Cheapest stove for thru hike...

[gravityman]

An important question is how much will he save over the course of a hike.

Alcohol is about 2 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 1.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 360 oz = 2.8 gallons
Total Whitegas = 288 oz = 2.3 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $56 to $42 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $9.2

Total savings = $47

Assuming you already own the whitegas stove + repair kit.

Assuming you can do the hike for $2200 (very hard), this is 2% of the cost. Not the best place to save money.

I think there are other places to save money that are more substantial, like 1 less night in town.

[Bob S]

Assuming you already own the whitegas stove + repair kit.


Repair kit? Must be talking about MSR

A svea doesn't need a repair kit, all you need is gas for it and it will keep working the whole trip and beyond.

[whitefoot_hp]

Alcohol is about 2 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 1.6 oz/ 1L water
.

i seriously question if it takes 1.6 oz of whitegas to boil a liter.

[Alligator]

I asked that question myself. Alas, it has been a decade since I've done a long hike on the AT. Perhaps some recent AT hikers could give the price per oz at hostels for alcohol vs. white gas?

I imagine some friendly gas station owners MAY let you fill up at the pump as well.

Oops, I didn't see that you asked that.

[mister krabs]

i seriously question if it takes 1.6 oz of whitegas to boil a liter.

MSR says 1.5

http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/comparison.html

[mister krabs]

I got that backwards, it's 1.5 L per oz.

[Mags]

MSR says 1.5

http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/comparison.html

I have found my own fuel uses to be less to be honest.

MAy be a case of a really rapid boil vs. "good enough" however.

[Mags]

Oops, I didn't see that you asked that.

I kinda stated rather than asked it..so easy to miss.

No worries.

[Johnny Swank]

This is dangerously getting into the minutia, but I think Mags nailed it WRT to fuel prices.

On the other hand, fuel costs are a minuscule part of the average thru-hike. One extra day in town and you wipe out any fuel savings no matter what stove you use. Cook some dried beans, potatoes, or slow-cooking stew over a fire a few times and you'll save plenty of money as well.

Here's some leisure reading for you!

Thru-Hiking on the Cheap
Cutting Down on Town Time
Budgeting for a Thru-hike

[SGT Rock]

An important question is how much will he save over the course of a hike.

Alcohol is about 2 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 1.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 360 oz = 2.8 gallons
Total Whitegas = 288 oz = 2.3 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $56 to $42 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $9.2

Total savings = $47

Assuming you already own the whitegas stove + repair kit.

Assuming you can do the hike for $2200 (very hard), this is 2% of the cost. Not the best place to save money.

I think there are other places to save money that are more substantial, like 1 less night in town.

I think I paid about $20 in 800 miles for alcohol fuel. And part of that was because I could only buy a gallon can in one place and had to give away what I couldn't carry. My stove used about half your estimate per day anyway, and combine that with boiling on the occasional fire, eating meals in town, and the occasional free alcohol left in hiker boxes. I think when I did the math it came out to about $0.07 in alcohol per pint boiled.

Add to that, the price per ounce at places that sell fuel by the ounce also seem to jack up the price. I think the cost for fuel for a gas stove would end up being higher since a) you cannot get it in less than 1 gallon containers (and who wants to carry that) and b) inflated price per ounce when purchasing it at that measure.

[whitefoot_hp]

rock, were you able to find alcohol fairly easily in amounts that you needed?

[Mags]

On the other hand, fuel costs are a minuscule part of the average thru-hike.

Very true.

Hey..check out Weather Carrot's article for inexpensive thru-hiking...for more good info

I think the cost for fuel for a gas stove would end up being higher since a) you cannot get it in less than 1 gallon containers (and who wants to carry that) and b) inflated price per ounce when purchasing it at that measure.

I am wondering how feasible it is to fill up at gas stations? I honestly don't know. Would be VERY cheap though if you could.

[Johnny Swank]

HEET (denatured alcohol) is sold at about every gas station up and down the trail. Getting denatured alcohol is probably easier to get ahold of than any other fuel other than unleaded gas now. A 12 oz bottle usually lasted me about a week to 10 days. I usually just bought some at every other town.

[Ender]

One thing to keep in mind... gasoline will clog the stove a lot faster than whitegas. I know of a couple people who used gasoline, and the stove crapped out because it got too clogged and they weren't able to unclog it, so they had to get a new stove.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Gotta be a handful of twigs and leaves in a dumpster found coffee can and a pack of gratis matches from the 7-11.

[whitefoot_hp]

alcohol is what i have always used, i would just like to bring something more versatile in terms of what it can cook.

[gravityman]

For alcohol, I took a swag. I am guessing that Rock used less because you didn't boil 1L of water, but rather 2 cups (and thus half the fuel)? I know alcohol does not have as many BTU's so it's impossible for an alcohol stove to use less fuel than a white gas stove unless the white gas stove has inefficiencies that the alcohol doesn't.

The white gas number came from http://www.backcountry.com/store/CAS...nal-Stove.html

which has 20 oz of fuel gives a burn time of 110 min and it takes 3.5 mins to boil 1L = 0.6 oz per L

OPS! I did the math wrong the first time! It's 1.6 L/oz of fuel, but I wanted 0.6 oz/L!

So maybe I'll revise that math!

Alcohol is about 1 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 0.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 180 oz = 1.4 gallons
Total Whitegas = 108 oz = 0.8 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $28 to $21 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $3

Total savings = $25 max

Wow, that's HUGE savings 1% of a $2200 cheep hike...

[Mags]

So, I guess the meta question is: What is the cheapest way to do a thru-hike?

The articles mentioned should help with that...

A white gas stove still has its uses.. There is probably a reason why thru-hikers don't use them much anymore, though.

[oops56]

Well its like this if you not into lite weight to much a optimus 111T it burn alcohol ,kerosene ,pump gas, Coleman, a pump on tank adjustable flame and it can be a silent burner or a roarer burner.

[whitefoot_hp]

So maybe I'll revise that math!

Alcohol is about 1 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 0.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 180 oz = 1.4 gallons
Total Whitegas = 108 oz = 0.8 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $28 to $21 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $3

Total savings = $25 max

Wow, that's HUGE savings 1% of a $2200 cheep hike...

if you had read anything that i posted you would know that your arbitrary 1 liter a day has little relevance to this discussion. thanks anyway.

in cold conditons, it easily takes an ounce of alcohol to boil just 2 cups of water.