The xboil is the best. It's lightweight, is a pot stand, Extremely durable, its not expensive for what you get and it runs on liquid fuels or esbit or gel or Cooking oil (Pretty much anything except for gas.) 👍 Did I mention it doesn't even have to prime? 🤔
Those alcohol bricks would work perfectly with an old fashioned solid fuel folding army stove. That would solve your tipping problem for a cost of about $10 and weight of 4oz.
Temps below 32F (sea level) start to effect alcohol, by 20F they’re dead. The best canister stove will make it to about 11F. Adding altitude will also effect performance.
I am an ex Overland Expeditions Leader for trans Africa wild camping journeys and others in different countries, you mentioned that with an open flame, you get a black sooty cover on the outside of your pots while cooking. I have done this for years and the trick is to smear washing up liquid (or similar washing soap you will carry anyway) quickly over all of the outside of the pots before putting them over the flame. You can use this for ages and still easily wipe off the blackness when cool with a bit of water instead of scrubbing them clean. It is very easy to do and I am always surprised that it is not widely known about on outdoor videos. Try it and see what I mean.
Girl Guides have been doing this for ever- we call it “soft soap”. Before liquid soap was widely available, we used to grate bars of soap and put them in a container with some water. It works a treat.
I'll just stick with the gas stove. I like being able to just push a button and get cooking. Especially when u wake up sore & it's freezing. The sooner u can get hot coffee & food in your stomach the better. But if you insist on being some kind of elitist outdoors hipster who only uses solid fuel, more power to you.
@@Peyote1312this is not just handy and good to know for backpacking, but for cooking at a campsite or grilling at home with wood chips or even in your fireplace when there is a power outage. But you’re young and ignorant as evidenced by your snippy attitude and hopefully will out grow this or at least learn to keep your revealing opinions to yourself.
@@Peyote1312 I got good at making a quick morale-booster warm-up fire first thing, and dance in the flames, warm up my baseball cap and slap it on my head, then I boil my water for my tea once I've warmed up. But I don't camp above the tree line.
We did the soap (liquid or bar) on pots to release the soot when I was a Boy Scout - 1970 to 1975. I still know how to start a fire and carry a lightweight kit with three ways to quickly start a fire, but it's much easier and cleaner to carry a stove that doesn't soot the pans. I stopped building fires when camping when I got my first stove. If I still cooked over fire, I'd rinse off the loose soot and just let the pots turn black.
a tip on solid fuel stoves - pop ino just about any home depot or lowes and check out their grill section. you will almost always be able to find the weber charcoal lighter cubes, which are the same solid fuel. you can get a 24 pack for about $6
Based entirely on this review, I bought the pizza-stone stove, and have been absolutely loving it. There's a version with larger stones, in a small paint can, that holds enough fuel for a week on the trail and weighs next to nothing. I'm really happy with it, and the guy on Etsy who sells them is excellent about responding to questions and giving advice. Thanks so much for the tip!
@@erickacevedo7346 There's a link to the pill-bottle stove in this video's description. Click that, then the seller's name, and you'll find it among his other products. I've now been using it four months, and it's been great.
I love this kind of stuff. I spent 3 years homeless and the first year was in Wisconsin it started in the winter. The best for heat and cooking was a rocket stove, cost less than 50 bucks. It takes some work, but it heated up a tin can travel trailer or a tent or a box. They sometimes require a wind screen, but a cinder block worked perfect.
Methinks one important difference between these stoves is whether you can actually cook on them (simmering ability, heat output) or really realistically only boil water (esbit/alcohol stoves), the latter being completely fine for coffee or freeze dried food.
I love the speed of my brs 3000 but hate hate the jet engine noise. Toaks alcohol burner fits in my BushBuddy mini as a pot stand and wind screen. Twoferone. 4 ounces for the bush buddy twig stove, one ounce for the toaks. Carry the amount of alcohol one needs for the # days on trip but use the BushBuddy when I have time to sit and relax. No fuel shortage issues either. That MSR stuff sure is nice however. Great videos.
I used an alcohol stove (trangia mini) for a long trip across Europe, for which I cooked from scratch most nights. Absolutely no problems once you're used to it, and fuel availability was excellent
Thank you, although I'm 71 years old and never went camping I couldn't help enjoy your video! For emergency situations where you have lost electricity your camping reviews helped me decide on what I could use and have in a prep bag. Again thank you.
The pizza-stone stove could be improved in terms of performance and safety by punching some air holes in an empty food can and putting the pizza stones in the can, so the can could act as a windscreen and a stand for your mug.
@@deusexaethera Fiberglass doesn't melt. They use it as insulation in houses for a reason. Plenty of stoves are stuffed with fiberglass - including my everyday ones. It can soften past 1200 °C, though that's not an issue for wicking material, and your stove's not going to get anywhere near that hot.
I love my MSR whisperlite from the 80s. Use gasoline while bikepacking and can find smaller MSR fuel bottles to cut back on pack volume and weight. I tuck it into my frame bag on my bike and can fit the fuel bottle in a standard bike water bottle cage. Considering they can be found for a bargain used, and can be serviced indefinitely, I think they are actually a fantastic performer all around and outperform many of the other stoves in several metrics. Just my 2 cents of course. My pocket rocket deluxe felt cheap and the mesh airizer that breaks up the fuel into a finer mist keeps popping out of place. Can’t beat the MSR whisperlite in terms of build quality. that things been kicking around for 40 years for a reason.
I have been using one for about 10 years camping off of a motorcycle, that little bottle of fuel has gotten me back to civilization a couple of times! I've also had the reverse, drained a little gas out of the bike to cook dinner. I'll admit they can be slightly dangerous but it's so reliable and the convenience of refueling at the gas station makes it the best choice for me!
In the Army, I carried an Esbit stove everywhere; it was always good for a hot beverage or to heat up a soup or (pre heat tab) MRE. Then I figured out that I could accomplish the same thing without the stove, just using a rock to contain the flames from the heat tab, and a couple of slightly thicker rocks or sticks to support my canteen cup. I’ve used this technique for backpacking ever since, supplemented by actual campfire cooking occasionally, but I’m intrigued by the pill bottle stove.
