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my wife and I are planning a thru hike next year were going to do GAMA. I currently have a MRS pocket rocket and have recently been making some coke can stoves. I would like to find a good multi fuel stove so we can find fuel any where along the train. I don't want to use canister stoves because of the trouble of finding the canisters.
Anyone have any suggestions, I was looking at the simmerlite stove by MSR.
thanks for your help in advance.
Chad
mkmangold
03-24-2008, 04:23
Chad: this is what we do and you could adapt this accordingly. I camp and hike with two of my sons. The oldest is 15 years old and he carries a JetBoil: canister. Benny is 6 y/o and carries an alcohol stove and the fuel which is plentiful and light. I carry a ZZip stove which is heavy but can burn anything combustible. When it arrives in the mail, I am switching to a WoodGas stove with solar charger.
In other words, be prepared!
Possum Bill
03-24-2008, 07:43
my wife and I are planning a thru hike next year were going to do GAMA. I currently have a MRS pocket rocket and have recently been making some coke can stoves. I would like to find a good multi fuel stove so we can find fuel any where along the train. I don't want to use canister stoves because of the trouble of finding the canisters.
Anyone have any suggestions, I was looking at the simmerlite stove by MSR.
thanks for your help in advance.
Chad
I love my Simmerlite. It's very light, compact, quiet, and good for cooking for the wife and myself. One thing to keep in mind is that it's White Gas only... you said you wanted multi-fuel, so it wouldn't work for that.
With a soda can stove you can use liquid fuel or Esbit tablets.
Or do this: Put the stove in a fire ring, set it up and light it with a bit of fuel, then build a fire on top of it. You can even use a can someone else left there, and the whole thing is LNT, because what remains is indistinguishable from the usual garbage. :banana :sun :eek: :cool:
If you are cooking for two, then I'd recommend something other than an alcohol stove. If you liquid fuel (white gas), then Simmerlite is a good choice in my opinion.
take-a-knee
03-24-2008, 16:30
If you are cooking for two, then I'd recommend something other than an alcohol stove. If you liquid fuel (white gas), then Simmerlite is a good choice in my opinion.
I would pack an annual maintenance kit for it, MSR stoves will become fireballs if you don't keep good o-rings in them.
Svea 123, no need for a stinking maintenance kit. :D They don’t need one.
30 + years and the only thing I have done to it is put fuel (regular gasoline) in it. Not one problem. I don’t believe there is a more dependable gas stove then it.
Yea they cost $100.00 now, but it’s a bargain considering what you get. If the price was $200.00 I would still say it’s a good value.
I'd carry a solo alcohol system each. This way you can cook your own food (which is valuable if your tastes change on the trail), and you're each self contained so if you end up hiking separately for short periods of time enroute, one person doesn't have to go without and the other doesn't have to carry a two person cooking system.
As far as fuel availability goes, an inability to find alcohol/HEET on the AT would probably require a deliberate effort. Worse comes to worse, you don't cook for a few days. Boohoo.
take-a-knee
03-24-2008, 17:28
Svea 123, no need for a stinking maintenance kit. :D They don’t need one.
30 + years and the only thing I have done to it is put fuel (regular gasoline) in it. Not one problem. I don’t believe there is a more dependable gas stove then it.
Yea they cost $100.00 now, but it’s a bargain considering what you get. If the price was $200.00 I would still say it’s a good value.
I can't argue with that, my SVEA 123 is 32 yo and going strong. There is nothing I'm aware of on the market that is any lighter that will simmer like a SVEA. It is however, ten ounces heavier. I've read recently that climbers have rediscovered the SVEA because of it's reliability.
take-a-knee
03-24-2008, 17:30
I'd carry a solo alcohol system each. This way you can cook your own food (which is valuable if your tastes change on the trail), and you're each self contained so if you end up hiking separately for short periods of time enroute, one person doesn't have to go without and the other doesn't have to carry a two person cooking system.
As far as fuel availability goes, an inability to find alcohol/HEET on the AT would probably require a deliberate effort. Worse comes to worse, you don't cook for a few days. Boohoo.
The only downside to that is you'll carry a few ounces more weight in fuel, if weight is an issue to you.
Appalachian Tater
03-24-2008, 17:51
You can get alcohol in any trail town or hostel. If you carry two separate cooking pots and alcohol stoves, you can have two dishes instead of one and more flexibility if you split up for any reason.
Feral Bill
03-24-2008, 18:02
Svea 123, no need for a stinking maintenance kit. :D They don’t need one.
30 + years and the only thing I have done to it is put fuel (regular gasoline) in it. Not one problem. I don’t believe there is a more dependable gas stove then it.
Yea they cost $100.00 now, but it’s a bargain considering what you get. If the price was $200.00 I would still say it’s a good value.
You might need tank lid gasket every decade or so. I prefer to run mine on Coleman fuel.
take-a-knee
03-24-2008, 18:18
You can get alcohol in any trail town or hostel. If you carry two separate cooking pots and alcohol stoves, you can have two dishes instead of one and more flexibility if you split up for any reason.
Also a consideration if one hiker of a pair leaves the trail for whatever reason, the one left isn't carrying any extra weight.
