Trangia 25-2 UL Review: Best Camping Stove For A Family?

I finally discovered the Trangia 25-2 UL / GB and in this review, I'm going to show you just how good of a piece of kit this really is.

There are a lot of camping stoves on the market for soloists, hikers and couples on the trail; but not so many for families.

As camping stoves are an essential ingredient in my plan to become more self-sufficient, I set about trying to find the best camping stove for a family and, I'm almost ashamed to say it took me this long to find it, but I finally discovered the Trangia 25-2 UL / GB and in this review, I'm going to show you just how good of a piece of kit this really is.

There are already a lot of reviews online for the Trangia 25-2 but most are several years out of date and don't look at the UL (Ultralight Aluminium) GB (Gas Burner) version of the product.

Not many look at the Trangia from the viewpoint of cooking for a family either and practically none review the 25-2 UL in the context of a societal collapse or emergency, where you may need to cook indoors without electricity.

So that's exactly what I did in this Trangia 25-2 UL review as part of our self sufficiency tool reviews. Enjoy!

What On Earth Is A Trangia 25-2 UL / GB?

The Trangia 25-2 UL / GB is an aluminium multi-part camping stove designed by Swedish company Trangia. The company was founded in 1925 in the village of Trångsviken, Northern Sweden by John E Jonsson.

Originally founded to make aluminium pots and pans, it wasn't until 1951 when the first prototype of the Trangia camping stove was designed and now, some 70 years later, we can all be thankful that it was.

For any product to still be selling 70 years after it's invention with very little change to the design is, in itself, enough of a testament to how good the Trangia 25-2 stove actually is.

Back in 1951, the Trangia stove was designed to be lightweight, compact, multipurpose and burn alcohol (Methylated Spirits/ METHS) as its fuel owing to its widescale availability and affordable price at the time.

Nowadays, the original Trangia spirit burner is still available but so too is the GB model – for Gas Burner.

This makes the Trangia, unlike most of the camping stoves on the market today, a genuine multi-fuel camping stove.

I needn't go to great lengths to tell you how important having multi-fuel burning capability would be in the event of an emergency that disrupts supply chains.

Sounds great…but can it cook?

Trangia 25-2 UL / GB Specifications

Before I jump into the specs of the 25-2 UL, I just want to say that there are multiple options available for pan materials. This model is the UL but you can buy other models and individual pot or pan add-ons as you need them. The full range:

• AL / Aluminium
• UL / Ultralight
• NS / Non-stick
• HA / Hardanodized
• DS / Duossal

Specifications of the 25-2 UL / GB

Article.no	BF140252
Weight (g)	1110g
Size (people)	3-4
Windshield	UL
Pot inner	1.5 L UL
Pot outer	1.75 L UL
Frypan (Ø)	220mm UL
Kettle	Yes
Handle	Yes
Strap	68 cm
Burner	GB / Gas Burner
Fuel	Spirit
Effect (w)	1000
Made in	Sweden

What's In The Trangia 25-2 UL / GB Box

If you've never seen the Trangia 25-2 UL before, you're going to be amazed at what you find inside the box.

Coming in at a lightweight 1110 grams, you can be forgiven for thinking there's not much to this little beauty. You'd be wrong, of course, but it's a pleasant deception.

Because it's only when you cast your eyes on it for the first time that you get a real appreciation for just how much thought has gone into the design of the Trangia 25-2 UL.

And this is just the first impression out of the box; where all you can see is what looks like a single pot strapped tightly together with a simple strap that fits intentionally through the aluminium chassis of the ‘pot' base.

You'll find out later this isn't a pot base at all, but is actually the lower wind shield.

After you unstrap the pot for the first time and you take off the lid – which is actually your frying pan – you are delightfully surprised to find a kettle nestled perfectly in the centre of the pot.

In fact, from this moment on, you get that giddy sense of excitement you felt as a child when you were taking apart a Russian Doll for the first time.

First, you remove the 0.9ltr kettle, then you remove the 1.5ltr saucepan followed by the 1.75ltr saucepan and then finally, you'll remove what you'll come to learn is the upper windshield.

What you thought was a compact little pot has now unfurled to reveal a 6 piece cooking stove but still…something is missing.

It seems the only place left to look is inside the Kettle itself and low and behold, when you do you'll find your final surprise of a little Trangia drawstring bag which holds your gas burner (GB) and the wonderfully sturdy and functional pot grip handle which fits perfectly onto both saucepans and the frying pan interchangeably.

It's at this point you really start to appreciate what you've got and the ingenuity that went into creating it and that £120 or so you spent to buy the Trangia 25-2 UL / GB suddenly starts to feel like money well spent.

If only it cooks as good as it looks and packs away; you'll feel very happy with the purchase.

Cooking With The Trangia 25-2 UL / GB

In doing the research for this Trangia 25-2 UL review, I spent a few days out in the wild woodland of the Western Lake District with my family.

Access to power and amenities was scarce, so we really had to make do with what we had.

We were lucky enough to have pleasant weather though so I didn't have to cook in extreme cold temperatures or blustering gale force winds.

This made cooking with the Trangia simple. I used the included gas burner to cook some pasta on the evening of our arrival and a breakfast of sausage, bacon and eggs the following day.

