Cheapest stove for thru hike...

[whitefoot_hp]

I am wondering what the cheapest stove to use for a thru hike is. this is more in terms of fuel the stove uses, not so much the cost of the stove. what fuel type is the most cost efficient (not worried about weight right here)?

oh yeah, consider that the stove will be used daily, for 1-2 meals.

[Mags]

Barring weight, a zip stove is the absolute least expensive in fuel costs on a trail such as the AT.

Again, barring weight, a white gas stove (which usually can run on auto gas) is 2nd least expensive.

[chili36]

Save a few bucks on fuel....or carry a few more ounces on a thru hike....


one of life's tough choices.`

[partinj]

I like my snow peak it is a canister stove put out 10.000 btu of heat will get you meals ready long before the zip stove i have a zip stove it not one by sierra it by a swiss company really well made use a C battey to run fan much better than the sierra how ever i can not fine the company any more paid 89.00 for but well worth it just a little on the heady side 1 lbs 12oz. i do take on short hikes. it also has a bigger compart for wood chip to you can try backing mag that where i got the company name from.

[Mags]

I like my snow peak it is a canister stove put out 10.000 btu of heat will get you meals ready long before the zip stove


I believe the question was in terms of fuel costs, though. Canister stoves are probably the most expensive in terms of fuel (maybe Esbit if not bought in discount).

[whitefoot_hp]

Save a few bucks on fuel....or carry a few more ounces on a thru hike....


one of life's tough choices.`
for me, the cost of fuel is more important (funds not unlimited) the rest of my setup is defineately on the light side.

any ball park figures on the amount of money saved by using gasoline over alcohol? not too sure about going the wood route.

using the whisperlite, how long would 11 oz of unleaded gasoline last someone on the trail, boiling about 2-3 cups of water a day?

[Mags]

any ball park figures on the amount of money saved by using gasoline over alcohol? not too sure about going the wood route.

using the whisperlite, how long would 11 oz of unleaded gasoline last someone on the trail, boiling about 2-3 cups of water a day?


Do you already have a white gas stove? If not, it will be ~$65 +/- for the stove, too vs free for an alcohol stove. You may want want to factor that into your equations. You may be able to buy a whisperlitet online for cheap as more people are switching over.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&dfsp=32&from=R40&satitle=whisperlite&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=ZIP%2FPostal&sabfmts=1&saobfmts=insif&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=32%26fsoo%3D2


Alcohol is cheaper in bulk than buying with HEET, but unless you buy denatured alcohol (vs heet) at a hostel, that is not feasible.

Unleaded is ~$4 a gallon now. Heet is ROUGHLY $2 per 12oz bottle or $20+ a gallon. Ouch.

A gallon of bulk denatured alcohol is ~$15.

I do not know how much hostels currently charge for alcohol or white gas unfortunately.

I've never used unleaded gasoline in a stove, but white gas did last me not quite two weeks (call it 11-12 days) IIRC doing one hot meal and a cup of cocoa. I have not used a whitegas stove for long periods of time since 1998 so my recollection is a little fuzzy.

[whitefoot_hp]

my main fear of alcohol is that it is not always available in small amounts. i dont want to have to buy more than i need just to get what i need.

i am also looking at relying on my stove for more than just water boiling. in order to save money, i want to cook many meals at trail heads after leaving town rather than always relying on restaurants. (not saying i think i can resist them everytime) so i want something that can simmer and fry stuff, and i worry about alcohol stoves and cannisters doing this well. (i know they can in some cases)

so i am leaning toward white gas/ auto gas stove. i dont have one but i dont see the cost of the stove cancelling the out the gained advantage in fuel cost. i eat alot.

[taildragger]

I'd make a wood burner, and maybe have a supercat as backup. There were some cool designs on here for woodies.

Or, you could suspend a pot over a small fire and cook like that for the longer to cook meals (I do this and just use the alcohol for quick meals).

