jetboil resupply?
Planning on using a jetboil for 2015 thru hike and was just wondering what the resupply situation was on the fuel for them along the trial?
1st due to the effecnecy of the JB it is conceivable to be able to carry enough fuel for the entire AT thru from the start to the Northern Terminus (the end).
2nd is that a single small canister in the Jetboil last a very long time and can bypass many town stops before you need to start considering needing more, most likely you will get a free one (see #4)
3rd the Jetboil can use any brand canister as they are standardized.
4th those canisters are usually very available in hiker boxes, which means free resupply.
More then any other stove on the AT, the Jetboil means, if nothing else, don't worry about resupply. Canisters last much longer then anything else, oten found in hiker boxes, and so available that it is perhaps the most 'I don;t need to worry about running out' cooking fuel on the AT.
Beg to differ, Starchild. Alcohol is available at virtually every gas station, convenience store, hardware store, outfitter, Walmart, KMart, grocery store, Dollar General, Family Dollar etc. across the US and most hostels along the AT. Plus, you know EXACTLY how much fuel you have, so you know EXACTLY when you need to buy more.
Canisters are fine, and have some advantages, but alcohol is WAY more prevalent to re-supply.
Since the OP asked about Jetboil, the answer is fuel is plentiful and once you know how long a canister will last you, should be easy to stay supplied.
The difference is with the Jetboil you don't need to find a "gas station, convenience store, hardware store, outfitter, Walmart, KMart, grocery store, Dollar General, Family Dollar etc. across the US" (which BTW takes time and not everyone has alcohol fuel, despite your post), and just travel on unconcerned till the next 4 trail towns (before which you will likely find another canister in a hiker box to exchange that will extend you travel distance) added a additional level of comfort.Originally Posted by Lyle
Yes you may, and yes I stress MAY, find alcohol fuel in maybe a (very) few extra trail town, but you will need to find it a lot more often then you will need to find canister fuel. Also with Alcohol fuel it is part of every town stop, an extra step, finding that stuff, it is a necessity, with the JB, yes I can go another week easy, but WOW here is another canister that has more then mine does, BONUS, 2 weeks till I have to start to worry.
So yeah, you can find alcohol fuel in a few more trail towns then canisters, however your need is constant, every trail town - you need to find it, however the canister needs are perhaps 1 every 2-4 weeks, and nearing empty ones are often exchangeable for ones with much more fuel for free in hiker boxes.
Just a side note, we section hikers love to leave our partially used canisters in those hiker boxes if we're traveling by air or mass transit. It's illegal to bring fuel canisters on airplanes or trains, so I consider dumping them in a hiker box at the end of my section hikes to be win-win.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
I've found that a small 100 or 110 gram canister can boil at least 10 liters of water. I usually boil somewhat more than a liter per day and I've gone 8 days on a small canister. So that's not too bad and carrying a 220 gram canister is not totally unreasonable either although it takes up more space since it won't nest in the pot.
Agree with the idea of carrying the larger canister. Some of the time you're not gonna find the small Jetboil brand canister and have to settle for some of the other brands that don't fit.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
What exactly do you mean by this statement? Do people actually do this?
[QUOTE=Starchild;1919726]1st due to the effecnecy of the JB it is conceivable to be able to carry enough fuel for the entire AT thru from the start to the Northern Terminus (the end).
HMMMMM 7-10 days on a small canister. 150 day hike. I guess it's possible........ Not necessary but possible.
No, they don't. Most folks will carry 1-2 canisters at a time.
you left to walk the appalachian trail
you can feel your heart as smooth as a snail
the mountains your darlings
but better to love than have something to scale
-Girlyman, "Hold It All At Bay"
I rarely use a canister stove but I think one of the big reasons so many people are so generous to "donate" their nearly empty canisters is so they won't have to carry it when it's finally empty.
Like giving someone the last bite of something in a package so they'll be stuck with the trash.
It all depends on how much fuel someone needs. I've donated a half full canister when starting on a seven day section because I wanted to start with a fresh canister sure to be enough for the segment and not wanting to have a depleted canister halfway through the hike. But that half empty canister would be "half full" for someone just out for a few days. I've also been the recipient of nearly full canisters donated by people finishing a hike and getting ready to fly home. There are some people willing to cobble together enough free fuel to meet their needs by packing 2 or even 3 partially full canisters. But I'm not willing to do that if I can purchase a new one.
Nobody does this as there should be no reason, but it is indeed possible to do so. But just doing a ridiculous excercize in math here:
The 16 oz fuel canister should be able to boil about 50 L of water (actually 52.8L). At 1L per day that should be 50 days * 3 = 150 days.
I don't know the weight of the large canisters, but that would be 3 lbs of fuel at Springer should get one to Katahdin. The small canisters usually have a 1:1 weight ratio fuel to canister weight, the medium ones have a 1.5:1 fuel to canister ratio, it is not inconceivable that the large ones have a 2:1 fuel to canister weight. So that would add another 1.5 lbs at the start, giving a total weight of 4.5 lbs, which is possible to hike with, again no reason to actually do this.
Alcohol fuel, along with Esbit is apx 1/2 a oz per 2 cups boiled. So a oz of fuel per day for 1L per day boiled. For 150 days you would need 150 oz or about 9 lbs of fuel + container(s) weight - and one would want something more then a thin walled bottle so there may be some container weight to consider, so also possible to carry from start to finish but not as pleasant.
I do feel if someone was to attempt this, white gas would be lighter.
Another thing you have to take into consideration on the generosity of those half filled canisters is the time of year it is. If it's real cold out chances are those canisters have been ditched because they started performing poorly due to all the propane being burned up first leaving nothing but isobutane which is poor in cold conditions. If it's warm out, a half can is a good find.
Last edited by atmilkman; 11-03-2014 at 11:03.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
This is more of a factor with the larger sized canisters, and can be a great factor in cold weather, eventually all canister stoves. However with that said, since this is a Jetboil OP, the Jetboil does do a good job with their pressure regulator and would have a better chance at being able to use these they some stoves which were used first in others.
On my AT thru, the lowest temp I knew about was 10F, and at that temp the flame was not as hot, but still could and did boil water, actually lots of water, which I shared with others who could not get their canister stoves to work (they gave me their fuel to boil their water). Much lower then that, and or a depleted canister where the gas mix has changed could have been problematic.
Just a correction/addition on my above post, it was not that they could not get their stove to light, it was that they were unable to boil water on it. It could have been the pressure regulator, or the less efficient transfer of heat from a standard stove to a standard pot (not one with a heat exchanger built in), to not having a cozy around their pot when they try to boil it.
Most likely a combo of the 3.
I was using the SolTi and it was 9º and I slept with my canister. I left the cup out in my vestibule with 2 cups of water in it. It froze solid. I put my stove on the stand on my sit pad (5 segments of a z-rest) and it fired right up. Took about 7 - 9 minutes to melt the ice and the cup was sweating and dripping all over the burner popping and hissing and it kept right chugging along. This was a small canister. I'm very impressed with the product. That's as cold as I have had that stove. Later on when the canister got low (I'd say way less than half) it would no longer boil water. It would get it wavy just not rolling no matter how long I left it on including the lid. I took that same canister to a hike in FL and it was 87º out and it boiled water like crazy in just over 2 min.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
thanks guys for all the info
Small Jetboil canister.
"Hiking is as close to God as you can get without going to Church." - BobbyJo Sargent aka milkman Sometimes it's nice to take a long walk in THE FOG.
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