Stove Needed For The AT

[Googan]

I'm looking into the MSR and Jetboil right now but I'm looking for advice on stoves for the AT.

[TJ aka Teej]

I've used them all.
I like the Pocket Rocket best.

[Googan]

I've used them all.
I like the Pocket Rocket best.

Does the MSR fit inside a mug or something else to save room in my pack?

[frontovik193]

I use the MSR pocket rocket for almost all my trips and love it. I can boil water in around 2 minutes and the BTU output is surprisingly strong. You can also adjust the output for more fine tuned cooking. The stove attachment is fairly light and compact (around 3 oz) but the fuel canisters can get heavy. I also found it helps to use a stand (1.3 oz) as the setup can be top heavy. Lost a meal because of that once... I will most likely be bringing my alcohol stove on longer distance hikes as they are super simple, light and you can find the fuel almost anywhere.

[MuddyWaters]

I like alcohol best because its quiet.

I dont mind a ul cannister stove setup though. The way i use it its very efficient.
Some love jetboil for its predictable efficiency and speed.

Its really just preference and depends on cooking style.

The little brs3000t is a good cannister stove for $13 from gearbest, and weighs 0.9 oz.

[Lone Wolf]

pocket rocket

[kombiguy]

I'm an old guy, so take this with a grain of salt. Svea123.

[Feral Bill]

I'm an old guy, so take this with a grain of salt. Svea123.

If you want a stove you can rely on for decades to come, that's it.

[Venchka]

I'm an old guy, so take this with a grain of salt. Svea123.

I think mine dates from 1974, + or -. I still have the fuel bottles, pump, spare parts, SIGG Tourist cookset, etc. that I bought so that my wife & I could go backpacking. I made these purchases before I learned that my first wife didn't sleep on the ground in a tent. Kinda put an end to backpacking together. I kept the gear. I kept my first wife too.

Wayne

[Harmless]

I finally retired my Svea this year. I got it for my 14th birthday. I'm 56. Loud a Krakatoa. Heavy as a tank. Reliable for 42 years.

I replaced it with... nothing. I just quit cooking.

I'm an old guy, so take this with a grain of salt. Svea123.

[bigcranky]

I see a LOT of Jetboils on the trail. Also a lot of alcohol stoves. I've owned at least six different canister stoves, and the Jetboil is the most fuel efficient, which is useful if you can't resupply canisters very often. It's also the fastest, though you are pretty much locked in to their integrated pot if you want the most efficiency.

Alcohol is much easier to find at small gas stations and supermarkets on the AT. One always knows how much alcohol one has left, while with a canister one often needs to carry a second one "just in case".

These days I am lazy and almost always bring the Jetboil.

[Tuckahoe]

Personally I use a DIY alcohol stove, but my opinion is that all the canister stoves are the same and you can not go wrong with any of them.

If you are considering a Pocket Rocket, then take a moment to look into the BRS 3000T --
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301638937494...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Small titanium stove that weighs just 0.9 oz, and at $16 I think Iit is the best all around stove right now for weight, performance and cost.

I bought one for a kid I've been mentoring and coupled the BRS stove with a Lite My Fire spork, and this cook set -- http://www.ebay.com/itm/151489824113...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT -- for a kit that came in at about $31 & change.

[nsherry61]

. . . my opinion is that all the canister stoves are the same and you can not go wrong with any of them.
If you are considering a Pocket Rocket, then take a moment to look into the BRS 3000T . . .

I'll have to disagree strongly with this one. My BRS3000T is awesome, light, simple, cheap, and super wind sensitive and has some finicky flame issues when it's cold outside. My SnowPeak light max his a nicer broader flame, but after it get's soaked from being left out in the rain, it doesn't work worth beans until it's dried out. The pocket rocket seems to be the most solid of the simple stoves, but weighs more than the BRS. My Jetboil is super fast, reasonably reliable, somewhat wind resistant (when the pot is attached) but a heavier system than some. Probably my favorite cansiter stove is the pocket rocket deluxe with it's much more wind resistant burner and it pressure regulator (similar to the Jetboil Mo series burners) so it handles low canister pressures and low temperatures better, and it simmers better than the others if you ever want to do that.

That all being said, I also really like my homemade Fancy Feast and similar alcohol stoves. But, the are the most fiddly of all if you don't want the fiddle factor.

