Vargo Triad Multi-Fuel Stove

This stove simply is not good enough. It looks great and is very slim but it is not practical.It does work if you want to boil 1 cup of water (300ml) but it is not very efficient.It requires a minimum of 44ml of fuel or else it will not prime.I have found dropping a penny in the centre increases its efficiency but reduces its boil time.In summary I have found this does not work for me while I'm out and about and has already been resigned to the drawer.

Super light. Can be used for esbit block burning also. Will fit inside a 450ml titanium cup for nesting. I Recommend using a wind shield with this.

The stove primes well only if it is nearly full of alcohol, if you only add a small amount of alcohol then it often won't prime at all! It is best used with a good windshield. The stove can be blown out and the remaining fuel tipped back into the fuel bottle (after it has cooled), there are a number of drawbacks, the pot used has to be of sufficient diameter otherwise the legs are too far apart, unlike other stoves the pot can be placed on the burner before the priming cycle is completed. There is no way of adjusting the flame so it can't be used for simmering. Overall my opinion is that it is a good stove as far as meths stoves are concerned and seems to burn more efficiently than the equivalent Trangia style burner (less soot), it isn't suited for people who want to use limited fuel but this can be overcome to some extent by using a pre-primer of some kind heating the fuel before use. The older version of the triad is more efficient in use and burns most of the fuel residue, this newer version is less reliable in these respects.

The only good thing I have to say about this stove is that, at 28 grammes, it's very lightweight. If you're in the market for a titanium alcohol stove, that's probably an attractive feature. However, in all other respects, this thing is very poor. It takes ages to prime, which is wasteful of fuel. It also often blows itself out during that process and needs relighting, which sucks. This is especially true if you only add a small amount of fuel (e.g. if you're just boiling some water for a cuppa or to rehydrate a meal, rather than heating something more substantial), yet if you add a more generous amount of fuel to help with the priming, it's difficult to snuff out and reclaim any unused fuel afterwards. Finally, whilst the built in legs and pot support do work, they're not particularly stable.I've bought lots of lightweight stoves for backpacking over the last couple of years, and this is easily the most disappointing purchase I've made. In contrast, the Toaks Titanium Siphon Alcohol Stove costs half the price of this white elephant and is superior in every way. It doesn't come with a pot stand, but I coupled it with the Evernew Titanium Alcohol Stove Cross Stand that fits snuggly on it, and together they still cost less than the Vargo stove.Don't waste your money on this stove!