A little nostalgia

Over the weekend I had the time and inclination to dig through my accumulated backpacking gear. It is amazing to see the changes in gear. I started backpacking in the early 1970's with a home made pack, pup tent, rectangular flannel sleeping bag, and an old aluminum mess kit. Dehydrated food was either too expensive, too tasteless, or unavailable.

My home made pack, gave way to an H-frame without hip belt. Then I added a hip belt, which then gave way to an internal frame pack.

The aluminum mess kit gave way to a stainless steel kit. Stainless steel turned into hard anodized aluminum. Hard anodized aluminum became titanium.

Open fire cooking turned into a Peak 1 400A stove with a factory windscreen.  Peak 1 gave way to a WhisperLite International.  The WhisperLite into a canister stove. Canister stove became an inverted canister stove. The inverted canister stove morphed into a stove system.

Drinking water straight from the source gave way to a ceramic filter cartridge.  The ceramic filter changed into hollow fiber.

Rectangular sleeping bag became a synthetic mummy bag.  Synthetic bag gave way to a water resistant down bag.

I have kept each item, and each item is still completely functional.  I still use my 20 year old WhisperLite (with original pump) for winter camping. I have, however, given up lugging the Peak 1 stove around.  I have also given up lugging most of the older equipment. You couldn't pay me enough to carry the steel framed home-made pack again :)

My point here. You do not need the latest greatest equipment to have an enjoyable time in the back country. Get the gear that works for you and your budget, and go have some fun!

What is the best ...?

When friends, acquaintances, and coworkers discover how much I enjoy backpacking I am often asked my opinion on specific gear. The question usually comes as "what is the best water filter, stove, backpack, etc.". I sometimes feel that the question is unfair, and very similar to asking someone, "what is the best car?".  As you can imagine, if there was only one best car, everybody would be driving the same vehicle.

Over the course of many discussions I have come to the conclusion that my best response is to ask another question of my own. "What is your budget?". Then I can narrow into some items in their budget and maybe add a little knowledge of the pro's and con's of the items.

There is not a perfect stove, nor a perfect water filter. You must make decisions based on your use patterns and budget.  Remember, a higher price does not necessarily indicate a better item.


My current bests (subject to change)

Best upright canister stove: Optimus Crux
Best inverted canister stove: Optimus Vega
Best stove system: MSR Reactor
Best liquid fuel stove (boil only): MSR WhisperLite
Best commercial alcohol stove: Evernew DX2 set with 900 ml pot
Best alcohol stove set (ignoring weight): Trangia 25 ULHA
Best personal water filter: Sawyer Squeeze
Best gravity water filter: Platypus Gravity Works 4L
Best pump filter: MSR Miniworks EX (Guardian would probably hold this place, if the price point was not beyond reason)
Best universal stove (canister or liquid): Optimus Polaris
Best tent: Hilleberg

Esbit solid fuel stoves

I was recently asked to give a stove presentation to a group of scouts.  One stove that was missing from my collection was a Esbit solid fuel stove.  I felt the presentation would not be complete without mentioning a solid fuel stove. So I purchased an Esbit stove for the presentation.  Now solid fuel stoves are fairly cheap, especially when compared to LPG stove systems and liquid fuel stoves.  You can basically use a solid fuel tablet on a "Kerr" lid, all you need is a pot stand.

The only solid fuel tables (14g) available at my local outdoor stores were packaged with a Esbit box stove for a price tag of just under six dollars.  The box stove came with six tablets. The box stove is a small steel box that opens to a pot stand, and solid fuel platform with venting to allow good air circulation. The stove can also store up to four 14g individually packaged tablets. Another store sold only the 4g tablets in a package of 24 without a stove.

The packaging for the box stove, and some internet research states that the 14g tablets will burn for about 12 minutes and boil water in 8 minutes. The packaging for the 4g tablets claimed 9 minutes burn. Past experience has shown that packaging and real measured performance rarely come close to matching. My tests with the 4g tablets show that a burn time, for a complete tablet, is about 5 minutes. Boiling water, using three 4g tablets, took over 12 minutes and never achieved a roiling boil for two cups of water. I have not tried the 14g tablets yet.  The packaging for the tablets also stated that burning left no residue.  A false statement.  Both the stove and the pot were left with a brown tar like residue. I was able to remove this residue from the pot using denatured alcohol and some elbow grease.

A couple of observations about the stove. First, the tablets stink. They smell like fish, at least that is how everybody describes the smell. Now I do a lot of backpacking in bear country, not sure I want my fuel smelling like fish and attracting bear. I left the tablets, still in there packaging, in a closed container for a couple of days. When I opened the container, the smell was over-powering. Close inspection of the blister packaging of the 14g tablets reveals a row of small factory made punctures. I assume they are there to equalize the air pressure so that the blister packs do not balloon as you go up in altitude. But they sure let the stink out!

