For most short trips, though, I use cartridge stoves because of their low weight, low bulk, and convenience, though they don’t generate the same feelings as multifuel stoves. Somehow they seem characterless. Maybe it’s because they’re so easy to use. My current favorite is the Primus Micron because it’s slightly more fuel efficient than others I’ve tried, though there’s little to choose between all the ultralight models. I now use these stoves on trips where I don’t expect temperatures to fall below freezing very often. I wouldn’t use a cartridge stove on a long hike in a remote area, however, because they aren’t repairable in the field. On short cold-weather trips I often carry the Coleman Exponent Xtreme, since it’s much simpler to use than the Nova. Very recently the Jetboil stove has been added to my list, and will undoubtedly get more use in the future.
The Brasslite Turbo II-D has rekindled my interest in alcohol stoves. I’m also inclining more to the attractions of silent stoves that burn nonfossil fuels. For short trips in not too severe conditions I expect I’ll be using the Turbo II-D and the Sierra Stove more often.
The efficiency of the Jetboil is probably mainly due to the integrated heat exchanger, which increases the area of the base of the pot, the key area for heating. This more than overcomes the narrowness of the pot, which I find inefficient. The pot cosy helps too. When I didn’t use the pot cozy, boiling times increased by nearly 50 percent. When used, the cozy never becomes more than hot to the touch, showing that little heat is being wasted up the sides of the pot. The heat exchanger acts as a partial windscreen too, though I would still use a separate one in anything more than a light breeze. The cosy helps here too by insulating the pot from moving air. I haven’t yet been able to test the Jetboil in cold weather but I imagine it should work well, unlike many canister stoves.
The Jetboil isn’t perfect, however. It’s tall (11¼ inches long with a 100- or 110-gram canister) and narrow (the pot has a diameter of 4 inches), which makes it unstable on rough ground and a little top-heavy. Narrow pots aren’t as easy to use or clean as wide ones either. You can’t use other pots with the Jetboil and the one provided only holds a quart. Care is needed when the pot is full too, as liquids can easily spill out. The pot/heat exchanger unit should only be fitted to the stove when the stove has been lit, which can be awkward and is best done with a low flame. In wind the stove must be shielded until the pot is in place or it may not light or blow out if it does. Overall, though, the Jetboil is an impressive innovation, and a stove I’ll be using in the future.
Sierra Stove dismantled, showing fan.
Natural Fuel
All the stoves described above need fuel that you have to purchase beforehand and carry with you. Not the Sierra Stove. This unique device burns natural materials that can be found around most campsites, such as twigs, pinecones, bark, charcoal, and even dried dung. It consists of a hollow-walled open chamber that sits atop a small battery-operated fan and operates like a miniature blacksmith’s forge. Light a small fire in the chamber, then switch on the fan to blow air through holes in the hollow walls, and you get a roaring inferno that quickly brings water to the boil. One AA battery is said to power the fan for six hours, while an adapter with a C cell will run it for thirty-five hours. The fan and battery unit pack inside the chamber for carrying. I hadn’t used a Sierra Stove until recently, but I finally succumbed to curiosity and bought the 18-ounce stainless steel version. After brief use I have to say I’m impressed. I have a few caveats, though. I wouldn’t like to rely on it in wet country unless I carried a bag of dry fuel, which rather defeats the purpose. The battery compartment would need protecting in the wet too, since it’s not remotely water resistant. However, in mostly dry places like the High Sierra I can see its working well and allowing you to stay out for long periods without having to carry a great weight of fuel. The weight of my standard version is about the same as an ultralight cartridge stove and one 9-ounce cartridge, which would last me four days. So for trips that long and longer the Sierra Stove would not add extra weight. There’s a titanium version weighing 10 ounces if you really want to cut the weight. The stove goes through fuel pretty fast when the fan’s on full (the fan has three settings—high, low, and off), so you do need to gather a fair amount before starting it. If you want to use longer sticks there’s a Cross Grate (2.5 ounces) that raises the height of the stove. As long as the fire is kept hot there’s not much smoke, though pans do turn black, as on any wood fire. If you turn the fan down or off for simmering, more smoke is produced. Light fire tongs (0.5 ounce) let you add and move wood without singeing your fingers. The initial fire can be started with any of the kindling you’d use for a campfire or with Zip Fire solid-fuel blocks from ZZ Manufacturing, which makes the Sierra Stove (otherwise known as the Zip Ztove). A pack of eighteen weighs 3 ounces. One is enough to start the stove with dry fuel. Once you’ve finished using the stove, leave it to cool down before dumping out any ashes and scattering them widely. Running the fan for a while after the fire is out cools the stove quickly. Some wood sends out sparks, so it’s safest to set the stove up on rocks or on bare ground.
