I recently stumbled upon a Trangia gas burner which allows you to substitute the spirit burner for a gas burner. As I will be walking the HRP this summer, a gas conversion seems to be ideal since the guidebook states that camping gaz is a lot more common than methilated spirits in the small villages along the way.

I am new to the world of gas and I was wondering whether anyone could explain to me how this conversion works, i.e. do you screw it onto a gas cylinder and leave it there? Surely if you unscrew it you'll have gas going everywhere? Or am i completely mistaken?  If this were to be the case does that mean you have to pack the cylinder with the gas burner still attached? 

The gas converter is for the screw-on gas cartridges not the camping-gaz piercable ones. You need a converter to be able to use those.

I'd leave your Trangia behind and buy a gas cooker locally and then you know you'll be able to get supplies????

Yeah the Trangia converter works with screw on self sealing gas cannisters, which are mainly only available in the UK. If you go abroad you can get an adapter for it but its pretty bulky and heavy, but works I suppose.

Note that the "official" Primus-sourced Trangia gas burner is twice the price of a near identical one from Markill, which can be had for about £20.

I've got the "official" one, and it works very well by giving you the control and cleanliness of gas cooking with all the stability and convenience (i.e., you can leave it to its own devices to a greater degree than other stoves) of the Trangia, but it doesn't make it any lighter...  We take a wee gas burner if travelling light is in order, using the (gas) Trangia out of canoes and kayaks and where we're not walking far,

Pete. 

Yeah well that's what a friend of mine did last year and the burner he got was

a) rather unstable 

b) rather unreliable

Are there any other options available? More importantly, has anyone walked the HRP (Pyrenean Haute Route) and if so what did they use to cook?

Nils 

Fascinating stuff this, to me at least, as I have not yet seen anyone running the stoves thus converted to gas! Can anyone give us any stats on this conversion in use, in comparison to normal Trangia fuel/stove burn efficiency at all, to show if it reduces or matches the overall usefulness and strengths of the Trangia system once switched over to gas on such a converter please? I only ask as first impressions to my mind are that I want one too!!!! But there must surely be a non-silvery lining to this otherwise rather brightly shining and attractive cloud presented here!

Out of interest there Pete, what made you finally go for the Primus gas canister converster unit you finally bought for your own Trangia set up, instead of the cheaper Markill one you described? Or was it maybe simply perhaps just a case of your seeing the cheaper one only later on, after you had already purchased that "official" matching brand one then?

Nils, sounds like a really great walk you are off on, and I do hope you both enjoy it greatly, and too post on here some details and pictures afterwards too maybe? I seem to recall reading a magazine article of a quite similar route that our great Chris Townsend from books and TGO magazine fame walked a few years back ago now. Hopefully he will see this thread and be able to chip in with some good experienced pointers for you! I definitely think he is just the one to ask those route and kit specific later questions to! I think he will likely be best able to tell you a good deal about kit good for walks in that general area of Europe especially.

CALLING CT, CALLING CT!!!

A lot of DOE groups use Trangia gas conversions. For group  cooking Trangias are probably better and the gas ones are more  efficient. The groups that stick to the meths one  do so probably because it is cheaper. Then there is the arguement of which are safer - do you go for the 'I've got slightly singed  by spilt meths frequently'  or 'I've produced a  one off  big bang  using gaz' approach.

As for the HRP I suggest  you  go for the   MSR superfly. Its the only stove which takes both types of gaz cannisters (coleman and camping gaz) directly without  a converter. Your next issue  is where do you purchase the gaz. You may be lucky in small villages to find some - but don't count on it.  At the start in Hendaye  the only place I found any was at the camping site near the beach. What I did was  bring a 500gm cannister from the UK which lasted me 3 weeks ( 63 cuppas).   This meant bus London to Paris and then overnight train to Hendaye to avoid confiscation.

Peter_Wells wrote (see)

What I did was  bring a 500gm cannister from the UK which lasted me 3 weeks ( 63 cuppas).   This meant bus London to Paris and then overnight train to Hendaye to avoid confiscation.

Trevor, it depends on why you're particularly using a Trangia as to how gas measures up to spirit.  I primarily like the Trangia as it's stable and windproof, and those factors aren't affected.  OTOH, the things I'm not so keen on with spirit are the faff of refueling and the awkwardness and limited effectiveness of controlling the heat output, and that's miles better with gas.