Yeah, I like Esbit fuel tabs too, my thoughts on them are that they’re a little expensive and produce trash that I then have to carry out of the woods, they smell when burning, and but they do work in ANY condition. I really like that, as where I live it’s either bone chilling cold or soaking wet. Sunny crisp days are very rare. 😂
But that's not the whole story, is it? You must have replaced the plunger in the pump and o-rings lots of times by now. And I bet it has clogged now and again? I took one camping to a windy place with blowing gypsum sand and could never get permanently unplugged after that. Your post inspires me to dust it off and try some more. Well, except the Windburner is so easy and trouble-free....
I as well still use my MSR Whisperlite stove bought in the early 1980s. I've replaced a o-ring or two but not many. It has been throughout the US and Canada with me and never failed. In fact, I bought my daughter the interational version a couple of years ago and she now loves them as well. If you get one it will be the last stove you'll ever need.
I’ve had my Whisperlite International stove for around 25 years and it still goes with me on every camping trip. It’s been a simple rock solid piece of kit for me, love it.
It is worth mentioning that during fire restrictions in the U.S. National Forests, parks, and grasslands, you have to be able to use a switch or valve to turn off the fire or it could mean a hefty fine. Always scrape away the duff and other flammable material so that you are turning above mineral soil.
Was literally scrolling through the comments looking for this exact reply. Most of these would not fly during a burn ban. Now granted if you live and camp up north, you might not have that issue as often. But in Texas and many other south or west states, they are common and unfortunately chronic problems. *edit* just finished the video and saw he said this. Lol
Funny a white gas stove with a valve would be considered more safe with potential for spills/leaks leading to uncontrolled fire much easier than one of these disks getting out of control. But hey it technically has a valve on the stove!
I use a small folding burner that my grandpa got in the army 60+ years ago. It uses hexamine tablets that are very common here. With it being so sturdy, my nephew might inherit it in the future. 😀
One disadvantage of solid fuel stoves that is seldom discussed is that they often burn "dirty" and leave greasy soot all over your pot. It seems like a minor issue but it can become a real pain. Unless you are really really careful when using and packing, the soot will go EVERYWHERE.
@@neotrekkUnfortunately those things don't look like they hold a whole lot of alcohol, and wouldn't burn for terribly long. Good for heating up a cup of water, but not for cooking a meal, since you'd have to constantly stop and wait for them to soak up more alcohol, during which time your food's getting colder. A regular alcohol stove if it runs out you fill just it back up immediately light the fire again with practically no downtime. Plus they're super easy to make, there's a billion videos on how to make them out of cut up soda cans and such. And if you store your alcohol in a squeeze bottle like for ketchup or something, you can use that nozzle to easily fill the stove and unscrew the whole cap to dump unburnt fuel back in for later.
Try carrying aluminum foil with you. Wrap the pot with foil before cooking. Then the foil gets dirty but not your pot. You can also wrap the inner part of your pot, too. Cuts down on clean up time immensely.
@Andy Topley I was thinking the fancy feast stove may also work... the main difference between the stones and other alcohol stoves is that the stones can be quickly blown out. Still not allowed on pct and other places I would imagine.
A tip about Esbit, normally as you burn it, it produces less heat as it gets smaller, but normally you need more heat towards the end to get it to boil. Depending on the amount of water and the wind this sometimes produced a fail to boil at the end of the tablet, needing a second tablet if you want it boiled. So I start with the leftover tablet of the last burn (Esbit is easy to blow out), to start heating the water and finish it off with the new tablet to bring it to a boil. The downside is that the Esbit seems to be a bit more odorous when stored after a partial burn, though after a multi-day long distance hike there are other odors to cover that.
I use the coghlan esbit knockoff. I found a mini m&m container is the perfect size to hold the tablets and very little odor. The esbit tabs may be a bit bigger and may not fit, I'm not sure.
I think this used to be the standard in my country when I was a kid, but I haven't seen any in years, so I think they're illegal here now because of their toxicity...
Surface area. When the pill bottle stove ripped over it exposed the other sides to an already hot alcohol which likely caused the rest of the remaining alcohol to gasify and burn off really quickly. Great video btw. I've used alcohol stoves for years and my entire setup weights in at just over two ounces. Once again, great work here.
I use stoves in the mountains and the MSR Windburner is hands down the best I have used. Ultra fast and powerful worth every gram. You cannot cook on tablets at 12,ooo feet.
I have had a Primus Omni Fuel stove for so many years. Got it back in the days of volunteering for a Search and Rescue team in Washington State. That little stove will burn any flammable fuel from liquid paraffin to alcohol. I have used Olive Oil in it even. Pricy and mine probably could not be repaired today if it broke, but I have boiled pots with a couple gallons of water in them.
Those car camping stoves are powerful! I did a test where I set out 16 stacks of two PillBottle Stove Tablets with a 5 gallon pot on top to cook crawfish.
I still love the roar of my first stove, my MSR Dragonfly, which I bought after college after I saved up from my 1st job. Still running strong after 20+ years, so many great memories from it 😍
I thought mine would last forever too. Had it over 20 years. The o-rings go bad and last time I used it the o-rings blew out and giant flames everywhere which melted my pump end ruining my stove. Thankfully I was at home testing and used a garden hose to put everything out, but if this was in the woods, then I would have just started a MASSIVE forest fire!!! GET those O-rings REPLACED if 20 years old. PRONTO. Please? You do not want a forest fire on your conscience.
I have found my people... In his defence, the Dragonfly isn't the right stove for every person or situation. But I've never come across a situation where it wouldn't work nor a person that couldn't be taught how to use it. The only thing I'd like to see improved on is it's included windshield. A lightweight rigid folding shield would be so much nicer than the foil one.
