Review: StarLyte UltraLyte Stove

[doodah man]

New StarLyte UltraLyte

As the name implies, an extremely light alcohol stove, (a measured 13 gr to be precise). The nice new feature is the built-in pot stand. It is a well made unique variation on the wedding tin design and while not what I would call rugged, it is certainly not fragile. The bonus feature is that once fueled up, the stove is spill proof. I have used the previous version w/o the integral stand for a total of over a month of backpacking trips. I have not used this particular stove on the trail yet. I simply wanted to get some comparison performance data.

For this testing I used the Wal-Mart 700mL IMUSA aluminum cup. The cup has a four inch diameter bottom and I have added a tight fitting lid made from formed aluminum flashing. The testing was done with a carefully measured 2 cups of tap water and fueling each run with a precise 1/2 fl. oz. of yellow bottle heet. A total of six runs were made alternating between the two stove versions. It was calm and about 70F in my back yard and all testing was done without a wind screen. It seemed that I consistently got very similar results with either version of the Starlyte... Both my original one with the separate pot-stand made from hole-punched stainless steel sheet metal or the new Starlyte Ultralyte with the built in stainless steel wire stand. Either one pretty much got to just short of a full rolling boil before flame-out (about ten minutes after lighting stove). This was certainly hot enough for "freezer-bag" or "cozy" style cooking and to kill any nasties in the water. Overall, easy to use, safer than typical, very stingy on fuel solo backpacking stove. (Total weight of stove + cup + lid = 108 grams = 3.8 ounces) ---doodah-man

[zelph]

New StarLyte UltraLyte

As the name implies, an extremely light alcohol stove, (a measured 13 gr to be precise). The nice new feature is the built-in pot stand. It is a well made unique variation on the wedding tin design and while not what I would call rugged, it is certainly not fragile. The bonus feature is that once fueled up, the stove is spill proof. I have used the previous version w/o the integral stand for a total of over a month of backpacking trips. I have not used this particular stove on the trail yet. I simply wanted to get some comparison performance data.

For this testing I used the Wal-Mart 700mL IMUSA aluminum cup. The cup has a four inch diameter bottom and I have added a tight fitting lid made from formed aluminum flashing. The testing was done with a carefully measured 2 cups of tap water and fueling each run with a precise 1/2 fl. oz. of yellow bottle heet. A total of six runs were made alternating between the two stove versions. It was calm and about 70F in my back yard and all testing was done without a wind screen. It seemed that I consistently got very similar results with either version of the Starlyte... Both my original one with the separate pot-stand made from hole-punched stainless steel sheet metal or the new Starlyte Ultralyte with the built in stainless steel wire stand. Either one pretty much got to just short of a full rolling boil before flame-out (about ten minutes after lighting stove). This was certainly hot enough for "freezer-bag" or "cozy" style cooking and to kill any nasties in the water. Overall, easy to use, safer than typical, very stingy on fuel solo backpacking stove. (Total weight of stove + cup + lid = 108 grams = 3.8 ounces) ---doodah-man

doodah-man aka "Ring Of Fire" I love that stove:) and it's derivatives.

Thanks for the review and hope you've recovered well enough to hit the trails to condition yourself to get back on the AT.

It would be great if all those that have used a StarLyte burner or stove could post some comments here to give an idea of how it has performed for you. I think Kerosene was the first to get one.

Let us know the bad with the good:D

I was told that it was too light, easy to loose;)

.

[Bootstrap]

I was told that it was too light, easy to loose;)


Hah! That's a good thing, not a bad thing. (And I'm the person who lost one, but I found it, I had tucked it in with the burner for one of my other stoves, and since it was smaller than the burner, it was barely noticeable in the bag.)

This is a very light, small stove that sips alcohol and cooks reasonably quickly. Nothing to go wrong. Great stove!

Here's my main negative: the stand is clever, but it doesn't hold a pot well unless you can stick it on a really flat surface, and those surfaces aren't always easy to find where I camp. And the the stand also makes it harder to get the alcohol into the stove.

I've made a lightweight bicycle-spoke tripod stand that I'm very happy with (my own design), and I'm using the foil windscreen from my now-unused MSR Whisperlite stove. That combination works great for me.

Jonathan

[doodah man]

...snip... And the the stand also makes it harder to get the alcohol into the stove. ...snip... Jonathan

Hey Bootstrap, I had the same difficulty with fueling the stove. My first attempt was a mess. My solution was to use one of those single serve liquor bottles like they sell on commercial airline flights. I calibrated it with score-lines at 1/8 fl. oz. increments so I can add the right amount of fuel for the amount of water I am heating up. The long neck of those little bottles easily fits between the pot-stand wires of the Ultralyte. Then, just do an inverted fill: place stove upside down on top of fueling bottle, flip it over holding the bottle in place (now on top of stove) and let fuel seep into stove. I have done this a bunch of times so far and not spilled a drop. doodah-man

[Bootstrap]

My solution was to use one of those single serve liquor bottles like they sell on commercial airline flights. I calibrated it with score-lines at 1/8 fl. oz. increments so I can add the right amount of fuel for the amount of water I am heating up. The long neck of those little bottles easily fits between the pot-stand wires of the Ultralyte.

Very clever! Thanks for the idea!

Jonathan

[4eyedbuzzard]

Received my StarLyte UltraLyte from Zelph yesterday and had to try it out :banana

Test 1: Indoors. 1 qt old thinwall aluminum backpacking pot 4 1/2" diameter, lid; 2 cups water, temp 48F; 3/4 ounce yellow HEET, used Zelphs new design corrugated windscreen supplied with the stove. Usable hot beverage water at 6 minutes, simmered at 7 minutes, boiled at 8 minutes, flame out at 10 minutes.

Test 2: Outdoors. Outdoor temp 30F, wind approx 10 mph. 1 oz fuel. All other conditions the same. Usuable hot water at 7 1/2 minutes, simmered at 10 minutes, boiled at 12 minutes, flame out at 13 minutes.

Pros: Very lightweight and compact. Very versatile and functional windscreen. Lights easily. Fuel can't spill from stove. Reasonable boil times for a solo stove.

Cons: The pot support/stand works but you have to be very careful to center the pot to avoid tipping--could still use some improvement. A lightweight hardware cloth stand might be better for some pots. After this test I'm unsure how well it would fare trying to boil 2 cups of really cold water in windy conditions. In all fairness, this seems to be typical of alcohol stoves in general though--they just aren't the best choice for a cold weather stove.

I think the Staryte will definitely be my new lightweight summer stove as I like to cook over fires and will carry it with a few oz of fuel as determined as a back up/convenience stove and/or as my primary on overnights/weekenders. It kills cannister and white gas stoves from a weight perspective. For colder weather I think I'll stick with a cannister for greater and faster heating capacity. All in all, a stove of very nice design and construction.

[Panzer1]

It occurred to me to combine the Starlyte along with the Caldera from Anti-Gravity gear
http://www.antigravitygear.com/cald_cone.php


Panzer