[zelph]

I'll have to disagree strongly with this one. My BRS3000T is awesome, light, simple, cheap, and super wind sensitive and has some finicky flame issues when it's cold outside. My SnowPeak light max his a nicer broader flame, but after it get's soaked from being left out in the rain, it doesn't work worth beans until it's dried out. The pocket rocket seems to be the most solid of the simple stoves, but weighs more than the BRS. My Jetboil is super fast, reasonably reliable, somewhat wind resistant (when the pot is attached) but a heavier system than some. Probably my favorite cansiter stove is the pocket rocket deluxe with it's much more wind resistant burner and it pressure regulator (similar to the Jetboil Mo series burners) so it handles low canister pressures and low temperatures better, and it simmers better than the others if you ever want to do that.

That all being said, I also really like my homemade Fancy Feast and similar alcohol stoves. But, the are the most fiddly of all if you don't want the fiddle factor.

The BRS3000t has too many known/reported safety issues. A recent issue was reported over at backpackinglight.com. The sealing O rings was faulty (on a new stove)and caused the gas to shoot out from where the canister joins the stove. That leaking gas if ignited could cause numerous problems. It would scare the daylight outta ya causing the stove to be knocked over and in turn cause forest fires out west and elsewhere during fire bans. Faulty O ring can occur at any time. China has had some serious quality control issues regarding the BRS. I advise against it.

The Fancee Feest is a no fiddle stove, dump fuel in center, light, place pot on integrated stainless steel potsupport and you are good to go.

[nsherry61]

The BRS3000t has too many known/reported safety issues. . .
The Fancee Feest is a no fiddle stove, dump fuel in center, light, place pot on integrated stainless steel potsupport and you are good to go.

Good points on the BRS.

As for fiddling with the Fancy Feast, I debated with myself about calling it that because I love how simple and fiddle free it is relative to other alcohol stoves. But, relative to the simpler canister stoves, or Esbit for that matter, the Fancy Feast stove requires some sort of measuring and pouring or otherwise dispensing a liquid fuel into an open pool that can then spill. The base and pot stand are narrow, requiring care in placing the stove. It pretty much always requires a windscreen. And, if there is too much or two little fuel dispensed you have to either blow it out or let it burn out or add a little more fuel to a maybe hot stove. I don't want to disparage one of my favorite stoves that I love using, but relative to some other options, I'll still stick with my claim of it being a bit fiddly, and surely too fiddly for some users.

[nsherry61]

Yes, the pocket rocket can fit nicely in a pot.
If you are looking into the BRS300T, SectionHiker has a review on the same stove by a different name.

I find I end up using my jetboil more than any other stove just because it is so easy and fast.
I use a non-jetboil canister stove when I want to also use my pot for cooking over a fire. So then, I take a flat bottom which the jetboil doesn't work well with.

Being from the left coast, I have not yet backpacked the AT, but, I have read on many occasions that finding canisters is really never a problem along the AT.

If I am going ultralight, I take one of my home-made alcohol stoves, which also work fine, but have a much higher fiddle factor than the jetboil and are not legal in some high-fire danger areas.

[Tuckahoe]

And a stove similar to the Fire Maple Mini --
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPESB0U?psc=1

[Tuckahoe]

Yes, the pocket rocket can fit nicely in a pot.
If you are looking into the BRS300T, SectionHiker has a review on the same stove by a different name.

I find I end up using my jetboil more than any other stove just because it is so easy and fast.
I use a non-jetboil canister stove when I want to also use my pot for cooking over a fire. So then, I take a flat bottom which the jetboil doesn't work well with.

Being from the left coast, I have not yet backpacked the AT, but, I have read on many occasions that finding canisters is really never a problem along the AT.

If I am going ultralight, I take one of my home-made alcohol stoves, which also work fine, but have a much higher fiddle factor than the jetboil and are not legal in some high-fire danger areas.

And a stove similar to the Fire Maple Mini --
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPESB0U?psc=1

One last note -- while they are similar I would not describe the BRS and the Olicamp as the same stove by different names. The Olicamp and Fire Maple are more alike while the BRS looks the same, the burner head is different.

[Casey & Gina]

I'm the odd one out - I like the Toaks Wood Stove. Works great and I don't want to have to buy, carry, or run out of fuel.

[swisscross]

I prefer the SnowPeak Giga over the MSR canister stoves.

Lately been using a Fancy Feast alcy stove I bought from Zelph.
Lighter and quiet.