Tough new non-stick liner plus better efficiency for 2013 stove specialist.
We're big fans of the Primus ETA range of stoves and at the recent KORS show in Kendal, we got a sneak peek at the 2013 updates to the range including a revised and more efficient heat exchanger and a new, better ceramic pot coating technology.
Pots And Pans...
The heat exchanger, which is an integral part of the ETA pots, ups efficiency by 30% already, but for next year, Primus has added a protective base over the fins, which also increases efficiency gains by a further 3% to 33%.
That's not the only change to the pots though. They also get a brand new non-stick, scratch-resistant ceramic coating instead of the current hard anodised finish. Primus says that while the finish may dull with use, it's incredibly hard wearing and will resist marking from metal cutlery or sand - who puts sand in their pans? - while remaining non stick.
Also new are integrated fold-out handles with heat-resistant silicone covers - the red stuff in the picture - so there's no need for a separate pot grab plus there's a lid with integrated colander and every pot in the range will now come with a handy Polypropolene bowl. Sizes available will be 1.0L, 1.8L and a big, group-friendly, 3.0L monster pan - £40, £45 and £55 respectively if you were wondering.
Stove Updates
Alongside the pan mods, some of the stoves also get a bit of a tweak. The JetBoil-style Primus ETA Solo model, gains siliconised pot-release buttons, which may go some way to making it a tad more user friendly, while there's a new canister-top ETA Express gas stove which features a piezo ignition and quarter-sized wind shield which is held in place by a magnetic attachment. Much lighter than it looks too and very, very neat - £95.
Russian Dolls
The stove we really liked the look of is the new ETA Power EF, a remote canister stove that sits inside a Trangia-type all-round shroud thing for wind protection and comes with a 18.L pot complete with heat exchanger.
Again it's lighter than you'd think and packs down really neatly like a set of nesting Russian dolls. It's gas powered as standard, but for £55 on top of the basic price, you'll be able to add a multi-fuel kit which allows you to burn all sorts of liquid fuel as well. Ideal if you're heading off to remote, primitive areas like Yorkshire.
Big Burner
Finally, if you're the sort of person who's always yearned for a canister-top stove on steroids - big burner and a whopping output, the Power Cook could be just your thing. Originally created for the Japanese market - is it wok friendly or summat? - it churns out around 4000 watts of eyebrow-singing cooking power, has an integrated piezo ignition which is recessed into the burner for protection and it folds down neatly for packing. Very controllable flame too apparently, so you won't burn your porridge unless you really want to. It'll sell for £45.
All the above due out in early 2013. We're big fans of the ETA stoves generally by the way. They're super neat in design, do the job brilliantly with highly efficient burners and those heat exchanger ETA pots and have proved to be super reliable in use.
More Primus information at www.primus.se.
