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Title says it all. I used tuna can alcohol stoves for years and in the last 4-5 switched to jetboil. Currently building a wood stove/alcohol fueled stove for kicks. What about the rest of you experienced Backcountry hunters?


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Jetboil here.



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I have a wood stove for my tipi that is made from a 10 inch piece of stove pipe. The !egs and 4" stove pipe fit inside. My bag, tipi, and stove weigh 13lbs. I pack in on horses, but still go pretty light. I have hunted for 5 straight days in a lot of snow and rain, three different times. It warms you up, dries you out, and keeps you hunting.

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Well, my EdT Ti stove is great in my SO BCS tent. Even in the coldest, nastiest weather i have a toasty tent to sleep in. As for cooking, I’ve been happy with my Jetboil. Like to try an MSR though.

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cooking?
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heating?
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I've been using the same MSR Whisperlite since 1996 without issue. Found an MSR Dragonfly in Cabelas bargain cave last year for a steal and broke it in last season. It simmers a lot better than the whisperlite.


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Ah, the Optimus 8R (or is that the Russian version?). I have a Svea 123 which works exactly the same way but in a different design. They're a little harder to light than the cannister stoves and a bit heavier but they're as reliable as any stoves made. They're impervious to high altitudes, too. I think the Svea is still being made but not the Optimus.

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A friend has the Jetboil system and while I like the simplicity of the system, those little fuel cannisters are NOT cheap. I use an MSR liquid fuel stove as it's much cheaper.


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I should have specified in the beginning, I am asking about Cook stoves. The hunt I will be doing this fall, Lord willing, will be backcountry cold camping .lots of time to prepare and try out new gear before then

MM


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I am in the MSR Whisperlite camp. A little cleaning and maintenance now and then between trips and no issues. I see lots of accolades about the canister stoves, but am ignorant about how well they work, gauging fuel consumption, reliability etc. Can someone enlighten us on that? Thanks


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For cold weather and high altitude, liquid fuel stoves would be more reliable. Butane can be a problem under some conditions. Liquid stoves really limit your options. Optimus makes some really good ones but they aren't cheap. They make the Svea 123 that I showed above. They also make one called the Hiker Plus but be ready to pay over $200 for one. It's very similar to discontinued 8R that Huntsman posted. They make a smaller, cheaper one called the Nova but I've never seen one.
MSR also makes a well known liquid fuel stove.


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I use a number of stoves including esbit, alcohol, canister and liquid fueled and I own but never really took to the jet boil.

For a walk in hunt where weather can be cold and at some altitude over a couple of days in length, I would go with a liquid fueled stove.

My personal favorite is a LAAF gear modified wisperlite international with the shaker jet, though any of the quality liquid fueled stoves will do well. The liquid field stove will work well despite cold and altitude, Its easy to track fuel use and quantity remaining and a well wind-screened liquid fuel stove is about as weight efficient as any for a longer trip. If melting snow is in the mix, the pot size flexibility of a liquid stove is useful.

The key to liking a liquid stove is clearly understanding how they work and how they clog, and being able to do the maintenance easily. Cleaning a jet or generator tube or repairing a pump are all easy, none takes more than a minute, but you don't really want to figure it out at 8pm in the dark when you are tired and hungry.

Canister stoves are simple and there ways to make them work in the cold, some of the methods are just a PITA and others are borderline dangerous, for shorter trips where temps are reasonable ( say above 25F) and you don't need to constantly judge how much fuel your using and have remaining canisters are a great choice..


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For summer backpacking, I use an Optimus Crux, butane stove. That and a Halulite pot is the lightest arrangement that I can find. I haven't been able to convince myself that the extra weight of a Jetboil is worth it. Lots of people disagree. I have several other butane stoves but the Crux is my favorite because it's so lightweight and compact. Butane doesn't work very well when it's cold. The MSR Pocket Rocket is real popular.

I use an MSR Whisperlite International with shaker jet, for winter camping. It burns white gas and that works fine at cold temps. The Whisperlite doesn't simmer very well but it's perfect for melting snow and boiling water. noKnees is right that you should know how to operate them. Buy your Whisperlite at a mountaineering store and ask the store people to show you how to prime the stove. They use to have problems with the jets clogging, but the shaker jets seem to have solved that problem. I also own an MSR Dragonfly, which does simmer great. So If I expect to be frying fish or simmering a casserole, I use the Dragonfly. Another white gas stove that I own is an MSR XGK, which is built like a tank and is the favorite for Mount Everest expeditions because it can burn a variety of fuels including Kerosene.

