When good things go away

I recently learned that the manufacturer of the Simon Stove has ceased to make them. If you didn't get one before, it looks like you will have trouble finding one now. Keep your eye out for any on ebay or other auction sites as this will be the only place you might come across one.

I think it is truly sad that they have discontinued this as I have never found another stove that holds a candle to this one. Granted there are lighter ones, and probably more compact ones, but none of them quite measures up in my field testing for ease and complete package solutions to cooking while camping.

You can build yourself an alchol stove (which burns cleaner than most other fuels going and is readily available in most parts of the world) but you will be hard pressed to duplicate the system for pot holding or the clean lines and good design of the Simon.

Upcoming gear reviews will be for bicycle touring products, like panners and bike computers, mess kits, tents and other camp and bicycle touring equipment. I am also in the process of designing some unique bicycle shipping containers that will not require storage when you get to your destination. (patents pending so I can't really go into more detail yet.)

Knife Fork and Corkscrew

***** Five Star Rating

Some time ago, as a reward for a magazine subscription renewal, I got this great pocket knife that also had a fork, bottle opener and corkscrew.

What makes this particular set of cutlery superior to anything else I have every used on camping trips is that the whole thing fits together very much like a regular pocket knife, but when the fork is opened it allows the two halves to be separated which means you can actually use the fork to hold what you are cutting with the knife.

I remember writing to the magazine in an effort to find where I could acquire more of these, since I know many campers, and would love to be able to give such a nifty gift to several people as well as acquiring a couple more for my own camping mess kit. (sometimes one does not dine alone while camping out.)

If anyone out there happens to know where I can obtain more of these, I would really appreciate your leaving a comment here, or better yet, email me and let me know where they are.

Other than being scarce as hens teeth, this item is an absolute must have for comfortable camping.

The Simon Alcohol Stove

***** stars



After doing some research on what kind of cook stove was the cleanest burning, had fuel available in most countries, and was compact enough to carry either backpacking or bicycle touring, I decided on the Simon Stove.

I got mine through a mail order from Australia, where after converting the Au dollars to US dollars it was about $25.

The Simon is an alcohol stove (you can also build your own alcohol stove from a soda pop can, but then you still need to create a way to set a pot or your tea kettle over the flame unless you are going to hold the pan in place the whole time.)

The Simon comes with its own way to support a pan as the legs that hold the lid on fold out to act as feet for balance and a support for your pan or tea kettle. It comes in a vinyl pouch with a belt loop and is small enough and light weight enough for backpacking or bicycle touring.

Probably the most impressive feature of this stove is the use of denatured alcohol as its fuel since this burns so much cleaner than other fuels and is usually available in most countries. (In the states most hardware stores carry it, in some countries you can find it in pharmacies or drug stores.) There are some countries that require the addition of a foul smell or color additive to make sure it is not used for human consumption, or to keep folks from imbibing it accidentally.

It does not seem to come with any directions for the use of it, but it really is fairly simple to figure out with some common sense. At first I thought the lid would be placed on it after lighting so the flames would be routed through the tiny holes around its edge rather than through the top, but now I believe the lid is designed to extinguish the fire if you are done before the fuel runs out albeit a somewhat tricky process to put the lid on when it is lit. (tongs would be a nice thing to have to keep hands farther from the flames when attempting this process.)

Lighting was a matter of putting fuel in the main chamber and holding a match over the large opening on the top. It took a few seconds for the flames to start moving from the center to the holes around the edge, but once that happened the flame was spread out nicely to heat the kettle or pan.

It has a large enough central chamber to allow for enough fuel to cook several dishes, boil water or toast marsh mellows before it needs refueling.

Many of the alcohol stoves I have seen rely upon a core that would need replacing after so many uses, but the Simon does not have a core and relies upon a hollow chamber between the main chamber and the outer wall.

The drawbacks to this stove are that it gets too hot to pack it up until it has cooled down (but so do most stoves alcohol or otherwise) that I have seen.

The biggest advantage is the clean burn it creates which means you do not have blackened bottoms to your camp mess kits. To me that is a very big plus.

To review gear and rate it I will use the 5 stars method. The Simon Stove gets a resounding 5 stars.