THE POT COZY: Fuel Miser or Wasted Weigh t?

“Take 'em where you can get 'em huh? ;)�
spindlette
9:09:10 AM
3/23/08

you got that right. My anthem:

They judge a boy by his friends
And all of mine are trash
They say you find your own level
Well I'm a snake in the grass
But I can't help the things I do
I've always been attracted to

Cheap thrills
Don't you know I like
Cheap thrills
Night after night
Cheap thrills
Well if you ain't supposed to do it I will

I got a low reputation
And a bad attitude
'cause all I want to do is something
That I ain't supposed to do
Well I can't change the things I love
I guess I'm just a victim of

Cheap thrills
Don't you know I like
Cheap thrills
Night after night
Cheap thrills
Well if you ain't supposed to do it, I will”

“If you're happy, that's all that matters. ;)”

““Can't stand esbit. Stinks up everything in my pack.

I use an alcohol stove and I am confident with the freezer bag cooking method. I still need to learn how to minimize my fuel use however. Seems like I always add too much or too little to the stove.

For a six day trip, I am trying to get by with 2 oz of alcohol per day - 1 oz each day for breakfast and dinner. I think I will carry 16 oz though to allow for some flexibility.

Good ideas meanie and spinlette. I am such a klutz though. I need to keep my food far far away from my sleeping bag and arm pits.”
Creek Dancer
9:18:06 AM
3/23/08


I didn't like esbit at first either but now love it. I use the BPL Firelite brand 10oz tabs, along with the BPL Firelite wing stove.
Its just enough to bring 16 oz to a boil and more convenient to carry over liquid fuels, for me anyway. To each his or her own though.
last edited: 3/23/08 8:19:15 AM”

“I still need to learn how to minimize my fuel use however. Seems like I always add too much or too little to the stove

Try using one of those little medicine cups (like they use for kids liquids)that have the measurements on the side. I have found that 4 ozs is just the right amount to boil water.
I like my food cozy. It doesn't weight much (3 ozs). I have been putting together more and more meals myself and it seems to be helpful in hydrating food.”

“not sure how you store esbit but if i leave them in the little foil/plastic wrappers for sure they don't stink up my pack. if you find the smell really offensive get an alkosak OP bag... they really work. you will smell nothing.

for a 6 day trip you would carry 6 oz of fuel compared to 16 oz of alcohol. this is about right since esbit has 2x the energy density of alcohol. a little tin cup and an esbit wing stove and your entire cookset could weight less than your fuel for the alcohol stove setup.

still, if you want to make sure that 16 oz will last you the entire 6 days i maintain that a cozy is worth the weight. with the proper food selection it will guarantee that you will only need two burns to day and stay within your fuel allowance.”

“Let's ask real backpackers like Elvis and Truckster what they do.”

“NCthiker - So one esbit will boil 16 oz! Hmmmmmmm...I should rethink the esbit. Maybe they have improved the packaging. Last time I bought some was about 8 years ago.

Good idea windigirl. I did something similar with my fuel bottle. I added hash marks to the bottle to mark off the ounces. I still ended up using more than necessary. I think I need to do some testing.”

“NCthiker - So one esbit will boil 16 oz! Hmmmmmmm...I should rethink the esbit. Maybe they have improved the packaging. Last time I bought some was about 8 years ago.

One trick though, I need to have my wind screen wrapped tightly around my pot. I've thought about trying the larger 14oz Firelite tabs which have a longer burn time. I like my morning coffee , so if I also have oatmeal, then I need to use (2) 10oz tabs. Most of the time I take Granola and powdered milk in a qt. zip-lock anyway, so I only need hot water for coffee in the morning.
last edited: 3/23/08 8:54:17 AM”

“I have found the wind screen to be critical, otherwise one esbit tab doesn’t boil anything.”

“the little dose cups that come with cough syrup work great for measuring out the alcohol accurately, but since seeing Yogisan's stove in action, I'm sold. That is far and away the lightest cookset I've ever seen. Especially for extended trips.His entire cookset including fuel weighed less than the one small fuel canister I was lugging around.”

“the little dose cups that come with cough syrup work great for measuring out the alcohol accurately, but since seeing Yogisan's stove in action, I'm sold. That is far and away the lightest cookset I've ever seen. Especially for extended trips.His entire cookset including fuel weighed less than the one small fuel canister I was lugging around.”

meangreen
10:16:38 AM
3/23/08

For alcohol, I like the 2 cycle oil containers, with the built-in squeeze tops for measurement. (can't remember who sells them though? Fanatic Fringe, Anti-Gravity Gear, or Brasslite?

My cook-set comes in at about 6oz not including fuel tabs, even lighter still, If I eliminate my little green Boy Scout cup, with the handle removed.
last edited: 3/23/08 9:33:40 AM”

“1 cube (.5 oz) will easily boil 2 cups of water and, in fact, you will wind up blowing it out before it's fully burned. i usually wind up using less fuel than planned because it takes less than a full cube to boil two cups of water.

if you find the packaging smell offensive get a small alkosak op (odor proof) bag. rei sells them now. they really work.”