Sierra Stove with fire lit and fan on full.
A simpler wood-burning stove is F. H. Enterprises’ Trekstov, which consists of a base with air holes in the sides, a firebox, and windscreen/pot supports that nest neatly together. The weight is 21 ounces. The flame can’t be controlled. There is also a stove you can make yourself, the Nimblewill Nomad, a simple wood-burning box with airholes. The weight will depend on what material you use. Details are on the Wings Homemade Stove site, http://wings.interfree.it.
Safety and Maintenance
All stoves can be dangerous and should be used carefully. The most important safety point: never take a stove for granted.
Before you light a stove, always check that attachments to fuel tanks or cartridges are secure, tank caps and fuel bottle tops are tight, and controls are turned off. Study the instructions that come with all stoves, especially white-gas and multifuel models, and practice using them at home. When you’re cold, wet, and tired, it’s half-dark, and you desperately need a hot meal, it’s important that you can safely operate your stove almost automatically. By testing stoves at home you’ll also discover any faults. With one brand-new white-gas stove the pump leaked badly as soon as I started pumping. After I dismantled the pump, checked all the seals, and reassembled it, it still leaked, so I replaced it. In the backcountry I’d have had a useless stove. I also check stoves that haven’t been used for a while just in case they need cleaning or maintenance.
Stoves should be refilled carefully, after making sure that there are no open flames such as campfires, burning candles, or other lit stoves nearby. This applies whether you are changing a cartridge or pouring fuel into a tank. Refueling should always be done outside for safety.
An overheated cartridge or fuel tank is a hazard. When the burner is directly above or alongside the fuel tank, make sure there is enough air flow around the tank or cartridge to keep it cool. It should never become too hot to touch. Windscreens shouldn’t fully surround such stoves. If you use large pans that overhang the burner, periodically check to see if the fuel tank or cartridge is getting hot because too much heat is being reflected off the pans.
STOVE AND FUEL WEIGHTS FOR TRIPS OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS
1With MSR 11-ounce fuel bottle
2With MSR 22-ounce fuel bottle
3With MSR 33-ounce fuel bottle
4With Optimus 20-ounce fuel bottle
5With Optimus 34-ounce fuel bottle
6With Primus 8-ounce cartridge
7With Primus 16-ounce cartridge
8With Primus 8- and 16-ounce cartridges
9With Powermax 11-ounce cartridge
10With Powermax 6- and 11-ounce cartridges
11With two Powermax 6-ounce and one 11-ounce cartridges
12With Trangia 16-ounce fuel bottle
13With Trangia 32-ounce fuel bottle
14With Trangia 16- and 32-ounce fuel bottles
15With Brasslite 16-ounce fuel bottle
16With two Brasslite 16-ounce fuel bottles
17With three Brasslite 16-ounce fuel bottles
Considerations and Conclusions:
1. These figures are comparative only and are based on my fuel usage. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 0.5.
2. Stove weight counts with white-gas and cartridge stoves. The ultralight PocketRocket is the lightest option even for twelve days, despite the extra weight of the cartridges.
3. Alcohol is heavy even if the stoves aren’t. For long trips it is very heavy.
4. MSR Titanium fuel bottles would save weight with the white-gas stoves. A light plastic bottle saves weight with the alcohol stoves.
5. If you’re out for more than four days the Sierra Stove is the lightest option.
Stoves, especially white-gas stoves, can flare badly when being lit. Never have your head over a stove when you light it. Also, don’t light a stove that is close to any flammable material. If you need to cook in the vestibule or under a tarp, it’s safest to light the stove out in the open, even if you have to stick it out into the rain and then bring it back under cover when it’s burning properly. If you do light a stove in the vestibule, leave the door open so you can quickly push the stove out if anything goes wrong (but be careful where you push it if there are other tents around). I was once walking across a crowded campground on a blustery winter day when I saw a bright yellow flash inside a nearby tent. A second later, a blazing gasoline stove came hurtling through the tent fly sheet—leaving behind a neat hole—and landed near my feet. If another tent had been close by, there could have been a disaster.
