Sierra Zip Stove users. [Archive]

Skidsteer

12-05-2006, 08:25

jlb2012

12-05-2006, 08:36

back when I was using a Zip Ztove I used a 2 qt aluminum pot that I had take the handle off of and used foil for the lid - sometimes I would also use an aluminum coffee pot - in both cases the Ztove fit inside the pot

highway

12-05-2006, 09:30

I recently read a "glowing " review of this on BackpackingLight:

http://www.bushbuddy.ca/

for a wood-burning stove not needing fan or batteries, weighing 10 3/8 ounces. A little heavy I thought at first (how much does a zip stove weigh?) but once one subtracts the actual weight of the alcohol needed to be carried for the ultra light alcohol stoves, I'd imagine it would become a possibility for some. It sure is an intriguing concept, though, and I have been considering it.

HOI, why did you stop?

highway

12-05-2006, 09:51

I guess it would BE MOSTLY practical on very long distance, not well-supported treks. On AT hikes were distance between resupply is so amazingly short and routinely easy it may not be as practical. But it is intriguing. But its dimensions make it too big to fit inside my old MSR kettle.

Frosty

12-05-2006, 10:02

I'm getting ready to test the Sierra Zip stove against a new type of forced-air wood burning stove and would like to test with a pot that is commonly used by current Zip owners. I know what I use, but would like to hear from others as well to get a consensus if there is one.

I'm looking for:

-Brand name, if you know it.
-Pot dimensions; diameter and height?
-Material e.g., titanium, aluminum, stainless steel?

Also, does your Zipstove nest in your pot? Is that one of the reasons you chose that particular pot?

Thanks in advance.When I boukgth my zip stove about 15 years ago, I bought it because at the time, someone got jammed by NW Airlines for carrying an empty gas stove (I used a Peak, One back then) and I didn't want to deal with it, so I bought a Zip stove and a pot. The pot is stainless steel and was packaged with the stove. It is just large enough to put the stove inside the pot after wrapping the stove in a plastic grocery bag.

I used it for weekend trips and Scout hikes, but when I started long-distance hiking, light-weight had come into vogue and I went lighter.

I still use it once in a while on an overnight trip. I think this is where their best use is, on shorter trips, but this is a personal observation with no data to support it.

I have thought about the new titanium stoves, which are pretty light.

They work best with charcoal from old fire rings, but still blacken the bottom of pots.

max patch

12-05-2006, 10:24

I still use it once in a while on an overnight trip. I think this is where their best use is, on shorter trips, but this is a personal observation with no data to support it.

I totally agree.

I love to play around with my zip on weekend trips, but there is a bit of a hassle factor that would preclude me from taking it on a thru.

While you can find kindling and wood to burn at your campsite, its much easier to take cotton balls impregnated with vaseline and your fuel source when you leave home. This extra pre packaging work would be a hassle on a thru. I also don't like the soot on the pots.

Great little stove for those weekend trips, though.

Skidsteer

12-05-2006, 10:24

Frosty if it's not too much trouble, could you dig out the pot that came with your Zip and measure it for me?

Thanks.

jlb2012

12-05-2006, 11:39

HOI, why did you stop?

I found alcohol to be easier to use and lighter even though I have to carry fuel

superman

12-05-2006, 12:02

Fiddle Factor

I started the AT with my zip stove. The zip stove required the most fiddling with when I least felt like fiddling. I switched to using alcokol in a super small aluminum can in a nesbit frame. That worked great and I'd use it again. Pat and I use the zip stove for our hikes that are up to a week long. It becomes more practicle because we like to make tea, hot chocolate and soup as extras along the way. We hike more for our pleasure than for miles these days.

Frosty

12-05-2006, 15:29

Frosty if it's not too much trouble, could you dig out the pot that came with your Zip and measure it for me?

Thanks.Here is the pot with stove inside (you can see a bit of plastic grocery bag sticking out - grovery bag limits soot that gets into pot).

Pot cover is frying pan with foldout handle. You can tell by the lack of soot (see side of pot) that I have never used it. I carry it, though, because the pot handle kind of locks shut, and the extra poofiness of the grocery bag puts enough pressure on the latch that the top never comes off in my pack. This is the old style; the switch is mounted on the stove itself. I bought it as a set from Campmor at least 15 years ago, and have heated a lot of water with it.