[Mags]

so i am leaning toward white gas/ auto gas stove. i dont have one but i dont see the cost of the stove cancelling the out the gained advantage in fuel cost. i eat alot.


Understandable. If you are doing alot of cooking and using a lot of fuel AND costs are your main concern (in terms of fuel) than a whitegas stove many work for you.

If you want to use unleaded, though, make sure it can burn unleaded! Not all gas stoves can (or at least support it.. :) )

[whitefoot_hp]

Understandable. If you are doing alot of cooking and using a lot of fuel AND costs are your main concern (in terms of fuel) than a whitegas stove many work for you.

If you want to use unleaded, though, make sure it can burn unleaded! Not all gas stoves can (or at least support it.. :) )
right on. i am looking at the whisperlite international.

[whitefoot_hp]

I'd make a wood burner, and maybe have a supercat as backup. There were some cool designs on here for woodies.

Or, you could suspend a pot over a small fire and cook like that for the longer to cook meals (I do this and just use the alcohol for quick meals).

i may do some experimenting this fall and winter with wood designs. for a thru, however, i do not want to spend a bunch of time fiddling...

[Bob S]

i may do some experimenting this fall and winter with wood designs. for a thru, however, i do not want to spend a bunch of time fiddling...


It’s a law of life, you spend more money, you get a lot less fiddling you have to do.

You don’t want to spend any money (and this was the main theme in your first post) you are going to have to make your own stove and fiddle with it.

Least amount of money would be a Hobo stove, it can be made out of an old juice can and actually works well.


But you have to fiddle with a can to make it, and fiddle with picking up wood while hiking. But it’s cost is virtually zero other then buying some juice to drink.

[mister krabs]

I don't think a gas stove is cheaper unless you already have one.

Heet vs. Gasoline equation, yes, it's 20+ vs 4$ a gallon, but how much are you actually going to use? Using round numbers of 2 oz a day for 200 days, = 400 oz/128 is just over 3 gallons so roughly 60 bucks vs. 12 for a 48 dollar savings overall. You're going to spend almost twice that on a whisperlite international, then have to worry about maintenance, o-rings, fussing with priming and carrying a nearly one pound stove plus its maintenance kit. I don't know about running it on gasoline full time, it would seem to me that gasoline is dirty compared to white gas, so that you'd have to clean the jets a lot. Does the international have a "shaker jet?" I'd guess that running gas, you'd need it alot.
Note that I am biased, a regular whisperlite was my first stove, followed by a GAZ canister stove and now alcohol.

[mister krabs]

My opinion on the fussiness factor is that fussing with a whisperlite every day adds up to way more total fussing than all the effort you would put into an alcohol stove, even if you made it instead of buying. There's no fussing with alcohol, at all. Fill and light.

Give a shot at making an alky stove one of these days when you're bored, before you spend your money on a gas stove. They're surprisingly easy to make. Try a supercat for the ultimate in no fussing. 1 cat food can, 1 hole punch, done.

[Mags]

Originally the question was about overall fuel costs. Not the price of the stove or futz factors.

As several of us mentioned, a wood stove is the absolute cheapest for fuel esp. on the AT.

But, again not talking about the cost of stove, autogas is the 2nd least expensive (in terms of fuel). As others mentioned (myself included), you do have to buy a stove vs basically free for some wood and alcohol stoves.

BUT, Whiteroot did mention he wants to cook a lot off the trail. That may effect over all fuel use and costs.

As for futz factor..well, that's a different discussion.

Canister stoves are probably the easiest. Closely followed by alcohol. White gas type stoves can be finicky to use. Wood stoves likewise.



So what does all this mean? Choose your poison. As Mr. Krabs mentioned, the price difference is not that much different in the long term. However, if you want to do real cooking, and are using a lot of fuel, a canister stove or white gas is the way to go for relative min. of futz factor vs. a wood stove. Canister stoves are more expensive for fuel than auto gas stoves.

So there you have it. I feel the above is a good, non-biased assessment.

