Backpacking stove

[Theosus]

I bought a Snow Peak Giga Power stove - with the push button igniter. I've used it several times around the house testing various things, but I'm happy with it. I bought the Coleman cartridge from walmart (instead of an actual snow peak cartridge) until my first outing, but it seems to heat just fine. Im impressed with the construction and small size. It all fits in my snow peak 700 pot (which is about the size of a large coffee cup). Im just using it to boil water for cooking-in-the-bag, instead of actual cooking in the cup.

 

[Grandpa]

Snow peak is a good stove. I like the pocket rocket but both have treated our groups well. My rocket has is just finishing it's 10th season and has had a LOT of use and is still tight and strong. Friends have a couple of the snow peaks that are finishing their 7th season.

 

[pastywhite]

I use a White Box (alcohol) when solo and a Whisperlite when I take a buddy or the kids. If you are just wanting to boil some water it's hard to beat the White Box and GSI Halulite tea kettle.

 

[HikingMike]

I've got an MSR Pocket Rocket and love it. I have been considering the jump to an alcohol stove just to see how I like it though.

 

[Refrigerator]

Adventures In Stoving: Stove of the Week: MSR Whisperlite Universal

 

[Gunny Webb]

I have 25 stoves and each has good and bad. Alcohol is fine but lacks punch when cold or windy. The MSR whisperlite is great for 2 or more people on a multiday. Jetboil is hard to beat for all around single person who's eating dehydrated stuff and coffee. The Sierra titanium at 9 ounces is killer for long multi day is the weather is not real wet.
I was big on alcohol stoves until I considered the weight of the fuel on a long hike. Factor in hot drinks multiple times and the Brunton stove similar to a pocket rocket and a cannister is actually lighter.
Overnight with no hot drinks and say two meals, the Heinie pot and pop can stove are king.
There's really no perfect stove, for everything.

 

[briansnat]

I use a MSR Whisperlite for longer trips and cold weather trips. For overnight trips in warm or cool weather it's hard to beat the Pocket Rocket.

My only quarrel with the Pocket Rocket is a lack of stability. You have to be very careful if you are cooking or boiling water in a larger pot.

The Whisperlite on the other hand is an extremely stable stove.

The negatives with the Whisperlite are that it doesn't simmer and it can be a pain to light. If you don't do it just right you can singe your eyebrows.

 

[DylanT]

The Pocket rocket! I found them here. You might even get a discount on Friday.

 

[djmnnesota]

msr is good stuff

 

[Eppo]

I think an iso-butane screw top canister stove is the best all around stove for the summer backpacker. Alcohol stoves are not very useful in poor weather or if you are doing any substantial cooking. Canister stoves are reliable and easy to operate. My only reservation about this stove is the environmental degradation caused by all the non-reuseable canisters. White gas stoves are still the best for winter or high altitude.

 

[Theosus]

Just recycle the canisters. I'm on the fence. I made my own alcohol cat food can stove, and copied the caldera cone idea using cheap aluminum flashing. It works, and stores inside a plastic gas station cup which can be used to get water from shallow streams. Even with 2 oz of alcohol it's lighter than my snow peak giga power and canister, but the ease and reliability of the snow peak, especially for longer trips, is surely nice. You dont waste fuel with the canisters, either. Its easy to use too much alcohol and youre stuck until it burns out. That bad thing about both is the flame is almost impossible to see in daylight.

 

[LinuxRacr]

I have a MSR Whisperlite International. Used it last year at RMNP in Colorado above 8,000 ft. Let's just say it took longer than we expected for the water to start boiling. I had forgotten that we were up that high...

 

[ppine]

MSR whisperlite and an Optimus propane/butane stove like a Pocket Rocket. I miss the old brass stove like Svea and Optimus and the satisfying roar and hiss they made. They were a lot of company on solo trips, but I never liked that moment after they were turned off and it was back to the quiet. A few of them blew up though and it is best to forget about them. I will be using the propane stove for the first real trip next week.

