Coleman F1 Ultralight Windscreen

[SGT Rock]

Some of y'all probably already know I am not impressed by the JetBoil. Figure it is over built fancy novelty toy that impresses people by doing what stoves already do but saves about a gram of fuel per burn and about 30 seconds time by adding a great deal of breakable, overweight crap to a stove system.

This week I got a Coleman Exponent F1 Ultralight stove based on the review from BPL which showed it performed almost as well stock as the JetBoil does with all that fancy-smancy extra stuff.

http://www.nwbackpack.com/products/...light_stove.php

I did an initial test of weight and came up with 2.7 ounces just like advertised. I then hooked it up to a 70/30 canister for testing. Full blast it boiled a pint of water in 1 minute flat with only ~8 grams of fuel in windless conditions. Water was 78F starting and air temp was 77F in my garage. Pot was my Evernew 0.9L pot. Not bad.

http://www.rei.com/product/6188525.htm

Then I made a windscreen similar to the Snow Peak windscreen:
http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_...rcid=GoogleBase

The weight came in at 1.2 ounces and it works well with my Evernew pot as well as the Anti-Gravity Gear 1 qt pot.

So I put the new windscreen on the pot, this time my total stove weight is 3.9 ounces. Using the same 70/30 canister I kept the throttle down because I didn't want to take a chance on overheating the stove on the first run and risk a fire. At about 1/2 throttle I achived boil in 2:30 while using only ~5 grams of fuel. Water and air conditions are the same as above. So now I just need to do some testing in foul weather to see how it works.

Numbers so far:
Stove 2.7oz
Windscreen 1.2 ounces
Evernew pot 4.0 ounces
Scripto Lighter 0.6 ounces
Pot Cozy 0.9 ounces
Fuel cannister ~ 8.0 ounces
Total: 17.4 ounces

Compare to the Jetboil with fuel:
Stove 6.0 ounces
Lower burner cup protector 0.9 ounces
Cup and cozy 7.4 ounces
Lid 1.1 ounces
Fuel Canister 6.8 ounces
Total: 22.2 ounces.
(data from http://www.backpackgeartest.org/rev...itial%20Report/)

So a lighter set up and similar fuel usage.

[SGT Rock]

Here are some pictures...
http://hikinghq.net/forum/attachmen...ttachmentid=290
Windscreen

http://hikinghq.net/forum/attachmen...ttachmentid=291
Windscreen on burner

http://hikinghq.net/forum/attachmen...ttachmentid=292
Pot on stove with windscreen

http://hikinghq.net/forum/attachmen...ttachmentid=293
Stove burning at about 1/2 throttle

[Lanthar Mandragoran]

What did you make the windscreen out of?

[SGT Rock]

It is a secret

But it can be found at Wal Mart for about $4. See who can guess first.

[jlb2012]

the lid to a grease pot?

[Ewker]

grease pot lid

[jlb2012]

a ha - got you this time Ewker

[Ewker]

ya got me HOI

[SGT Rock]

Damn you are fast HOI.

[jlb2012]

that's what she said - the question remains however - was I right?

[SGT Rock]

Yes you are right. I used a pair of tin snips to cut the hole out by spiraling out from the hole that the handle used. Then I lined up the burner head and used an alcohol pen to mark the length of the holes needed for the pot supports to go through. Once I had those marked I used a Dremmel to grind the slots in for the pot supports then to grind and finish the edges a little. The thing is still a little rough but it can be cleaned up more and may even get a little lighter when I do that.

I've also considered getting one of those JetBoil Group pots:
http://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/pro...%5Fid=10025624
Just to see if the flux ring makes any real difference. One thing that has always bothered me about the "science" of their system with more surface area is the fact that there is no extra surface area in the pot to transfer the supposed "extra" heat into the water. Hard to buy the idea if the extra surface area is only on one side of the equation. I've always considered the JetBoil flux ring a fancy windscreen system more than anything else and Amigi's comments recently only re-enforce that thought.