My product reviews 1) Camp Stove
I’m not writing this to promote someone’s product. If I mention a particular brand it’s because of my experience with it. I have camped in many different situations. I have used lots of types of gear. My decisions are usually based on price. I don’t have tons of money to spend on equipment so I’m careful with what I buy.
The number of places selling camping equipment has mushroomed in recent times. This is good for competition I suppose but you have to be careful with what you buy. Back in the day you had to go to a high end sporting goods store to even find specialized camping gear. Then you paid their exorbitant price. These types of stores are the real losers when it comes to online shopping. But I do not feel sorry for them. For years these places raked me over the coals. The backpacking stove is an example of one such item.
If you have ever used the old style single burner stoves you have experienced the drawbacks. The originals were a similar design to the new ones. They have a gas tank on the bottom with the burner on top. The tank held liquid fuel and used the little built in pump for pressure. You could get a separate aluminum container to keep it in. When you take the stove out it acts as a pot to heat water.
I have used this type stove for many years. The first one I remember was likely a WWII or Korean War era army surplus. I’m not sure where that one ended up, probably sold in a garage sale. The one I have now is a Peak 1 made by Coleman and has served me well for many backpacking trips. Peak 1 is Coleman’s light weight and specialized product line. I just looked and now you can buy the exact same one on line from Wal-Mart. My o my the times have changed.
The advantage to this stove is you can refill the tank. I always carry at least one liquid fuel canister. The disadvantage is its bulky compared to the new ones and it goes off like a flare when you first light it. The yellow flame dies down once it heats up but it’s much worse at high altitudes. The seals on mine are worn out and fuel leaks out during transport. I’ve caught the whole thing on fire before so you have to be careful. It is a good workhorse though and I would recommend it if you don’t have a camp stove.
The disposable fuel canister type stoves offer some clear advantages. I resisted getting one for the longest time because it seemed wasteful. The pressurized gas system is sealed and not spilling gas all over the place is nice. The big advantage is flame control. You get the same flame at different altitudes.
The stove part, the part that screws on to the fuel canister, comes in all different designs. I started using the tri-gas fuel mix because I was given a small collapsible stove. My first reaction was to rebuke the gift. I looked at the exact same one at the store for seventy-five dollars and I felt like that was a bit excessive for a casual gift. Then I found out she paid ninety-nine cents for it on line. That’s with free shipping. Go figure.
The stove did fail me though. We got a late start on a day hike to the Devil’s Causeway in Colorado. It was late June and we hit some pretty big show drifts. We made it about three quarter of the way up and decided to have lunch and head back down. The piezoelectric starter wouldn’t work and we didn’t bring any matches. We found out that cold dehydrated food does not taste very good.
This stove did convince me that the tri-gas mix is better than liquid fuel. I found a higher BTU output stove at Wal-Mart for thirty-five bucks. So I got on line and bought the same one for a dollar ninety-nine with free shipping. Isn’t eBay wonderful? I have used this stove many times. The nine ounce gas canisters last a couple weeks making a cup tea everyday at lunch in the park. But then I found a marvelous modern invention far superior to this stove.
I went through these steps each time I used the stove. Attach the burner to the canister and light it. Fill a small pot with water (or soup) and place it on top of the stove. Wait for it to heat up. Shut the stove off and let it cool while I eat lunch. Disassemble the stove and head out. I never realized how much heat was wasted on heating the pot and stove until I switched to a Jetboil.
I hate sounding like an advertisement. But, the Jetboil system is much more efficient and worth the purchase price. The time it takes to boil water is much shorter because the majority of the heat goes into the water and not the surroundings. Within seconds of turning off the flame the stove is cool to the touch. This is because most of the heat goes into the water and not everywhere else. The disposable tri-gas canisters last a lot longer because you are not wasting fuel heating up everything but the water.