View Full Version : SnowPeak GigaPower in the COLD
saimyoji
01-22-2008, 11:13
Went hiking this weekend, it was around 15* when I was cooking. Stove did not perform well at all. I had the cannister inside my jacket as I hiked, and in my bag at night to keep it warm, it still took forever to boil water.
Any thoughts? Similar experiences?
Same thing with my MSR pocket rocket. If you cup both hands on the canister, in a few seconds you'll hear the flame get higher. I usually hold it there till it boils. Makes your fingers really cold.
Tipi Walter
01-22-2008, 11:52
You winter boys gotta go with white gas:)
You winter boys gotta go with white gas:)
White gas is a winter hikers friend:)
About 15*F 160z.water to a rolling boil (http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=21331) in about 2 minutes
NICKTHEGREEK
01-22-2008, 12:06
Went hiking this weekend, it was around 15* when I was cooking. Stove did not perform well at all. I had the cannister inside my jacket as I hiked, and in my bag at night to keep it warm, it still took forever to boil water.
Any thoughts? Similar experiences?
1. Your stove performed as advertised.
2. Pretty much all butane mix canisters perform in the same manner when it gets too cold, but at the fine edge the actual fuel blend makes a difference, the more propane the better. What brand did you use?
3. You can do a few tricks to help the canister like sitting it on a heater pad or ducting some flame heat down to warm the canister (ka-boom possible), but what you need is a snowpeak wg stove.
Thoughtful Owl
01-22-2008, 12:53
Yeah, I agree white gas is the only way to go for cold weather camping.
Only when it gets really cold do I have this problem, and even then I still can bring water to boil. Maybe I'll find a WhisperLite at the REI garage sale this weekend...
An alcohol stove can work well in the cold. I wouldn't want to be melting snow for one, but for making tea and freezer bag cooking, alcohol is great.
I saw one of those Trangia Triad Titanium stoves. They look very rugged for an alcohol stove and very light. Has anyone tried those?
wrongway_08
01-22-2008, 13:51
Yea, it sucks in the cold.
- If you have a fire going, heat the canister in the fire for about 5 seconds (dont lay the canister in coals :eek:, just hold it over the flames) - it'll start right up.
- If you have a good lighter, hold it to the bottom of the can for a few seconds - move it around, this will take care of the problem also.
- you will have to do this while cooking every so often as the can cools. Not a big deal.
- You can also rub the canister between your hands, just takes longer then heating over flames.
- If you already tried to start the stove before a little heat was applied to the canister, the ignitor may take a few tries to do its job - you most likely froze a little fuel in the burner portion. You can take a lighter and heat the burner portion to melt the fuel faster.
For the safety geeks, hey if your stupid enough to leave the canister in the fire long enough to blow up - they shouldnt be backpacking anyways :cool:.
Did you try the four-season gas mix?
But really, white gas (or wood) is the way to go for winter
You winter boys gotta go with white gas:)
Or wood!
gravityman
01-22-2008, 14:36
Canister stoves work GREAT in the winter, but not the Sit-on-Top kind. They have to have a remote canister which you then turn upside down. Coleman Xtreme being one of the most favorite in this lot. And a MILLION times easier than whitegas.
That said, I still use my gigapower in the winter because I don't go out enough to justify buying a winter stove right now (1 year old... still trying to find time to winter camp with him, but work has been crazy).
You did the first part, which is to warm the canister up in a jacket. I also bring along a tupperware large enough for the canister to sit in. Then I get some water going right away (hopefully you don't have to melt snow, but if you do, add what little liquid water you have to it right away, as it will melt faster).
Pore the water in to the tupperware and put the canister/stove in to the warm water. You will notice the stove really pick up. The water doesn't need to be boiling, just steaming. If your stove slows down too much, do it as soon as you have liquid. Even that will help. Keep giving it a warm-up when it slows down.
This works for me...
Gravity
NorthCountryWoods
01-23-2008, 08:45
Canister stoves work GREAT in the winter, but not the Sit-on-Top kind. They have to have a remote canister which you then turn upside down. Coleman Xtreme being one of the most favorite in this lot. And a MILLION times easier than whitegas.
