My $2.00 "Tommy" Stove and solid fuel
I've got this little lightweight fold-out stove from a neighborhood outdoor supplies shop at a very affordable price of $2.00.
Now, I've been fairly used to the fact that most quality camping equipment are on the expensive side due to the amount of thought put in to make it fit for the purpose of camping. On the other hand, cheaper products tend to disappoint me when its put to the test and would likely last a few uses before breaking. I once bought a brandless headlamp to use for a camping trip thinking that I should not be spending too much since I rarely camped. The cheap headlamp was dim to start out with and broke even before the trip itself, while my old Fenix L2D worked just fine.
The question is, will the inexpensive Tommy Stove actually be useful outdoors or is it just a novelty?
The stove can accommodate small mess mugs with this setting. Note that, at this angle, the metal tabs may bend under stress if the weight is too much to take.
The stove is a simple stamped metal that unfolds to form the supports for a pot stand and a place to put the solid fuel. By doing so, it gives a gap between the solid fuel and the stove such that it is near enough to absorb the heat produced while being far enough to let the fuel burn sufficiently before it hits and cool down at the pot surface, forming excessive amount of soot and residue. The elegance of this kind of outdoor stove and fuel is that it is so simple that there is hardly any way for it to malfunction, unlike other more sophisticated gas and pressurized liquid fuel stoves.
Use this setting for maximum support for bigger and heavier pots.
About the fuel itself, it is a white crumbly solid that comes in small cubes. In Singapore, it is prevalent and cheap as it is used by the local army. I first came across solid fuel during my national service days as part of our outfield ration package. A stove, however, was not provided.
The army style of using those solid fuel tablets is by digging a small hole in the ground, light up a piece of fuel and put our mess tin above the hole. Honestly, I had never once used solid fuel during my outfield days because the ration packs were good to eat cold and no one could be bothered with the extra step of cooking. After all, we were then in Basic Military Training and the most coveted luxury was sleep.
The size of the stove can keep a standard "BIC' type lighter and a maximum of 8 army-size solid fuel tablets. This is convenient to as this is all you need to start the stove up and it is one complete package and this will easily fit inside a army style mess tin set together with a packet of instant noodles.
While a stove was not always necessary for solid fuel usage, it is a really convenient thing to have should you not want to dig holes and it keeps the fuel tablet from the ground that may be wet.
Oh yes, I've found this splendid online shop selling these at Army Market:
Tommy Cooker Stove @ $1.40
8x solid fuel tablets @ $1.40
