My oldest tramping kit item: Kovea Backpacker stove

...a faithful friend over many years... 

Last weekend was Canterbury Anniversary and I spent three days in Nelson Lakes National Park on a base camp trip. I stayed at the motel and went for day walks about the park. I had planned something a bit grander but I am having problems with my ankle so this seemed like the better option. 

Making a coffee with my Kovea Backpacking stove

While I was visiting the Mt Robert carpark I utilised my oldest piece of tramping kit to boil water for a coffee. It was my Kovea Backpacker stove which I have now owned for 32 years!!!

In the shelter at the Mt Robert Carpark, Nelson Lakes NP

I thought we could have a look at this awesome bit of kit. 

In use for 32 years...

I don't have a lot of my old camping gear from back in the 1990's but one item I do still own is a Kovea Backpacker stove I brought way back in 1990. I have used this small stove on and off for the last 32 years and it has been on many adventures with me both in New Zealand and overseas.  

Kovea stove in use, Lakehead Hut in 2016

I originally brought this stove for use in the field when I was a Signaler in the New Zealand Army. Back in those days we were issued Hexamine cubes for heating our meals...Hexamine or 'hexie' is a cube of petrochemical based solid fuel.  Hexamine is a slow and inefficient cooking material and also very smoky which is less than tactical. 

Esbit cubes are a form of Hexamine

Most of us eventually brought a small butane gas stove to take out on field exercises. This meant you could cook faster and with less visible smoke and a medium sized gas canister would easily last you 4-5 days.

Just a side note...I still have vivid memories of the smell of Spaghetti and meatballs cooking over a hexamine cube...it smelt wonderful. It is one of the most powerful memories of that time in my life. 

Kovea Backpacker Stove

 I brought this stove from a outdoor equipment store that is long since closed. I cannot for the life of me remember its name but it was located opposite Ballentine's on Cashel Street. This was WAY before Macpac, Kathmandu, Torpedo Seven and their ilk. If anyone can remember the store drop a comment below...

Various medium sized gas canister brands

Post army I used it for camping and tramping trips intermittently for many years. When I got back into tramping properly in the early 2010's this was the stove I hauled out and used for every trip. I only relegated it to secondary use after I brought a new Titanium stove in 2016. 

Kovea Backpacker Stove: a quick look...

Here are some features and specifications of the Kovea Backpacker stove:

The stove comes in a small nylon bag and it can be folded into a flat shape to fit the bag. The pot support arms are articulated and fold back to rest above the gas regulator knob. Before use the arms must be opened and a gas canister screwed onto the bottom of the stove. 

The arms on the Kovea Backpacker stove fold

Brew time at the Mt Robert carpark

You must ensure the pot support arms are fixed in their grooves before balancing a pot on the stove...this is to stop them moving and spilling your contents. There are small notches the pot arms fit into and when engaged the stove is as stable as any stove of this type. 

Lunch at the Mt Robert carpark shelter

I was using my Toak's 1.3 liter cook pot with the stove...this pot is titanium so it is very light and robust. I can easily fit a 350 gm gas canister inside as well as the Kovea stove with my cup and ancillary gear on the top. All of this is carried inside a small blue nylon stuff sack. 

I was using my Toaks titanium cook pot

I was also using my Sea to Summit Delta mug on this occasion...I could just have made the coffee in my cook pot but you tend to burn your lips. Titanium conducts heat really well so it is always better to use a separate cup preferably made of plastic. 

Sea to Summit Delta mug in use

The stove folds down into a small nylon bag and if you fold it correctly you should have no problems fitting it back into the bag. You could leave the bag at home but it protects the stove and stops soot getting all through your other gear in your pack.. 

Kovea stove folded to be packed

Here are some additional photos of the stove in use over the years...

In the Blue-Grey River bed, Victoria Forest Park (2015)

On a day trip to Packhorse Hut, Banks Peninsula (2014)

Lunchtime at Anchorage Hut, Abel Tasman NP (2017)

Post dinner drinks at Packhorse Hut, Banks Peninsula (2016)

 Nina Hut, Lewis Pass National Reserve in 2015

Mid Robinson Hut, Victoria Forest Park (2015)

Up at East Hawdon Bivy in 2013

This is one of two Kovea stoves I currently own the other is a Kovea Moonwalker which is a remote canister stove. That is another lovely camping stove but I will leave discussion of that for some future post...

Look for future trips featuring the Backpacker stove

I really like my Kovea Backpacker stove and still pull it out of my gear storage and take it on trips from time to time. Its latest multiday outing was to the Abel Tasman Coastal Walk with my sister earlier this year. It doesn't get as much use as it once did as I currently own seven other backpacking stoves but I would never sell it or give it away...

You Tube: Kovea Backpacker Stove