I use a "SoloStove"... and after using it I am sure that other handmade/cottage designs would work well. Been using mine for over 10 years now, I spent a winter cooking on it in the Oregon forest aka snow and below freezing for weeks ... I also walked with it for about 1000mi, rough estimate. It's the best by far and if you plan ahead and learn to keep the right wood/materials on hand - you never have to worry at all about it. Pine - Redwood - Cedar - Pitch matches - storm matches - jute twine - pine needles - oak sticks - cardboard... just wrap it in a plastic bag and keep it dry, keep a bic on you (you do anyway already)... you'll never carry a fuel can again. ...clear the ground at least even if you are using a gas stove, I got triggered seeing the start of this video.
I got a foldable titanium woodstove. Very lightweight and very small when folded. I know it’s performance is not in the same league as modern stoves but I really like it. Gathering fuel during the hike. The pure joy of achievement when creating fire with sticks and scrapesteel. The smell of campfire when you open the small bottle of whisky you saved for this occasion. 😄
I agree. There's a reason why humans like to gather around a wood fire-not simply because they get the job done, but because it's warm, mesmerizing, enjoyable, etc. Mini wood stoves replicate that experience but on a smaller scale.
Wood fires are wonderful... the smell, the flicker, their needing your attention and care. But cooking a meal fast and easy comes first... gotta eat before you can really enjoy the wood fire. Add a PillBottle stove to your pack.
While in the FDF/military, we used trangia stoves, and oh man I love them so much. Pots and pans with the alcohol burner and so much more, all fitting into a nice compact package.
If you're getting soot on your mug, put some oil on the bottom before burn. 3 in 1 or something might work. We always used rifle oil for the bottom of mess tins, once you've finished, the soot and crap wipes right off with little to no effort - a godsend when it comes to kit inspection. 🤣
Excellent breakdown! I use the beer can (skinny cans work best) alcohol stove and love it. Only issue I ran into was getting the flame to go out when finished. Had an incident where I thought the flame was extinguished but wasn't due to the flames sometimes being hard to see. Long story short grabbed the can, burned myself, and dropped the still burning fuel on my sit pad which caught fire and melted. So...I now use the bottom half of a full sized can as a means of smothering the flame. Works great and only added a few grams to the total weight of my cook set. Additionally I made my windscreen out of a foil roasting pan, tons of how-to's on how to do that on the interwebs.
Yeah those flames are hard to see. Sometimes I’m like did I actually light it? And wave my hand over to make sure there are no flames…but I can see it being easy to have an accident
Things have changed so much since I started bushwalking in the 80’s. The MSR international was king even though they could be temperamental things to get going. They were the days when we’d brag about how heavy our pack was, not how light 😂
This review is subject to the reviewers perspective. Solid fuel stoves are a serious joke. Canisters? Land fill. The whisper lite kept me alive in negative 40 winter mountaineering. None of these others can come close
I picked up a Trangia last September, aaaaand it’s amazing. It’s maybe not “THE BEST” according to “the experts,” but the shelf life of the fuel, the overall package (two pots and one pan with a grabber handle) and ability to do “proper cooking” as I heard one English backpacker say, makes it a top notch product in my book. I have an entire kitchen in a fairly small package that’s dead nuts reliable for backpacking and emergency scenarios.
@@SimplyLesa hi. They’ve all but disproven that theory about aluminum causing health issues. I think that’s why you can pick up titanium cookware for a song now. The only cook surface i DO stay away from is anything nonstick. That’s here at home and out there. Hope this helps.
Mine is the hard anodized aluminum. The problem with aluminum is it leaching in highly acidic environments, but that problem is negated when it’s hard anodized, and that hard anodized layer is SUPER tough stuff. If you have an aluminum coffee percolator you use every day, yeah, it’ll kill you. If you just use it to boil water and cook non-acidic food while camping you’ll be totally fine. But again, I went the HA route because why the hell not.
Of all the stoves I've had, the two that had the best "endurance" was a solid fuel wood stove and a Trangia alcohol stove (the latter seemed to operate really well even in high winds!) The reason I appreciate alcohol stoves is that methylated spirit is easily bought from any hardware or supermarket (don't need to find a camping store like the gas stoves), and the solid fuel wood stove worked anywhere there were trees. Rocket stoves work well but are heavy :(
Alcohol stoves don't work that well when it's cool. It's hard to set the alcohol on fire and it takes forever to smelt snow. Gas is not gas but liquid form so that don't work. The "white gas" stove I have tested had smal plastic parts that got brittle and broke the first time i tried it. So i don't know of any stove that works.
on cold condition put the alcohol container in your pocket or your sleeping bag. i use my trangia in the last 40 years in every weather condition including ice, storm rain heat etc
Yeah.... I carry that Toaks twig stove that was tested here. It doubles as a windshield for a small Trangia burner that I also carry. Honestly I use it most of the time with the Trangia burner, but sometimes it is nice to have a real fire also.
Trangia stoves are the swiss army knive of outdoor cooking. Simple, effective and every little part of it is well thought out, they even can be safely transported with fuel inside. One is enough for up to two people and in case the group gets bigger just add more of them under the pot, perfect scalability and easy to split the weight.
One thing to consider is for how many people you are cooking. I find white gas stoves to be ideal for my backpacking trips where I’m cooking for 4-6 people and using a 4.7l pot. The simmering capabilities of the dragonfly also give me a lot more possibilities in terms of what kinds of meals I can prepare. Solo, I’ll take a canister stove, but for a group, I like the dragonfly.
It’s been great following along with your channel and seeing your subscriber numbers jump up so quickly. You’re concise, to the point, and you make even topics like backpacking stoves genuinely interesting. I’m happy to see you get some recognition for the hard work and looking forward to seeing where this channel goes in 2023!
