Your camp stove
Original post
What kind of stove are you using?
White spirits, or gas which do you use?
I have a MSR Whisperlite and a Jetboil Flash but what I've been using recently is an old Kovea Backpacker canister stove because it is so light.
Do you have a preference.
I collect camp stoves so Im faced with this question every time I go out.
Most times its either a whisperlite clone or a Coleman 505b. I also have a 123r and 8r if going with a small group with a retro theme
The ges stoves are very cheap very light and in summer conditions work very well. Long term though the fuel canisters eat all the savings and there is the disposal issue
Ive been using the canister stove while doing my section hiking of the Te Araroa, where light is right. I know a lot of people use those coke can stoves but I want to know the stove will work when I want it too. Everytime.
Was just discussing this very thing with colleagues today. :)
I lean towards a very basic white spirits or hexamine set up. I agree that gas canisters just aren't practical when undertaking extended expeditions.
Oh, but stay away from Esbit tabs. Their cooker/stove set ups are great (really like mine) but those Esbit fuel tabs are just about useless. Really difficult to get to light!
If you build a coke can stove and test it at home the only thing thats going to stop it working is sitting on it.
In saying that you have to be quite disciplined to use one effectively. Most have no way to extinguish so you must measure your meths accurately so it runs out just as you finish cooking. There is little or no control so its strictly heat and eat.
After seeing the one a french couple had at Triangle hut Ive been meaning to make one the same but I havnt had any aluminum cans. Their one was very simple being just a can cut in half then the top crinkled a little and pushed into the bottom. Light it in the tear tab and once it heats up it burns round the edge and a small billy can be placed on top. They were measuring fuel to the nearest milliliter.
We had the whisperlite then Frank had a Coleman then we travelled with a friend who had a canister stove. We bought the MSR pocket rocket and never looked back. We only use the whisperlite if we're camping in the snow. High altitude and long expeditions are the only reason we'd use one now. Good for overseas with unleaded petrol/coffee filters too.
I've got an alcohol burning stove too but only use it if I've not got enough fuel in a canister to do the whole weekend.
The esbits release toxic fumes. I've got a twig burning stove (Ti stove) that runs on alcohol and esbit as well but I've yet to use it. I bought it for my sister as a present then she decided she didn't want it.
Bought a so called 'whisperlight' once but rapidly got rid of it when I discovered it was anything but 'whispering' and it wouldn't simmer! A cheap Kovea canister stove is our preference but we don't do epics. When I was in the army I used to collect everyone's un-used hexamine tablets (which were burried in the bush along with all the used cans etc.) and they kept me going for many years. Great for one person cooking.
I use a MSR Pocket Rocket for any trip up to about 4 or 5 days. I like it very much as it is fast and there is a good range of control. On longer trips I have an ancient (like me) Optimus white spirit stove that sounds like a 737 engine at takeoff but is very quick and quite economical.
1 deleted post from
mantis
@deepriver, it sounds like you needed to clean the jets on the whisperlite maybe? Did you try that? I had same issues with mine, it was a blocked jet. They have a shaker, which self cleans, but sometimes you gotta pull em apart and do it proper.
The stove thing was discussed quite in depth here in another thread, not too long ago lurker :)
The pocket rocket is good, but a bit on the heavy side.
Search the forums
| Forum | Gear talk |
|---|---|
| Started by | Mako6 |
| On | 15 June 2015 |
| Replies | 28 |
| Permanent link | |
Participation in the forums signifies acceptance of forum rules.
In order to manage spam, new members are limited to 1 post every 10 minutes.
Formatting your posts
The forums support MarkDown syntax. Following is a quick reference.
| Type this... | To get this... | |
|---|---|---|
| Italic | *Italic text* | *Italic text* |
| Bold | **Bold text** | **Bold text** |
| Quoted text | > Quoted text | > Quoted text |
| Emojis | :smile: :+1: :astonished: :heart: | :smile: :+1: :astonished: :heart: |
| Lists |
- item 1 - item 2 - item 3 |
- item 1 - item 2 - item 3 |
| Links | https://tramper.nz | https://tramper.nz |
| Images |  URL/of/image |
 |
| Mentions | @username | @username |