The pot holds 2 cups (just measured it) and is 5 1/8" in dia, and 3 1/4 inches deep. The cover holds 1 cup and is 5 1/4 " in dia and 1 1/2 inches deep.

fiddlehead

12-05-2006, 15:36

I use a 1.5 litre aluminum pot that i got at a thrift store and put my own handle on it. The stove fits inside the pot.
Zip stoves are great. I used them a lot when travelling all over the world as fuel is often a problem.
You do need a bag to protect your stuff from the pot but i'm sure you know that already.
Unlimited hot water is a luxury most AT hikers can't afford.

Lanthar Mandragoran

12-05-2006, 17:55

Here is the pot with stove inside (you can see a bit of plastic grocery bag sticking out - grovery bag limits soot that gets into pot).

Pot cover is frying pan with foldout handle. You can tell by the lack of soot (see side of pot) that I have never used it. I carry it, though, because the pot handle kind of locks shut, and the extra poofiness of the grocery bag puts enough pressure on the latch that the top never comes off in my pack. This is the old style; the switch is mounted on the stove itself. I bought it as a set from Campmor at least 15 years ago, and have heated a lot of water with it.

The pot holds 2 cups (just measured it) and is 5 1/8" in dia, and 3 1/4 inches deep. The cover holds 1 cup and is 5 1/4 " in dia and 1 1/2 inches deep.

I got one of them... I think I got a bigger one though as mine holds significantly more than 2 cups (2 cups comes maybe halfway up the pot)

Mine's a holdover from a Coleman Exponent Backpacker Cook Kit (http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=8553A488&categoryid=5170)

Skidsteer

12-05-2006, 18:33

Here is the pot with stove inside (you can see a bit of plastic grocery bag sticking out - grovery bag limits soot that gets into pot).

Pot cover is frying pan with foldout handle. You can tell by the lack of soot (see side of pot) that I have never used it. I carry it, though, because the pot handle kind of locks shut, and the extra poofiness of the grocery bag puts enough pressure on the latch that the top never comes off in my pack. This is the old style; the switch is mounted on the stove itself. I bought it as a set from Campmor at least 15 years ago, and have heated a lot of water with it.

The pot holds 2 cups (just measured it) and is 5 1/8" in dia, and 3 1/4 inches deep. The cover holds 1 cup and is 5 1/4 " in dia and 1 1/2 inches deep.

Thanks Frosty, that's the info I needed. I think you have the pot capacity off though. A 5 1/8" x 3 1/4" should hold @ 3 1/2 cups mas o menos.

generoll

12-05-2006, 20:57

Hiya Skids:

I have a Zip Stove somewhere around here which lives inside of what used to be called a "Mountain Cookset". It was supposedly an army surplus cookset with two nesting pots and a skillet/lid which covered both. It was aluminum and both pots were well coated in soot on the outside. As best I can remember, the cookset was about the size of the Sigg Tourister which measures 7" acroos the bottom and about 5" in depth. That's for the larger pot of course and the nesting pot would be somewhat smaller.

I'm going to have to do some serious garage cleaning and see if I can find the stove. I know that I've loaned it out over the years and I'm not altogether certain that it ever came back. Can't say that I missed it much. It seems like a good idea, but the reality is that when I want to heat some water I want to do it now and not have to scrounge for fuel or worry about coals when I am done.

Frosty

12-05-2006, 21:09

Thanks Frosty, that's the info I needed. I think you have the pot capacity off though. A 5 1/8" x 3 1/4" should hold @ 3 1/2 cups mas o menos.Whoops. Make that 4 cups for the pot and 2 cups for the lid. (No wonder my instant mashed potatoes were always so runny)

weary

12-05-2006, 21:26

I use a large aluminum pot from an ancient picnic set. It holds about 3 quarts. I like a large pot because I tend to boil two quarts of water each evening in case I can't find decent water the next day.

A Zip Stove is most valuable when used as a guaranteed killer of harmful water bugs, as well as for cooking. I would use nothing else on a thru hike in part because I'm a believer in generic rice, oatmeal, and pasta, as both cheaper, and healthier than most "convenience" packages of Liptons and instant stuff, with their assortment of chemicals.

If I'm cooking rice for 20 minutes I like extra room in a pot so stuff can be easily stirred, without worrying about slopping over.

I've never found fuel supply a problem. I usually just pick up occasional scraps of dry stuff while hiking during the day. I've never used a fire starter in thousands of miles of Zip Stove use.

