Stove for two hungry campers

[Passionphish]

Two alcy stoves are still lighter than one canister stove.... Does that solve anything?

[take-a-knee]

Two alcy stoves are still lighter than one canister stove.... Does that solve anything?

Yes but when two people split the weight of a cannister stove, the weight per person is hardly more than an alky stove, and the cannister is quite a bit more efficient fuel/weight wise. Rock has crunched the numbers at his site hikinghq. With only a couple of 2 cup boils daily most cannisters will last more than the typical five-day resupply interval, this is what makes the alky shine for a solo hiker. One person could carry an alky stove and a few ounces of alcohol as a backup, and you can always build a fire.

[SGT Rock]

Or carry an alcohol stove and a canister stove for a week. See which one you like best and get rid of the other. One carries the alcohol and the other carries the canister.

[envirodiver]

As , most here I've used all of the above stoves. I'm still trying to figure out which I like best. All have pluses and minuses.

I'm on the low end of the alchohol stove learning curve. Nice with weight, but many talk about a 2 oz. stove, but the weight of fuel must be figured into the equation. Many times I don't think it is.

Gas works great and if you care for the stove is very dependable, but a repair kit is needed, just in case you need to change pump cups or o-rings.

Canister stoves are very easy, but my pocket rocket is very wind dependent, needs a screen. Easy to detrmine the amount left in a canister. MSR canisters weigh 12 oz. full. the empty canister weighs 4 oz.

Zip wood stove works great, needs 1 AA battery, has a learning curve associated with it, makes your pot black, requires you to stay with it to feed small pieces of wood. I like it very much though.

My recommendation is to try sevral types and determine what works best for you.

[LIhikers]

My wife and I have had good success with an MSR Simmerlite stove. Summer, winter spring and fall, it works just fine in them all.

[ianjoe59]

Just an update...
My wife and I have been playing around with a Caldera Cone w/ 2q pot that we received a little while ago. We love it. I think it will do very well for our March start.
Now I just have to work on recipes.....

[take-a-knee]

Just an update...
My wife and I have been playing around with a Caldera Cone w/ 2q pot that we received a little while ago. We love it. I think it will do very well for our March start.
Now I just have to work on recipes.....

You'll like it, I'm sure of it. Just pack the cone in that supplied Dixie Cup and place the cup upside down inside your pot. You MUST have a stuff sack that, when you cinch the toggle on the sack down, will hold that cup against the bottom of your pot. I found a mesh stuff sack that came with some Yakima rack accesories and tied up the bottom of it to make it small enough to achieve this. I also place my Ti Snow Peak cup on top of the Dixie Cup, this "armors" it to a degree. Once you learn to pack it so it won't get damaged, there is no downside to a caldera cone.

[Mr HaHa]

I second the MSR Windpro. You can really do some cooking on it. Has a real nice simmer,big burner,and low wide stance for larger pots.

[take-a-knee]

I second the MSR Windpro. You can really do some cooking on it. Has a real nice simmer,big burner,and low wide stance for larger pots.

I bought one of those last year, I like it a lot. I see it as a good stove for a group, I wouldn't carry it solo for sure and I'm not sure I'd carry it for two. A cannister stove is a good thing to have, the fuel will keep forever.

[Happy Feet]

My husband and I used a pop can stove on our thru hike in '01 and all of our other hiking since, including high elevation on the CT. Yeah...so it may take a little longer to boil water in a 2 liter pot, but I just filter up our water while waiting for the water to boil. I love it so much, I even use it on the rare occasion of car camping.

[Farr Away]

I thought I was the only one who did that (use an alcohol stove while car camping)! The first time I did it, I took the 2 burner Coleman, but never even took it out of the trunk. Now I just take my alcohol stove.

[JumpInTheLake]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Coleman single burner gas stove? It weighs three ounces more than the WhisperLite, and there is no assembly or parts to lose. I have used mine for fifteen years, and it still works great. It doesn't soot my pots, and the only maintenance I've performed so far is a drop oil in the pump. For white gas this is my pick.

[HogWinslow]

This is my first post. I just got into hiking but still haven't done a overnight yet. I made a few of those Pepsi can stoves and they work great. Now, this is only from my test runs in the garage. From reading this thread it sounds to me like it should be fine for me alone on a overnighter. Is this correct?

[oldbear]

I have not gone alcoholic, but I gather that real cooking for two is not a strength. There are other options besides the Whisperlite. For a few more ounces you can have the classic SVEA and boil, simmer, and fry. It is spectacularly reliable, with many out there 30 years old or more. You can also cook for 4 if you care to.

My seriously biased opinon.

I agree .The Optimus /Svea 123 is beyond reliable and once you get the hang of using it, it will perform really well in any situation that you will ever use it in .If you buy one .the only thing that i would suggest is that you get into the habit of filling the tank before you make dinner because if you run out of fuel in the middle of making dinner, opening the hot pressurized tank can be difficult and dangerous.
Campmor has them new or about $100.
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___82426

[Marta]

This is my first post. I just got into hiking but still haven't done a overnight yet. I made a few of those Pepsi can stoves and they work great. Now, this is only from my test runs in the garage. From reading this thread it sounds to me like it should be fine for me alone on a overnighter. Is this correct?

Correct. An alcohol stove is an excellent choice for solo backpacking.

Making test runs in the garage is a great idea. This may seem like an obvious point, but when you take it out in the woods, be very careful about setting up on or near flammable things--leaves, picnic tables, etc. It's extremely easy to spill a little alcohol and have the fire get away from you.

[JaxHiker]

I think I'm turning into a stove junkie slowly but surely. I decided to leave my Jetboil at home for last weekend's hike and took my Giga instead. It worked fine for my buddy and I. I also took my Super Cat stove and about 3 oz of alcohol. I used the alcohol to boil my coffee water and the Giga for cooking with the fry pan. I just ordered a Primus today so we'll see how that works.

[Blue Wolf]

you can do anything with an alcohol stove try freezer bag cooking all you have to do is boil water let the bag and the cozy do the rest..........

[snaplok]

You can weigh a full canister(a good scale that measures in grams), then weigh an empty cannister. Weigh the full cannister after you cook a typical meal. It should be easy to figure out how long that cannister will last, and how many meals are left in your half-full canisters when you return.

Have to agree. I use an Optimus Crux and carry just enough fuel to cook 3 full meals for as many days I'm out for 2 to 4 people. Once you get use to the weight, you can tell how many meals you can cook from one canister. For me the 12oz of weight from a 8oz canister is worth it, I like to cook real food and after a long hike, eat real food too. Call it creature comforts.I have an alcohol stove that I use to use for boiling water for coffee, took twice as long as the canister stove. Now it just sits in my kitchen as a reminder. I would only take it if I just meant to boil water for the entire trip.

[Happy Feet]

Hatman and I started our 01 AT thru with our whisperlite. We switched to an alcohol stove in Pearisburg and have used it ever since. I will NEVER go back!

[Mags]

Alcohol stoves can work fine for two people with some discipline and depending on the type/size of meals.

Canisters stoves are just easier to use for the average couple.