@@thomgizziz Says the troll account..... When arguing a point I'd recommend no name calling or overtly foul language. It's like inserting your foot into your mouth loosing all credibility before your point. Hope you learn "THOM" ;)
Woodgas stoves are my favourite. Burn from the top down. Virtually smokeless and very cheap fuel. Not lightweight, and it soots up your pots and pans. It can also use twigs as fuel so you'll never run out of fuel in the wild. Well worth a try
Gosh, I'm still using my brass Svea 123 white gas stove with an aluminum Sigg Tourist Cookset that I bought in 1974. It's basically a blowtorch but it gets the job done.I'm not concerned too much with speed, except when I'm really hungry and that makes everything taste fantastic.
Still using the foldable cube sterno box I hauled around in scouting, but only as a surface and windbreak. Definitely not a "cooking with gas" sorta fella. haha
Between 1996 to 2001, I was on this camping hiking binge in Oregon. I fell in love with the PCT and camping at the high mountain lakes. I had two stoves that were my go to. The main one was a $20.00 white gas stove. When it got fired up, It ran like a champion. I carried a spare red bottle of fuel. My second stove was a butchered and burnt to the point of discoloring it's steel tomato soup can. I moved back to the mid-west in 2001, and wilderness camping was a bit tougher to find. That said, I went through a bunch of gear in 2011 when I bought my house, I did not want to move a lot of junk. I found the white fuel stove, and it fired right up.
That's a cool new twist on a stove. My idea would be to have one that's about the size of a hockey puck or just smaller maybe the size and thickness of a can of chewing tobacco (not something I partake of). Then you could have a small metal or titanium pop up like an esbit or British Army BCB that doubles as a pot stand and wind screen with shelf for the stone to lay on, keeping it off the ground and also doubling as a solid fuel stove as well.
I’ve stuck with my Coleman F1 gas stove for years. It’s so tiny yet so powerful. I remember a Coleman rep who was in an outdoor store years ago and he said to me ‘This is something that will impress you’ , it did and I’ve used one ever since. I can fit it into the palm of my hand and close up my hand around it.
There are white gas stoves that are really light weight and you get a lot of burn time from a can. That, the cold weather ability, ease of finding fuel, and that it still boils fast makes it my go to. I think using a multi fuel wide version for rating the white gas stove really influenced your rating.
I think not using the wind screen also really brings down the performance. I’m biased though, because I really like fiddling with the whisper lite. The wood fuel stoves would be illegal in a lot of places where there is poor soil quality as well as places with high fire danger.
White gas is my go too for reliability in all conditions, usually altitude and cold. Even better when used for a group of 3 instead of one. So many factors but long high altitude trips with a group it is a no brainer for me
@@ricrattray6085 If you like white gas, I recommend also trying a mixture of White Gas and Kerosene. You increase the energy density and reduce some of the soot issues from kerosene.
The whole setup of white gas stoves or multi fuel stoves in general is also pretty light weight if you're out there for a while. The moment you have to carry more than one butane gas cartridge is the moment butane gas is heavier, even thought the stove itself is lighter.
pillbottle stove sounds great, packs up tiny and weighs little, just need to dig a base for it so it doesn't fall over. could also use it as a reusable starter for larger fires
I like that idea. Especially if your fire needs a little extra help in wet conditions. It's easier to store and reuse than single use fire starters. You could also set the stones side by side on a longer base instead of stacking them
If you set the tablets on a flat hard surface, a 16oz pot on top will not tip over unless you whack it. The Walmart 16oz SS cup ($6.45) has a depression in the middle the exact size of the Tablets, so that combo is very stable. If you set the Tablets on soft leaves and grass, it can tip over.... like any camp stove.
I have a $12 Chinese canister stove that is a rip off over the MSR pocket rocket. It works almost as good as the MSR. It is a little bit more sensitive to wind. These are great stoves as gifts for Boy Scouts. I sent a couple with fuel to nephew serving in Afghanistan. He said it worked great.
I've been using a MSR Dragonfly since the nineties, and have really liked its performance in cold weather using white gas. It's a bit heavy at 14 oz but is really useful for cooking as it will support larger pots. I have serviced it once by replacing o rings, and have found it very reliable. There was a learning curve about how much fuel to use to prime the stove, but once you master that, it's very simple to use.
@@NOSEBLOB While that is annoying for sure, its cleaner burn makes it healthier to use inside tents on very cold winter days when compared to the Whisperlite.
I agree..I use it at the cabin to make a quick coffee or soup right on the table..try that with a stick stove. It burns many different fuels..fast...and you don't have to recycle the tank. My fave..and loud..yes..but they have an insert to make it quiet out there too.
I started with a butane stove in '74 that didn't really put out enough heat and then switched to a Svea 123 (white fuel). While I loved the aesthetic of that stove, after many years I tired of the preheat ritual and the blowtorch effect on my cookware. Switched to an MSR WindPro stove around '06 which, because the burner is separate from the canister, has a low center of gravity and also wide pot support. Very stable. I also like that the canister is away from the burner unit. The subtle flame control and a wider burner ring means you can actually cook something more complicated than boiling water.
I like the following setup: candle tins spiral stuffed w/carbon felt & filled w/ alcohol. Up to three under a SP600 or fill two & swap the burnt out one to extend cook time. Stand & windbreaker is a dryer vent 4-5" section of pipe that has snap lock & is drilled cross axis to slide a poultry lacer through to support one side of the cup, the other side is supported by the handles. The snap lock pops open & rolls inside the cup, whole setup very lite, compact, & low cost.
Im intrigued by the stone stove. I hope you do a more indepth video of it. One stove that doesn't get enough attention is Sterno Stove. Probably because you can't get the anymore. It looked like a jetboil but sat on top of a sterno can of fuel. The boil time was about 4 -5 mins. But you could fit 2 sterno cans inside of it along with the lighter. And when the water boils, you just lift it off the sterno can and put the lid back on the sterno snuffing out the flame. Nothing to spill and the fire was contained. I may have to start using it again. I stopped in 2019 when I hiked the AT and wasn't sure how available sterno would be on the trail.
