stoves. which do you prefer?
just wondering which style stoves you guys prefer out there...
alcohol or butane?
Jetboil. Heavier, but reliable as can be. Windproof and boils fast. Alcohol is great when you have favorable conditions.... but how often is that outdoors? I'll go with dependable over ultralight any day.
All you touch and all you see, is all your life will ever be.
if it is a long distance trip then alcohol, if not then jetboil
White gas in the dead of winter, butane/propane mix (cannister) in temps. above 20f, and Esbit tabs in the summer. I only use alcohol once in a while now, and only when it's relatively warm. Esbit doesn't spill or leak.
As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn back from his way and live. Ezekiel 33:11
Alcohol more then canister stoves. In fact I never liked canister stoves that much. I also like gas stoves a lot (Svea 123) and lately I have developed an interest in wood stoves.
I like the Jet boil the best. Its reliable and bullet proof. I am a stove guy and have several different types. My MSR Simmerlite was my trail companion for years. It is a great stove.I have been messing around with alcohol stoves but haven't found one that satifies yet.
If you find yourself in a fair fight; your tactics suck.
For thru hiking an alcohol stove is the best choice for weight and reliablilty. I had a Jet Boil but dropped it in Damascus for Sgt Rocks ion stove.. never regreted it..
Alcohol, because of wieght. You can take only the fuel that you need and you know how much you have left. If you have a new canister you have to carry the entire weight even for an overnighter. You never truly know when you will run out. If you aren't sure how much is left in the one canister and your out for multiple days you may end up carrying 2 canisters or risk running out of fuel. If you burn out one canister and switch to the other, you still have to carry the empty one. This is the main reason I switched to alcohol. I am usually out for 2 to 5 days, the cansiter option wieghs more in this application.
Definitely go with white gas. I started with a Svea 123 in 1980 and ditched all my Svea's for a MSR Whisperlite. Then switched to the Simmerlite and like it. On my long winter backpacking trips, I can make 32 oz of white gas last about 18 days, no sweat. Thing burns hot and in the wind, great for boiling water for hot bottles during the cold nights.
The people I've seen with alcohol stoves do a funny comedy act which bears repeating. Most of the time it will be cold and windy and here's their response:
Is the thing lit?
Yeah, I think so.
No wait, there's no flame!
Check it again.
Ok, I see the blue flame.
Is it lit?
Wait a minute, put some more alcohol in it.
Dangit, the wind blew it out.
Here, put this sleeve around it.
Do you have anymore fuel?
How long will it take to cook the lentils?
About an hour.
Uh Oh . . .
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...ght=stove+mags
All depends on what I am doing.
When I solo thru-hike, I take alcohol stoves (light and reliable. If I can use it 13k ft in October, I think that qualifies..no?)
When I winter camp (not as much as I used to..darn hut trips.), I take white gas.
I may be getting a SnoPeak giga for social backpacking trips soon.
Stoves, as with ALL equipment, has no such thing as "the best".
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
Originally Posted by Tipi Walter
Hmmm..... Maybe I was doing something wrong with my backpacking trips. I just boil water, eat five minutes later.
Paul "Mags" Magnanti
http://pmags.com
Twitter: @pmagsco
Facebook: pmagsblog
The true harvest of my life is intangible...a little stardust caught,a portion of the rainbow I have clutched -Thoreau
In the winter its white gas (simmer light stove)
Spring Summer fall wood burning (sierra zip)
Pure butane
Well, I'm going to be the odd man out on this one, since I use a pure butane stove, rather than a regular canister stove (propane/butane/isobutane mixes) or alcohol. I tried alcohol stoves and didn't like them, even really sturdy, adaptable and efficient ones like the Brasslite. Alcohol just takes too much fiddling and is too poor at most kinds of cooking beyond boiling water.
