Time to Buy a Stove

“and will do so in the next couple days. Just wanted to ask a panel of experts particularly StoveStomper... what should I buy?

I've read so many gear reviews I'm thoroughly confused. Everyone thinks something different!
I want something that is light very easy for ME to use by myself. I am not exactly the most mechanical person in the world. I'm getting better about that all the time though.. the making mechanical things work bit.
I can even pull start the 3$%@!& leaf blower now!
So what shall it be?”

“I love my pocket rocket!!”

“Trangia T28
http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=4332909&parent_category_rn=4500454" TARGET="_blank">can’t go wrong”

“The brunton Crux is a very small lightweight stove. It actually folds up under the fuel cannister and weighs a couple of ounces. I have that and the pocket rocket and found the crux to be a more stable and compact stove.

Good luck.”

“I think the first question you need to answer is do you want a canister or liquid fueled stove. Both have pluses and minuses.”

“Canister stove, let your budget be your guide. (my $.02)”

“danababy, you're so hot you don't need no stove. Just place an MRE on yer belly and stir!!!”

“What about a alcohol stove Dana?

I bought a Etowah Alcohol Stove off of Binks site and it works great. I also have a MSR Dragonfly. This is a liquid fuel stove, light weight, boils water quickly but it sounds like a jet engine.”

“dana, I am sure you can sweet talk stovestomper out of a pepsi can stove if you want to go that way. I you don't get a pocket rocket or similar, easy to use and operate.”

“Go Alcohol - no moving parts

Dana - if you want I'll even make you one - errr - that is to say I'll make a alcohol stove for you”

“I bought a pocket rocket before Sierrapalooza and love it. I was a diehard liquid fuel person before that. With the pocket rocket I got a whole week of hot meals out of one 12 oz. canister. Total weight was very low.

For weekend trips use a Snow Peak (7 oz) or small MSR (8 oz) canister.

bbinkley recommended the crux that folds up pretty small. Consider that also. It had good reviews on one site I looked at the other day.”

“And HOI makes a mean stove from what I've seen.”

“HOI, you didn't waste anytime to push stovestomper out of the way...lol”

“Nope - Stove Stomper can still make Dana's windscreen/pot support (GRIN)

its called share the joy of creation





or something like that”

“lol...or if you can wait til January get the jetboil www.jetboil.com”

“If you use Capn Bobo's suggestion, please send pictures for the photo page.”

“lol!!! I have an Primus, but I paid way too much for it, so don't get the exact one I have.
Stoves

Okay, I really got to go to the dentist now!”

“I take my Esbit, which is fine for shorts trips. I will eventually either get a Pocket Rocket, or make another alcohol stove and windscreen, and use that.

Esbit is a good backup stove to have, BTW. Very light, and you only need a few cubes if it's just your backup.”

“Another vote for the Trangia T28. The pot holder is a mutha, but workable. I dumped my Pocket Rocket. Speaking of stoves, has anyone heard of this "Wet Tinder" product? I saw it in a mag last week and it got good reviews. Looks like it might work in place of Esbit? They claim it's a hot burner.”

“I like my Pocket Rocket, but not for high altitude in the cold (15 degrees or less); it loses a lot of efficiency. I'd go with a liquid fuel stove under cold conditions.”

“The Vaudee Markill "Hot Rod Titanium" with push button start. 3 0z. $36.99 at Northern Mountain Supply (northernmountain.com). Compressed gas, folds up extremely small.

Similar to the pocket rocket.

I can store the Hot Rod and a small cannister in a Peak I 600 series cup. Now that is compact!”

“I'm with Mozark on this one also. (Not that I do a lot of cooking). Very similar to the Pocket Rocket. Takes the threaded gas cylinder. Click-it and you're cooking!!”

“Primus Alpine Micro

This is my second Primus canister stove and it works great even at higher elevations in the Sierra.”

“For whatever odd reason, this stove is currently available from REI-Outlet.com for $36.93

Depending on one's proximity to an REI, this might save some $$$ on shipping as their "ship-to-store-for-pickup" option is free. And as folks probably know, stuff bought from REI-Outlet can be returned to any REI store.

Markill Hot Rod Titanium Stove”

“Make that a Snow Peak 600 cup!”

