Vargo Triad Alcohol Stove Review

"This is a 1 oz titanium alcohol stove that includes an attached pot support. I have used this on two extended 2-man hikes - works very well for heating water for bag dinners. I use a Titan pot, though the pot supports extend close enough to the edge that one has to be careful of knocking the pot of the supports. the supports are surprisingly strong - the titanium is very hard. a single refueling generally heats a titan pot of water. filling the triad takes time - the fuel has to drain through the small hole in the center. i usually use a well-labelled platypus bag for alcohol, cutting weight, space, and sloshing sounds on the trail. i use a small piece of aluminum flashing as a windscreen. this is a reliable stove. comparison with the trangia (also an outstanding alcohol stove): the trangia can carry fuel, is truely simple to use, and has decades of proven reliability, but requires some sort of pot stand (usually included in the kit, though i usually just bend some wire to make one). the triad is lighter, has a pot stand attached, but takes a steady hand to fill (so, i give trangias to friends, and use the triad myself). still, spills are only alcohol, so the campsite won't smell like gasoline! both stoves have replaced my whisperlite - a great gas stove, but heavy, cumbersome, more failure-prone, and with a gas odor that wasn't too bothersome...until i tried alcohol fuel."

"This by far is the best stove I have ever used. I have used it in 0 degree weather and It took about 3 minutes to boil enough water for my mountain house dinner and tea. I'm not sure how it would do above 6,000 feat yet but I will find out in 2008 when I do my ptc hike. The main reason this stove has replaced my whisper, coleman, and jet boil. Is there is no maintance and its realy only 2 pieces."

"Please read the BPL reviews for this stove. In short this is one of the worst Alcohol stoves you could purchase. You will be much much happier with a Pepsi-can type Alcohol Stove. The Triad does look cool but thats about it for positives. As a long time Alcy stove user believe me it's performance is very poor and it has a high frustratioin factor."

"A nifty looking bit of kit, and in my favorite metal, titanium. There is something wonderfully sci-fi about it, the neat folding legs and pot rests and light weight crouched like a cyber spider. Shame it has less fire power than a been can burner. I brought one not very cheaply thinking it would be a good replacement to my Gaz butane burner, but bench tests revealed the ugly truth:It has less power than the ever green Pepsi Trangia.
Not by a huge amount it's true, it does chuck out well usable heat in a modest sort of way but is a little smaller in diameter than a soda can and like every alco burner suffers from draught related heat loss. In other than dead calm conditions it needs a windshield.
It can also leak fuel while burning if the seam seal isnt up to scratch. This was a problem the factory cured with JB Weld with mixed results.

Clever: Trippy to look at, compact, very light, should be very durable and reliable, clever feet and pot stand. Made of titanium. Can be flipped over and used as a solid fuel burner.

Not So Clever: Modest heat out put, cant be carried with fuel in it, prone to draughts without a windshield.

If you are a die hard techno lite freak, buy one, they work ok. Otherwise get a Trangia Mini for about the same dough that will carry fuel, burn hotter, simmer and be a generally useful bit of kit. Or you can save your dough, learn to make beer can burners and get creative with a coat hanger for the same effect."