Camp Stoves
Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 46
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Free homemade super lightweight
This little stove is amazing; it’s made from pepsi and guinness cans, using things that can be found around most households. It takes about an afternoon to make (plus some time waiting for the epoxy to set), weighs only a few grams, and is sufficient for most backpacking trips. I made my first one a few years ago, and I’ve been handing them out as gifts ever since. The stove is powerful enough to boil a quart of water in a reasonable amount of time, it’s MUCH quieter than other camping stoves, if you lose it you’re not out $80.00, and you can get the fuel for it (denatured alcohol) at most hardware or paint stores. Mine fits nicely inside of the mug I use for cooking and eating, with room to spare. I usually stuff a spare pair of socks in with it to keep it from rattling around.
The site provides detailed instructions. — Galen Pewtherer
Rugged multi-fuel stove
I’ve been using my XGK stove for over 22 years and it’s battered and sorry-looking but still performs wonderfully.
What really sold me on it was that I had a career and life-change about 5 years ago and put all my camping stuff in storage. Last summer I retrieved and unpacked it all for a trip to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The stove fired up first time and performed flawlessly. It still sounds like a jet engine and boils water in a very short time. A triumph of simple, solid engineering.
It enables me to cook food and make warm drinks in order to stay alive in challenging locations. I can source multiple kinds of fuel without having to be overly reliant on one type of fuel or (even worse) proprietary canisters. The rocket -ship sound makes me happy and reminds me of all the times when that noise signaled I would soon be fed and warm. Throw the stove in a backpack, duffel, truck bed, helicopter, and not worry about damaging it. Even it gets damaged or clogged (on Russian diesel, for instance), you can strip it down with a leatherman and MSR provide all the spares you need with the stove. — Raoul Miller
Light-weight stove burns fuel found along trail
There I was, in driving rain, cooking breakfast under a tree over an intense, portable fire. Fresh coffee and scrambled eggs.
It was a Sierra Stove I got for $52. It’s a mini-forge, forcing air into a small insulated chamber where a double handful of twigs (or dung or whatever) can heat water in a couple minutes—just a little longer than a butane stove, but with NO fuel or fuel containers to carry. One enthusiast hiked from Mexico to Canada cooking with one, claims Chip in The Compleat Walker IV. Chip himself now claims to camp largely solar–with backback solar charged batteries running his flashlights and his Sierra Stove.
The basic unit I got weighs 18 ounces and is clever and well-evolved. Accessory goodies can be found at the manufacturer’s site. The newest item is a titanium version that weighs only 10 ounces, for $129.
I was impressed at how little fuel was needed, and how funky it could be. A switch offers high or low speed on the fan, driven by one AA battery. No igniter — my Bic failed me in the rain, but a Lifeboat match and lil’ firestarter saved the day. Unlike butane, the Sierra Stove does blacken your pots and pans, which is the main nuisance — they go in Ziploc bags anyway though. All in all an impressive little rig.
We’ll all want one when the economy collapses completely and we have to live homeless. — Stewart Brand
Ultra efficient stove system
It’s the quickest, handiest, most efficient hot water maker yet. It takes the piezo-ignited butane trail stove to maybe a 50% overall improvement—worth converting for many.
The main tricks are: fin-like heat exchanger (“FluxRing”) where the flame meets the pot; pot attaches to stove (vastly less fiddly); pot has a cozy on it to hold heat and make gripping the pot easy; the plastic lid of the pot doubles as a cup lid for sipping direct from the pot; and the stove stows inside the pot. The weight is 12 ounces, the same or less than other light butane stove systems, but you save on weight of fuel, small pack volume, and overall convenience.
The heat exchanger means you can heat 2 cups of water in about 2 minutes, with significantly little fuel expended. So little heat escapes that you can hold the whole thing in your hand while it cooks, and the cozy never burns. The pot works better for eating from than for drinking from—I still prefer an insulated Alladdin cup (with the meaningless handle sawed off), but it’s manageable for drinking if you want one less implement.
It’s fine for dinner for two, or an instant cup of coffee or tea under way. You could use it riding in a car (open a window). — Stewart Brand
Best ultralight cook kit
This is a super-light high-performance cook set. I’ve been hiking since the late ’60s and this is far and away my favorite combo. The stove is tiny and it and the gas canister fit inside the nested pots of the cookset. Add a titanium spork and you have a complete cookset weighing under 8 oz and fitting in a space smaller than a jacket stuffsack. It is so light that I use it for more than overnights: I often take it on day hikes instead of a thermos — I pack some powdered green tea, a bamboo whisk and a second cup. In a few minutes, I can whip up tea ceremony style green tea for myself and my hiking companion. — Paul Saffo
Super reliable at high altitudes
Since the 1980’s I have used many small camp stoves, but none compares to the Svea 123. This stove is famous for working well at high altitudes. It is light, reliable, simple, and will boil water fast. It does lack a simmer setting, even on its lowest setting. And it can be a bit much for some things, but when camping or backpacking a long simmer is rarely desired.
This uses standard white gas (Coleman Fuel) and can be refilled from partially full, giving it a great advantage over disposable cartridge pressurized gas models. It is fully self-contained which is a nice advantage over other stoves such as the Whisperlite, but at the expense of fuel capacity.
It has been made, nearly unchanged, since 1955. This is a testament to its reliability and usefulness. If I had to choose only one outdoor stove to use ever, this would be the one. — Grant Johnson
08/7/23
