small Trangia pot, solid and stable, can handle quite large pots.
CONS
A bit on the heavy side, takes time to prime, fuel bottle could be larger for longer walks.
Happy to take any questions on either the stove or the sleeping bag.
Cheerio,
Mark CH
I managed to snag it for a very competitive price from an Australian seller on eBay. I tried it out in the garage the week before the trip boiling some water and it got 250mil to a rolling boil in under 3 minutes; much faster than my old Trangia!
There is a very comprehensive review of this stove on the excellent Adventures in Stoving website so I won’t replicate that information here. Suffice to say that whilst the stove is a little on the heavy side, it heats up water and cooks meals very quickly and efficiently.
One pointer for this stove in liquid fuel mode; make sure you prime it sufficiently to ensure that the heating tube across the top of the stove is hot enough to vaporise the fuel once you open the fuel valve to cook with. I made the mistake of opening the valve to early a few times which resulted in the stove spluttering along and eventually going out. Once I had the knack of it, everything seemed to work as it should. I think the stove is pretty efficient as the one 600ml bottle that was not full at the start of the trip still had plenty of fuel left over after being used for cooking and hot drinks for two over two full days hiking and a few false starts due to driver error! I’m yet to use it with a gas canister so that might be on the next trip.
I’ve still got to practice a bit in flame management but, like my new sleeping bag, this presents an ‘opportunity’ to get out on the trail more often!
PROS
Dual fuel without having to change anything, everything you needs comes with it (E.g. MSR stoves don’t come with a fuel bottle), fits into small Trangia pot, solid and stable, can handle quite large pots.
CONS
A bit on the heavy side, takes time to prime, fuel bottle could be larger for longer walks.
Happy to take any questions on either the stove or the sleeping bag.
Cheerio,
Mark CH