Do Alcohol stove work above 10k Ft??

“Hey All,
Does anyone have experience with Alcohol stoves above 10k Ft.?? Do they work at 14K Ft.??? I plan on going no higher, lol
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 6/13/07 12:03:08 PM”

“yes they work just fine”

“I beg to differ. I find alcohol stove are fine at 10K but above 12,000 feet,begin to suffer. This is very noticible above 14K. White gas is preferable for higher altitudes.”

“I didn't have any problems so beg all you want ;)”

“where you planning on camping and using a stove above 12,000? It's one thing to visit a summit or something that high, but rarely if ever would you be camped and cooking there.
last edited: 6/13/07 12:18:58 PM”

“Thanks....”

“Roam...in the U.S., sure, but we were regularly camped at 12K and above in the Andes. I ended up swapping for a white gas stove because the alcohol stove didn't cut the mustard.”

“Yeah - i was thinking US only. I've never been overseas in the backcountry so my mind doesn't open to that possibility as quickly as it should.”

“I was thinking US also. rosey you do have that advantage over what I said based on you camping in the Andes..your begging to differ won out :)

I have used my alcohol stove to fix meals at Trail Camp (12,050') and Guitar lake (11,600) with no problems.”

“Hey all!!
Thanks for the info.
Here for the Elvation Profile for the trip in question. Same location as Ewker is refering to above:

http://www.thebackpacker.com/pictures/pic/5q2bhx1l76po8.php

See ya later.
Randall
last edited: 6/13/07 3:01:53 PM”

“where you goin randall?”

“Hey Thrifty,
See the "5 days on the JMT trip" on the trips page.
See ya later.
Randall”

“No problem, I assume most on this board are U.S. bound but thought I would throw that out there.

I also should have thrown in the caveat I was cooking for two and boiling larger pots of water than for solo. On one trip, we hiked with a woman who was using a nesting Trangia solo cookset and she didn't have too big a problem getting water to boil...I dunno. I just went white gas and was done it it.
last edited: 6/13/07 3:14:03 PM”

“i prefer kerosene to white gas. my stove will burn both. i have a huge jug of the stuff in my garage... still working on using it up all these years. haha!”

“I was camped at ~11,600' in New Mexico with a guy who used a pepsi can stove. Me and the other guy about burned the forest down futsing with our white gas stoves while the guy with the alcohol stove ate dinner.

So I know they work fine for one person at 11,600'. I'm not patient enough to use one myself.”

“They barely work below 10K'...”

“They barely work below 10K'...”
Nigal
6:07:06 AM
6/14/07

its a matter of personal preference - i liked my little homemade stove - used it for an entire season in at least four states and three time zones - including a six day trip in Glacier NP. I was never above 8,000 feet i'm sure though. But it worked very well - plus you get a lot of personal satisfaction from using something you made yourself. It wasn't as quick to boil as the pocketrocket - but it worked very well - and it wasn't really all that much slower to boil.”

“Oh yes it's all a matter of personal preference. I simply prefer not to use the Easy Bake Oven of the backpacking world. LOL!”

“this is one of those "i prefer chocolate to vanilla" discussions you hear so much about.”

“no it's one of those "I prefer boiling water to hot water" things you always hear about.”

“i never had trouble getting a rolling boil. If that had been the case, I wouldn't have taken the thing on an extended trip. YOu can 'get by' with just about any inconvience on a weekend overnighter, but not for a whole week.”

“Actually I'm just yankin' yer dick. LOL! I know how some people are about their alcy stoves. Kind of a dogs on the trail type of debate. The only problem I have with the home made ones is finding a good pot stand.”

“a good one doesn't need a pot stand.”

“Yeah, check out this guy's stuff...

http://www.minibulldesign.com/fs2.htm”

“Nigal, leve my dick alone! ewww!

like i said - it worked fine - but it's retired now. I might make a new one in a diff style and try it out. The pocket rocket is way more efficient and virtually foolproof to use.

But it was pretty cool to use a bunch of homemade gear.”

“This is the one I have. Yes it's heavier than the home made ones but I don't sweat the ounces anymore.

”

“WOW!!
Thats a lot of good stuff and I thank you all!! I stand torn between my alchol stove and a Pocket Rocket. I need to buy one anyway!!! LOL Then I'll have them all!!!
See ya later.
Randall”

“

”

“Dude, that thing looks like it's about ready to blast off into orbit and send out signals! LOL!”

“Randall Is going to be cooking breakfast at Trail Crest camp right before he summits Whitney. Woooohoooo!”