Looking for Cold Weather Stove

[Todd Heyn]

My old trusty whisperlite died last fall and I broke down and bought a
Pocket Rocket. While this stove is great for my uses in warm and cool
weather, it is not great when the temp really drops.

My wife and I were out over Easter weekend in Western Mass. and you
could really see the drawbacks of the cannister stoves when the temps
were down in the teens.

I have been looking at getting a simmerlite due to the lighter weight
compared to the whisperlite. Is there someother stove that I should
be looking at? Just let me know what your thoughts are.

[Peaks]

One advantage of canister stoves is that they don't flare up like white gas stoves do. So, you can use them closer to your tent on a cold morning. Obviously, they work better in the cold if they are insulated from the cold, and you keep the canister warm.

Whisperlite is a good standby. The simmerlite is a few ounces lighter, but will not support a huge pot. OK choice for a couple, but not for a large group.

If you really want a workhorse of a stove, check out the Coleman Peak 1

[ANHINGA]

Svea 123--32 yrears and still lighting off better in cold weather than most of the new stoves.

[jasonklass]

Are you talking true winter conditions? If so, I'd recommend the MSR XGK. It's heavy but reliabe and durable. It won't let you down when the temps drop.

[Nightwalker]

I've lit off a canister stove around 0F a few times. The trick is to warm the canister a few minutes first. The three best places, warm-wise, are armpit, top of head, and crotch of pants. And yes, two of those are a bit non-comfy for the first minute or so. But they work. :eek:

[Marta]

I've lit off a canister stove around 0F a few times. The trick is to warm the canister a few minutes first. The three best places, warm-wise, are armpit, top of head, and crotch of pants. And yes, two of those are a bit non-comfy for the first minute or so. But they work. :eek:

I've used canisters successfully down to zero, but also twice have had them fail completely in cold weather. I suspect it has something to do with how much of which of the gases were left in the particular canisters. In any case, having a stove failure when it is cold has put me off using canisters in the cold. The first time I was fortunate to be hiking with a friend and he had an alcohol stove. The second time I was hiking with my son and we had brought two stoves, one of which was an alcohol stove. Yes, the alcohol stoves worked both times.

But if I were living up north and camping in serious cold weather, I'd go for white gas, stinky, messy, and dangerous as it is.

Marta/Five-Leaf

[mweinstone]

msrxgk. 30 years. always better than ever. alcohol above 15. gas below. xgk or die! die!!!!!!!!

[Tipi Walter]

I too went from the Whisperlite to the Simmerlite and have no complaints. I used to be a hardcore Svea 123 devotee and was reluctant to join the pump/tube/gasket MSR craze but went for it and for good reason. The XGK is also a fine stove tested in high atltitude conditions and will be my next stove when the time comes.

The beauty of the MSR is that it can be cleaned and serviced easily with the repair kit and extra rubber seals. Both the Whisperlite and the Simmerlite use the same pump(old style and new upgrade)so swapping out the grommets won't be hard. The funny thing about the Simmerlite though is that it WON'T SIMMER!!!!!!! Go figure. Hence the devotion to the XGK.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

msrxgk. 30 years. always better than ever. alcohol above 15. gas below. xgk or die! die!!!!!!!!
What logic did you use to come up with the ""alcohol above 15. gas below"" idea? Is this actually based on any facts or just another rant?