That said, I still use my gigapower in the winter because I don't go out enough to justify buying a winter stove right now (1 year old... still trying to find time to winter camp with him, but work has been crazy).
You did the first part, which is to warm the canister up in a jacket. I also bring along a tupperware large enough for the canister to sit in. Then I get some water going right away (hopefully you don't have to melt snow, but if you do, add what little liquid water you have to it right away, as it will melt faster).
Pore the water in to the tupperware and put the canister/stove in to the warm water. You will notice the stove really pick up. The water doesn't need to be boiling, just steaming. If your stove slows down too much, do it as soon as you have liquid. Even that will help. Keep giving it a warm-up when it slows down.
This works for me...
Gravity
Holy cow that's alotta aggravation. Do a lot of winter trips so glad I never bought one.
Used white gas for years. Works in all conditions and really isn't that much more of a PITA than the canisters in warmer weather.
gravityman
01-24-2008, 14:33
Holy cow that's alotta aggravation. Do a lot of winter trips so glad I never bought one.
Used white gas for years. Works in all conditions and really isn't that much more of a PITA than the canisters in warmer weather.
The aggravation is only for the "sit on top" canister stoves. The coleman exterme remote canister stoves are light and go.
I've used a white gas stove for winter camping, but the flare ups, priming and sooty pots were just too much hassle for the weight. I would buy a true winter canister stove if I was planning on doing more true winter camping.
Not to say they are better than white gas, but just my personal preference. White gas really works just fine.
Note that on the AT starting March 1 we didn't have a bit of trouble with our gigapower sit on top canister stove as long as we warmed the canister before starting the stove.
Gravity
NorthCountryWoods
01-24-2008, 16:02
.....but the flare ups, priming and sooty pots were just too much hassle for the weight.
Weird. My 15 year old whisperlite gets at least a months worth of trips a year and has never done any of this with no maintenance and barely ever cleaning it.
Maybe I've just been lucky and that's why I don't get the beef about white gas.:confused:
The Solemates
01-24-2008, 16:36
Went hiking this weekend, it was around 15* when I was cooking. Stove did not perform well at all. I had the cannister inside my jacket as I hiked, and in my bag at night to keep it warm, it still took forever to boil water.
Any thoughts? Similar experiences?
I just went hiking this weekend and had single digit temps at night. i also used the snowpeak stove. while it was sluggish and did not run as well as normal temps, it still worked fine. took longer to boil water, etc, but i was quit impressed. of course, i did have a fire going and my stove was about 2-3feet from the fire, so that may have warmed the fuel up a little. there was also very little wind.
NICKTHEGREEK
01-25-2008, 07:07
I just went hiking this weekend and had single digit temps at night. i also used the snowpeak stove. while it was sluggish and did not run as well as normal temps, it still worked fine. took longer to boil water, etc, but i was quit impressed. of course, i did have a fire going and my stove was about 2-3feet from the fire, so that may have warmed the fuel up a little. there was also very little wind.
What kind of canister did you use?
I just went hiking this weekend and had single digit temps at night. i also used the snowpeak stove. while it was sluggish and did not run as well as normal temps, it still worked fine. took longer to boil water, etc, but i was quit impressed. of course, i did have a fire going and my stove was about 2-3feet from the fire, so that may have warmed the fuel up a little. there was also very little wind.
A nice warm rock from the fire would help too...
A nice warm rock from the fire would help too...
I also used an MSR PC for 5 years had same problem in colder than freezing degree temps. Used most of the methods described in warming it. I once put about 12 half-fist sized stones around it (the cannister) and covered the stones with loose dirt that was available without being dug up, it worked like it was 80 degrees out.
I have a jetboil now and love it however, obviously, its basically the same problem.
I might have to get a good WG stove.Some of my treks in winter are not on the AT and actually some not even on organized trails, I do a lot of over & in the fire cooking.
I had a WG stove years ago. (my fault o course) I had the fuel bottle leak in my pack. (I swear I tightened that cap!, but who would of loosened it) Anyway, I got turned off of them. I really need to revisit it because it really is the best stove out there when in sub freezing temps
A nice warm rock from the fire would help too...
