It’s no secret that I have a bit of a ‘thing’ for meths stoves, so when I saw this Tatonka stainless stove I thought it deserved a little investigation. The stove and stand (available separately) are constructed entirely of stainless, obviously not the best material for the weight conscious but ideal for longevity and durability. The basic design should be very familiar to anyone who’s used a Trangia stove before, the only difference other than material, is size … the Tatonka is bigger than the Trangia.
The extra size gives it quite a capacity, it’ll happily hold enough fuel to burn for over an hour. The screw on lid (that does what it’s meant to and doesn’t leak) means that you can store that fuel inside the stove between brews, so you’ve no need for a separate fuel bottle if you were just going on an overnighter. As with the majority of meths stoves, you’ll have to wait for it to ‘bloom’ before you can start to cook. I have to say, it’s not the fasted to ‘bloom’, depending on conditions and with the stove cold, it can easily take a couple of minutes. I’m tempted to blame a combination of large capacity and the fact it’s stainless … there’s a lot to heat up.
I think the stand is the bit that makes it worthwhile. The three legs un-clip from the main body for packing and just as easily slide back in to place when you want to use it. The stove sits snugly in the centre and your pot goes on top. However, if you use a small mug/pot then you might have to ‘adjust’ the pot support legs a little. In standard trim a 90mm pot is just about supported but with a little bending of the legs it’ll accommodate pretty much any size of pot.
So what’s it like to use? I’ll get straight to the point … if you’re in a rush then look elsewhere but if you’re the type who figures that you’re there all night so there’s no rush, it could be ideal. Boil times are steady, in real world conditions and used with a windshield you’re looking at 7-8 minutes to bring 0.5l of water to a rolling boil. That’s about twice the time I’d expect either a good ‘pop can’ stove or something like a Whitebox to take … but perhaps that’s missing the point a little. As an aside, you can also buy a ‘simmer ring’ to slow the thing down … quite why anyone would want to make it slower is a little beyond me ;o)
If you’re looking for a robust, idiot proof meths stove that’ll outlast you and doesn’t cost a fortune this might just be it. Sure, it won’t break any records but it’ll do exactly what it’s meant to do time and time again.
Stove – Around £7 and 95g
Stand – Around £6 and 90g