Second, the little 3" x 4" x 1" box stove weighs 88g, same weight as the Optimus Crux. Esbit does make a lighter titanium stove that weighs 12g. You can make your own stove, unless you are a Boy Scout (see BSA Scout guidelines about home made or altered stoves).  Be careful using aluminum foil. The fuel burns hot enough to melt aluminum foil. I know it happened during one of my tests.

During my first test with the solid fuel I noticed a subtle issue. The fuel takes a little effort to ignite, but once burning, it burns well. The issue I noticed is that, the longer the fuel burns, the weaker the flame. This only makes sense. As the fuel is consumed the tablet shrinks in surface area. Less surface area, less flame. I smack myself for not realizing this before I even started.

While I will continue to present the stove during my presentation as an option, I will never actually take the stove into the backcountry. The little testing that I have done was enough to convince me, that solid fuel is not for me.

Stove systems - Reactor

Advantages

• Wind resistent
• Folding, rigid, solid handle
• Small
• Complete system, everything stores in the pot
• 90 second boil at 4500 ft elevation

Disadvantages

• Expensive
• No included canister stand.
• Possibility of a one time thermal shutdown, net research show rare event

Notes

• 1L Reactor nests with 4 oz. canister
• 1.7L Reactor nests with 8 oz. canister
• Packed weight: 14.6 oz. (414 g)

I really liked the idea/design of an integrated stove system. I especially like the fuel efficiency and the nesting of all the components.

Since I did not like the JetBoil, the only real competitor at the time, was the MSR Reactor. My initial reaction the the Reactor was shock, mostly at the price. But I saved my pennies and eventually I was able to purchase a 1L Reactor. The 1L Reactor has a maximum fill line at 500 ml, clearly stamped into the pot. There is plenty of discussion on the net about the maximum fill line, and marketed size, so I will stay away from that discussion.

So my thoughts on the Reactor. Wow! I should have bought this first, and then I would have never wasted money on the JetBoil.

I really like the fact that the Reactor does not twist connect to the stove. When the water boils, I can lift the pot off, and turn the stove off with my other hand. The lip on the radiant burner nests with the pot to give a very good connection and I never feel like the pot is going to slip off. The fold out rigid handle is so much nicer than the JetBoil fabric handle that I feel guilty even comparing the two. Solid handle, secure pour, and no burns!

I have heard complaints that you cannot use a regular pot with the Reactor. To confirm, no you cannot use a regular pot, but why would I want to. I purchased a high efficiency water boiler to conserver fuel, and boil water in all conditions. With the heat output of the Reactor, why would I want to try and simmer a dinner on such a stove. If I am going to take something that needs to be "cooked" for a while, a high efficient water boiler is just the wrong choice. Go get something like the Optimus Vega.

I liked the Reactor so much that I took it on my last 50 mile solo trek in the High Uintas Wilderness Area of Utah. Every time I used the stove, I validated my choice. One night was even in a wind that would have put the JetBoil out. If you read my previous post you know that what I called a "breeze" kept blowing the JetBoil out. The "wind" I experienced on my solo trek was no "breeze". The only minor difficulty I had was getting the stove lit. My butane lighter did not like the "wind" any more than the JetBoil would have :)  It did not take much effort to shield the lighter long enough to light the stove. Once lit, I was able to place the stove on a solid surface and boil water. I did not have to continue to shield the stove, so I could pick the best location to place the stove, even if it was somewhat exposed. You might even say I picked an exposed location to test the stove, and you would not be far from the truth.

The Reactor is a pressure regulated stove. By knocking down the pressure delivered from the canister, the stove can maintain consistent heat output as the fuel in the canister is consumed and the internal pressure of the canister decreases. This pressure regulator also helps the stove work at high altitudes where some canister stoves will not work.

There has been some chatter about a thermal one time shutdown mechanism with the Reactor. MSR does confirm the one time and done, thermal shutdown safety mechanism exists. It is a safety device in the event that the stove malfunctions and would cause the canister to overheat and possibly explode.  I cannot confirm if the JetBoil has such a device, but there is some chatter on the net that all regulated stoves now "offer" this safety mechanism. My only complaint is the one and done. What if I am half way into a two week, no resupply trip, when the stove decides to be "done". Not a good scenario. I have never experience the shutdown, and I have only been able to confirm one incident, and as such I have no pattern as to the cause. I cannot give any advice on how to avoid it.

My boil tests show that 2 cups (~500 ml) water boil in 1 1/2 minutes and used .3 oz (by weight) of fuel.

Stove systems - JetBoil

Advantages

• small
• complete system

Disadvantages

• Susceptible to wind

Notes

• packed weight: 12.3 oz (348 g)

My first encounter with a JetBoil system was on a recent trip to King's Peak in the Utah, High Uintas Wilderness area.