Burn efficiency isn't something I've measured formally, but my impression is that gas is more fuel efficient than spirit.  It's also easier to handle and much less smelly, but it's non-trivial to finish off containers optimally.  Some folk have constructed setups to drain them into one another, but we just temporaily abandon nearly-finished cyclinders and use them up on car-camping trips.  That's definiely less convenient than seeing exactly what you've got left and being able to take quantities that don't conform to pre-set cannister sizes.  I'll occasionally use spirit for that reason (but only occasionally).

I got the Primus converter at a club discount evening at Tisos.  You know how it is, you're "saving" money and just drop that handy wee thing in the basket assuming it won't cost that much and when it's rung up you think "!" and then "oh... what the hell..."  And I found out about the Markill one  ayear later.

A lot of whether it's worth a move will depend on feul sources.  When I had a flatmate who worked in a biology lab  and had free access to pure ethanol it made very good sense to run on spirit...

Back to the HRP, an alternative might be something like the Primus Omnifuel, unusual in being able to run off gas cartridges as well as petrol, parafin and diesel.  It's quite stable too, and not too heavy.  Main downsides are initial cost, and running on liquid fuel it sounds like Concoord taking off... 

Pete. 

Nils, Chris T is often popping in here on a most generous regular basis to share his vast accumulated knowledge with us other simple mere outdoors mortals! Thank goodness, and long may he continue to!!! So hopefully he will see the questions you've asked above about both route and kit on here soon. If not, as he may be off on a trek himself somewhere otherwise, then just put it up again as a separate new thread in a few days or so on here. He will likely for sure see it then, and give you some tips then! Good luck on the walk anyways, hope it is really a fine time for you! Looking forwards greatly to seeing any posts on here you might do about it in the near future!

Best Regards, Trevor

Nils, I am not aware of any advantages of the piercable ones over the screw type.  The only piercable ones are camping gaz and being a french company they may be more common in France  but once you get into Spain  I suggest not.  They are also much more inconvenient to slot into your rucksack. The Primus Omni  is an alternative but heavier than the MSR  and weight matters on the HRP. 

Peter_Wells wrote (see)

Nils, I am not aware of any advantages of the piercable ones over the screw type.  The only piercable ones are camping gaz and being a french company they may be more common in France  but once you get into Spain  I suggest not.  They are also much more inconvenient to slot into your rucksack. The Primus Omni  is an alternative but heavier than the MSR  and weight matters on the HRP. 

I only had a 3 week slot. I am going back this August to finish it off.  I wasn't doing the GR10/11 or HRP. I  am walking from Atlantic to  Med by whichever route takes my fancy at any point in time and avoiding places I had been to before. First sighting of gaz was at Ochogavia ( GR11) in the tourist shop. After that saw none until Cauterets (GR10). Mind you I was not really looking. Other spots I know where it can be found are Luz St Sauver(GR10), Torla (GR11), Benasque(GR11), Encamp (GR11), Ax les Thermes (GR10 - just off).

 I am sure  other people on this site can addd to the list. 

I did two weeks of the HRP this September. I took my trangia with and used meths.  You can get meths but it will mean dropping either side of the ridge. However given that there are umpteen passes this isn't that much of a problem.

Meths is gettable - alcohol de quemar in Spanish - although camping gaz is easier to find eg garages sell it and there are busy garages on pretty much all the border crossings as fuel in Spain is cheaper than in France. The more I think about it, the more I think that minimising burn time and using a pot cosy makes sense. Gas canisters always strike me as environmentally feckless and I can't stand having to carry unnecessary extra weight unless it is something I see as a luxury I can justify - a book being my favourite

I have the Markill (touareg) gas converter and it is really good, it turns the Trangia into a really efficient gas stove. Brilliant if you base yourself in a bothy or base camp for trips out to Munroes or whatever. I managed to get the Trangia version for £9.99 from F&T when they cocked up the price labelling at their store in Baker Street. I gave it to my son though I must say its build looked superior to the Markill version.

N.B. If you have a Lidl Trangia clone with the wire pan support then you need to be aware that although it fits, the gas converter is too hot for it and that the wire supports will bend under anything more than a low flame.