I use a small aluminum jar with a screw-on lid (like those for creams and makeup) with rock wool soaked in alcohol inside. The rock wool is fireproof and holds the alcohol avoiding risks in case of accidental spills. While ethyl alcohol can be found just about anywhere so it doesn't give compatibility problems like some gas canisters cheap, compact , lightweight, does not give compatibility problems and above all is safe
@francescorestivo6545 Hi, I hadn't heard of "Rock Wool" before, just looked it up online and one site says that it is dangerous due to the risk of inhaling microparticles, just like asbestos! Any comments? I am merely ignorant and not trying to argue.
@@charleshayes2528 It is not good idea to breathe any dust, especially asbestos. Asbestos has a special feature. Its particles can take on a shape somewhat similar to a harpoon. If such a "harpoon" gets stuck in the lungs, it stays there for a long time, causing local inflammation, which increases the risk of cancer. Mineral wool does not have this feature.
I'm intrigued by the pillbox stove idea - I think the fact that it discharges when knocked over is a plus for safety. I could think of several ways to increase it's output and convenience such as raising it off the ground/reflector a little and increasing it's surface area by spacing the cylinders off each other. also, 3 pairs could be used to balance the cup better.
Combined with a ti Firebox Nano. Safer, raised above the cylinder for hotter burn, pot is supported, windscreen is integrated. And you can burn sticks if you run out of fuel.
I started Backpacking in the late 1960's. My first stove was a metal planters Peanut can with the bottom cut out and heavy duty wire bail over the top. The heat source was a can of Sterno and that was locked into the can with plastic lid that fit the peanut can. It was fast lighting , cooked quickly and I could have hot soup when everyone else was munching granola. I could pack the stove up quickly when it was time to continue. I eventually got a white gas stove and later in the 1980's a butane stove but I always fondly remember that Sterno stove and it cost nothing to make.
Very good review. I used to use the Army issued canteen cup and stove with trioxane tablets. The trioxane got too expensive so I went to several tealight candles. They took longer to make a pint boil but they are much cheaper. By cutting down on the number of candles, I was able to simmer or just keep it hot. I like to have tealights in my survival kits for light, heat(hot poncho), and for cooking. Good Luck, Rick
What i do is melt the wax in some tealight candles and stuff them with cotton to increase burning power. They last a lot less, but they are way faster at getting something to boil. I also keep some normal to give low power heat when necessary
Great video once again Stephen!!!! After spending a ton of money on a Rubbermaid container full of stove ((many that I only used once) before selling them) I went back to my favorites. 1- alcohol stove / aka coke can stove 2- Esbit / solid fuel stove
Nice! Love the simplicity of those choices! I like the wood burning stove the emberlit when there’s plenty of wood. I like the solo wood burner when I’m stealthing because it doesn’t emit a lot of smoke and msr white gas when im deep winter snow camping and you have to process a lot of snow for drinking water and cooking.
That pill solution could probably work with other liquid fuels too, which could make it a great option. Also for the knocking down, you can probably easily make an easy tripod stand for pots ontop of it
Any liqued fuel will burn, but gasoline, E85, kersene, etc make soot. Ethyl alcohol 99.5% from Amazon is best overall. And no stand is best... the stack of two tablets delivers the optimum oxygen ration to the alcohol fumes and makes the hottest fire with the optimum size flame the just kisses the entire bottom of a 16oz cup, with no fire going up the sidies and going to waste.
1:50 I got 2 propane tanks for $9.98 and the adapter for $14.99 at Walmart, just under $25 which I am quite happy with. I believe I bought the kind of canister that attaches to a Coleman grill, but I used it last night to make my little guy a cup of Mexican hot cocoa and we had only success. I can’t wait to start camping!
I had the best wood burning stove when I was younger but I couldn’t remember the name. Turned out it’s a sierra stove, cook and boil water pretty well on pine cones and twigs. Not ultralight, but they make a titanium version now and the fact that there is basically unlimited fuel is a major plus in my book
Interesting video. I'll get myself a pair of those rocks. I have a whole range of different stoves like the ones featured here and I like the alcohol stove the most. Cooking time is not an issue for me and the only downside is the availability when you're out in the woods. I make my own wind screen from a disposable barbecue plate which sell for less than a dollar after summer. Those barbecue plates have ventilation holes already. Roll it flat, put two slim sticks on the sides for support in the ground, fold it in three parts and you're good to go for a few seasons.
I've always stuck with my Trangia, they are heavier than a canister stove but their versatility and safety are brill. And if you do need to lighten the load you can just leave some pots and pans behind.
I’ve carried an old SVEA 123 white gas stove for over a half century. It has made it up El Cap and Half Dome. Still works flawlessly. Fits in a kit like the old WWI two man bivvy stove, which, BTW, is also excellent if you could find one.
I bought an Optimus 8 in 1974 and it works just as well today as when it was new. Mine is aluminum and the cover is also a pot. It also came with a windbreak which fits inside. This stove is light, reliable, perfectly adjustable and will work no matter the altitude. I think I paid about $35 for it. I bought a repair kit for it many years ago and never have had to use it. I've had and used many stoves since but this stove is the one I always carry when it matters.
During the pandemic when fuel canisters were getting gobbled up, I started using the White Box alcohol stove. As you mention, denatured alcohol is readily available, cheap and fairly easy to use. It even got me watching the 'prepper" youtubers - LOL. I use it for shorter trips when I want to be extra light and only (as you mention) when going to wetter areas. It does great.
Similar to the wood stove you described, I have always used the standard US Army canteen cup, and the cup stand with which you can either use Trioxane tablets, or in which you can build a twig fire. All of these components fit in the standard canteen cover which attaches to a pistol belt. There are any of a number of "Canteen Cup" recipes which can be used when backpacking, in addition to a standard cup of soup. It is hard to improve on some of the old military gear.
That was my experience as well. I use an Omnifuel, but if you're in temps at 35F or lower, canister stoves really struggle unless you have a generator tube to feed liquid fuel with the can inverted.
