Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Anyone have experience with a compact Camp/Hike stove?

The little butane rocket stoves and the Jetboil type are hot, fast, and conveinent if its not real cold. They will heat up a freeze dry meal, soup, or water for coffee or hot drink very quickly, and thats all well and good.

I still have an old MSR Reactor stove and its about faster than anything to a boil and efficient. Now im a bit older and ive discovered those old alcohol stoves like the Trangia and the one Esbit makes. I use one in a light weight kit with a titanium stove stand via Amazon, and ive also got the old Swedish army Trangia mess kit (impossible to now find without highly overpaying).

Seriously though, i would look at an old fashioned trangia type alcohol stove with an titanium holder/wind deflector. This stove isnt as fast as the jetboil and rocket stoves, but the stove and ti holder is inexpensive via Amazon and you can purchase one gallon fuel cans at Lowes and Home Depot paint dept. You wont wont uave to pack those awful butane cannisters and you can carry as little fuel or as much fuel as you desire. Cold weather doesnt matter as alcohol stoves work in most any weather just need good wind protection. Cheap, a little slower and reliable. Youtube is full of videos on these.

this thing works pretty good, Coleman Peak 1, probably chinee...

For that matter so does this...beater 425F 10/84, def not chinee...leaks at the valve stem, real no-no, unless ya want to singe yer feathers...

NVhuntr

I use one like yours for summer fall weather on my second one in 20 years dont lose your washer, wife said they would tip never have yet. And you can get propane any where.

My Jetboil goes everywhere with me. I have lots of other stoves but that one gets the most work.

Just used mine to thaw the locks on the trailer last night because I forgot my torch. Jetboil doesn't like - 6 very much though.

Yeah, cold temps are no bueno with the Jetboil, especially if you don't use their own fuel. Luckily mine gets most of its use during more favorable temps.

If just heating liquids and similar stuff, not really 'cooking' dunno how you're gonna beat JetBoil. When a truck, horse, or airplane is lugging the gear, I like the green-bottle propane stoves. Very versatile, with an open flame. Plus, when bored you can shoot the bottles. Empty, preferably.

Ditto propane here. They say sleeping with the fuel canister makes those fuel types more effective, but I've tried that and it is no fun at all. I have a copper sheet heat conductor for my JetBoil that will transfer heat from the flame back to the canister for increased efficiency. Yes, it sounds crazy, but isn't. Check the YT vids.

Completely forgot about that. Mtwarden had a post about it a while back. Need to do that.

Pocket Rocket




Lefty

I like the Snow Peak Gigapower as it produces the least CO2 and I'm a turd that cooks in the tent in bad weather. I had a Pocket Rocket and the Gigapower cooks better and is quieter.

If weight is not an issue, or the weather will be really cold, the MSR Whisperlite Universal comes along.

Admitted stove freak here, have used almost all mentioned. Plus the snow peak brands, both conventional & titanium versions.

Along w several extreme Lt wt wood burning stoves from kifaru to lil known types meant to improve upon the kifaru design.

Pocket rocket or a snow peak are by far the easiest & least hassle to use & haul around ime.

Don’t worry overly on the gas canister going useless at 20 *F or at moderate elevations. I’ve used them at 7K no prob. In colder temps I will put one inside my jacket to warm it up b4 cooking or bedtime. Toss it in foot of your sleep bag & it sparks right up in the a.m. to warm our tent b4 you dress or have some coffee while still in the sack in the a.m.

One of the big canisters won’t run out on a ten day excursion. Take a lil canister along if you’re a worry wart like me

in Coleman circles you would be known as a "stovie"

If your going to be in temperatures below 20* f Liquid fuel (white gas/coleman fuel) is your best option. Optimus Svea/Sevea 123 makes a great single burner stove. Have used them from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the base camp of Denali. I have two that are 50 years old and still going strong. NOLS use to use variants of their stove(8B or 110). Now that gas is lead free " white gas" is readily available. These stoves will also work on Benzine, Methanol, Kerosene in a pinch.
A Coleman Guide Series is less expensive but not as compact.
Good Luck