Another stove thread

[stinkoman]

I plan on hiking the AT next year (SOBO) and am currently wondering what type of stove to get.
Now, I'd like to be cheap on this and don't mind carrying a little more weight or doing a little more work, however, I don't want to carry a five gallon propane tank and stove with me!
I was looking into alcohol stoves being as they are extremely inexpensive (homemade ftw) and canister stoves being as they are practically no work.
Down sides I have read about stoves are low temp high altitude. Would an alcohol stove do fine for 2 people hiking the AT from June to December? Would I start having trouble towards the end of my trip? I think I would want to go with an alcohol stove but I want to check to make sure I won't have too many problems with it.
Downsides of the canister stove are the price, weight, and 'guess factor'. Are they all?
How do canister stoves and alcohol stoves compare on the AT during the warmest part of the year and stretching into December?
Sincerely,
Stinkoman

[stinkoman]

I apologize if this is in the wrong area!

[taildragger]

Use a supercat, super cheap, efficient (at least my design is) and super reliable. I have been able to light at 10F, lowest that I've tried in.

FWIW, I still beat my friends stoves in fastest to boil (setup time included) when we tested at home. Turned him into an alcoholic as well.

[lvleph]

The starlyte by zelph seems to be the most efficient alcohol stove. But you can make one almost as efficient out of a red bull can and some insulation.

[freefall]

I built a Pepsi can stove that I'd put up against a Jet Boil any day.

[freefall]

And it's 4 years old with 3000 miles on it. Much more if you count the pounding it takes onthe airlines.


But off to hike now in a couple of hours. 5 oz fuel and 9 days food!

Good luck explaining!

[russb]

The starlyte by zelph seems to be the most efficient alcohol stove. But you can make one almost as efficient out of a red bull can and some insulation.

The starlyte also works in the cold as well. I used mine at -4*F.

[Allen1901]

What cooking pot will You be using OP? That will determine what stove You should buy. The type of cooking will too.

Cheers!

BTW, I think everyone should know how to make an alcohol stove.

[Mags]

http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.php/Backpacking-and-Hiking-documents/stove_comparison.html

[Cannibal]

Nice write-up Mags. I'm using a Bushbuddy DIY knock-off for my Colorado Trail thru. Do you have any experience with that style (wood burning) stove? I'm just sick of carrying fuel and with boil times of less than 6 minutes they work great for me. However, I don't have tons of miles using one just a few dozen 'test' runs.

[ithai]

the pepsi can stove served me to my full satisfaction. highly recommended!