Best stove for a thru hike?

[susiegear]

Hello, i am getting my gear together for my thru hike next year. For years i have been using alcohol stoves of one variety or another, all DIY. Last year on the SHT i ended up on fire, literally. That particular stove had been used for about two years successfully. I had filled it with fuel and went off to do something else. When i came back a couple of minutes later I couldnt remember how much fuel I put in it. i swirled the stove around just a little so I could see the fuel level. I am not sure what happened but when I went to light it the flame shot up on my hand and started burning th backside of my hand. i am generally very careful about not getting heet on myself when filling the stove for obvious reasons. I used the same stove the rest of the trip since it was all i had but am a bit leary of it now. I am thinking about switching to a canister stove and really like the looks of the MSR windboiler. What do you all recommend? Stick with the alcohol stove and just be more careful or switch over to canister fuels? I have some friends that have different jetboil stoves and from what i have seen I like the design of the MSR better. Thoughts?

[BirdBrain]

There are no right answers. It is possible that there are wrong answers. It is a matter of opinion. You might get some strong opinions. I preemptively fully disagree with anyone claiming they have the best anything. I use an eCHS. It is, in my opinion one of the most functional and efficient alcohol stoves that can be built. It is also one of the most difficult stoves to build right. I cannot argue with those that have other priorities. Those priorities compel them to chose stoves that are built easier or that go with canisters. What is "best" is determined by your personal preferences and priorities. If there was a "best" we would all be using it and there would be no debates.

[Walkintom]

I like to build alcohol stoves. It's fun and cool.

I've used alcohol stoves, solid hexamid fuel, gel fuel, wood, and canister stoves on trips and I keep going back to the convenience of the canister stove. I turn it on and off, up and down as I please and it's highly convenient for me. I want cooking to be like that. I don't mind carrying an extra canister if I have a partially full one, which would be a problem for some folks - that's how I wind up with lots of my partially full canisters - people leave them.

A lot depends on your preferences. Unless you're just too scared of your current setup to continue using it I bet that will be your most enjoyable way to go.

As far as which canister stove is best - there's a lot of contention there. I'll go so far as to say this - even the worst ones aren't bad. It's hard to go wrong.

[RED-DOG]

On both my NOBO thru's i used a MSR Pocket Rocket, in my opinion the pocket rocket is the best stove for a thru-hike.

[zelph]

Get a safe stove that fuel won't spill out once it's put in.

The ever popular "StarLye Stove"

http://www.woodgaz-stove.com/starlyte-stove.php

[garlic08]

I agree there is no best stove. If there were, there would only be one stove and that's never going to happen.

Mags has a very good article on stove selection.

Stove safety is one of the reasons that made stoveless hiking attractive to me. I had a near-miss on my PCT hike and on that same hike I saw one wildland fire started with a stove and one bad burn. I have not carried a stove in the last 7000 miles I've hiked.

[CarlZ993]

Lots of variables in stove choice: weight, speed of boiling, availability of fuel, fuel efficiency, ease of use, etc. For weight, it's hard to beat most alcohol stoves. For speed, it's hard to beat the MSR Reactor/Windboiler or the Jetboil. But, they're much heavier. For simplicity, it's hard to beat a standard canister stove (PocketRocket, SnowPeak Gigapower, Soto, etc). For fuel availability, I think it's pretty much a draw between alcohol or canisters. Both seemed readily available (although alcohol was probably more prevalent).

On my AT thru-hike, I used an alcohol stove from Zelph: Fancee Feast stove. Very light & efficient. Easy to use. It isn't as fast as a canister stove (nature of the beast).

On most of my other hikes, I use a canister stove. Sometimes the MSR Reactor (when I'm w/ my wife). Used to, I'd primarily take the SnowPeak Titanium Gigapower stove. Now, I've gone to the Soto Windmaster stove. Much more wind resistant & faster boiling with less fuel used. I'm quite pleased with that. If I were to do the AT again, I'd probably use the Soto. In fact, I'm planning on taking the Soto stove when I hike the Colorado Trail this summer.

Anyway, good luck in your decision.

[Wyoming]

I use an alcohol stove when it is not really cold like many do. I have made a few of them but they never work all that well and I never liked any of them. So I buy commercial ones.

I currently have Caldera Cone system (VERY nice) and my previous one which wore out was a Etowah. There seem to be a number of good ones. What I really like about the Caldera is it is very stable which tends to be a weakness in most stoves no matter what fuel they use.

[elray]

I have been through just about every type of stove from the "Zip" and Esbit up to and including a multitude of alcohol/Heat contraptions that all worked up to a point, this was beginning in the late eighties when canister stoves weren't popular owing to the scarcity of fuel sources but all that has changed. The canisters are now as common as ticks on the Trail and the stoves are simply infallible. Mine is a Snow Peak with that is now nearing 10 years old and it has never failed or caused me any concern. I'm getting older and the last thing I want to do at the end of a long days hike is fiddle with a stove. Carry a windscreen to conserve fuel and you'll never look back!

[fastfoxengineering]

ahh the age old question of which is the "best" gear.

There are so many stoves it's not even funny.

It's best to break it down to the most common types for a normal thru on the AT. Canister, alcohol, and wood. Not going to include white gas or esbit.

They each have their merits. It would help if you have gave us some input on your cooking style.

I have a ti-tri caldera and mainly burn wood now. I carry the esbit or alcohol burner to supplement.

Picking which stove you like best comes with experience and trying them all

[The Splitter]

I have a Snowpeak titanium and love it. First stove I bought and probably the last. I love Snowpeak gear in general, very high quality stuff.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[4eyedbuzzard]

Over 40 years I've owned everything from Svea, Optimus, Bluet, Whisperlite, ZipZstove, Alcohol, etc. For the very small weight penalty over alcohol, I just can't get past the convenience and reliability of a canister setup, be it a PocketRocket type or integrated unit like a JetBoil.

[Mags]

As others said, there is no best.

Toss a coin between an alcohol stoves or a canister stove. Really doesn't matter esp on the AT with no fire restrictions and frequent resupplies.

[earlyriser26]

Like others have said, no one correct answer. If you want to go the easy, bullet proof route, go with a canister stove. Small differences between stoves, but I use the MSR pocket rocket.

[RockDoc]

I agree on the canister stoves. Get one with a striker lighter and you don't even need matches. Wonderful, trouble-free operation.
Forget alcohol stoves...

[Mags]

I agree on the canister stoves. Get one with a striker lighter and you don't even need matches.

You should always take a lighter or matches. Those PZ starters have have a tendency to fail.

[MuddyWaters]

I prefer alcohol, mostly because its quiet, but also because i know exactly how much fuel i have.

But an efficient cannister setup is fine too. Its all personal preference.

If you do anything but just boil water, cannister will probably be best.

[zelph]

As others said, there is no best.

Toss a coin between an alcohol stoves or a canister stove. Really doesn't matter esp on the AT with no fire restrictions and frequent resupplies.

Ahhhh! which one will Shug choose the noisy one or the quiet one........watch and see:

[DavidNH]

MSR Whisperlite. Never let me down. I'm sticking to it!

[swjohnsey]

MSR Whisperlite. Never let me down. I'm sticking to it!

Or to save a few grams, Simmerlite.