UKC

Alpkit and Lomo seem to have a fair bit in common - both do lots of 'no frills' stuff at budget prices, both manufacture and sell direct by mail-order, both have excellent customer service and a bit of a cult following. My problem is I love 'em both, so here's my question...

I've been thinking about getting one of these new-fangled efficient stoves. Alpkit's "BruKit" caught my eye, but I see Lomo do one too and they seem very similar.

Alpkit's offering: http://www.alpkit.com/products/brukit
Lomo's contender: http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/highlander-blade-fastboil.html

Can anyone recommend one over the other? Or make a compelling case for spending around twice the price on a Jetboil (or whatever)?

In reply to deepsoup:

I have a Brukit. I raced a friends Jetboil and the Brukit was over a minute quicker for a litre. Nuff said

In reply to 9WS9c3jps92HFTEp:

Wow, really? They got a pretty bad rep when they first came out for being a bit rubbish. What's changed?

In reply to galpinos:

Mine is only 2 months old and been used prob about 5 times but very happy with it. Wasn't aware of any previous problems.

In reply to deepsoup:
The performance falls off dramatically when the canister gets below half full. I returned the one I had as it was taking nearly 20 mins to boil a litre in these circumstances. AK refunded me but said this was normal. Much prefer my Alpkit Kraku, smaller, lighter, quicker and cheaper.

In reply to 9WS9c3jps92HFTEp:


You do live it up don't you!

In reply to 9WS9c3jps92HFTEp:

Hmm, interesting, thanks. I'#d written them off but maybe something's changed.

(I think the original thread was this, http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=599246, with another following it later)

In reply to deepsoup:

I don't really get the whole Jetboil thing. Maybe they work for some people but they are heavy, bulky, unstable, difficult to do anything other than boil water with and in many real world circumstances, no quicker than conventional burners.

In reply to jezb1:

When waiting for DofE groups you have to keep yourself amused somehow

In reply to deepsoup:

The Lomo one is actually a Highlander branded one, not their own, so not quite the same as their other direct-sourced stuff.

I've gone off Lomo, had lots of bits for canoeing. I generally find the stuff good at first, but it never lasts long. I am a pretty heavy canoeing gear user though!

In reply to 9WS9c3jps92HFTEp:

That's interesting. Did both stoves have about the same amount of gas in the bottle or were you not taking it that seriously?

In reply to DaveHK:

Funnily enough, this thread (and that previous one - thanks for the link galpinos) is turning me around to that point of view somewhat.

I was thinking I definitely wanted one or the other, but I'm now beginning to think I may as well just stick with the perfectly usable little stove I already have. Perhaps a tad naively I was just assuming that a heat-exchanger thingy would automatically be loads more efficient.

In reply to deepsoup:
I really liked the idea too and I know a few folks that swear by them but just didn't work / live up to the hype for me. For 1 or 2 nights trips and mountain marathons I've got a Kraku with an Alpkit 650ml titanium mug. Everything fits in the mug including a 100g canister. Lighter, cheaper, much less bulky and just works better for me than a Jetboil.

In reply to Mal Grey:


Ah yes.
Looking at that other thread the Alpkit one is also not truly their own so much as a re-badged Fire-Maple stove.

I guess the stove thing is a bit too specialised for it to be worthwhile for either company to get into genuinely developing and manufacturing their own design. Must be a pretty expensive process.


That's interesting. I have bits and bobs of theirs too, but I've not been kayaking long enough to wear anything out yet really.

In reply to deepsoup:
Well it wasn't a scientific test. It was more to fill some time whilst we were kicking our heels. However, it didn't fill that much time as the brukit was so quick

I had a decent size (230g I think) gas cannister 1/2 full cos that is what fits inside. Jon had a 100g on the jetboil as that is what fits inside (not sure how full). We both measured out a litre from our nalgene bottles.

I should probably declare that my stove of choice for the hills is actually a Pocket Rocket plus pan but I bought the Brukit to live in my van for DofE work. I don't think it will ever come on the hill with me as much bulkier than a Pocket Rocket plus pan combo.

