Whoo Hoo....new gear!

“If they are going to get that close to me I would rather have a big gun! :P Will you be able to spray it in their eyes as they swat at you?
last edited: 8/03/05 9:48:42 PM”

“Ewker -

We're going to Glacier.”

“I have a Snow Peak 700 mug that I love, but its titanium. Now there are probably titanium nuts out there but I am a bit of a tinkerer with alcohol stoves. I have built about every type of stove you could imagine and a few that you wouldn't want to imagine. I wanted to get a stove design that could boil 2 cups of water with .5 oz of alcohol ... a rolling boil, not "little bubble" boil. Lots of stoves claim they can do this, but I have experienced that only a few designs seem to do it well.

OK, so that's another thread. The stove thing is the kid in me that likes to play with fire. I don't pretend my stoves are better than anything else.

My point is that I found that one of the important factors in performance was the pot itself. I shouldn't have had to learn this, but I am slow. I found this aluminum pot my wife had over the stove (a little decoration thing, like 4 cups with a bail handle and tight lid) and it boiled much faster than the titanium pot by a wide margin. So I stashed all the titanium pots for aluminum. I also found that thicker wall aluminum pots boiled faster than thinner walled pots. I am sure there are limits to this but I only have so many pots.

Oh, I also found that all this is not important if you use a canister stove or a petrol stove (basically a blow torch) to boil your water. Fossil fuels have like 2x the number of BTUs/pound of alcohol. :)

I love the design of that kettle, however, Dub. I have thought of getting an aluminum teapot for the trail to boil water, and that kettle would be much better than this. Something with a handle and a spout you could pour.”

“I have several cooksets, I'll have to do some time tests with my alcohol stoves, see which cooks faster. For the most part I use my canister stove, but if I'm wanting to go light over a weekend I break out the homemade stove...might be nice to know which one is more weight efficient.”

“awww, that explains why..have a good trip Bison”

“SC - a big gun would be nice, but carrying guns in National Parks tends to lead to jail time. Bearspray is the only option.

And while we're on the subject of Titanium cookware I also picked up a set from Snowpeak to lighten my load


last edited: 8/03/05 11:32:50 PM”

“For sure the canister stove will cook faster. Like I said, fossil fuel has about 2X the number of BTUs per pound that alcohol does.

I can get by easily on 2 oz of alcohol a day. With the right setup that's 8 cups of boiling water, so hot meals and tea/coffee. If you don't want all that hot water you need even less fuel. So for a weekend that's 4oz of fuel and that's very light. The stoves I build weight very little, certainly less than the lightest titanium canister stoves. My fuel is stored in a little plastic bottle and is much, much lighter than the canister fuel can which weighs 4-5 oz. Of course I can also carry just the amount of fuel I want. I often bring back a canister partially used.

Of course, not being much of a cook in the backcountry, cooking = boiling water. Others may have different needs.

The canister stove is heavier because of the stove body and you have the metal canister itself, but the fuel contains much more energy so you need 1/2 as much gas as you would need alcohol (roughly). Another way to look at it is that the canister stove will boil the water in half the time, which is about right in the totally nonscientific and unofficial tests I have done at home in my kitchen. I don’t think the canister stove is _that_ efficient, I think it’s like .3 oz of fuel will boil 2 cups of water. It’s still a lot better.

So I am betting there is a “break even” point where the canister stove starts to benefit from the higher powered fuel.

I haven't done the math but I am thinking it would be around 7 days ... 14 oz of alcohol, but I would carry an even 16oz to cover wastage. Back of the envelope: That 16 oz of alcohol would translate to an 8 oz canister of fuel which weighs 12 oz with the can. So that's 4 oz lighter than the alcohol. The Snow Peak TI stove weighs 3 oz. So the total weight would be 15 oz for the canister for the week. My alcohol stove weighs like .3 oz. So I am betting my guess of 1 week is pretty close.

I have both types of stoves, so I guess I could figure it out if I tried. In any case, at a week I would be thinking of switching to the canister or liquid fuel stove. Typing this has peaked my curiosity. I always knew about this but never ran the numbers. I read a web site about this once … I’ll go play with Google.

The alcohol stoves I have used don't work well in very cold weather, or should I say I am not good at coaxing them to life in these conditions. For melting snow for drinking water (especially) I prefer a liquid fuel stove and use a Brunton Optimus Nova multi-fuel stove which I cherish.”

“hey pitts, you should copy and past this stuff into its own thread.

I bet people would be interested -- such as STOVEstomper!! -- but they're not necessarily gonna find it here.”

“I wouldn't mind doing this but I am kind of new here and fear starting another "new poster wants to talk about alcohol stoves" thread. I really enjoy tinkering, not just with stoves. Perhaps I'll take a leap on this and see what happens. Thanks lizs.”

“These arrived yesterday!

”

“Are those waterproof? I have a pair of Montrail Hurricane Ridge GTX shoes I just bought. They are supposed to be waterproof (Gor-Tex lined) but on my last hike it rained and my feet got very wet. I didn't expect them to be like rubber boots, but I didn't expect to get that wet either. I would call them "very water resistant".”

