Despite camping and cooking outdoors for the last… let’s say plenty of years, I’ve never had, or used a Trangia. It wasn’t until I mentioned this to the Vango PR guy at a recent event that he offered to send me one to review, which was nice of him.

Now, in the unlikely event you have never come across the Trangia set up, let me give you a quick overview.

Designed and built to last a lifetime, or three, the first prototype of the Trangia stove saw the light of day back in 1951, and was designed to be a complete cooking system with a burner, pot and windshield. They decided to use liquid fuel due to its efficiency and user friendliness. Trangia has since become one of the leading outdoor industry brands, both in Sweden and around the world. Generations of scouts, mountain hikers and outdoor enthusiasts have cooked their meals on a Trangia stove, and they’re still made in the village of Trångsviken, in northern Sweden.

Back to the here and now, and after scouring the Trangia website it didn’t take me long to get a little confused as there are so many options, but in the end I opted for the 27-8 UL/HA. 27 meaning it’s the smaller of the two sizes, 8 meaning it comes with a 0.6-ltr kettle, UL means ultralight aluminium, and HA Hard anodised. The 27 series stove sets include two one-litre saucepans (one inner, one outer), a frypan, a windshield (upper and lower part), burner, handle and strap.

This kit comes with a spirit burner as standard, or you can add the letters GB if you prefer a gas-burner. Trangia’s accessory page also lists a gel-burner and many other attachments that make cooking easier.

Speaking of accessories, I was cheeky and also asked for the Trangia fuel bottle and Multi Disc. The latter is a very useful and worthwhile accessory as it not only serves as a lid, sieve and chopping board, but when packed it’s a useful extra layer used to protect the non-stick surface of the frying pan.

So, what’s it like to cook with?

Quite easy. Once set up, which takes less than a minute, all you have to worry about is the amount of heat you require, this is regulated by using the disc on the burner lid - using heat resistant gloves is recommended.

On full, it took around six minutes to boil the full 0.6 litre kettle (it was cold and very windy), and more often than not I’ve found myself reducing the flame to around half so I don’t burn some meals. So far the hard anodised aluminium pans have proved strong and scratch resistant.

When cooking with the either of the two one-litre saucepans, or boiling water in the kettle, they sit within the body resting on the three supports ensuring efficiency, it’s only the frying pan that sits above on the upturned supports.

It could be argued that using a spirit burner is not as efficient as gas, but it’s economical and readily available, and you don’t have to cart around gas canisters when empty. Oh, and unlike gas canisters, you can top up with fuel whenever you’re getting low.

The Trangia also scores high in blustery, suboptimal conditions with its windproof design, wide stable base and enclosed burner.

Measuring just 185 x 100 mm and weighing 825g, the 27-8 is a neat and lightweight cooking system that can be easily stored in a rucksack or hidden away in a vehicle.

Overall its reliable performance and sturdy construction ensures that you can enjoy hot meals and drinks no matter where your journey takes you.

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