 

[ppine]

Refrigerator,
I am happy to hear of your stove collection. Propane seems handy for the warm weather. I use a Primus Crux. I miss the old vertical Primus 80. It cost $8.75 made in Sweden. Now they are $90. A friend was medi-evacted after a SVEA blew up in her face in the Sawtooths of Idaho. I like the MSR whisperlifte but got tired of leaky fuel bottles. I would love to get another brass Swedish stove to go with the Kelty pack from 1970, but it won't be a SVEA.

 

[Grandpa]

I hike with a lot of people and have seen then trying to use about every means possible for heating water or cooking. Friends have everything from the pop can alchohol to the twig wood burners but for 3 season camping, the cannisters are the number one choice. Their biggest drawbacks are the cold but knowing that, I have used my pocket rocket at 10 degrees with no problems. The cannister sleeps with me so it stays warm. When I get up it goes inside my shirt under my coat to stay warm. When I get ready to cook, an aluminum shield around the stove and cannister keeps the fuel warm and the fire hot. I just fold about 4 layers of aluminum foil together to make a lightweight shield that I can bend to fit the need. I have boiled water at 13,500 feet just to see how long it would take and it heated fast.

Msr's Pocket Rocket, Snow Peaks Giga Power, Bruntons Raptor are the models I am most familiar with and all are in the 3-3 1/2 oz weight. A large cannister is 8 oz of fuel, 12 oz gross weight so the whole package is under a pound, I drink a lot of hot beverages and get about 6-8 days out of one full cannister. The little alcohol pop can stoves are much lighter but every time someone brings one of them along, it seems they spend the entire trip with burnt finger tips. I'd hate to call my friends Klutz but burnt fingers seem to come with those little stoves.

Jet boil makes a neat system which also is about a lb. It works great and consumes less fuel and the one lb total weight is because they use a 5 1/2 oz cannister of fuel instead of 8 to get the same 6-8 days. My worry with jet boil is it is a total system. If something breaks, the whole system is junk. The $100 bucks vs $40 is my reason to stay away from it.

White gas is great for campground, canoe, or other means of travel but I do not want any free liquid petroleum in my backpack. Also, between the whisperlite and enough fuel for my 6-8 days, you are talking about 2 lbs to my one pound.

The cannister cannot be refilled. This is an environmental waste but neither can the packageing for my food which adds up to a lot more than 4 oz for a week trip. I consider the 4 oz cannister a small price to pay considering the benefits it offers. If I really was that serious about "green", I'd just stay home and not burn the gasoline to get someplace, live in a cold house so I didn't increase the demand for energy and basically call life to an end in the interests of saving the planet. I think I'm not that green.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

I'd have to vote for the Whisperlite, myself, for any extended trip or anything but soloing. You can kinda sorta simmer it, but you have to stay right with it to catch it before it goes out.

I have a Trangia mini cookset for solo overnighters. It has a simmer ring and works very well, although the heating value of Ethanol isn't teriffic. Nice and quiet though- just bring a good bit of patience to the show. One advantage to the Trangia is that you can bring Everclear along on the trip for fuel or for internal use....

I also built a twigburner out of some stainless steel scrap that works very well. You really have to stay on top of it because the actual fire is so small than the twigs burn up pretty fast.

 

[Gunny Webb]

Grampa said a mouthful. There is no perfect stove, and I have about 30 different stoves to prove that. The Jetboil comes close if your an overnight to three day trip guy and want something simple and self contained. I like it in the cold damp and wind. It gets very good gas mileage. The cat cans are good if it's not windy or real cold. But add up 8 day's worth of alcohol and it's too heavy. The best heat per pound is the esbit, but I dislike the huge black sooty mess it makes. The Whisperlite is a powerhouse and is a miracle at altitude, but heavy. It's ok if you have two people using it, but too much for one. The isobutane stoves are a cheap, reliable stove. For $30 you have a stove that can be used with almost any pot.
If you see one you like, buy it and be happy. You can argue for or against anything out there.