What I use is the old mini-butane stove I bought back in the mid-seventies. I uses standard butane lighter refill cartridges (i.e., pure butane, which is very efficient) and since this is a low-pressure fuel (unlike propane/butane mixes) the canisters weigh very little. To give you an idea of the difference, a standard 3.5floz canister weighs 7oz full, while the 3.04floz refill cartridges weigh only 2.3oz. It puts the fuel weight down to a level that is quite competitive with alcohol but still has the boiling capability of gas (less than 4 minutes for a pint under trail conditions.) This means I get just as much mileage from my fuel as most canister users do, but without the extra bulk of the container. Refill cartridges are also very widely available in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other common resupply places, so canister availability isn't really an issue.
The stove itself has a lot of good features: it is fully adjustable from dead-low simmer to roaring flame, folds up fairly small and flat, unfolds to a very wide triangular base that is remarkably stable (wider than the average canister bottom), and since it's a detached canister system it can use a proper windscreen safely. It does have one slight drawback that is an artifact of its age though; weight. It weighs 6.6oz with an aluminum flashing windscreen (which also holds the cartridge), mainly due to the machined aluminum block that forms its core and the steel legs. I'm talking to a machinist friend of mine about remaking most of the base in titanium which (along with a titanium sheet windscreen) should cut that weight down to about 4oz, which is very competitive with current lightweight canister stoves. Unfortunately, that's going to be an expensive project, so it hasn't been done yet.
No doubt some of you more astute hikers are saying "but pure butane is so bad in the cold" at this point, but here's the other advantage of this stove over regular canisters; refill cartridges are easy to stick in your pocket (even shirt pockets) or keep in your bag/quilt with you to keep warm and thus keep efficient. Since it's a detached design, it's also easier to keep it warm while working too. I've used it down into the teens with no problems.
I know this isn't really helping you to choose a stove, since as far as I've been able to discover this little gem is no longer being made and hasn't been since shortly after I bought it. I don't even know what brand it originally was, since all the packaging is long gone and there are no markings on it. What I hope to do is eventually be able to make an improved version in titanium and possibly market it, but that will need both further development and investment when I can spare the cash. It should be out of patent, of course (I bought mine over 30 years ago and patents only run for 17) so at least once I get it going, that won't be a problem. I'm mostly floating this around from time to time to see if there's really any interest in these or if I shouldn't waste my time.
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
I use white gas, canister and alcohol depending on what kind of trip i'm on and what i want to cook. But i mostly use my alcohol stove from antigravity gear. I love it. super light and i've never had a problem getting it lit.
I agree, but when I want steak and vege's I just add another ounce of alcohol and go for it...Tinman's stove (which I use) weighs 3/10s of an oz on my digital scale and never has to be cleaned, adjusted or repaired and does not require a separate pot holder stand, or doubt to fuel left in it.
Has worked for me 12 months per year in North Georgia...may take a little more fuel and a little longer in the low temps...but WHERE am I going anyway while I enjoy my grain!
Only disadvantage, is in the winter I might have to part with another ounce of my double purpose grain.
Alcohol mostly.
If its a simple 1 or 2 nighter, I will take a canister stove.
Pure butane, Strategic??
I think that you may be swimming against the current with this one, at this point in time. Butane got a bad reputation in the 70's , mainly due to STEEL stove construction and butane's physical characteristics AT SEA LEVEL. People forget that butane works better at altitude because of the ambient air pressure reduction (I think they used to quote 5,000 to 7,000 feet as the cut-off point for good cold-weather butane performance), but the cold-weather performance is adequate at sea level IF you keep the canisters warm. I still have an old butane stove in mothballs somewhere; it uses the same size canister threads as the newer canister stoves, but it needs a long, thin canister, as opposed to a short, fat one.
Re-tooling the stove out of titanium will have to wait until after you win the lottery, I think.
I still prefer a white gas stove in winter - they kick @$$.
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!
Has anyone ever tried the Pepsi can stove? Is it dependable?
Kelly Kettle
Hobo Stove
Oops56's wood stove. (the one constructed almost entirely of wood)
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