In my BIASED opinion, I still think alcohol stoves are the way to go for most solo hikers, doing basic "boil and eat" type meals for the short resupplies found on the AT. But that's for my hiking style. YMMV.

[mister krabs]

My apologies for going off track, now that the original question is answered, I have one of my own. How do you put a gas pump nozzle in a sigg bottle?

[Alligator]

A gallon of unleaded or white gas is a lot cheaper than a gallon of denatured alcohol. Roughly half the cost compared to the alcohol. What might need to be discussed is where the OP intends to refill? If it's going to be by the ounce at hostels, outfitters, etc., does the price of alcohol vs. white gas vary much at those places? I don't know the answer to that as I typically have my fuel needs covered when sectioning.

[Mags]

If it's going to be by the ounce at hostels, outfitters, etc., does the price of alcohol vs. white gas vary much at those places?


I asked that question myself. Alas, it has been a decade since I've done a long hike on the AT. Perhaps some recent AT hikers could give the price per oz at hostels for alcohol vs. white gas?

I imagine some friendly gas station owners MAY let you fill up at the pump as well.

[Homer&Marje]

Alcohol stove. Methyl can be bought at most gas stations, and you can use anything as low as 70 % isopropyl, although it doesn't burn as hot... if your not concerned about simmering alcohol stove is perfect and free if you have a few cans to spare, durability is fantastic. and if it does break just get a couple empty cans.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=26219&original=1&c=member&orderby=dateline&direction=DESC&imageuser=17846&cutoffdate=-1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRt8mNOP2b0

[gravityman]

An important question is how much will he save over the course of a hike.

Alcohol is about 2 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 1.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 360 oz = 2.8 gallons
Total Whitegas = 288 oz = 2.3 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $56 to $42 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $9.2

Total savings = $47

Assuming you already own the whitegas stove + repair kit.

Assuming you can do the hike for $2200 (very hard), this is 2% of the cost. Not the best place to save money.

I think there are other places to save money that are more substantial, like 1 less night in town.

[Bob S]

Assuming you already own the whitegas stove + repair kit.


Repair kit? Must be talking about MSR:eek:

A svea doesn't need a repair kit, all you need is gas for it and it will keep working the whole trip and beyond.:banana

[whitefoot_hp]

Alcohol is about 2 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 1.6 oz/ 1L water
.
i seriously question if it takes 1.6 oz of whitegas to boil a liter.

[Alligator]

I asked that question myself. Alas, it has been a decade since I've done a long hike on the AT. Perhaps some recent AT hikers could give the price per oz at hostels for alcohol vs. white gas?

I imagine some friendly gas station owners MAY let you fill up at the pump as well.Oops, I didn't see that you asked that.

[mister krabs]

i seriously question if it takes 1.6 oz of whitegas to boil a liter.

MSR says 1.5

http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/comparison.html

[mister krabs]

I got that backwards, it's 1.5 L per oz.

[Mags]

MSR says 1.5

http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/comparison.html

I have found my own fuel uses to be less to be honest.

MAy be a case of a really rapid boil vs. "good enough" however.

[Mags]

Oops, I didn't see that you asked that.

I kinda stated rather than asked it..so easy to miss.

No worries.

[Johnny Swank]

This is dangerously getting into the minutia, but I think Mags nailed it WRT to fuel prices.

On the other hand, fuel costs are a minuscule part of the average thru-hike. One extra day in town and you wipe out any fuel savings no matter what stove you use. Cook some dried beans, potatoes, or slow-cooking stew over a fire a few times and you'll save plenty of money as well.

Here's some leisure reading for you!

Thru-Hiking on the Cheap (http://sourcetosea.net/thru-hiking-on-the-cheap/)
Cutting Down on Town Time (http://sourcetosea.net/thru-hiking-cutting-down-on-town-time/)
Budgeting for a Thru-hike (http://sourcetosea.net/budgeting-for-a-thru-hike/)

[SGT Rock]

An important question is how much will he save over the course of a hike.

