Roben Fire Tick £38 & Cookery King £89

“Robust and highly windresistant”

If you spent much time outdoors as a kid at any point between the mid-1960s and the ’90s (which, presumably, is most of us), you’ll probably be familiar with the Trangia-style storm cooker. Once a staple of DofE expeditions, Scout and Guide camps, it has gradually declined in popularity. After all, gas stoves do much the same job but more quickly, without the fuss of dealing with messy, sooty meths. But the storm cooker still has a lot going for it, being robust and highly windresistant. And with Robens’ clever Fire Tick stove, you can convert a storm cooker to gas.

It’s designed to replace a meths burner and slots securely into the lower windshield of a storm cooker. It has a wide burner head for even heat distribution and a brass preheater to vaporise fuel more efficiently. Robens’ version of the Trangia, the Cookery King, has a handy slot to thread the fuel hose through too. This gives you all the benefits of a remote canister set-up, such as excellent simmer control and the ability to turn the gas canister upside-down for better cold-weather performance.

The set packs away neatly, yet comes with two large cooking pots, a frying pan, a lid and even a little chopping board

– plus, of course, a classic meths burner if you did want to keep things old school.

IF WE’RE BEING FUSSY

It’s relatively bulky and heavy – though unlike the other stoves tested here, it does include all you need to cook for a small group or create more ambitious meals.

■ BOIL TIME 3min 31sec

■ POWER 1500W / 5118 BTU/hr

■ POT SUPPORT DIAMETER 17.5cm

■ ASSEMBLED HEIGHT

12cm (with 227g gas canister) ■ PACKED SIZE (HxWxD) 21.5x11cm

■ PACKED WEIGHT 1095g

Verdict

A nifty way to resurrect your old storm cooker or build a versatile and weatherproof multi-fuel system, with the capacity to cook group meals.