With very late start at the trailhead, our first camp was at Alligator Lake, only a couple of miles from the trailhead and at a relatively low altitude. After setting up camp it was time for dinner, and out came my trusty liquid fuel stove. The other stoves in the group were a top-mount upright canister stove and the JetBoil.

The JetBoil caught my attention, not because of speed of boil, which is impressive, but because of the compactness of the entire unit. The engineering to allow the stand, fuel, and pot all to nest is a great feature. The one thing I really did not like was the bayonet connection between pot and stove. As I watch the JetBoil being used, it appeared to be a hassle to disconnect the hot pot from the stove to be able to pour water out of the pot. Apparently the cosy does not do a complete job of shielding the heat, and the fabric handle is not much help either. But pack size...

So I bought a JetBoil. One of the worst decisions of my life. What a waste of money.

First use, was on my patio. Temperature was 45º, but breezy.  I honestly do not know the wind speed, but to me it was a breeze. I nearly failed to boil water. The JetBoil kept blowing out. Since the stove is directly above the canister, it is unsafe to wrap the stove with a wind screen. I finally ended up constructing a wind block with patio furniture and was able to boil water.  I have since tried two other times with the JetBoil.  One success was in near calm, the other failure in a breeze.

I had bought the JetBoil to use on a two week non-resupply extended trip, which will average above the tree line. No natural wind breaks, and now I am reluctant to trust the JetBoil and I will probably never use the stove. I would sell it, but I am having a hard time with my conscience.  Plus I do not make much of a convincing salesman, since I have nothing good to say about the stove. I cannot return it, I have used it three times, (well tried to use it three times).

One further mistake. I bought the titanium version (Sol).  The heat exchange coil is still aluminum. With the Sol, you need to be extremely careful to not melt the heat exchange coil. There are heat transfer problems from the the aluminum to the titanium. Instructions included with the Sol explicitly state that you only boil water with the stove. No cooking, no melting snow, etc...

The one time I was able to boil 2 cups (~500 ml) water without incident it took 2 minutes and used .2 oz (by weight) of fuel.  Impressive numbers when it worked one out of three times.

Stove systems

The latest advancement in stove technology seems to be the stove systems. A couple prominent examples of this technology are JetBoil Flash, the MSR Reactor, and MSR WindBoiler. The JetBoil and the WindBoiler closely resemble each other, while the Reactor has some important differences. However all three stoves share the attributes of being a complete system. The pot, burner and canister work together to form a high efficient system to boil water quickly with low fuel consumption.

For the next several posts I am going to be discussing these stove systems individually and in a bit more detail. Overall I think these systems are a good thing, but there are some small details that the vendors do not seem to want to talk about. These small details could become huge stumbling blocks for you outing.

Canister Stoves - Optimus Vega

Advantages

• Built-in stand for inverted canister stand
• Low center of gravity
• Wide pot stand
• Small total package
• Fuel efficient

Disadvantages

• 
  

Notes

• Pack weight: 8.4 oz. (237g)

This stove is the reason I do not recommend the MSR WindPro II. I had originally bought the WindPro, then upgraded to the WindPro II for the inverted canister design. A season or two after purchasing the WindPro II, I came across the Optimus Vega. I was immediately impressed with the design and sturdiness of the stove. The fact that it was a couple ounces lighter than the WindPro II did not hurt either.

The Vega fuel valve has two folding wire legs that when unfolded support the canister in the inverted position. The fuel hose is a little longer as well. The stove folds very neatly and stores in a small included stuff sack. A windscreen is also included. The whole package is significantly smaller than any other stove I have, with the exception of the Optimus Crux. The unfolded stove is also shorter than any other stove, making the center of gravity lower, and hence a more stable stove.

Do I recommend this stove. Yes! I wish that I had found this stove before purchasing the WindPro or WindPro II stoves. I could have saved myself some money. I have only used this stove a couple of times, since it is fairly new. I must still be in the honeymoon phase because I really cannot point to anything that I dislike.

One of the things I like about this stove is the burner head size.  Some of the canister stoves have such small heads, that the center of the pot is over heated while using the stove. Other stoves have such large burners, that the flame jets past the edge of the pot and heat is lost. I use a Titan Kettle almost exclusively. The Titan diameter is such, that a 8 fl. oz. canister fits snuggly inside the pot. With such a small diameter pot, many burner heads are too large. The Optimus Vega burner head is middle ground, and works very well with my Titan Kettle.  Note, the Crux appears to use the same head. This stove fold really well, with the folded legs curving around and protecting the fuel line and generator.

As I continue to use this stove, I will update this post as necessary. 

My use and testing show that the stove boils 2 cups (~500 ml) of water using a MSR Titan Kettle in 3 1/3 minutes using .2 oz. (by weight) of fuel. With the Terra Weekend HE pot, the boil time is 2 1/4 minutes, but pot weight increases significantly in respect to the Titan Kettle.