Alcohol is about 2 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 1.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 360 oz = 2.8 gallons
Total Whitegas = 288 oz = 2.3 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $56 to $42 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $9.2

Total savings = $47

Assuming you already own the whitegas stove + repair kit.

Assuming you can do the hike for $2200 (very hard), this is 2% of the cost. Not the best place to save money.

I think there are other places to save money that are more substantial, like 1 less night in town.

I think I paid about $20 in 800 miles for alcohol fuel. And part of that was because I could only buy a gallon can in one place and had to give away what I couldn't carry. My stove used about half your estimate per day anyway, and combine that with boiling on the occasional fire, eating meals in town, and the occasional free alcohol left in hiker boxes. I think when I did the math it came out to about $0.07 in alcohol per pint boiled.

Add to that, the price per ounce at places that sell fuel by the ounce also seem to jack up the price. I think the cost for fuel for a gas stove would end up being higher since a) you cannot get it in less than 1 gallon containers (and who wants to carry that) and b) inflated price per ounce when purchasing it at that measure.

[whitefoot_hp]

rock, were you able to find alcohol fairly easily in amounts that you needed?

[Mags]

On the other hand, fuel costs are a minuscule part of the average thru-hike.



Very true.

Hey..check out Weather Carrot's article for inexpensive thru-hiking...for more good info (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?p=22959#post22959)


I think the cost for fuel for a gas stove would end up being higher since a) you cannot get it in less than 1 gallon containers (and who wants to carry that) and b) inflated price per ounce when purchasing it at that measure.

I am wondering how feasible it is to fill up at gas stations? I honestly don't know. Would be VERY cheap though if you could.

[Johnny Swank]

HEET (denatured alcohol) is sold at about every gas station up and down the trail. Getting denatured alcohol is probably easier to get ahold of than any other fuel other than unleaded gas now. A 12 oz bottle usually lasted me about a week to 10 days. I usually just bought some at every other town.

[Ender]

One thing to keep in mind... gasoline will clog the stove a lot faster than whitegas. I know of a couple people who used gasoline, and the stove crapped out because it got too clogged and they weren't able to unclog it, so they had to get a new stove.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Gotta be a handful of twigs and leaves in a dumpster found coffee can and a pack of gratis matches from the 7-11.

[whitefoot_hp]

alcohol is what i have always used, i would just like to bring something more versatile in terms of what it can cook.

[gravityman]

For alcohol, I took a swag. I am guessing that Rock used less because you didn't boil 1L of water, but rather 2 cups (and thus half the fuel)? I know alcohol does not have as many BTU's so it's impossible for an alcohol stove to use less fuel than a white gas stove unless the white gas stove has inefficiencies that the alcohol doesn't.

The white gas number came from http://www.backcountry.com/store/CAS0366/MSR-WhisperLite-International-Stove.html

which has 20 oz of fuel gives a burn time of 110 min and it takes 3.5 mins to boil 1L = 0.6 oz per L

OPS! I did the math wrong the first time! It's 1.6 L/oz of fuel, but I wanted 0.6 oz/L!

So maybe I'll revise that math!

Alcohol is about 1 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 0.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 180 oz = 1.4 gallons
Total Whitegas = 108 oz = 0.8 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $28 to $21 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $3

Total savings = $25 max

Wow, that's HUGE savings :) 1% of a $2200 cheep hike...

[Mags]

So, I guess the meta question is: What is the cheapest way to do a thru-hike? :D

The articles mentioned should help with that...

A white gas stove still has its uses.. There is probably a reason why thru-hikers don't use them much anymore, though.

[oops56]

Well its like this if you not into lite weight to much a optimus 111T it burn alcohol ,kerosene ,pump gas, Coleman, a pump on tank adjustable flame and it can be a silent burner or a roarer burner.

[whitefoot_hp]

So maybe I'll revise that math!