“I can't comment on the other canister stoves, but, if you get the Pocket Rocket you won't be disappointed. And, as I learned from Twigeater you can use canisters from Walmart.

For colder weather and to wake people up I use a Whisperlite.”

“Pennsy has the new simerlite, great for low temp simering, and lightweight too. Uses coleman style fuel. (white gas). I want one!!!

You know, last trip with Pennsy, I scored his fleece vest....”

“Missed this thread last night. Been gone a few days working.

Danabady - There are so many choices for stoves. All are good for certain things.
I prefer a simple alcohol burner. If you don't do a lot of fancy cooking that requires simmering, that's the ticket. The lightest option is Esbit, only drawback is the mess it leaves on the bottom of the pot.
My fav canister stove is the MSR Superfly, it can take many diff brands of canister fuel.

What type of cooking will you be doing the most of?
Boil water, dump in bag? or other?”

“Oh yah, I forgot about the mess Esbit leaves on the pot. It is pretty nasty. I carry along baby wipes and clean the bottom of the pot every time I boil water.”

“One of the most powerful stoves on market. 6.5 oz folds compact. What I like about it is the large area at the top to hold bigger pots if you need it. A very stable stove. My next stove will be the new stove from JetBoil. Good luck. I am and remain the Dodder.”

“Thanks Stovestomper and All for the advice. I read all the posts gave it some thought. I went with the MSR Pocket Rocket stove with a 12oz. cannister to start out. I got it today. I also took it outdoors and practiced lighting it. Its easy and it doesn't make me feel like I'm going to blow myself to bits or singe my eyebrows off. I do wonder what to carry to light it?
Should I take matches, waterproof matches maybe? or a bic lighter?
I will not be doing much altitude bping at least right now. I may do some cold weather backpacking though. From what I gather most folks wind up using a variety of stoves over time to meet different needs. I'm comfortable with my choice for a beginner like me. I bought the lexan utensils, and the MSR duralite pot set. Comes with the 2 lightweight pots, lid which fits both, the cleaning towel, and the pot grabber. I am excited about getting going with this stuff!
Lots of new skills to learn and enjoy. I will probably start off with cooking easy things like pastaroni. I am a good cook and for short trips could make something good pre-cooked and sealed to reheat. Especially during cooler weather. I make a mean chicken carbonara dish!”

“I purchased nearly the same exact set-up to start out. I take a small bic lighter as my primary flame source and I also keep matches in my emergency zip-loc bag along with dryer lint for tinder. I have found waterproof matches to be more trouble than they're worth.”

“dryer lint. What a concept!
I will do just that. I'll seal up some wooden matches in a dramamine bottle to keep them dry. I will purchase a small bic to keep in my backpack. I appreciate the advice. Thanks to all my mentors this is coming together at last. Y'all may make an outdoors woman of me yet.”

“i have the same set up and love it. fergit the matches though...just take 2 micro bics.

on ym recent solo hike i went without a stove at all. i just made a small fire(legal where i was hiking) and put a couple square rocks up next to it and put my pot on the rocks. worked great! i took pics to whow you all but i can't figure out how to get them onto webshots.....friggin technology[spit]”

“I have a similar stove in the Primus Yellowstone. I was told to take a piece of bare copper wire and tape it to my cannister in cold weather. Make sure the copper wire is fairly close to the burner. This conducts heat from the burner down to the cannister to assist during cold weather cooking. I don't know how good it works, because the coldest I've cooked in was around 40-45 degrees, probably not cold enough to worry about the cannister.”

“Danabay, everyone I've met uses bic lighters. I remember reading a book by a guy named sneakers who did the AT. He bought those windproof, waterproof, hurricane proof matches and could hardly light them in good weather. Then he saw everyone using bic lighters..... Wanna guess what he bought at his next resupply?”

“I use the mini bics. I carry a couple of them. One stays sealed up in my first aid bag and the other in my pocket. I also carry a box of the waterproof matches in the first aid bag. The matches are kinda overkill.

Congrads on the stove. That's a good burner.

The MSR pot set is a good set. Aluminum beats SS any day for weight. Is that the 'mini' 1.5 & 1 L with lid set?
You will find only the smaller pot is really needed for backpacking. I think the oversized lid can be left home too. That stove puts out so much heat a lid isn't necessary. Aluminum foil makes a good lid if needed.
Every oz. counts!

Have Fun!”