Bulldawg
03-24-2008, 18:57
I would think that Alcohol in the form of Heet would be easily accessible anywhere alone the trail. On top of that, the coke can penny stoves, etc. are my favorites. I like making them almost as much as I like using mine. Once that baby gets going, it cooks like nothing else. I made mashed potatoes and one of those ready made chicken and rice dinners with about 4 caps full of alcohol Saturday with the wind howling across the top of Tray Mountain. In fact, I would think what guys, one bottle of Heet would get ya, I'm guessing 15-20 meals. I've never measured it since I'm hardly ever out for more than a day or three.
Bill Strickland
03-24-2008, 19:46
I've had good performance out of Traildad's Cat Stove, made out of 2 cat food cans. It won Backpacker's 2002 best homemade alcohol stove contest. Plan may be found at royrobinson.homestead.com If you have trouble, I'm at
[email protected] Jakebrake
Dholmblad
03-24-2008, 20:15
Dont share a stove. I would recommend a jetboil only because I like cooking quickly, and I love the coffee press.
Make a Fancee Feest stove. I has a 3 ounce fuel capacity. Can easily cook for two and melt lots of snow. Or you can purchase one on ebay.
My son and I always take a cannister stove. Between two people the weight of an empty cannister (once the fuel is gone) is a small price to pay for the convenience and ability to actually cook on the thing. There are a few alcohol stoves that can simmer, but, for two people, the inefficiency (low BTU's) of an alcohol stove makes it necessary to carry more weight in fuel. For one, it's a tossup. I prefer Esbit tabs for a few days out by myself.
I have built several coke can stoves over the past couple of days and i am not very impressed with them. I looked at the stoves you guys have talked about and the Svea 123 looks nice. i think i am going to be buying a stove for the trip they seem to be more efficent. any other suggestions on commercial stoves.
thanks for all of your comments they are very helpful.
One thing with the Svea 123, it has a learning curve to get good at starting it quickly in one try.
You have to heat up the generator by burning some kind of fuel in the small cup in the center of the stove. People use some of the fuel out of the stove, or use fire paste. But both of these leave a black soot on the stove. I use a small bottle to hold denatured alcohol and squirt enough of it to fill up the cup, light it till it’s almost burnt up and then open the valve and if needed light the stove with a lighter. It starts great this way every time and the alcohol leaves no soot.
Play with it a few times at home to get it down before you are out on the trail.
Svea 123, no need for a stinking maintenance kit. :D They don’t need one.
30 + years and the only thing I have done to it is put fuel (regular gasoline) in it. Not one problem. I don’t believe there is a more dependable gas stove then it.
Yea they cost $100.00 now, but it’s a bargain considering what you get. If the price was $200.00 I would still say it’s a good value.
Gee, I stopped using my Svea after the gaskets dried out and it was shooting flames out everywhere.
mark schofield
03-25-2008, 15:54
Owning and using a SVEA 123 R is like using a VW camper. For some people, try it once and you'll always return.
Owning and using a SVEA 123 R is like using a VW camper. For some people, try it once and you'll always return.
All too true. If I could find anything close to the old VW camper I'd buy it in a heartbeat. The stories I could tell about our old camper!
Feral Bill
03-25-2008, 16:33
Gee, I stopped using my Svea after the gaskets dried out and it was shooting flames out everywhere.
A 50 cent gasket and you would have been ready for another 10-20 years.
A person that don't know how to check his stove for worn parts shoud sell it at a lawn sale.
borntobeoutdoors
03-27-2008, 09:46
I have several stoves:
A Primus Multifuel
A Jetboil
A Coleman Exponent Canister Stove
2 Pepsi Can Stoves. (Well, one's a Guiness) :D
I have had in the past:
MSR Dragonfly
SVEA
Of all the stoves, if i can only have one, it's the Primus. I can use either White gas or a fuel canister (or in a pinch kerosene or aircraft fuel). It will heat water or food in a hurry on high and can be turned down to Simmer.
It is the stove I use the most. But I also like to cook meals on the trail, not just be limited to trail food that requires on boiling water.
In many cases I will take the Jetboil if I am doing a day hike or overnight for a coupe of days and am using only dehydrated food. But canister stoves suck in the winter, very inefficient.
The Pepsi can stoves, I never really use. I have a lot of weighs I lighten my pack, but for the time it takes a Pepsi stove to heat water, it's just now worth the weight saving.
Many of my hikes are 2 - 3 week, often involving paddling as well as hiking. that allows for heavier and more gear.
Hawk
my wife and I are planning a thru hike next year were going to do GAMA. I currently have a MRS pocket rocket and have recently been making some coke can stoves. I would like to find a good multi fuel stove so we can find fuel any where along the train. I don't want to use canister stoves because of the trouble of finding the canisters.
Anyone have any suggestions, I was looking at the simmerlite stove by MSR.
thanks for your help in advance.
Chad
Looking through the companion guide it appears as though canister fuel is not difficult to come by on the trail! The longevity of canister fuel/ ease of use and faster boil times make the pocket rocket a hard stove to beat! You can make a real simple custom windscreen that actually enhances the performance of the stove too! Hope you find what works best for you!:)