Alcohol is about 1 oz/ 1L water
Whitegas is 0.6 oz/ 1L water

Assume 1L water/day * 180 days (since he doesn't have any money, he'll cook all his ramen on this stove).

Total Alcohol = 180 oz = 1.4 gallons
Total Whitegas = 108 oz = 0.8 gallons

Total cost cost
Alcohol = $28 to $21 (HEET vs Bulk)
Gas = $3

Total savings = $25 max

Wow, that's HUGE savings :) 1% of a $2200 cheep hike...
if you had read anything that i posted you would know that your arbitrary 1 liter a day has little relevance to this discussion. thanks anyway.

in cold conditons, it easily takes an ounce of alcohol to boil just 2 cups of water.

[gravityman]

*sigh*

2-3 cups a day, 1-2 meals a day. I used 1L (~4 cups) because a typical 'meal' is 2 cups, and you said 1-2 meals.

It only gets to be a small savings if you are boiling less water.

The amount of alcohol to boil the water is a bit tougher to quess. I used Mag's estimate that he has on his stove comparison site because he has a 'bit' of experience , but maybe it could be as much as double that. so MAYBE a $50 savings. Still much more than the cost of the stove.

There are plenty of reasons to choose the different stoves, but cost for fuel does not appear to be one of them.

Gravity

[Bob S]

One thing to keep in mind... gasoline will clog the stove a lot faster than whitegas. I know of a couple people who used gasoline, and the stove crapped out because it got too clogged and they weren't able to unclog it, so they had to get a new stove.

Only if you buy the wrong stoves. My Svea has only had gasoline in it, it’s 30+years old and never clogged once, never failed to work. The piece of junk MSR stove I had clogged almost every time I went out weather I used white gas or gasoline.

I also have a Coleman multu-fuel stove (mod # 533) that works with gasoline just fine, but it’s too heavy for backpacking despite the fact the package says it’s a backpacking stove.

[oops56]

Them older stoves that says multi fuel they mean auto gas or Colman they are made for auto gas

[whitefoot_hp]

*sigh*

2-3 cups a day, 1-2 meals a day. I used 1L (~4 cups) because a typical 'meal' is 2 cups, and you said 1-2 meals.

Gravity
when did i say all my meals would be 2 cup water boils?

i genuinely appreciate your input, but if you are going to ignore massive parts of my question and then seek to belittle it i dont see how you are offering much.

i did mention i am planning to use my cooking system more often than the 'average' thru hiker, and for meals that go beyong boil and dump.

[Jim Adams]

Stay in one less motel during the six months and take a cannister stove. So much easier, so much handier, so much more reliable (yeah I know, your alky stove never broke but then again my cannister never set a table on fire!).
Almost all hiker boxes have 1/2 full cannisters in them. That is free fuel that no one wants to carry because it is only 1/2 full and "what if?" My cannister usually lasts 10-14 days and if you don't mind carrying two 1/2 full ones, you could feasibly hike the entire trail w/o buying fuel.
OTOH, if you want a white gas stove free...I'll send you one.

geek

[Skidsteer]

in cold conditons, it easily takes an ounce of alcohol to boil just 2 cups of water.

It depends on your stove. Really.

But if you want to simmer meals on a regular basis, I agree that alcohol makes that tougher to do.

Good luck in your quest.

[Doctari]

Since switching to alcohol, I have done about 250 miles on the AT. So far there has been no problems getting fuel, usually for about $0.55 an Oz so far ($8.80 a gallon) my stove takes about 0.75 Oz to heat enough water for what I eat. So: about 21* meals per gallon / $0.41 a meal.
If a fire is going or I botherto start one myself, that saves me fuel. A "trick" not confined to alcohol of course, but a good way to save limited funds.
I saw a study, said for long distance trips gasoline was better, but I remember it was regarding weight not cost. Enough that even tho an alcohol stove is lighter, the gas used less fuel weight per meal. I think this would translate into cost per meal. Sadly I can't remember what / where this study was / is.

