View Full Version : featherfire alcohol stove
brit4jesus
08-07-2007, 07:05
when i do my thru hike im thinking of taking this stove with me its at http://www.packfeather.com/stove.html if anyone has any knowlage of how good it is or isnt id appriceate it or any info on other alchol stoves you can buy, id make my own but i dont have the time
brit4jesus
08-07-2007, 07:07
oops link is wrong that should be : http://www.packafeather.com/stove.html
NICKTHEGREEK
08-07-2007, 07:17
when i do my thru hike im thinking of taking this stove with me its at http://www.packfeather.com/stove.html if anyone has any knowlage of how good it is or isnt id appriceate it or any info on other alchol stoves you can buy, id make my own but i dont have the time
There's the venerable trangia westwind for around $20.00, but I have to admit the packfeather is about the slickest application I've seen so far. Still not enough to make me an alky convert, but pretty neat.
Midway Sam
08-07-2007, 07:24
oops link is wrong that should be : http://www.packafeather.com/stove.html
I'll have to admit, my initial gut reaction is that this stove is the "Hummer H3" of alcohol soves. By that I mean, it's "pedigree" is indeed that of an ultralight utilitarian "get the job done without any frills" stove, but it has been accessorized up to the point of being a bit over the top.
I still use a "Pepsi-G stove (http://www.pcthiker.com/pages/gear/pepsiGstoveinstruct.shtml)" I made a few years ago with a simple potstand/windscreen (http://www.kywilderness.com/articles/windscreen/windscreen.html) I made at the same time.
Zelph and others here at WB are on a persistant quest to perfect the ultralight backpacking stove and have made stoves that put my Pepsi-G to shame, but it still boils water perfectly fine for me.
SouthMark
08-07-2007, 08:47
when i do my thru hike im thinking of taking this stove with me its at http://www.packfeather.com/stove.html if anyone has any knowlage of how good it is or isnt id appriceate it or any info on other alchol stoves you can buy, id make my own but i dont have the time
I purchased one about a month ago. I have several homemade alky stoves of various styles. I have only tested this stove at home as I have not had a chance to go on a trip with it. It works well especially if you need to simmer. I normally do feeezer bag cooking and only need to heat water and this stove is more than needed for that but I intend to do some baking on some future trips (biscuits, muffins, etc.) and this stove has worked perfectly for that in tests in my kitchen. It is of quality construction.
$50.00 (with all attachments + ship) seems a little excessive to me for a soda can stove the amount of fuel saved would take along time to make it worthwhile. For a few $ more you can get a Jetboil!
That is a nice stove but i think not for trail cooking more things to go wrong. Make a cat stove 8 holes paper punch 5/8 in. up or so from bottle 8 holes from top about 1/2 in. down 8 holes in between the bottom just light lower pot on very easy one.
handlebar
08-07-2007, 20:53
I got one and have used it on a number of short hikes on the AT between Trail Days and Konnarock Crew and between crew weeks. I had previously used an MSR simmerlite white gas stove for my 06 thruhike, but decided I needed to shave some pounds before my 08 PCT attempt and decided to go the alcohol route. I like this stove a lot--it is super lite, the pot stand works very well and the flame adjustment mechanism actually works quite well too. Of the accessories they offer, the obvious one you can make yourself is the windscreen (could use aluminum flashing material from a hardware store). The suction bottlecap is a nice easy way to empty unused alcholol back into the bottle. This does have the usual slower boil times than white gas, but didn't seem to be a problem for me. It is a bit pricey though, but it is really well put together.
brit4jesus
08-07-2007, 21:28
yeah it is pricy, but i dont have the time to make one along with all the mess ups that would come along the way till i built one that works. ive herd of jet boils are they light ? and are they versabule?
Skidsteer
08-07-2007, 21:42
yeah it is pricy, but i dont have the time to make one along with all the mess ups that would come along the way till i built one that works. ive herd of jet boils are they light ? and are they versabule?
If you have time to post on WB, you have time to make a stove. No kidding.
hopefulhiker
08-07-2007, 21:42
I would consider the cheaper alcohol stoves too.. The Jet Boil weighs over a pound... and mainly is used to boil water.. they do have a nice french press if you like coffee...
brit4jesus
08-08-2007, 06:27
thanks skidsteer i see you have ben able to read 2 posts of mine an sum my life up such tallent is wasted here
Skidsteer
08-08-2007, 07:10
thanks skidsteer i see you have ben able to read 2 posts of mine an sum my life up such tallent is wasted here
If you really don't have time, PM me your address and I'll donate one to you.