Now i must be brain dead if you got a hot fire why do you need a canister stove:confused::confused:
I've met a thru hiker that only cooked on a fire. It worked for him, but when I'm done there is no soot on my cook pot. Besides, I defy anyone to build a fire and boil water faster and easier. I'm sure white gas is better in the cold, but 90% of the time that I use my stove it's not much below freezing. The times that it was that cold, the hand warming did the trick.
Has anyone had experience with different mixes in the canisters?
The Solemates
01-25-2008, 10:48
What kind of canister did you use?
the snowpeak canister that goes with the stove.
bigcranky
01-25-2008, 17:47
Gravityman has it dead on -- canisters are great for winter camping -- but only if you can turn it upside down to get a liquid feed. The Powermax cartridges do this automatically, others can be jury-rigged. I saw a new Snow Peak remote-canister stove (model GS-300A) at my local shop, and the fuel line is set up so you can use the canister either right-side-up or upside-down. Nice (but at $80 not happening right now). The Snow Peak web site also has a teaser for this:
http://www.snowpeak.com/back/stoves/new_stoves.html
Note the stand for the canister.
The nice thing about canisters, especially in winter, is ease of use. When your fingers are frozen and you need a hot drink right now, they make it easy.
My preferred winter stove is my Svea 123, it’s very easy to light. I have a small squirt bottle of Denatured Alcohol; I squirt some into the cup and all around the generator and light it. In about 30-seconds I turn the stove on and it gets a nice blue flame right away. I don’t see this as much harder then any other stove, and certainly a lot easier then heating water and then putting the tank in the water and then putting more hot water to keep the stove working right. Lately I have started to experiment with wood stoves and am looking forward to playing with them.
kytrailman
01-26-2008, 09:05
I( have the same stove. Make sure you keep the canister as warm as possible and use a windscreen that will totally enclose the stove, canister, and about a third of the way up your pot/mug. This will help. I ahve used it in cold temps with pretty good results.
Found this, it would let you invert your canister.
However, it is not out yet, and it weighs 5+ oz...
http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=596
NICKTHEGREEK
01-29-2008, 09:34
Found this, it would let you invert your canister.
However, it is not out yet, and it weighs 5+ oz...
http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=596
I GOTTA HAVE ONE OF THOSE!!!
Snow Peak has come out with one too. It is rather cool! I saw it on backpackinglight.com!
Rub your hands vigorously on the outside of the can. Works good.
Snow Peak has come out with one too. It is rather cool! I saw it on backpackinglight.com!
Are you talking about their new stove, the GigaPower LI, or a universal converter like the Brunton?
I called Brunton, and their converter will be avail. Feb 18th...My hike starts Feb 16th...:(
gravityman
01-29-2008, 18:57
You won't have an issue with a normal canister stove on the AT in Feb in Georgia. It's really an issue when it's DAMN cold. Maybe in the Smokies. The real issue is with melting snow for water (something we didn't do at all on the AT with a March 1 start in 2001 and 2005). Just warm it up in your jacket while you set up camp.
Gravity
Nightwalker
01-29-2008, 21:24
I've put the canister under my hat for a few minutes, letting my head warm it up. I've put it in the armpit, under my clothes as well. But what works best is to put it in the crotch of my shorts while I'm getting ready to cook. Within 3-5 minutes, it cooks as good as summertime. I use the little Giga canisters with 110 ml of fuel and put the concave bottom part right up against the doodads, between my shorts and base layer. It's not uncomfortable like you might think, because the endorphins are really pumping after a few hours of hiking. For morning use, I just keep the little canister in the foot of my sleeping bag.
The 110 ml canisters are easier to handle like this than the 220s, duh. In the Summer, a 110 ml lasts me a week with the Jet Boil PCS pot and a Pocket Rocket. Not exactly sure in the dead of Winter, because I haven't used one for a week yet. Last week, it was going to be really cold, and I took the old faithful Whisperlite. I'm leaving again tonight and carrying the Pocket Rocket. We'll see.
I know 2 things here: a lot of y'all are gonna laugh at me about this in-forum, and a lot of you are gonna try it yourselves. :D
Edit: I've nevr stopped a thread "cold" before!