“Not waterproof.”

“I got that set Bison, I love it. works a treat. Though the lit is a little pointless. I've been looking for a decent lighter replacement.”

“Weighing my stuff for the Glacier trip now -

the new pot + lid/frypan (I'll use it to scramble up the fake eggs for breakfast) + pocketrocket = 9 oz. not bad. Saves me about 5 oz. over my other pot I was using.”

“Actually, I have seen the "break even point" for canister vs. alcohol stoves pondered, calculated, and recalculated multiple times over at http://www.backpacking.net/. Ubergearheads congregate there. (so I've been told) ;-)”

“What's up Hub? Haven't seen you around lately?”

“I prefer the Evernew Ti .9 L pot due to it's wider base than the tall narrow MSR pot.
The tall narrow pots are not as efficient as the wider pots.
I gave my MSR Ti pot to Mapes.”

“The gear truck should be here in a few hours. Come to pappa.”

“I have that one too SS. But the Snowpeak nests really well with my trangia inside and wins on the convenience front.”

“Whatever boils water and you want to carry works. ;-)”

“I still use a greasepot on boil it type trips.”

“WK - those look just like the ones I am wearing right now - except for the laces - mine are light grey with a black stripe

Are you going with the Superfeet footbeds too?”

“I don't know HOI, should I? Sounds like you have some experience with them.”

“I can't see being without my SuperFeet insoles. Those and trekking poles saved my knees.”

“Just got it today. It isn't new but i got it at a good price
”

“Is that the reconditioned camera?”

“no, bought it used off ebay”

“Awesome Camera Ewker.
Three of my Scouts have those (sickening ain't it?) and they take great shots.”

“well I like them but Superfeet footbeds aren't for everyone - if you have a foot that is "non-normal" then they might not work for you. Superfeet work well for me any I won't use a hiking shoe without them. Since I wear the same shoes everyday that I hike in that means I use Superfeet every day. As SS says I won't be without them.”

“OKAY, Stovie and HOI. What is the deal with the superfeet insoles? Should I get custom fit ones?”

“HPM, I am looking forward to trying it out. Damn thing is heavy though. Looks like I will be carrying an extra 2 lbs around my neck.”

“I have standard ones.
They work for me.
Someday I will get custom ones done.”

“WK, I got custom fitted with Superfeet at Trail Days. No problems at all now, esp my lower back...aches and pains gone after hiking all day”

“I just use the standard off the shelf green Superfeet - I have heard mixed results with the custom ones - but then I have heard mixed results with the off the shelf ones too - like I said they are not for everyone”

“HOI, the custom ones have a warranty if they don't live up to expectations. Can always take them back to be refitted”

“Thanks guys! A trip to REI is just around the corner.”

“WK, don't go to REI go here

http://www.superfeet.com/content/il_dlrspot_ff_chicago.html”

“How's it hangin', WK? I've been swamped with nonhiking stuff from late spring until the foreseeable future. Little lugnut on the way, family illness, work, etc. Gotta get my gear fix now and again though by checking in.”

“I made a special trip to New Orleans just to get custom Superfeet from a vendor listed on the Superfeet website as making them.

When I got there, the chair for this was covered with about an 1/8 inch of dust and old shoes were stored in the oven. Needless to say, not all Superfeet outlets are the same, LOL. I did not buy there.

Pick one that does a busy business in SuperFeet. LOL”

“Cool, thatks Ewker!

Hubcap, "Little lugnut on the way." The wife is pregnant?”

“Absolutely. I'll be dad on or about 9/18. Then I can join you sometime taking the wee little ones on a hiking trip.”

“Speaking of new gear, I just got this in the mail from backcountry.com


Mountain Hardwear Insulated Defiant

I needed a new winter jacket and it looks to be cool as hell. It's too hot to wear it and know how well it works, but it seems very nice. $145.95 is a good price. It's got a lot of pockets that are easy to get to and the Conduit laminate exterior is suppsed to be quite breathable. I am pretty sure I can start using this mid to late fall and well into late winter or early spring with the Primaloft insulation.
last edited: 8/04/05 5:47:49 PM”

“Sweet, Insulmat Thermax just arrived and flip spatula for pancakes. Last Sat I got a Kelty Big Bend which is similar to a Red Cloud. I've gone from being a lightweight ounce counting gear weenie, to a heavyweight food whore.”

“Just ordered one of these for Abby. Her first real backpack. It's a very tender moment...sniff sniff. It'll be her Xmas gift.

http://www.deuterusa.com/ultra.html”

“now that's some forward planning sass.”

“just ordered this http://www.deuterusa.com/speedlite30.html for a new weekend/race pack. Cant wait.”

“dang I looked at the description and realized that Abby is going to be 5 soon wow - it seems like only yesterday : Abby arrives”

“Scarey how fast time goes by isn't it HOI?! LeSubtil was right on when he told us to enjoy every second, they grow up fast.”

“hubcap, thanks for that link. That was a site I had not visited. I'll read anything that involves tinkering, stoves and burning things. Really interesting topic for me.”

“Sass - where did you buy it? It's time for me to find one for Reece.”