Stove Recommendation for All Purpose Cooking

[Gadget Girl]

Struggling to find the perfect stove for my upcoming thru hike NOBO on April 10th.
I have come to realize that there is no such thing as perfect. I would just like to get opinions from the experienced folks out there.

My preference is to have options/variety to cooking. This would include steam cooking and perhaps a small fry once in awhile. With that in mind, having the ability to adjust the flame is key.

While I expect to primarily be boiling water for dehydrated foods, 20% would be for a no-hike cooking day.

I truly appreciate the replies.

Gadget Girl

[Walkintom]

I like using a canister stove. I've got a Snowpeak but most good canister stoves have similar capabilities. Just turn the flame up/down as desired and pay real close attention to your cooking and you can achieve many things, cooking-wise.

I've never got it to work like cooking at home, and if that's your expectation, I dunno if you'll manage it.

Considering that you'll hit an option to go to town every few days I'd say just use a canister stove and anything that you can't pull off doing that, just buy and eat while in town.

[CalebJ]

Sounds like a basic canister stove and a decent pot would work perfectly for you. Not a jetboil because it's too dedicated to boiling, and I'm not sure an alcohol stove would give you the simmer control or the frying capability you seek.

[Lone Wolf]

pocket rocket canister stove

[Dochartaigh]

If you want the option to actually cook real food you need a pot with decent capacity - just to be able to get a utensil in there to mix stuff around or turn over something you're frying. These little pots made just for 2 cups of water won't cut it. I would suggest the Toaks Titanium 1350ml Pot (3.8oz) + Toaks Titanium 145mm / 5.7" Frying pan (2.35oz, doubles as a lid). This is big enough for me to make a good stew on, as well as cook something like pancakes on the frying pan.

I also find that a canister stove needs to be more robust (i.e. balanced so it doesn't fall over) with you actually cooking on it so that means a stove with a 3-legged stand, or a stand for the canister your pocket rocket-type stove sits atop. I found the stove + canister stand was lighter than the lightest 3-leg'd stove out there so I went with the Snow peak LiteMax Titanium at 2.05 ounces, and a MSR universal canister stand for 1.16oz.

[CalebJ]

Dochartaigh, is this the set you're talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/TOAKS-Titanium...dp/B009N5JHIE/

[Dochartaigh]

Dochartaigh, is this the set you're talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/TOAKS-Titanium...dp/B009N5JHIE/

No, that one is 130mm diameter, I have the 145mm one. I started looking at the widest diameter (i.e. so I could make a decent sized pancake), yet still lightweight frying pan I could find, and the Toaks 145mm version was it:

http://toaksoutdoor.com/titanium145mmpan.aspx

Then I paired that with a 145mm diameter Toaks pot. They make several pots that are 145mm wide and I went with the 1350ml one. Sadly, the pot + frying pan aren't sold as a combo set so it was about $30 more than their 1600ml pot + fry pan combo set (but also saved me ~2 ounces of weight).

[Mags]

As others said, any basic ~3oz canister stove should work well.

OTher stoves are lighter (new stove that has some initial good reviews) and other stoves such as the jet boil put out the heat more efficiently, but this basic stove type works best as a multi-purpose stove.

If you are on budget, the Chinese canister stoves are slightly less than 4oz and cost $6 shipped. Strip away the piezo ignition, and you are at ~3.5 oz for a decent to good quality all-purpose stove. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...H3CTWB0QEAJQ07

[Sirsnappy09]

You can order one of the Chinese stoves from intense outdoors and avoid the wait. I have one and it works awesome for the money. Look at remote canisters like th kovea spider.

[Rex Clifton]

If you take the time to learn how to use, an alcohol stove is a great choice and will save you weight on your thru hike. Ditto other comments about getting a pot large enough for cooking, ie, that won't be boiling over all the time. For a set, I use a diy fancy feast stove with a simmer ring and a 12 cm Imusa pot with custom lid. The total cost for this setup is around $25.

[fastfoxengineering]

snowpeak litemax or olicamp ion if your trying to go as light as possible and still have a canister stove

msr, snowpeak, soto, primus, optimus .... check em out

[brancher]

Canister all the way. For me, the ability to get a fast boil, followed by a slow simmer, is really valuable on the trail if you don't eat out of a bag. Mine's a Vargo titanium stove (they don't make 'em anymore -- but they should). Also, nothing wrong with a good anodized aluminum cook set....

[daddytwosticks]

Another vote for a canister stove, such as a Snowpeak. A real workhorse.

[HooKooDooKu]

Sounds like a basic canister stove and a decent pot would work perfectly for you. Not a jetboil because it's too dedicated to boiling, and I'm not sure an alcohol stove would give you the simmer control or the frying capability you seek.

This is correct for previous models of JetBoil. But the new Memo (or something like that) comes with a squatter pot and a stove that simmers (older JetBoil stoves are basically either Full On or Off... no real inbetween).

You might want to check out this list I put together a while back discussing the weights of various stoves and pots.

[sfdoc]

Jetboil Minimo. Worth a look. IL pot but a 1.8L pot is available.

[squeezebox]

I went with the Soto windmaster looks like it should be more wind resistant that the others. Other folks experience?
Also does the pizzo really weigh more than 2 mini bics? Pizzo is real handy.
The canister stand looks like a good idea, but one more thing to use & carry & break.

[Jake2c]

Went through a number of stoves and I guess in the end it will depend on what you like to use. As you said, none are perfect. I have ended up with an alcohol stove that can simmer. Not as fast as canister or even a kelley kettle (to big and heavy but I love them), but alcohol does the job, can't be broken without real effort, fuel is easy to get.

[highway]

Solo stove
http://www.solostove.com
To save fuel weight I am seriously considering this stove over my homemade alcohol stove or, my venerable tangier which works great.
The video is amazing

[LAF]

I went with a Soto windmaster. The one drawback for me is it is taller than most other canister stoves but still fits inside my evernew 750ml pot with a small canister. Weight wise it's 2.4oz with the incorporated piezo igniter. With that said, I liked the Optimus crux as well; slightly heavier (3oz), no piezo, folds up so it is more compact. they are all so similar anymore it seems....

[BirdBrain]

I am a fierce defender of the alcohol stove as the best long distance option. Wood stoves intrigue me as well. However, we that advocate such systems must be honest with ourselves. It is difficult, at best, to do the things described in the OP with these systems. We may choose to not simmer or fry. If we just boil, our choices excel. However, if we are asked what stove is best to simmer and fry, I believe our systems are not the ideal choice. Not saying it can't be done. Just saying it is not what I would recommend as the best stove to fry and simmer with.