Addendum: This gentleman has his act together. His knowledge and skill set are very solid. When you are looking for info on anything Outdoors, THIS IS YOUR GUY!!! Love all the links he provides too!
His "act together??" Who are you kidding? NONE of the heat sources he reviewed other than the white gas(real stove) can you actually cook a meal on... Most of the heat sources he review cannot even heat water for a group... only his own ass. Should have been titled: Bull Shit review of solo hiker loners who only eat Crap dehydrated "meals" where you cannot take these sources of heat into National Forest due to unregulated flames during the high summer months...
I think that the pill bottle stove disk should work in a folding sterno stove. It would give you a place to set them with a wind screen and a stable cooking surface.
I love how the manually constructed solution at the end is treated as on-par with any packaged product. It obviously makes sense for the subject where the wood burner is halfway to just making a traditional fire. If it competes on all categories, why not
Top tip for all you gas stove cooks...Primus make a gas just for Winter use. Last year I had 12 nights of camping below -18 celcius (four of those night below -24 though the gas is only rated to -22) and the stove did dinner and breakfast duties without fail. It was a game changer for me as I like the gas stoves best.
Thanks for the video! I have, and have used virtually all of these types except for the alcohol saturated stones which, frankly I don’t see as significantly distinct from any number of basic alcohol stoves. For simply aesthetic reasons I prefer an alcohol stove. It’s simple, quiet, clean burning and works at any temperature. Gas canister stoves are certainly the go to choice for most general condition 3 season backpackers, for me as well. Efficient, dead simple and lightweight. However, I live and recreate year round in the Rockies, mostly in alpine environs. Here, there is only one really reliable choice and that is a liquid fuel stove (last on your rating list). A little on the heavy side, a tiny bit more attention consuming in use, but the only thing that works with 100% reliability in alpine conditions (>10m ft./
The differences are: 1) no liquid in the PillBottle Stove, can't spill, 2) boilovers do not put out the fire and dilute the alcohol like they do in a cokecan stove, 3) cokecan alcohol stoves crush if you drop a heavy pot or step on them, 4) you can blow out the PillBottle stove like birthday cake candles, 5) no waiting 15 miutes for the cokecan to cool down so you can pour excess liquid to pour back into your fuel bottle ( 6) no waiting a minute or two for the sodacan stove to heat up and spit out the hot flames, 7) you can pick up the PillBottle stove tablets after 30 seconds and put them back in the bottle to recharge (in 6 minutes), 8) the PillBottle stove can burn any flammable fuel if necessary, your sodacan stove will explode if you try to burn gasoline, 9) you need a case to carry the sodacan stove in your pack or it will get bent and start leaking, 10) sodacan stoves have seams that leak, no seams on the PillBottle Stove.
The toaks mini alcohol stove is hard to beat in my testing. I use it with the Sterno inferno pot and stand, setup is well under $100 and has never failed me. The mini stove is fine for cook with a skillet too.
Msr WhisperLite is the choice for me. The multi fuel options make it incredible in the middle of nowhere. I can always find gasoline or diesel either by asking a rancher or stopping at a small gas station. I've done this more than 10 times and had zero issues getting it to work. As for cooking real food on the trail it is so easy as long as the pressure is low in the canister. (simmer control)
Can see the advantages of multi fuel stoves but I'm put off by the unpleasantness of dealing with gasoline or diesel and the concern that a small spill would stink up my whole backpack contents.
Folks who don't use multi-fuel stoves will never quite get why we choose to take the extra 4 or 5 oz. extra, if even that. Multi-fuel stoves typically use diesel, gasoline, or kerosene. All of which have much higher energy density than butane, propane, or isobutane (propane/butane mixes). For longer duration trips, multi-fuel stoves will win out in the weigh comparisons. In addition, many canister stoves start failing below 0F (-12C) after a few uses. From experience, this appears to be due to the propane and butane mixtures separating. Once the propane is exhausted, the butane can no longer be extracted from the canisters. All of this is to say nothing of the fine points that you've raised.
@@Carniak The energy density issue became clear to me using an alcohol stove for longer trips. For a day trip the alcohol stove is probably the lightest option, but above 2 days the fuel weight you have to carry becomes significant. So far as I know alcohol fuel is fine to use at any temperature you can encounter on earth, but it's about half the energy density of hydrocarbons.
@@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy I definitely understand the smell issues however it really isn't that bad. I put mine in the bag with no issues. I can go about 5-(6 if lucky) days with a small can. This includes cold weather and cooking twice a day. I would use the lowest grade fuel possible 85. This has better efficiency and less residue than the higher octane fuels. Just something I've noticed.
@@Carniak I totally agree. I would like to add that these stoves are great for people who also cook non-packet food. I mostly take potatoes, fresh vegetables, rice, oatmeal, and spices. This stove has improved my ability to go further. Just like the fuel being more energy dense my food selections can also be more energy dense.
Was talking with my aunt last night about Banff-ing around in Canada for the winter. Naturally, SkyNet detected this and began suggesting to me outdoor lifestyle videos. I've probably watched five or six back-to-back and I'm very impressed with your quality and presentation! I really like your videos!
I use a Trangia. When you're finished, just screw on the lid and keep your alcohol inside it. I also have a Barocooker Flameless, which is fantastic. The chemical packets are reasonably priced and there are different cooker sizes as well as a coffee cup cooker. Thanks for your concise and informative video!
Thanks for sharing. This is a good summary of the various stove systems out there. Especially appreciate the note to check where these are legal and safe to use. Here in California, white gas and wood are largely prohibited due to fire danger. At certain times, no stoves of any kind are allowed in the back country. I have alcohol (trangia), white gas (whisperlite), canister (pocket rocket 2), integrated (windburner) and twig (solo stove lite). Which stove is best for me depends on conditions. The most used is the windburner because I usually backpack in areas of high wind (desert and mountains), nothing comes close. The most fun is the twig stove, but only at campsites with fire rings. It's cool to watch the gasification effect. Haven't used alcohol or white gas stoves in a long time, but they are unbreakable.
