Primus Onja Stove
The other month when I received the Primus Campfire Cookset, I immediately set about creating some awesome meals, but something felt wrong. Although all 3 pans worked brilliantly on the variety of stoves that we have here at Muddy Towers, but something was missing, and that something was a stove that was as spiffy as the pans.
Then it hit me, why don't I be cheeky and ask Primus if I could borrow their stylish Onja stove, after all I might as well keep it in the family, so to speak, and I’d always secretly fancied one.
So what is it?
Weighing in at just 3kg and a packed size of 430mm x 140mm x 290mm, the Onja is Primus' most compact two-burner stove, and thanks to the shoulder strap it’s easy to carry wherever you want go; whether that’s to the park, beach or further afield.
Onja is fueled by Primus gas canisters which come in 3 sizes - 100g, 230g or 450g (I bought two of the 450g canisters from Decathlon for just over a fiver each). There’s also a Duo valve version that fits most gas cartridges with a valve on the market, perfect for those who bring the stove with them when travelling.
All sounds great up to now, but how does it work?
This is the easy bit, simply unfasten the straps, remove the oak lid, that also doubles as a cutting board or plate and pull the either side of the base apart. That sounds strange doesn’t it, but imagine how a pair of scissors work, if you open the scissors from closed, the sharp pointy end opens too, and that’s how the Onja works!
Once the body is open it becomes a very stable cooking unit, despite its height. One of the selling points is that, when open, the sides are meant to be a wind-shield for the duel 2,700watt burners, however they actually stand slightly proud of the sides. Having said that, in practice I haven’t noticed any adverse affects when cooking in the wind, and I live up north and know a thing or two about bad weather!
Now it’s set up, simply turn on the gas using the wire adjuster knobs (there must be a better name for them) on the front, and light using a long match or similar styled lighter. Once lit and turned to full power they do sound like you're stood next to a jet fighter that's about to take off.
Using the Primus Campfire Cookset, Onja performed brilliantly creating some great meals, but one thing to be aware of is that the pan support is a bit slidey, and it wouldn’t take much of a shove to knock a pan off the grill.
Something I forgot to mention is that once you’ve opened it up, you then screw in either one or both canisters, and what I really like about the Onja is that you can leave them there, as even the largest 450g canister will sit comfortably inside even when you fold the unit back up again. Having said that, I have noticed that on occasions the wire adjuster knobs can get caught and consequently turn on the gas ever so slightly. You could solve this by taping the knobs to the body, but if you’re in a car then you’re probably better off just removing the canisters and reattaching them when you arrive at your desired spot.
Although I really like the Primus Essential stove, I’ve found that the Onja is far more practical. With 2-burners you can create a variety of different and simple meals; you can produce a one-pot wonder on one and boil the kettle on the other burner - you get the idea.
Onja maybe sleek and beautifully designed, but it isn’t just a pretty face. It’s built by Primus so you can expect longevity, practicality and portability.
So far we’ve used Onja 3 or 4 times and it’s standing up well. We’ll give it a further review in a few months time to see if it stands up to Primus’ reputation, but so far so good.
Website: www.primus.eu
RRP: £130
