Newly arrived to my blog? Want to know more about me before you dive into my posts? Why not visit the home page first and start your exploration from there:
https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/01/welcome-to-my-new-astronomyastrophotogr.html
And welcome. Welcome to 'UnderSouthWest Skies'. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find the experience worthwhile. This blog post has been written from my own 'beginner perspective' after doing lots of reading on the topic below. In getting my head around it all, I may have got odd bits slightly wrong; but, like you, I am on a leaning journey, so please forgive any unintentional errors. Meanwhile, clear skies to you. Take care and thanks for visiting Steve aka PlymouthAstroBoy
What do you do for your hot drinks on those cold winter nights when all your equipment is covered in dew or worse still, frost? When you are chilled despite all the proper layering of good clothes you have done?
I started my astronomy/astrophotography sessions with taking flasks of tea. But I found these cooled really quickly. Even worse, the milk started curling on the long journeys down country lanes. Yep, that really did occasionally happen. Ugh!
Then I switched recently to a different system - taking flasks of hot water in an insulated food bag, along with a small metal bottle of milk. I'd make a cuppa using tea bags and the hot water and milk.
Advantages? The flasks seemed to keep the water far hotter for far longer in the insulated bag. The task of making a cuppa was fun; something to do whilst waiting for your light frames shooting sequence to finish. Great if I was operating out the back of the car where weight of equipment carried wasn't going to be an issue.
But what about when I am doing milky way astrophotography, away from the car?
Trekking along stretches of coastline or across moorland to a secret destination for a night shoot! Weight of equipment carried becomes an issue then! As does keeping warm in exposed locations.
So I am switching back to my favourite system of making a cuppa - using a stove! Or cooking noodles! Or heating a camping 'meal in a bag'. It doesn't have to be just a 'cuppa' any more.
Coming from an outdoor pursuits background, firstly as a mountain climber and trekker, then as a dinghy cruising sailor doing overnight expedition raids along the south Devon coastline, I love the hiss from a good camping stove. The heat generated, the bubbling of boiling water, the instant gratification from a hot, warming drink and/or meal.
I have always used a Trangia stove. Always! Mine is nearly forty years old and is still going strong, but, as Trangia users know, whilst it is a brilliant little stove, it is heavy if you add in the meths that has to be carried as well.
So, I have sinned. Transgressed. Traitorised myself! I got a Primus Lite+ stove for my birthday present!
Shock, horror, the world is ending! He has succumbed to the lure of the 'all in one' stove!
So why have I done this?
Firstly, I wanted a lightweight stove system specifically for when I go off and do my milky way shooting sessions. Something integrated but light weight; giving fast boiling of water. Easy and quick to set up or put away. I often walk a fair way to get to a good location that I have scouted previously. After shooting, I may move location slightly and do it all again in the same session. I want to be able to pack and unpack equipment quickly. Mobility, time efficiency and safety are the key things here.
The Primus Lite+ meets these requirements.
The stove is an integrated 'all in one gas' design; small pack size and a lightweight 400gs. The pot is 0.5l capacity and its a one-person stove set up. On my initial tests out in a windy garden, my stove boiled water in 2' 30"s.
Fuel efficient and a smart design, it is built of high quality materials. Typical Primus quality!
The anodised pot has an integrated pouring spout and built in heat exchanger at the base. The lid is plastic and has a strainer inbuilt. This also allows steam to escape as water boils. Stepped, the lid is easy to remove to check the water (or noodles!) Its actual function is, a small mug or bowl!
Insulated by a cork lined fabric sleeve which closes with velcro, the pot is easy to handle when removing it from the burner assembly. The handle is a sturdy, secure, strap affair which can be folded over the top of the lid to store everything safely inside the pot (or used to hang it using the supplied cord loop, from a convenient branch). Attached to the handle are three little screw pins, more about these later.
The burner unit screws into a gas canister. Triangular in shape, with piezo ignition, its a laminar flow burner giving a 1500w flame. The piezo ignition works well, and the large wire handle to turn the gas on and off gives good simmer control as well. The triangular joint connection to the pot is ingenious and so simple to use. The pot attaches and detaches with ease. Frankly, the whole set up is low profile, with a low centre of gravity. Stable, safe; helped by the included fold out triangular base leg system that attaches to the gas canister. Cool down time, by the way, was around ten minutes but that will depend on the conditions on the night won't it?
What about those three pins? Well, they screw into the three holes on the burner unit. You can then use a bigger pot on the stove. Ideal, if like me, you might be tempted on a longer night out to do a 'boil in the bag' camping meal. I can use one of my very lightweight trangia pots for this. Something I couldn't do on the 'Jetboil Flash, which was the other stove system I looked at.
So what don't I like about it after testing it a few times in the garden?
Not much actually. And that's a rare thing as I'm not that easily pleased when it comes to outdoor gear.
Those pins on the attached handle make it difficult to fold the handle over the pot for secure storage. They scratch the mug lid as well. When separating the burner unit from the pot, there isn't much to grab hold of which isn't hot - so you have to hold the gas cylinder and twist. As I said, it separates very easily so that doesn't seem to be a problem in reality.
In conclusion, I like the portability and lightweightness of the stove. Everything including a 100g gas cylinder packs down into the pot. Materials are sturdy; the design is robust, thoughtful and modern. Its certainly efficient in boiling water even in windy conditions. Primus have an outstanding reputation - a proven track record in good outdoor gear design, reliability and quality.
Some of you may say it is overkill. A flask of tea is fine. But I say to you, imagine this - sat on a cliff, watching the milky way pass overhead, hearing your DSLR clicking away and in the background, the quite reassuring, comforting roar of a primus lite+; the bubbling of hot water and then a really HOT cuppa or stomach warming noodles! Early morning porridge with cinnamon and sultanas thrown in!! Nectar of the Gods.
Perfection!
Notes:
Copyright on photos above - Peak Mountaineering
I found two review sites useful when researching what stove to buy:
https://www.peakmountaineering.com/primus-lite-plus-stove-review/
https://outdoorsmagic.com/article/primus-lite-plus-stove-system-review/
Here is the stove in action:
No comments:
Post a Comment