Want to save some weight?
Which stove are you going to choose?
Over the years I have changed from predominantly using a campfire, to gas canisters, to a Trangia and then to a MSR Whisperlite. I did this initially in response to Park regulations which changed to ban wood fires in the 90's.
I found that for overnight walks or even extended walks up to a few days that gas stoves were great, but then I started walking in Tasmania and realised that gas stoves sometimes don't work well in very cold conditions. Over 10 days, the volume of the gas canisters became a significant factor and my conservation principles made the throw-away canisters unacceptable.
Trangia's are great, low cost, low noise, environmentally friendly but they are a little bulky and the fuel being less efficient than Shellite (white spirits) requires much more to be carried for the same heat output.They are relatively slow to heat large volumes of water as required when melting snow. They have the advantage that they simmer well, so if you like preparing complex meals they are great. I don't.
So I changed to an MSR Whisperlite, which has the advantage of being compact, fuel efficient and very quick to boil water. You can share one with a tent mate and if you adapt your menu so that boiling water is their main task they are ideal. Of course you will get a ribbing from your friends as they sound like a jet taking off and the pre-ignition flames are always sure to bring a gasp. At times they block due to soot or contaminated fuel but it only takes a few minutes to unblock them and if you remember to shake regularly, the built in "pricker" should keep the fuel flowing freely. Another advantage for overseas travel is that they are multi-fueled and will run on kero, diesel etc providing you use the correct jet (supplied).
Here are some factors you need to consider:
- cost
- weight and size of stove
- efficiency of the fuel
- effectiveness in cold windy conditions
- time to get started and difficulty of priming
- time to boil water
- availability of fuel
Seems complicated, well it is. Check out this FAQ link
Want to save both time and fuel?
- Boil enough additional water to fill an insulated (thermos) flask the night before and keep it in your sleeping bag overnight. In the morning it will still be hot enough to make a cup of tea and you will save the additional fuel needed to prime your stove.
- Always use a wind shield, which can be bought cheaply at the local hardware shop, where it masquerades as aluminium flashing for rooves.
Check out this video.
FAQs
Fuel Efficiency
Zen Backpacking Stoves
This article by Bush Walker is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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