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Traildesigns Sidewinder TiTri
I've been using the Caldera Cone for a few years now and it really has been an excellent, super efficient, clean and ultralight, the only downside has been the length of time to cook and the limitation of only being able to use Meths. Enter the Titanium Sidewinder TiTri!
Manufacturers Description & Specification
Finally! Full size Caldera Ti-Tri performance that packs in your pot! The Sidewinder comes with the the alcohol and esbit stoves featured in the standard the Caldera Cone, but also allows you to burn wood! No other system gives you this kind of fuel versatility at these weights. In addition, the Sidewinder will store in your pot! If you value packability, but DON'T want to sacrifice the efficiency the standard Caldera/Ti-Tri provides by isolating your pot from the enviornment, this is the rig for you. Currently we only make the Sidewinder to fit in the wider/shorter pots identified in the "Compatible Pots" tab.
Sidewinder Cone - 30gm to 42gm
Inferno Cone - 16gm to 23gm
Grates - 15gm to 21gm
Floors - 10gm to 18gm
Review
I’ve always had a soft spot for meths stoves, whether it’s the age old Trangia burner or the home made pepsi stove I just like cooking outdoors with Meths, gas is good and excellent for quick boil times but I feel it lacks controllability and in cold conditions the speed advantages drops quickly. Obviously given the choice wood is even better, plenty of it around and with practice it’s the most controllable, unfortunately when hiking through Dartmoor wood often is an option and if it’s raining it can be interesting to get lit. The original Caldera Cone was excellent, aluminium cone and very efficient, I’ve managed to boil 750ml of water on 20ml of Meths. Unfortunately the Caldera cone can only run on Meths, aluminium has a fairly low melting point and won’t cope with the additional heat from burning wood, it’s also not as strong as I’d like and a few years of use has meant it’s become quite battered. The Titanium version - the TiTri - gets around this, lightweight, much stronger and a high melting point, the sidewinder version also has the added advantage of being able to fit into the pot.
Now if you’ve not seen or used the Caldera/Ti Tri before you’re probably wondering what I’m rabbiting on about. The TiTri system is a cone that’s made specific for your titanium pot or mug, because the pot fits inside the cone you get heating on the largest possible surface area, it’s also protected from the wind and incredibly stable. Ventilation holes on the bottom and the top of the cone means that lots of air is drawn in giving a complete and clean burn. A meths burner is provided and Traildesign.com claim that it is tweaked for optimum output with the cone, interestingly the burners are all made from recycled fizzy drinks cans.
The TiTri is a titanium version of the Caldera Cone however, what makes it so different from the standard Caldera cone, is the addition of the inferno cone for burning wood. This cone fits inverted inside the TiTri with a grate on the bottom to increase air flow through the wood to give a more intense flame. There is a certain amount of soot produced though when burning wood. The mug is held nearer the top of the cone on two pegs, a cut out on the side of the cone allows you to feed extra twigs in as needed.
The TiTri also comes with a titanium floor to aid in the “leave no trace” philosophy when journeying. Finally there is also the option of using the gram cracker solid fuel system. To be honest I rarely use hexamine blocks but they’re useful as an emergency backup.
The TiTri that I’ve been sent has been designed for use with the Alpkit MytiPot which weighs in at 102g. In total I’ve ended up with a complete cooking system, big enough for 2, weighing around 200g (exact weight to follow). All parts of the TiTri cone, the inferno cone, fuel bottle, meths burner, gram cracker and the gratings fit inside the pot it was designed for, the only piece that won’t fit inside is the titanium base and this is my only real criticism. The versatility means I can cook under most conditions with ease, cooking times aren’t as quick as gas, the high efficiency and low weight really makes the stove excellent.
Overalla versatile stove, compact and neat, custom designed for your titanium pot.
Fit for Purpose - 5/5
Versatility - 4.5/5
Durability - 3.5/5
Value for money - 4/5 Pricing around £80 for TiTri + Inferno and Floor, pot not included.
Overall - 4/5
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