Aviemore

Alpkit Kraku Backpacking Gas Stove

20 January 2014 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Travel / Alpkit, Alpkit Kraku, Aviemore, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, lightweight backpacking, lightweight camping, lightweight stove, MSR titanium mug, outdoor gear, Scotland

First use of the Alpkit Kraku Backpacking Gas Stove

It was my first opportunity today to use the new Alpkit Kraku gas stove. It is very small and I carried a small gas canister to make it a very portable unit. The small size of the burner unit does mean that some care must be taken when fixing it to the gas canister, it can cross thread very easily and if over tightened the shoulder of the valve can jamb on the lip of the gas canister. Once together and the pot supports are set up it does make a very stable stove. I used my MSR titanium mug with lid on it and it sat very well. Once lit, it only took a couple of minutes for the water to come to a rolling boil – I had the stove set up in a very sheltered spot and I was using a wind shield. In the photos you can see the pot support glowing cherry red.

The actual flame head is also quite small, especially compared with my previous MSR Pocket Rocket, it worked well under my mug and I am sure it will work under my Alpkit MiTiMug but I expect it will struggle with a larger pot. It probably will not deliver enough heat for group cooking. When I go camping later in the year I will try it out with the small frying pan I use when static camping. However I bought this as a personal backpacking stove where weight is everything and it is considerably lighter than the MSR stove and when camping on my own it should still be sufficient.

Overall (so far) I am very pleased with the Alpkit Kraku stove – it is very small and light. Well made and efficient – boiling a mug of water significantly quicker then if I had used my meths stove. Because it is so light I may be changing my backpacking habits and using a gas stove more than the ultralight Vargo titanium meth stove I currently use.

Here are some more detailed photos of the stove – More is less.

Here is the post about the walk where I used this stove.

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Walking today – Craigellachie National Nature Reserve Aviemore

20 January 2014 / Camping, Outdoor Gear, Photography, Travel, Walking / Alpkit, Alpkit Kraku, Aviemore, backpacking food, Cairngorm Mountains, Cairngorms National Park, coffee, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, food, hiking food, iPhone photography, IT Support for Lincolnshire, MSR titanium mug, Octagon Technology, outdoor gear, Scotland, tea, walking

With the weather forecast for the day being reasonably good, I decided not to waste any time driving but set off to Craigellachie National Nature Reserve – with a plan to go up onto the ridge and walk along the top.

The weather was great and relatively warm (for January in the Cairngorms), I did not need my gloves, hat or jumper nor did I need to zip my coat up until I got out into the wind on the exposed ridge and summits. One thing I did have on though was the new Helly Hansen Lifa Dry base layer Diana bought me – and it was excellent, it kept me warm, was comfortable to wear and did not absorb any sweat when I was warm so when I did need the insulation on the top, it worked.

Have you ever wondered who puts the rock steps in the footpaths? Well I met two of them today.

Rather than get my stove out to make a coffee, I took hot water in a thermal mug, for the first stop. I had a number Octagon Technology emails and texts to deal with – if there is one problem with the titanium mug I normally use is that on a longer break, like this one, the drink would get cold too quickly. But not when using a thermal mug. I had packed it for this trip having recently read a blog of a backpacker who used one to keep water hot for his late night hot chocolate. He boiled the water when he made his evening meal so it meant he could pack his stove and pots away for the night and still have a hot drink later. I bought my thermal mug a number of years ago but it has had little use but I am going to try it out on this trip and if it works out I may pack it for subsequent trips.

Lunch

Lunch was soup and crackers. I really like the “Squeeze and Stir” tomato soup but I have found it difficult to stir in and dissolve all the paste when I have been making it for lunch when walking and backpacking. I tend to use cup-a-soups which are really easy to make on the trail. But today I had a thermal mug. I put the paste in the mug and half filled it with boiling water. Then making sure the lid was on firmly I vigorously shook it. After about a minute I topped the mug up with more boiling water and I had perfect tomato soup – and once I was finished no messy mug to clean up, I just put the lid back on and packed it away.

click on the above image for a larger version

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Craigellachie – lunchtime

20 January 2014 / Photography, Travel, Walking / Aviemore, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, food, hiking food, iPhone photography, Photos 2014, rainbow, Scotland, walking

It was raining a little when I finally found somewhere suitable to stop out of the wind.

that is Aviemore under the rainbow

Craigellachie – lunchtime Read More »

19 January 2014 / Photography, Travel, Walking / Aviemore, iPhone photography, Photos 2014, Scotland, walking

Having arrived in Aviemore this morning and unpacked, I went for a short walk even though it was raining. I headed out towards the Logging Path to find that parts of the woods where I regularly walk are flooded.

Aviemore Read More »

Moving on

10 August 2013 / Photography, Travel / Aviemore, iPhone photography, Scotland

I am moving on today from Oban to the timeshare at Aviemore where I am meeting the family. Whilst I was packing the tent away I found this insect which was obviously sheltering from last night’s rain under my flysheet.