We made a few cups of tea throughout the day with little fuss.

Boiling Water

The kettle that comes with the 25-2 UL is a 0.9ltr kettle; enough for 3 cups of tea or two big coffees.

Using the gas burner on max, the kettle boiled in about 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Heating Up Pasta

Using the 1.75ltr saucepan, I was able to thoroughly heat enough pasta for two people in about 20 minutes.

It took me two rounds of heating up pasta to feed my family of 4.

Cooking Bacon, Sausage & Eggs

In order to make this work for a family of 4 so that we could all eat together, I used the frying pan to cook off as many sausages as it would fit first. Once cooked, I put them all in the 1.75ltr saucepan and used the 1.5ltr saucepan turned upside down and placed over the top to keep them warm.

Then I cooked 4 rashers of bacon and added them to the saucepan. I cooked another 4 rashers and added them.

Finally, I tried to fry 2 eggs but they ended up mixing together and instead of fried eggs, we got scrambled eggs.

By the time I'd finished, I'd been cooking for about 50 minutes and the bacon was starting to cool down. I think had I been better organised I would have made a better job of it but in the end, we did all sit down to have breakfast together and everyone was so hungry by the time it was in front of them, it was “the best breakfast ever”.

How To Use The Trangia 25-2 UL Gas Burner Camping Stove

1. Fit the gas burner to the lower windshield by clipping it into place using the steel clips at either edge of the gas burner. Make sure you extend the gas pipe out through the exhaust hole in the lower windshield.
2. Place the lower windshield on a flat piece of ground, away from flammable materials and sheltered from the wind as much as possible. Position the air holes so they are facing the wind.
3. Position the upper windshield on the lower windshield and turn to fasten into place.
4. Flip all the hooks down to use a saucepan or kettle, and flip them up to use the frying pan.
5. Screw the gas connector into your gas bottle, making sure not to overtighten.
6. Turn on the gas using the knob. You won't be able to see anything but you will be able to hear the gas coming out from the burner.
7. Light the burner.
8. Use the frying pan as a pot lid in upright position for more efficient cooking.

How To Use a Trangia Spirit Burner

1. Place the lower windshield on a flat piece of ground, away from flammable materials and sheltered from the wind as much as possible. Position the air holes so they are facing the wind.
2. Fill the spirit burner (max 2/3 full, approx. 100 ml) and place it in the lower windshield.
3. Position the upper windshield on the lower windshield and turn to fasten into place.
4. Flip all the hooks down to use a saucepan or kettle, and flip them up to use the frying pan.
5. Light the burner.
6. Use the frying pan as a pot lid in upright position for more efficient cooking.
7. Place the simmer ring with open lid on the burner and regulate the flame with the brown lid.
8. To extinguish the flame, close the lid on the simmer ring.

Essential Tips I Discovered As I Was Using The Trangia 25-2 UL

Some things you don't realise until after you've used the stove, but hopefully you'll see this before you use your Trangia and that will help you not make the same mistakes that I made.

1. Only use plastic or wooden cooking utensils. I used a stainless steel spoon to stir my pasta and scramble my eggs and I noticed I'd scratched/marked the base of the pan in doing so. If you use plastic or wooden utensils, you won't do this.
2. You can make cleaning the the frying pan or pots and pans much easier if, before you take them to the sink, you put them back on the stove and heat up some water in them. If you gently use your wooden or plastic utensils to gently scrape off the gunk as the pan heats, you will find most of it will simply unseat itself and come off ready for you to rinse out.

How To Clean The Trangia 25-2 UL

I found the Trangia 25-2 UL easy to clean with some washing up liquid and a dishwashing cloth and if you do the pre-cleaning treatment mentioned above (heat up some water in dirty pans and gently scrape off with cooking utensils), you'll find you can keep the pots and pans looking pristine with little effort.

Trangia advise you never put pots or pans into a dishwasher and why would you? We're going back to the way our ancestors did things and once we figure out (remember) there is as much joy to be found in the completion of a simple task to the best of our ability as there is in achieving a grand ‘accomplishment' in the modern world, we'll finally be on the right track to remembering just exactly what and who we truly are.

Trangia 25-2 UL Review: My Final Thoughts

To say I was massively impressed with the Trangia would be no understatement.

I absolutely loved it. Everything about the design was executed flawlessly, a true product of over 70 years of experience.

There seemed to be no stone left unturned when it came to functionality and practicality, with every element of the design serving a purpose.

No space was wasted, no function not necessary.

It was compact and lightweight and when used with the gas burner to cook meals, was more than capable of cooking a hot meal for a family of four.

When it came to clean it, it cleaned up exceptionally well and when I packed it away, it left me feeling excited for the next time I would get to use it.

And I think that sums up my experience well; it wasn't just about the practicality of the stove, it also made me feel good. Like a child using a secret his grandfather gave him to cook hot meals properly whilst everyone else in the world struggles to light the match.

I thoroughly enjoyed using it and I honestly can't wait to use it again.

There's also the added bonus of the multi-fuel functionality of the Trangia 25-2 UL, which makes this, in my opinion, an essential purchase for campers, hikers and those preparing for a zombie apocalypse. 😄

Go and get one. Now.