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pahillbillybear
05-06-2009, 16:43
Does anyone have any experience with the Sierra Stove?

RWK
05-07-2009, 18:45
If your talking about the woodburning Sierra Zip Stove I have one that I've used. It works pretty well and burns pretty much anything. Still works with damp wood but it helps to keep some dry material to start if the other wood is wet. The battery operated fan is two speed so you have some control over your fire along with how much wood you put in.
On the negative side I find it rather bulky for my pack when I'm fully packed for an extended trip. It also gets very sooty so you need to keep it in a sack and your pot will get very sooty also. It does create a good bit of smoke if wood is damp. Weight is kind of a trade off since you're not having to carry fuel.
Even though the Sierra Stove pretty much does what it claims I find that an alcohol stove is quicker and less hassle.

hikingjer
05-14-2009, 01:39
The Sierra Zip Stove is good on a long trip where fuel resupply could be a problem or flying on an airliner with fuel is illegal.

It does get your pots pretty sooty. The fan's noise is annoying after awhile.

Its smoke may help fend off mosquitoes (?).

I like how you can cook or boil as much as you want with the Sierra Zip stove without having to worry about running out of fuel. If you want water to wash up, you can boil plenty of water with the Zip. A "whorebath" with lots of hot, soapy water in camp every night sure is nice.

There's no fuel cartridges to worry about disposal. I hate disposing of butane cartridges.

mkmangold
05-14-2009, 09:31
Does anyone have any experience with the Sierra Stove?

I had one. It was nice for all the reasons listed above (convenient, plenty of fuel) but also cumbersome and dirty. I tried retrofitting mine with a rheostat so that I could adjust the air supply but it didn't work. When the Zzip went caput, I bought a WoodGas Stove which also runs off of solar power but rarely use it. I like the idea of abundant fuel and have since discovered that alcohol, in its many manifestations, is pretty much available anywhere.

garlic08
05-14-2009, 12:05
I had one last about 500 miles before a weld broke. I switched to alcohol and never looked back.

RichardD
05-14-2009, 12:49
I use the Titanium ZIP. It's a bit pricey but I like it.
I found a poly container to carry the stove and I use a Wal Mart silnylon sack for my cookpot. In my view both are needed as the stove and pot become quite black after a few days use. The containers prevent my pack from always smelling of wood smoke.
With practice the stove is easy to light and it burns very hot. It boils water very rapidly. The stove does have to be fed with twigs two or three times when boiling a liter of water. The single AA battery lasts more than a week. I use lots of hot water and at the end of a week the fan runs slower. my guess is that it would continue to run for another week of use.
The construction quality of the stove is poor, it could and should have been engineered to higher standards but it does work well. (the switch hangs on a wire and the stand is very flimsy).
For me the unlimited availability of fuel outweighs the inconvenience of gathering twigs and lighting the stove. The mess and smell in my pack was a much greater concern to me until I found a suitable way to pack the stove and pot.
A disadvantage is that you have to know before you start your hike whether you are allowed to use the stove. National forests frequently issue burn bans in dry weather and in the Sierras you generally cannot burn above 10000 feet or near some lakes.

weary
05-15-2009, 23:21
The Sierra Zip hAS been my favorite stove for years.

take-a-knee
05-16-2009, 00:04
The Bushbuddy made the Zip Stove obselete.