I have to say that likely everyone is right: Wood, Gas, alcohol.

Canisters is likely somewhere in there I'm sure. :p

In addition to the inital cost, you should also figure in the cost of fixing a gasoline or canister stove if/when it breaks. The cost of my alcohol stove when it breaks (a trick that requires it be stepped on) is $0.35 for a can of potted meat & about 45 seconds with my knife. AND, I get to eat the potted meat, YUM! :rolleyes:



*21.3 meals / gallon.

[SGT Rock]

rock, were you able to find alcohol fairly easily in amounts that you needed?I don't remember ever having a problem getting alcohol. But at Trents near Dismal Falls I had to get a gallon of it. I gave the excess to Wonder.


For alcohol, I took a swag. I am guessing that Rock used less because you didn't boil 1L of water, but rather 2 cups (and thus half the fuel)? I know alcohol does not have as many BTU's so it's impossible for an alcohol stove to use less fuel than a white gas stove unless the white gas stove has inefficiencies that the alcohol doesn't.
It wassn't that simple to say I did half so I used half as much.

My normal hiking day went something like this:

Breakfast - 10-12ml of alcohol to heat ~16 ounces of water. I didn't take this to a boil, normally I only wanted about 190-200F. This was enough for coffee and grits.

Lunch - ~10ml of alcohol to heat soup (I was hiking in the winter). I also put pocket bread with cheese and sausage on top of the pot sometimes - made melted cheese sandwiches with the same fuel. This was normally about 8 ounces of water to boil.

Dinner - 10-18ml of fuel for dinner. This was often 16 ounces of water taken to boil and with some cook time in there as well. Sometimes I even made some hot tea or a bottle of hot water to sleep with so add another 5-10ml for making tea.

So some days were slightly less, some days were slightly more than others, but on the average I ate three hot meals a day and used ~1 - 1.5 ounces a day depending on weather and towns and other factors...

I heated a lot more than one liter of water a day, but some was to boil and some wasn't. I carried a 10 ounce fuel bottle and always cruised into town with left over fuel - well always minus once, but I forgot to get fuel before leaving town on that one. I think the longest I ever went on the 10 ounce bottle of fuel was 7 days.

I also used a pot cozy so I wouldn't waste fuel simmering.

So all that said - I could have easily done it with less than an ounce a day just doing normal breakfast and dinner. I like hot food and hot drinks so I used more than I needed too at times.

My biggest consumption camp I used almost 2 ounces of fuel for dinner and breakfast the next morning. It was damn cold and I did tea, big dinner, and a heated water bottle to sleep with, then the next morning I did coffee from ice.


It depends on your stove. Really.

But if you want to simmer meals on a regular basis, I agree that alcohol makes that tougher to do.

Good luck in your quest.

Exactly. Some stoves take an ounce to boil a pint, some get by with slightly less than half an ounce if you are willing to wait. I was willing to wait.

[Homer&Marje]

When I was in the Whites we had 3 people for 5 days using the my Alcohol Soda Can stove on average twice a day. I brought 32 oz of fuel with me and came back with 14 oz approx. left in my sigg bottle. I use two can stoves with 1/2 - 3/4 oz per stove of HEET and it would boil 2 liters of water, in the morning I would boil 1/2 liter for oatmeal for the three of us and 1 1/2 liter for hot cocoa and the dishes. At night about the same for ramen and dishes. Paid $1.44 per 12 oz bottle of HEET and used lets say 2 of them. so total cost of $2.88 for 3 people for 5 days. That's $0.60 a day for 3 people. Affordable considering the stove is free and maintenance free and if it breaks it's free to make a new one, and... and...

