Stove preferences

The last few days as I have posted about some alcohol stoves causing me to reflect on how my stove preferences have changed, yet remain the same.

When I first started using a stove, I did very little research and chose a stove because someone I knew had the stove.  Selection was limited at the time, research difficult (no Internet), and funds were tight. My selection was a Coleman Peak 1, now marketed as "Sportster II dual fuel™1-burner stove". Other than color, mine is black, the stove appears identical.  Now the Peak 1 is heavy and bulky, but after much use and many trips I began to get an idea why a stove was a basic backpacking necessity.

Cooking over a wood fire may sound fun, but it really is messy, difficult, and time consuming.  While a backpack stove is none of the above.  Of course today, fire restrictions are in place in most, if not all areas.

My next stove was another liquid fuel (petroleum) stove. I enjoy winter camping and the liquid fuel stove alternate, a canister stove, was not a viable option for temperatures at or below freezing. Canister stoves also did not perform well at altitude, and I backpack at or above 10000 ft regularly. I also regularly enjoy winter camping. So I bought a liquid fuel stove that has a remote fuel reservoir. Today almost all liquid fuel stoves utilize a remote reservoir.  The obvious exceptions being the Coleman stove mention above, and the Optimus SVEA.  The stove I bought was the MSR Whisperlite International.  My Whisperlite is several decades old and I have never had an issue.  I bought the stove because of the ability to use kerosene. The reality, after using kerosene a few times, I went back to white gas because it was less hassle to prime.

After years of using liquid fuel, I was planning a trip into the Grand Canyon (Havasupai) with some friends. I was looking for something small and light, for a warm climate. As a result, I purchased my first canister stove on the recommendation of the local shop. It was the Optimus Crux, and it folds and stores in the concave bottom of a 8 oz. canister. The ease of use and convenience of the canister stove had me wondering if I should change from my liquid fuel stove.  Some investigation showed me that canisters still had low temperature problems and some minimal altitude issues. FYI, the fuel in a canister stays a liquid at following temperatures, butane 31º F, isobutane 11º F, propane -43º F. So in a mixed fuel canister at 0º F, only the propane will be available to burn, leaving butane and isobutane in the canister. If you do the math, you see that an 8 oz. canister has very little fuel available to burn even though the canister seems almost full. Some vendors have started making a remote canister where the canister can be inverted. These stoves use the propane pressure to push liquid butane to the stove. The stove then functions as a liquid fuel stove. Of course you still need to be able to light them before inverting the canister. The MSR Windpro II and the Optimus Vega are two such stoves.

Then came my alcohol stove phase. These stoves have absolutely no moving parts. Nothing to break down in the field. Their drawback is the heat to fuel ratio, which translate to weight you must carry in fuel.  More fuel is required to boil than either the liquid petroleum, or canister stoves. And alcohol stoves are very sensitive to wind since the flame burns without pressure.  Think candle flame. The slightest air movement deflects the flame (heat) from your pan.  Ultralight, fun to build your own, but ultimately for me, not my go to stove.

Then came my stove system phase.  The JetBoil, MSR Reactor are examples.  Both stoves are great systems.  My testing showed that the JetBoil suffers from wind.  In fact, I have had this stove blow out on me multiple times.  The Reactor does not suffer from wind, but is more difficult to light. Both stoves have a regulator, that makes the stove work on a much lower canister pressure. This helps the stove perform better in colder weather, and higher altitudes.  It is my understanding that both stoves have an over-heat kill mechanism that is a "one and done" system. If the over-heat triggers, the stove will no longer work and needs to be replaced.  Both stoves are extremely fuel efficient. But I continually worry that the stove will kill itself during one of my extended "no resupply" trips.  So I always carry a backup canister stove. I have become enamored with the Reactor, and I prefer it to the JetBoil.  The new MSR WindBoiler reminds me of the JetBoil, only without the wind issue. I actually dislike the bayonet connection of the JetBoil. I backpack and this feature is just in the way for me. So the WindBoiler does not really have a place in my pack. However, I must note that the WindBoiler contains the same kill mechanism as the Reactor, but with one difference. You can reset it, once. My pack configuration with the Reactor is to carry the Optimus Vega as my backup since it is small, light, and with the inverted canister has some cold weather capabilities.  Why not just carry the Vega. My 1 liter Reactor boils water in about 70 seconds, wind screens are not allowed.  The Vega, three minutes, and the use of a wind screen is almost required.

What does all this mean?

My preferred stove, especially for extended trips and all winter camping, is still a liquid fuel (petroleum) stove. It just gets the job done! I always have a fuel bottle with enough fuel for my trip. No need to carry a second canister, and then need to carry out the empty canister. FYI, for an 8 oz. canister, the empty canister weighs at least 5 oz.

For shorter trips, only a couple of days and not in the winter. I may grab the Reactor with the Vega as backup.

For overnight trips in the summer.  I may grab the Crux because it is small and light.

I almost never take an alcohol stove.  Not by any conscious decision that there is something wrong with them. I normally carry either a liquid fuel (Petroleum) stove, or the Reactor, so I seem to just take either one of those stoves and my alcohol stoves sit idle. The reason may be that I use my liquid fuel stove so often, that I feel more comfortable with it than any other stove and the Reactor still has me enamored.

Habits are hard to break.