A threat when using a stove inside a tent is carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal. All stoves consume oxygen and give off this odorless, colorless gas. In an enclosed space they can use up all the oxygen, replacing it with carbon monoxide. There should always be good ventilation when a stove is in use. In a tent vestibule air can usually enter under the edge of the fly sheet, but this can be blocked by snow piling up around the edges of the tent or by a wet fly sheet freezing to the ground. In those cases, if there’s no vent, a two-way outer door zipper is useful—the top few inches can be left open to ensure ventilation.
It’s best never to use a stove in the inner tent, partly because of carbon monoxide poisoning, but mainly because of fire.
Most stoves need little maintenance. Many white-gas and multifuel stoves have built-in cleaning needles. With those that don’t, you may need to clean the jets occasionally with the thin jet prickers (weighing a fraction of an ounce) that usually come with stoves that need them. They should be used only when the stove’s performance seems to be falling off, since too much cleaning can widen the jet and lessen the burn rate. If you lose, break, or forget your jet pricker, as I did once on a winter trip, and your soup boils over and blocks the jet, a bristle from a toothbrush makes a good substitute. (This idea was suggested by two walkers in a mountain shelter where I went in desperate search of anything that would restore my stove to working order.)
Check rubber seals and O-rings on tank caps and cartridge attachment points periodically and replace them if worn. I carry spares on long trips. You may need to carry a complete tank cap. On the Pacific Crest Trail I was glad I did so—the original one on my Svea 123R started to leak after four months of constant use.
A stove maintenance kit is necessary for white-gas and multifuel stoves. The contents depend upon the model, but a kit usually contains O-rings, a tool for dismantling the stove, pump leather oil, jets, jet needles, and a leather pump cup.
Fuel Bottles and Tank-Filling Devices
Fuel bottles need to be leakproof and tough. They’re best carried away from food, preferably in an outside pocket of the pack, just in case they leak.
Plastic bottles are fine for alcohol. Even empty soda bottles can be used. Brasslite’s 8- and 16-fluid-ounce plastic bottles have pouring spouts and reservoirs and weigh 1.5 and 2.5 ounces. Nalgene and Trangia make polyethylene fuel bottles in pint and quart sizes that are suitable for white gas and kerosene as well as alcohol. The Trangia bottles weigh 4 and 5.6 ounces and have safety valves. The Nalgene bottles have pour spouts under the caps and weigh 3.7 and 4.6 ounces.
Metal fuel bottles double as tanks for hose-attached stoves. The standard for decades has been the Swiss-made Sigg bottle. I used the 21-fluid-ounce size, weighing 3.5 ounces, for many years for all fuels, and despite getting very battered and dented, the bottles never leaked. Sigg bottles come in sizes holding 10.5, 21, 35, and 53 fluid ounces. For many years Siggs were the only round fuel bottles—the original MSR stoves were designed to use them. Now MSR, Optimus, Primus, and Snow Peak all make similar aluminum bottles with the same size threads. MSR’s 11-, 22-, and 33-fluid-ounce bottles weigh 2.8,4.9, and 7.3 ounces, Optimus’s 20- and 34-fluid-ounce ones weigh 4.2 and 5.6 ounces, and Primus’s 18- and 30-fluid-ounce ones weigh 4.2 and 5.8 ounces. Snow Peak’s 18.5-fluid-ounce bottle weighs 6 ounces. MSR also makes titanium bottles if you want to shave weight. Titan bottles come in 14-, 21- and 28-fluid-ounce sizes at weights of 3, 3.5, and 4.1 ounces. Coleman’s 22-fluid-ounce bottle for the Apex II stove has different-size threads and so isn’t interchangeable with the others. It weighs 5 ounces.