In reply to deepsoup:


I've killed two Lomo dry bags in about a year of weekend use, Aqua Boot neoprene shoes (lasted well though), trolley (poor design, joints fail, not just me I know of 3), airbags (common with other brands too), and two of the Compact BC safety knife (which I believe has a significant design flaw and would not recommend relying on - they have been told, by more than just me).
I have a throwline which is excellent, works well, easy to handle and is lasting.
I reckon its decent enough for occasional users, just not up to regular use and abuse. The knife is a different matter, and potentially dangerous - it can jam closed.

In reply to DaveHK:
Hi Dave,

I've just got a Brukit for my birthday (wife totally surprised me), seems like a good system. Compact, clean, can be used by my kids when we go camping, can attach chains for those with alpine aspirations!

Reminds me of a Markill Stormy, more stable looking though with a better burner arrangement. All gas stoves drop off once canister half empty.

Stuart

In reply to deepsoup:

Depends which Jetboil you're comparing to. For example:
...Vs Flash. Jetboil comes with the pan support, and floor stabiliser. That's about £10-15 worth of accessories included which make the Flash a more general purpose stove.
...Vs. MiniMo. Jetboil has a regulator meaning the gas comes out at roughly the same rate even at sub-zero temperatures, and when the canister is getting empty.

I'd also say it looks like Highlander and Alpkit are both using stove parts which look similar to the ones which Jetboil were using and had such terrible number of returns on, that they started using Primus-made ones.

Depends on what you want. Value-wise the two listed look remarkably similar, and good value. The Jetboil I'd expect it to last longer, and you'll have more features, and it'll be more general purpose. If you're after efficiency above all else I'd look at the MSR Windboiler/Windburner (seems to go by both names). Probably the most expensive, but in the real world, the most efficient and quickest.

In reply to Stuart the postie:



Sorry to rubbish your birthday present Stuart, maybe I just had a bad one!

In reply to deepsoup:

I've been a big fan of my brukit having used it loads this year. I was initially a wee bit nervous after reading some of the early reviews on here but it's been ace!
Regarding the empty canister issue, I recently had half a dozen very nearly empty gas canisters after a D of e weekend so I did a side by side comparison with my pocket rocket and titanium mug. The brukit was faster brewing 500ml of water every time and even with very little gas in the canister were clocking sub 3 minute boil times. It was doing a litre in sub 5 too. I managed to boil an impressive volume of water before the gas finally ran out.
Granted it's heavy but it is way more convenient than a conventional stove for getting a brew up and cooking in it is easy too as the pan doesn't shift.

In reply to Stuart the postie:

I like it for the quick brew or mugshot after a long run or event or something. We've taken it on family walks and stopped for a hot chocolate for a bit of fun. Nice, no fuss system.

I found out last weekend I can balance my stovetop moka for an espresso after a hasty 'chuck a few things in a bag' pack.

In reply to Mal Grey:


Which, in turn, is probably just a generic Chinese stove, badge -engineered.

Alpkit make no bones about their stoves being re-branded Fire Maple.

In reply to Ysgo:

If I'm entirely honest, I think I just wanted some shiny new kit for the sake of it.
I could talk myself into buying the Alpkit or the Highlander because they seem like a bargain, (and because Alpkit and Lomo are both such nice companies to deal with) but a full-price Jetboil or MSR would be hard to justify.

Though angrypirate and steveriley may have talked me back around towards an Alpkit impulse buy again...

I don't think weight is too much of an issue btw, as I'm mostly thinking of sea kayaking trips and have a boat with a fair bit of capacity to carry stuff in the front and rear hatches. This is quite a new thing for me though, I'm slightly giddy at the prospect of a first solo multi-day trip sometime over the summer and tbh I suspect the urge to buy some new kit comes from that.

I have much to learn about how to pack the boat, and even how much I can actually carry. For the time being I think I'll be sensible and stick with the perfectly usable kit I already have. (Cant even remember exactly what my small stove is, but it's a little back-packing jobby not very much bigger than the Kraku.)

Thanks all, for much sound advice.

In reply to deepsoup:

I have a previous (Fire Maple) incarnation of what is now the alpkit koro.

With a remote canister and a pre heating tube you can invert a nearly empty canister (being careful!) and burn the liquid gas until empty. It does splutter a wee bit doing that but it speeds things up.