Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Another quest for finding the perfect wood stove.

Situation: I want to do some hot tenting in 0F temperature this winter without upgrading my sleeping system (20F). I also do NOT want to wake up more than once during the night to refill the stove. This is critical, I want to fill the stove before going to bed, close the damper and go to sleep for as long as possible without getting cold (don’t forget the 20F difference, if not more…). I’ll cut my own firewood from where I’ll set up camp.

Current equipment: I have 20F down sleeping bag with Exped Downmat (I also have ridgerests to go underneath as well). I’ll haul all the gear using snowshoes, pulk + backpack.

Gear to acquire: tipi tent (6 or 8P I’m not sure yet) + woodstove

My research indicates that there seem to be 3 “class” of wood stoves (my own classification):
1. Class A, what I’d qualify as collapsible ultralight stoves, ranging from 1.5 to 10 lbs: Titanium Goat, Ruta Locura, Kifaru, Four Dog, Seek Outside, etc.
2. Class B, what I’d qualify as “light” stoves, ranging from 10 to I’ll say 36 lbs: Snowtrekker, Riley, Kni-Co, Sims, Four Dog, etc.
3. Class C, the heavy stoves, 36 lbs + which I haven’t researched much for obvious reasons.

Class A stoves seem to be able to keep the heat for 1h top. The only exception, is the Four Dog owner’s claim to be able to reach 3-4h. Anyone here experienced otherwise? Evidently, I’d be more than happy to spend the extra bucks on ultralight stove if they keep me warm for several hours, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. So I’m really looking about confirmation or invalidation here.

Class B stove seem to be the way to go. I’m looking for that delicate balance between weight and the amount of time the stove will be able to hold the heat at night. All things being equal, I’m theorizing it’s better to have a bigger stove than a smaller one, so I’ve calculated the Volume by total weight ratio (including pipes, damper & spark arrestor) and I cross-matched the result with each manufacturer’s burn time specifications if available. Putting aside all class A stoves, the clear winners are the Sims Sportmans, closely followed by the Kni-Co Alaska and Snowtrekker Large. This is followed by each company’s medium size stove. So I think it’s safe to assume it’s a matter of choosing between models, especially since Kni-Co actually manufactures both the Alaskan and Snowtrekker stoves. I’ve discarded the Sims Sportmans stove because I haven’t found a single review.

So:
1. Has anybody compared the two “brands”, I should rather say models between Kni-Co and Snowtrekker?
2. Can anyone comment on these stoves ability to hold the heath? I was told between 4-6h for both!
3. I’m concerned that both stoves do not have a baffle.
4. All the math & logic is pretty cool but did I miss anything, do you have a comment?
5. Ideally I could go for a smaller size stove for weight purposes, would that be possible in my scenario, say a Snowtrekker Medium or Kni-Co Alaskan Jr. (or even smaller)?
6. There has to be other design differences besides the Snowtrekker’s snow float legs. I mean the Snowtrekker Large goes for 24.5lbs including a shelf while the Kni-Co Alaskan standard package goes for 24 lbs…I’ll call Kni-Co to find out.

Thanks a lot for reading and commenting 

Apologies for not answering your question, I have no experience with your B list of stoves.

I'm just curious as to why you'd trade the option of a slightly heavier sleeping bag to get you to zero degrees for a much heavier stove? going to a zero rated bag would be the conventional solution.

Just an observation, but much of burn time effectiveness is related to how well the tent insulates.

I have seen reports of people using our stoves and only loading once a night in temps as low as -30 F, but they were using a compressed Eco Log on pulk trips. I have had good luck with keeping warmth a long time when there is some snow on the tent thus creating insulation. However, any insulation the tent provides is gone once you unzip it.

There are a lot of dependencies, and stove size is just one.

What Smoke said.

I can't weigh in with much class B experience other than the Kni-Co brand, of which I have their Packer model. I've tried to make it work and it won't. Old time member Woods Walker had the same experience. Maybe the Alaskan model is better.

If/when I buy a Class B stove, it'll be a 4Dogs, without a doubt.

Regardless, pony up for a warmer bag. If you're car camping (sounds like it based on stove question) then you can even go with a Wiggy's bag. They're heavy but roomy, tough, warm, and priced well for their temp rating, and made in the USA.

The thing is, even with a cast iron stove in a wall tent, when it's zero or below its hard to keep the stove hot enough to compensate for a light bag without re-stoking during the night. So I always count on the bag to keep me warm until morning and choose one that will handle the temps. And when you're on the move, it's tough to count on getting wood that's good enough and big enough to last all night.

Not to worry, there is a pill for that now.

Nah, they tell you right on the box that it only lasts four hours. At least that's what Battue told me, I've never seen it.

I'm sorry bro. But that is a damn nice stove..

I tend to use UL stoves with my kifaru 6-man.

1. Running a large Kifaru in my Kifaru 6.






2. Kifaru small stove in my 6.





You're good with the Exped ridgerest combo, I use the same myself. My advice is to get the largest stove you can pack in as it's easier to process wood for. Also burns longer. No UL stove will run overnight but I have never had a bad night going into my bag warm. I do have outing videos of this gear in field use if you want more info. Sometimes video/pics are worth 100 words.

It's all a balancing act with bulk/pack weight and stove output.