NEAR DISASTER
The nearest I have ever come to a serious stove accident was when I was cooking in the vestibule of a tent pitched on snow. A severe blizzard had trapped us at the same site for four nights; during the last night the wind had battered the tents so much that we’d hardly slept at all. I lit the white-gas stove in the vestibule with the door zipped shut to keep out blown snow. The burner caught, but the flame was sluggish. “Pump it some more,” suggested my companion. Without thinking, I did so. There was a sudden bright surge of flame, then the whole unit was ablaze as liquid fuel shot out of the jet. Two suddenly energized bodies dived for the door zipper and yanked it open. I threw the stove out and plunged my scorched hands into the snow. Later I discovered that my eyebrows and face were also singed.
In retrospect, we were lucky. One moment’s carelessness could have left us without our tent and gear or, worse, badly burned or even dead. My guess is that lack of air was the cause. I should have opened the door and tried to revive the stove outside. As it was, the fly sheet zipper partially melted and wouldn’t close, so in subsequent storms we had to cook in the inner tent, which we did with great care, standing the stove on a pan lid to prevent the groundsheet from melting.
On two other occasions I’ve been present when a stove has caught fire, once outside a mountain hut and once inside. Each time, it was a white-gas stove. As most white-gas stove manufacturers state, these are best used outdoors, not in tents or huts. The safest fuels are solid fuel and alcohol, followed by butane-propane cartridges.
It’s almost impossible to fill small tanks directly from standard bottles without spilling a little fuel. However, various ingenious devices help. I have a Sigg pouring cap and spout, bought many years ago for filling my Svea 123 tank. This is a standard cap with a small plastic spout inserted in one side and a tiny hole drilled in the other. By placing a finger over the hole you can control the flow from the spout. It’s inconvenient to use—you have to remove the normal cap, screw in the pouring cap, fill the stove, and then change the caps again. To avoid losing either cap, I’ve linked them with a piece of shock cord. The Sigg pouring spout is no longer sold, but REI’s 0.5-ounce Super Pour Spout does the same job. Olicamp’s Ulti-Mate Pour Spout looks similar but also functions as a standard cap, which is much more convenient. The caps on Optimus and Trangia fuel bottles can also be used for pouring. The Trangia cap is sold separately for use with other bottles.
For filling fuel bottles from larger containers, I use a small Coghlan’s polypropylene Filter Funnel (0.75 ounce). I usually carry it on long hikes when I may have to refill with white gas from gallon cans or use fuel of dubious cleanliness.
Accessories
Windscreens
and Heat Reflectors
The one stove accessory that’s essential is a windscreen. No stove will function well in a stiff breeze without one. Even if the stove stays alight, it will take a long time and a great deal of fuel to boil water, if it does so at all. In a strong wind an unprotected stove may be impossible to light. MSR’s crude-looking but ultralight foil windscreen is arguably one of the greatest advances ever in backpacking stove cooking. If you don’t have a windscreen, a foam pad held around the stove at a safe distance works quite well, or you could prop up your pack or boots. These are all a hassle, though, so I always carry a windscreen.
Primus and MSR multifuel and white-gas stoves come with foil windscreens, as does the MSR WindPro cartridge stove, while solid alloy ones come with the larger Trangia models. No other stoves come with adequate windscreens as components. Crosspieces on the burner that stop the flame from blowing out do not count as true windscreens. Foil windscreens, sold by MSR, Primus, and Optimus, are ideal for low-profile stoves with remote fuel tanks. They weigh 1.5 to 2 ounces.
Taller stoves that sit on top of fuel tanks and cartridges shouldn’t be completely surrounded by a windscreen; there needs to be some airflow to the fuel container so it doesn’t overheat. However, you can protect them on three sides, which is adequate. The tank or canister should always be cool enough to touch. Standard foil windscreens aren’t tall enough to protect these stoves, though you can staple two together or make your own from heavyduty aluminum foil. Taller rigid aluminum wind-screens are generally quite heavy. When I used the Svea 123 regularly, my windscreen was a 10-inchtall folding Coghlan’s model made of five sheets of aluminum with anchor rods at each end. This windscreen is efficient and durable and works well with screw-in cartridge stoves, but it weighs 8 ounces. Markill’s similar 10-inch-high five-panel windscreen is much lighter at 3.5 ounces. It looks like a good choice, and I’ll probably get one. An alternative is a foil windscreen that wraps around the burner only, with another sheet of foil around the base of the burner as a heat reflector. For details, go to the Homemade Canister Stove Wind-screen page at backpackinglight.com.
Chris Townsend Page 45