You gotta try the Soto Stormbreaker, I absolutely love it. You can use white gasoline or gas from canisters. And if you want to use white gasoline, you don't have this open flame for preheating the stove, as it just doesn't need it! And it's kinda quiet compared to other stoves.
Hi buddy 😻 we just bought the Stormbreaker and we want to try it with white gas too. In Romania after some Google searches we came up with the conclusion that the equivalent of white gas would be Neophal, which is naptha based like Coleman fuel (White gas) is. Any experience with this type of fuel? What kind of white gas ⛽️ do you use? Thank you 🙏🥰
@@hungryromanians You probably don't have to use any exact chemical formula for your burner. FWIW "white gas" is a generic term for no additives gasoline, and naphtha-based fuels. E.g. this Coleman thing changed its chemical contents several times through history, and people continue to use, and nothing essential has been broken as far as I can tell. I have Optimus white gas burner, and often use a type of gasoline marketed as a solvent in my country, and it works fine.
@@hungryromanians Well I'm from Germany and what I'm using is "Waschbenzin" (basically the solvent that @A/C uses) which I think is just white gasoline. But you can just use standard gasoline from the gas station, it'll just be not as good for the burner and is not recommended(Only use if you can't get any white gasoline!). A friend of mine said it can even run with Diesel but I'm not sure if he ever tried that, although I for sure didn't try ^^ I gotta admit though, when I was in northern Sweden I had no idea where to get white gasoline and just filled two bottles with standard gas and the burner still worked like a charm after 2.5 weeks of use. And back then I still had a crappy MSR burner...
@@jonasklein7260 I am also in Germany (but English) and used white gas/ petrol stoves for the last 50 years or so, as I camp from a motorcycle weight isn't the most important so I use a Coleman Sporster (doesn't need preheating, the Soto one doesn't either) either on waschbenzine, car painters panel wipe or when on tour just fuel from the bike. I've run four weeks on normal petrol before needing to clean the vaporisor tube though if you run some white gas for a while through it clears it a bit. Carb cleaner works well to clear it out. Somewhere on the internet is an extensive table of what all the fuels are called in various countries.
This reminds me of heating C-rations back in the day: We'd empty a can, punch holes around the bottom and top, then burn heat tabs inside, setting (carefully!) the food being heated on top. I would then use that 'stove' for the time I was in the field. While obviously unsteady, it got the job done. 😎
I have a tried and true MSR stove, but that pill bottle idea intrigues me. I love how light weight it is and I actually like that it goes out if knocked over, almost a safety feature by accident. I think I might give that a shot my next backpacking trip.
This was a great comparison and very thorough. You covered many areas that others gloss over or just ignore. My personal favourites are my single burner coleman 508...one tank will last me for days, and my tuna can alcohol stove I made. All in I have less than $1 invested and it works amazingly well. I prefer to use methanol with it as it is dirt cheap and burns hot even when VERY cold out. The one thing I will just never understand is why it is so important for people to boil water so quickly but perhaps I've just never been in a situation where I need hot water in a hurry. I'd rather the stove be stable and consistent, light easily and have easy access to fuel. But this is why these types of comparisons are so helpful as we all have our preferences. There really is no "perfect" stove out there.
Last sentence is perfectly true: No "perfect" stove out there. Should title this "review" Hot water SOLO hiker heat source review. Only one of those he tested is an actual stove you could cook a meal on. Dehydrated super expensive meals do save a little weight, but you PAY multiple times more per calorie over and over and over again making them economically a dead end for majority hiking and most taste bad or are absolutely LOADED with MSG/SALT. And creates tons of plastic waste. Not exactly an ecologically friendly option.
I love using esbit tabs! I have the UL foldering titanium stove base that balances my pot well. You can also use two tabs if you want to do a fast boil if you're cooking for two. They actually come in two different sizes. These are a German product and I think I'll be able to get them in Switzerland when I'm there to trek and bivouac. The major problem I have with them is the smell. They burn clean but the smell they emit before you light them is terrible and I have to keep them in double ziplock bags and avoid directly touching them!
If you are in pine tree woods. Look on the ground. See all the brown, dead pine needles. Grab a handful and heat a little water for cleaning up. Just barely hot will suffice. The oils and other compounds in the dead needles are dissolved with warm to hot water best. The needles themselves make a fantastic scrubby. Just ball some up into a scrub pad and dip in the water and scrub the sooty gear and dirty dishes. A simple rinse to remove any bits of pine needles and your pots and pans and dishes are squeaky clean. Needed a scrubby and used a handful as they were plentiful where I was camping. Haha, they worked like a charm and no soap needed and clean easy rinsing. Very little water needed. Dissolved the soot and food debris and cleanup at camp is so easy. When I lived in the country years ago I kept a basket near my sink of dead pine needles. I had some in the backyard here until they removed the tree. It was causing havoc with the plumbing. Got to find a new source.
I use a slightly smaller jet boil that I bought for $70 back in 2015. I had tried homemade alcohol stoves, a wood stove, and the pocket rocket. Even though it was the heaviest I still went with it. It still boils water in less than a minute and can handle wind when the pocket rocket didn't, and it used hardly any of my fuel canister so on long hikes my canisters would last a long time. The resilience to wind and speed is what completely won me over. After a long 20+ mile day, being able to get my water and food heated up quickly when the weather was crap was just too much of a positive. It's the area I splurge on my base weight.
I’m doing a bit more serious cooking (even if it’s just sautéing some onions before adding water and instant soup) and for me simmering and even heat distribution is really important. It’s also important to be able to easily stir the pot.
The one I like is the Firebox Nano Gen 2 Titanium. It can be a Wood burner , an Alcohol stove and even a Propane stove , depends on how you set it up and which one you want at that time. If you combine it with the X Box you have compact ( Clean ) storage for it and even a base to set it on when in use. Plus it is very light and pack able. Two models , Stainless or Titanium.
