Backpacking Stoves, Part 1

My friend Judy Gross & I at a Backpacking Feed.
Photo Credit:  Shelly Huskey

FOOD! It's always on the mind of any self-respecting backpacker.  Food is what fuels you, it's what you have to keep in balance, weight vs calories to keep you going and eventually it becomes a piece of gear just like your sleeping bag.  Thus, anything that has to do with food or food prep becomes extremely important.  Take stoves, for instance, the different types, fuels available, shaving minuscule ounces of a stove's weight, which one burns, faster, more efficiently, all these things become part of the debate which circulates around what stove is the best one for backpacking. 



MiniBullDesign M4 Alcohol Stove by Tinny
http://tinyurl.com/7p7eox5
Photo Credit:  H. Dean Clark



In this blog post and a couple more, I'll talk some about the pros and cons of a few of my favorite stoves and also, bring into the mix some of the newer stoves that have come on the market lately.  These stoves may be old news to you but they are new to me.  Like the gearhead that I am they must be examined. 

All opinions are mine and mine alone and only you can determine after hours of your own research and trials in the field which stove is best for you.  Everything I know, btw, I've found on the Internet or by personal time spent at gear stores, reading Backpacking magazine or talking to people.  When you have hiked many miles, you, too, will come up with what works the best for you and possibly your own mantra for judging gear like me, mine being, NO TWEEKING.  I want, especially my food system, to be fast and easy.  When I get into camp I want food, bata-bing, bata-boom, hot, fast, no tweeking.  You will have to find your own style and thus a cooking system that works for you.  Hopefully, some of what I write in these gear blogs will help you along your journey to more enjoyment and greater heights. 


Stoves fall into a couple of basic categories based on what kind of fuel they use.  I'll write today about the 3 stove types I am most familiar with which are white gas, canister gas and alcohol stoves.  There are some new up and coming stoves which I will mention that use wood and other material, later.  

First, there are white gas stoves which use a liquid petroleum product,called by many  "Coleman" fuel.  It comes in a metal container and has to be poured into a fuel container. After the stove is primed, it is then pressurized by pumping.  This fuel burns hot and fast and is at the least easily ignitable and at the worst explosive.  The clear liquid, if spilled while filling a canister, can ignite and engulf the stove in a fireball so care should be used during the filling process. However, this long-standing favorite has fueled many a campstove in the past, works well in the cold and is a dependable fuel.  Stoves which use this fuel like the MSR Whisperlite, Dragonfly, Coleman PEAK stoves are bottom line, "go to" stoves due to the international availability of this kind of fuel.  Stoves which use this fuel, if regularly maintained and cleaned will last for years, giving you hot water when you need it, quickly.  They do need parts which need replacing periodically so if planning for a societal collapse....find parts now and hoard them.

  

Optimus Crux Stove
http://tinyurl.com/7cllkr6



The second type of stove, which has become extremely popular due to its ease of use, portability, "safer" operation and small size , uses a canister containing either butane, propane or more often a mixture of the two.  Canisters are available in backpacking or outdoor stores thus are not as readily available as white gas which often can be found at gas stations or truck stops.  However, depending upon the size of canister most will last for 4 days to a week depending upon how often you cook, will heat a pot of hot water in 2 to 4 minutes, do not have to be primed and are easy to attach to a stove.  The metal closed canister is less likely to catch fire since there is no need to pour liquid fuel from one container to another. These stoves are ideal for short trips where resupply is easily available.  Due to the greater weight of the fuel canister and their size most backpackers only want to carry one at a time.  Canister stoves are small, light, extremely portable (will often fit into a cup) and can come in titanium versions which make them weigh even less. 

Some disadvantages are that you have to place the canister on an even surface otherwise they will tip over and are inefficient unless used with a wind screen to block the breeze.  The fuel canisters are not as reliable in cold weather often needing to be "warmed" to get them to light.  (do NOT heat them with fire..put them in your shirt next to your skin!) If, in an effort to keep the canister warm you overheat it, it can explode, although I have not experienced this occurring.  Again, MSR, Primus, Snow Peak, Jetboil to name just a few manufactures, have produced efficient, quality stoves for many years which will, when used correctly and under the right circumstances give you hot water quickly and I think easier than white gas stoves. 

 

AGG Coke can stove
http://tinyurl.com/86ebo6d

The last type of stove I will talk about are alcohol stoves.  These tiny, denizens of efficient cooking were born from the minds of ultralight backpackers who wanted a stove that used easily attainable fuel, were easily replaceable, made from materials which one could find on the side of the road and burned hot, boiling water quickly.  The stoves themselves are made in many different shapes and sizes, made from beer cans to high tech materials.  Their inventors spend hours testing them to make them more efficient and have secrets which make their stove the hottest burning and use the least amount of fuel and will bring water to boil in the least amount of time.  How these inventors came up with the ideas and designs I don't know ...all I know is that they work and work well.  Using a fuel called, HEET (use the YELLOW bottle only, which is available at even the most out of the way gas station or convenience store, these high tech babies can boil water in under 5 minutes with 2 oz of fuel.  HEET (use YELLOW bottle only) is clear which makes filling your stove and possibly lighting yourself and others on fire a possible issue because you cannot see the fuel if you spill it.  Also, putting out the stove, letting it cool down before refilling is an absolute rule.    

Caldera Cone

http://tinyurl.com/7sa6k56



There are many designs, makers, directions and already built for you alcohol stove out there on the Internet.  My friend and 2012 thru hiker wannabe, Dean Clark has kindly taken pictures for me of the stove contraption he is going to use on trail this year.  I'll post them if I can figure out how to insert a slide show!!  He is going to use a Tinny stove.  I like AntiGravity gear's set up which comes with a pot and cozy and stove.  One thing to remember about alcohol stoves is that it is very important to be efficient so a windscreen will save you fuel and add to burn time.  AntiGravity sells a Caldera Cone which is well worth checking out as a windscreen and supercharged heat distributor and addition to any alcohol stove.

Some of the links to websites and things are in my favorites here on the blog...I'll add some more to the backpacking page in the future.