another stove question

“ok, by now you all know that Bill and I are about to go on this huge hike. well, were going through the, which stove to take question now. we have packed and unpacked a hundred times and have pack weight down to MOM at 17 lbs without food and WB at 20 lbs without food but which stove will fit our needs ? we own an old peak 1 multifuel that has never failed us , uses white gas that is easy to purchase anywhere but is heavy. we have the MSR pocket rocket which is very lightweight but fuel isnt the easiest to find. we have the pop can stoves but they dont heat long enough for some jobs(to heat water there great but not to bake on) we also have 60 boxes of fule tablets that also heat water fine but will not bake. what would you take?”

“Hmmmmm...tough decision. My opinion...you have too many stoves (to chose from).

BTW - which one never failed you? (hint hint)”

“I'd agree, that for a very long trip, reliability is key. I'd go with the Peak 1, and include a repair kit- a couple of seals and a tiny tube of oil (even a spare generator) won't add much weight.”

“I am biased toward the Peak 1. Take the repair kit and oil. I needed some oil on the llama trip and didn't have any. I traded for some with another hiker.

You can get white gas anywhere and people will even give you some when they realize they have too much.

For along term trip, I don't think that fuel canisters for the Pocket Rocket would be fun to carry around...full and empty.”

“I have only used the Peak 1, out of your choices. I have found that alot of boyscout troops choose the Peak 1, I think because its cheap, hard to break, and reliable. Your pocket rocket is cool,probably wont fail you eather, and is a hell of a lot lighter, but if you can get fule for it, your screwed.

I say peak one.”

“Peak 1... I wouldn't bother w/ the fuel tablets or pop can stoves or you'll be stuck to only boiling water.

Do take the repair kit. Our Peak 1 failed us for the first time last week in the Whites.”

“MOM, certainly go with what you trust. We have (2) SVEA 123, a no name (bought it off a fellow and it is like no other stove I've seen) stove that burns fuel canisters, a pocket rocket, and I have a MSR Whisperlite coming in a package deal I got. The SVEA's are the only I would trust on a trip like your taking. They are a little heavy, but are better on fuel (white gas) than anything out there. I would be happy to give you one if it would help you on your trip. If your interested email me at mccracdb@msn.com and I'll put it in the mail.”

“Go Alcohol!”

“I'm with SGT, I made one of his stoves, and they kick a**, but I wouldn't trust them on a trek like your doing.”

“For weight savings and reliability, I would definitely do the alcohol stove. I mean, you'll knock a pound off your pack weight!”

“I don't know about the Peak 1 stove personally, but it couldn't hurt to take a handful of the fuel tabs as a spare in case you do have trouble with your primary stove. You could always burn them on a rock or something in an emergency, if your stove failed, and they only weigh a few ounces.”

“I mentioned alcohol because after hiking the AT numerous times, and talking to other thru-hikers, many end up switching over anyway. So, make one and try it. I don't just boil water on mine either. I have cooked steak, bread, omlets, etc. on it.”

“Try a Trangia (alcohol). No repair kits, no seals, no oil, no spare generator, no problem!!!!!”

“Yep, a small Trangia is the best way to go lightweight. You can even buy a magnesium or flint striker to light this stove which can save the hassle of lighter and match problems in wet conditions.

The Esbit is too much trouble. It usually takes more tabs than most people report to cook a meal and this means awkwardly feeding more fuel to the flames.”

“So I decided to test my brand new Primus Technotrail Yellowstone w/Piezo today. It brought two cups of water to a boil in less than 2 minutes outside. One thing I noticed was that the Piezo ignitor turns red-orange hot--is this safe/normal?

I also had a question about how far can you turn it up? Seems that if you turn it up too high that it will burn your hand and you'll have to remove the pot to adjust the flame. Any info tips on this stove would be great. It's my first canister.”

“never used a canister stove.

Seems like the igniter on a grill I used to have got red hot too though, its basically the same thing. It has to sit right there in the gas flow for the spark to light the flame so it should be designed to take the heat. Does it have a ceramic like insulator around it?”

“Yeah, that's what it has to be...ceramic...it looks like plastic pvc but that would burn up...so it must be ceramic. I think I'm gonna go play with it again...fun!”