I use propane appliances for car camping because they are so simple and convenient. When car camping, I'm not concerned about weight and bulk.

I also own a little alcohol burner made by Safesport. It takes a while to get going and it uses a lot of fuel, but It's absolutely silent. So if I want a hot cup of coffee while sitting in a blind, I use that stove. BTW don't use rubbing alcohol. It leaves a black soot residue on your pots. Use denatured alcohol. It burns clean and hotter so you use less fuel. But it's expensive. Like $15/gallon.

I also own a folding Sterno stove. The stove is cheap but the fuel cubes are expensive and heavy. It takes a real long time to boil water and and they leave a soot residue on my pots. I don't consider it a real competitor for the other types of stoves that I own.

KC



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Alcohol might cost $15/gal but that's really cheap compared to butane canisters. A gallon cooks a lot of meals. The butane gas is cheap. Like printer ink, it's the containers that you're paying for.

For priming an Optimus, I carry a small bottle of lighter fluid. Just squirt a teaspoon down the stem into the bowl. It's a lot easier and faster than screwing with other methods. An eyedropper is also supposed to work well but I've never tried it.


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There’s an attachment to run propane cylinders on your jet boils. And you can refill those.

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Rocky:

I also own a SVEA 123 and I think they are about the most elegant stoves on the market. A friend owns an Optimus 8R like the stove that you picture in your post. Both stoves are auto-generators, which means that the heat from the flame warms the fuel to make it atomize properly. I've had problems when cold wind or snow keep the fuel tank from warming. I bought an aftermarket pump that screws into the fuel tank filler cap. Seems to help getting the stove started and in initial operation but after the pressure is depleted cold temps and wind can diminish function. That type of stove works great for summer backpacking but they are not as small and lightweight or as convenient as a butane canister stove.

KC


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Originally Posted by Rock Chuck
Alcohol might cost $15/gal but that's really cheap compared to butane canisters. A gallon cooks a lot of meals. The butane gas is cheap. Like printer ink, it's the containers that you're paying for.

For priming an Optimus, I carry a small bottle of lighter fluid. Just squirt a teaspoon down the stem into the bowl. It's a lot easier and faster than screwing with other methods. An eyedropper is also supposed to work well but I've never tried it.

I've never done the calculations but I don't doubt that you are correct regarding the cost of denatured alcohol vs butane. I was referring to the cost of denatured alcohol vs rubbing alcohol. I should have clarified that.

I like the idea of using a bottle of lighter fluid for priming. But I don't mess with any of that because I just pump up my Whisperlite and let a little gas leak out into the bowl. Turn off the valve and use that tiny amount of gas for priming. Works fine.


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Originally Posted by mitchellmountain
Title says it all. I used tuna can alcohol stoves for years and in the last 4-5 switched to jetboil. Currently building a wood stove/alcohol fueled stove for kicks. What about the rest of you experienced Backcountry hunters?

When one of my boy scouts say that they can't afford a stove, I show them how to make an alcohol burner stove out of a Dinty Moore Beef Stew can. I use a cotton ball for a wick and I set it in a pie plate. I put it out by slipping a coffee can over the top of the stove. Probably a lot like a tuna can stove.



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Decades ago, I used a Svea 123 a lot and found it to be a real pita with priming and lighting. The wick would eventually get scorched and need to be replaced. Hopefully, they have improved since then. I eventually switched to an MSR pocket rocket propane stove. The canisters are a little bulky, but so aren't white gas fuel bottles. A large canister lasted 4 days with my wife doing the cooking for three of us; her meals are much more complicated than mine so I think it would be possible to stretch a canister to 5 or 6 days without too much trouble. The stove worked fine at an altitude of 9000 feet and temps to below freezing.

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I meant to add that on the same trip, my nephew used a little wood fired cook stove. It folded smaller than a Svea and used very small twigs for fuel. I was extremely surprised how efficient it was and how quickly he could cook his meal. It took longer than the MSR but much less time than I expected. We were in the dry Wyoming mountains so there was no shortage of fuel for him to use. It would not have very useful if conditions were wet.
Wish I could remember the manufacturer, but can't. I'll try to track down the name if anyone is interested.

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