Sugarfoot
09-01-2007, 13:37
I used the FeatherFire for the month of July on the AT and it was flawless. With a well-fitted windscreen, it was the most fuel efficient stove I've ever used. And it really does simmer. I found I could do a Mac&Cheese dinner with under an ounce of alcohol. Why didn't I make one? Because I am mechanically-challenged (an understatement). I've used the Etowah stove before, which is a great heavy duty choice. I also tried a couple of the BrassLite stoves, one of which was supposed to simmer. Instead it shot flames out the side. The FeatherFire is somewhat delicate, but I had no problem with it since I packed it inside my pot. And it is surprisingly stable with a liter pot.
Neat stove design but I'm sticking with my ROF stove.
Route Step
09-01-2007, 18:18
For the price of two canned soft drinks you can build your own stove. I only saw one couple that baked bread on the trail from Georgia to Maine and they did not use alcohol.
Username75
09-01-2007, 19:37
For the price of two canned soft drinks you can build your own stove. I only saw one couple that baked bread on the trail from Georgia to Maine and they did not use alcohol.
Kenny who is Pinboy50 on ebay has a video on how to build an oven from a cheap wal mart Grease pot, and a spring form pan on hiw website at
http://www.minibulldesign.com/ it works rather well I have baked biscuits on both the AT and the PCT, as well as hobo'ing around the country riding freight trains.
and have from a Trangia, Hike-N-Lite, Pop can, to a simon Stove.
i use to love my Svae(white Gas), but have switched to Alcohol since I found my beloved Jiffy heat stove.
Years ago i used a stove that used Lighter Fluid, and Alcohol working as a Smoke jumper for the USFS, it was similar to a kiwi shoe polish can
with ridges. then went to White gas, but now love them spirit burners.:-?
I got 5 of them jiffy heat stoves i think they better then trangia. I use one in my kelly kettle works great
I got 5 of them jiffy heat stoves i think they better then trangia. I use one in my kelly kettle works great
oops, add some of your 1/2 inch wick to the jiffy heat. Should decrease boil time by 1/2. The fuel is not worth a toot in cold weather, hard to lite.
oops, remind me to try putting some alcohol on top of the jiffy can in the winter to see if that will prime the fuel enough to lite the wick. (and I'll remind you) (i still don't own a Trangia.)
Way to go Phreak!!!!!
Well its like this all last winter i went out late at night and all my alcohol stoves lit up ok and it was cold no heat in my shop.
like someone said, if you have time to post on the internet, you have time to make a stove.
i made one of the basic pepsi can stoves (holes, inner liner) sitting at my desk over lunch one day, using a pair of scissors, a pushpin, and two cans from my wastebasket, in about 10 minutes. yeah, i've made a couple before and the design's sort of stuck in my head so i didn't have to refer to any instruction sheet, but it's still pretty easy.
and you can make a supercat stove in less time than it takes to assemble the materials (holepunch, 1 small can, marker, ruler). you don't even need to make a potstand for it.
I swore I'd never leave my JetBoil and use an alcohol stove, but when I saw the FeatherFire in action on the trail, I went home and ordered one. I bought the whole set up and it is sweet.
taildragger
09-05-2007, 14:26
I made a modified supercat stove out of an old bean can, the thing had 2 quart boil times of ~60*F water in the 4min range (depended on which stove I used, and the pot I boiled in), with speeds like that I had no reason to buy a stove. That stove took 3 minutes to make, 2 of which were spent eating the beans that were in the can. Tools to do it consisted of a hack saw, a drill, and whatever bits I felt like using.
Save the $50 and make one, that way when you sit on it and bend it, you can make another one for the cost of a homemade bean burrito dinner.
Username75
09-05-2007, 15:07
:confused:
I got 5 of them jiffy heat stoves i think they better then trangia. I use one in my kelly kettle works great
You Evil Evil man! you outbid me on 3 of them on ebay
Curses foiled again, or as the Canadians would say
Curses Foiled Ah Gain, them jiffy heats are nice when one is Ooot
and a boot.
Sam
Username75
09-05-2007, 15:25
I use a kettle similar to the Kelly kettle, as i am broke just trying to outbid you.
it's a swiss military kettle that comes with a flask, and a cup
similar to the kelly but cheaper alu min a mum instead
of that hoity toity stainless steel.
with about 20 ounce capacity in the flask, and about 8 ounces
for the cup
it's not as elegant but gets the job done, you can even put the cork in the flask and it will somewhat retain heat for about an hour.
i can make top ramen, and tea in about 8 minutes
(including seep time)
Have you tried one like mine, and i know
it's not as fine as the Kelly, but what did you think of both?