I found all kinds of birch bark on dead branches along the trail from the Georgia-North Carolina border north. It never failed to light my Zip quickly and efficiently. I'm guessing the pot I use most often is about 7 inches in diameter and about the same in height.

And no, in thousands of miles I've never gotten gear in my pack dirty from Zip Stove soot. I just keep it in one of those plastic bags that every store foists on every hiker.

Weary

zelph

12-05-2006, 21:48

Skids, how about showing us a photo of
stove against a new type of forced-air wood burning stove

Tell us a little about it, how big, what color, what's it made of, whats used to force the air, how much does it weigh, is it bigger than a bread box? ;)

Skidsteer

12-05-2006, 21:53

Skids, how about showing us a photo of

Tell us a little about it, how big, what color, what's it made of, whats used to force the air, how much does it weigh, is it bigger than a bread box? ;)

Shhh...

It'll all be in the review. :p

Blade

12-05-2006, 22:49

-Brand name, if you know it.
-Pot dimensions; diameter and height?
-Material e.g., titanium, aluminum, stainless steel?

Also, does your Zipstove nest in your pot? Is that one of the reasons you chose that particular pot?

Thanks in advance.

When I use my Zip stove, I use the 1.5 liter pot that came with my MSR Gourmet Blacklite cookset. It is aluminum non-stick, and the stove nests inside with plenty of room.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=5368&parent_category_rn=6525424&vcat=REI_SEARCH

I originally purchased the Zip because it seems like a no-hassle stove for packing aboard airplanes and I like not having to worry about fuel consumption. The pot was one I had already, and I didn't see a need to purchase a new pot to use with the stove.

Over the last year I've made some changes in order to reduce weight, and when going solo or only cooking for myself I've switched to Esbit and a homemade stove/windscreen with a Snow Peak Trek 700 mug/pot for use with freezer bag cooking.

I like the Zip, and although my new setup is much lighter if I wouldn't hesitate to bring my Zip along if I wanted to do something more elaborate than boiling water.

ScottP

12-07-2006, 04:20

The zip stove just isn't all that light or that convenient for one thru-hiker. Cooking with it takes some gathering of wood and fairly constant attendance of the stove, as well as a small hassle to light the stove.

A zip stove might be perfect for 2+ people, however. One could cook while the other set up tarp and other items.

My zip stove fit perfectly into my snow peak 1.4L pot.

rafe

12-07-2006, 09:35

I've walked a couple hundred miles of AT with a Zip stove, but gave it up. It's a dirty stove, and needs a lot of attention. It's nice having endless (free) fuel, but that comes at a price. The stove itself is heavy; mine weighs 18 oz. with battery. Your cookware will be black, and you will be spending your evenings gathering wood and feeding it into the stove. This stove will maximize your time in the "kitchen."

Skidsteer

12-07-2006, 09:40

Not that I care overmuch folks, in fact I really like to hear everybody's opinion on the Zip. But please remember to post your pot dimensions as well if you know them.
Thanks.

rafe

12-07-2006, 09:53

please remember to post your pot dimensions

Back when I was using the Zip, I was carrying a rather largish stainless pot, about 1.5 quarts volume, without a lid. The pot alone weighed about 7 oz. This was back when my overall pack base weight was in the 24 lb. range. The Zip puts out a *lot* of heat. It's pretty low and stable, so pot size isn't really that critical

zelph

02-01-2007, 13:58

Skidsteer

02-01-2007, 18:52

Hey Skids whats the latest on your tests????????

Give us an update are you still testing? What's going on?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The test has been put on hold till Spring. I'm looking forward to it and will definitely post results.

sirbingo

02-02-2007, 11:02

Spring!?! :eek: I can't wait that long! ....oh wells...

How about a photo of this stove to at least hold us over till springtime. :p

MosaicMaker

02-02-2007, 15:55

My apologies to Skids and the couple other people who seemed interested in this stove. There are some weaknesses with using the small fans- they are mounted to their own frames only with plastic. I have had two failures related to this. Skid's stove had a short in the wiring and was returned to me. This is an opportunity to re-exmine everything related to the wiring circuit.

These are technical problems need to be resolved before it can be a truely reliable option. The stove body and burn chamber I am happy with.

I have no photos yet, the only ones I know of are on Sgt. Rock's site http://hikinghq.net/forum/showthread.php?p=15844#post15844 Until later,

Victor