[Gumbi]

Well, as you can see, it gets a lot more complicated than which stove has the cheapest fuel.
Obviously, a wood-burning stove is going to be the cheapest to operate, but I don't like the fuss-factor of wood: too messy for me.
A liquid-fuel, dual-fuel stove that can use gasoline is the next cheapest fuel. But then you have to worry about parts wearing out or breaking, and the stove is a little on the heavy side for my liking. But they are good for cooking lots of food and (other than replacing worn parts) are easy to use with little hassle.
An alcohol stove is pretty light weight and you can find HEET at any gas station. But unless your idea of cooking is boiling water, it is not the best choice for lots of cooking. Fuel costs a much more gasoline, but still is pretty cheap, IMO. I like my Supercat alot; lightweight and easy to pack, nearly indestructible, and no moving parts or pot stands required.
Cannister stoves are very light and extremely easy to use. Fuel is expensive and might be tricky to find. I don't like the fact that you cannot see how much fuel is left.
Esbit stoves-forget about it! Expensive!

[oops56]

As i see you it stay home or have some one else carry your stove let him have the head ache. There is not stove you like.

[Gumbi]

As i see you it stay home or have some one else carry your stove let him have the head ache. There is not stove you like.
I'm just saying that everything is a tradeoff. There is no perfect stove, just stoves that are better suited to some tasks than others.

I personally use a Supercat alcohol stove and a Coleman 533 Dual-fuel stove (I bought the coleman long before I even thought about going lightweight).

[Appalachian Tater]

Alcohol is very available along the trail. Most of the outfitters and hostels on the trail have it for sale at a reasonable price. You can frequently get it in hiker boxes. The little bottles of HEET or other brands are available at many gas stations, large discount stores, and even some of the Dollar Generals in the south had it for $1 or so. Sometimes you even find a bottle in a shelter.

in a worse case scenario you could buy rubbing alcohol in a drugstore (look for the highest percentage of alcohol) or borrow or cook over a fire.

You can also split or share a large container as SGT Rock did.

It is easy to manage the amount of alcohol you carry. Get a 12 oz soda bottle. Full, it would last a week probably. If you know you have good resupply in a couple of days, only carry a couple of ounces.

Some fuel saving tips:
A lot of food, such as freeze-dried meals, cous cous, stuffing, hot chocolate or instant coffee, and ramen, don't actually require boiling water, just hot water.
Don't use extra water, heat just enough.
Put your food in the water before you heat it, don't wait for it to boil, and it can continue to cook in the pot long after the stove is out.
Use the pot lid.
Cook with any water you're already carrying as it is warmer than water straight from a spring.

These factors have much more influence on how much fuel you use than anything besides the number of meals you cook, more than the type of pot or stove.

[Bob S]

Has anyone ever saved fuel by pre-soaking things in a Tupperware container while you hike? Just wondering how it worked.

[SGT Rock]

Some stuff works better than others. It takes some experimenting. I find ramen does well, as do dehydrated refried beans. Some pastas turn into slime while others work fine.

[fiddlehead]

Has anyone ever saved fuel by pre-soaking things in a Tupperware container while you hike? Just wondering how it worked.


You'd be carrying extra water weight to reydrate the food to save possibly an oz of fuel.

I would think the water weight would be pretty substantial in comparison. But I have met people who cooked real beans out there and they did just that. (they also used fires for cooking them as they take so long of course) Much better idea to cook them at home, then rehydrate them at camp, with a little hot water IMO.

[SGT Rock]

NAw, it ain't that bad really. Say you are going to cook ramen, it takes 2 cups of water for boiling it, but it only takes about 6 ounces of water to re-hydrate it. Same for many other dishes like that. That said, one of the thing I have done is rehydrate ramen with about 6 onces of water for about 30 minutes (start at your last break before lunch) and then when you are ready to eat, add Parmesan cheese, italian dressing, and any other little goodies you can think of to make an Italian pasta salad.

[Homer&Marje]

I have hiked with beans soaking in water to quicken the cooking process. Remember to do it in the morning tho, I remembered at lunch, like oh crap I need to soak my beans so they took a while to cook and were still kind of crunchy, Beans are real good and high energy buy fresh ones take some work, I don't carry them much anymore