You can also add solid fuel to the list with a bit of modification. I really like the system, plus you can have a nice cozy fire when you want it which is very nice. Doing "sweedish fire" style makes it burn forever without needing to add more fuel which is sweet if you want to simmer something over a longer time or something like that
I love wood campfires, but cooking dinner ain't fun on a wood stove, or a stove with lots of parts and pieces that I will surely lose or misplace. We invented the PillBottle stove to make cooking reliable, simple, and ultralight.
I love my biolite stove. While it is a little heavy i love that I don't participate in the manufactured fuel cycle. I have a pocket rocket too, but i'm interested in those stones now! Great video!
@@rgmALC it’s 2lbs and doesn’t require carrying fuel. That’s a better option than most on this list. PLUS it will power lights in your camp! Did you know that? It creates more electricity than it uses on the fan, so it can power USB lighting in your camp. I love my Biolite, yes the stove itself is heavier, but I have unlimited fuel, variable heat, plus power for lighting or charging devices. It’s the future. Lastly, the development of Biolite stoves was directed to address air pollution and 3rd world cooking over open flames. Very cool product and company.
I have a toaks siphon burner I absolutely love it. I use liquid heat as fuel. There is no wait light it and let it go. It's been my go to for years now. Paired with a titanium cup and you have super light set.
Check the Evernew Titanium Stove. It is 90 Gramms or so, can be used as wood or alcohol burner. Heats up water in nothing (but burns the alcohol quite fast as well to be true), and has an integrated wind protection. If you are in dry and windy areas, fire protection is very important. I recommend this one for UL bike packing and light cooking, I am very happy :)
I just love that there are so many options. A Caldera Cone is a great addition to an alcohol stove (and could be used with some of these other options).
I like the alcohol/wood/solid fuel combo. I use the Firebox nano gen 2 (titanium) with an alcohol burner. This setup gives me versatility. Con: be mindful of the pot you use. Stanley adventure pot does work great.
I completely agree! I'm going with a similar setup. Thinking of the Picogrill 85g and my diy alcohol stove, to be paired with something like the Soto navigator (for actual cooking). Maybe the ALOCS CW-CO5 set is better being able to do alcohol/wood/gas/solid
Gas line antifreeze, commonly labeled "Heet" in the auto section (can often find it at gas stations and convenience stores) is a great and easy find for the alcohol stoves. Used it thru hiking the AT 20+ years ago. We made stoves using the bottoms of a couple beer cans using some tin snips.
If you work in construction or the trades and want hot meals and easy coffee on the job, the jet boil is the undisputed king. Grab heat proof bag, throw a bunch of Ramen stuff in there, I'm partial to spring noodle packets, dehydrated mushrooms and green onions, and tuna, and just throw in boiling water 20 minutes before you want to eat. The weight doesn't matter in its in your truck or lunchbox, and it's so nice to have hot meals, especially in winter.
Love this video. I design things and have wanted to try making a micro-stove for some years but never got around to it. Most of those stove designs are familiar to me, except the firebrick tablets which got me thinking that I could design something much better based on the same material. I've had my cad program open for a few hours now and am on the third iteration. I think this third version is pretty much what will be made for the first prototype. Edit, on about the tenth version now, lol. So much fun.
@@danielmejorado6098 Hi, here is an update for you. After making lots of little puck prototypes of different designs and different solid absorbent materials, I came to the conclusion that in a real world applications a high quality carbon felt in a tin was the best solution. Extremely small and lightweight to carry, does not leak, charges up instantly with total absorption of the amount of fuel to boil 2 cups of water and then can be recharged instantly again if needed. There are different grades of carbon felt, I tried two versions of the felt and also two solid versions. The solid types are really nice. but not very durable. The highest quality felt was perfect, really good stuff but quite expensive at about £150 a square meter with a min spend of seven meters. Having said that I could get quite a few disks from one meter. I tested this material against various types of absorbent ceramic wool, but the high quality carbon felt was the best and also safest material to use. I was thinking to go ahead and make them for sale even with the initial cost, I even bought a hundred tin containers for them and some steel dies to cut the disks, However, somehow life took a turn at that time with my health situation and all that plus other things were put on hold and probably now shelved for good. It's a shame I guess as I put a lot of time into the project and the little stove is better I believe than other similar products just due to the quality of the really hard to find material (that was a story in itself). As a hobby it would be cool to make these because I'm proud of the product, but I just don't have the energy to actually organize making and selling them anymore. Oh, I forgot, I did a lot more research on wind screens. It is true that with a solid puck one can rest a cup directly on the puck itself if need be, which is nice. So I designed the carbon felt stove in a way that resting a cup on it is also possible, but having a wind guard and the cup an inch off the stove is way better efficiency regardless of what is the heat source. I bought a couple of screens to try and used cad to design some concepts which I think would be a perfect companion to the stoves, but never had them made for the aforementioned health reasons. I'm fully of the opinion that this little stove when especially used with a wind screen stand made specifically for the purpose would be a wonderfully practical, portable, lightweight, simple to use and affordable bit of kit. It was fun and I'll never say never because maybe someone else will take if and produce such a thing one day.
Back when I was in the scouts there was a big argument between the leaders in the association between methylated spirits and the gas. We tested both and frankly they were pretty evenly matched. We ended up going with the gas stoves because we had a guy we could get used canisters from for free. I'm still a bit bummed we didn't get to really use the meths stove though, and this stone system looks really neat
The firebrick stove is a really old idea, but this is a really great refining of the concept. A few years ago…ok, more like 30…a fellow from the Sierra Club had a small bottle with lava stones from a barbecue soaking in zippo fuel. He took one out with a pair of tweezers and lit it in a cat food can, and began adding small twigs to add caloric fuel. What he said made a lot of sense, he said we have to think about fire systems as stored energy and that the challenge is to get it to burn fast enough a safely enough to be handy, but also work in all conditions. When he was finished heating up a cup of water, he picked out the stone and blew it out, and then put it back into the bottle of fuel to soak up for the next time. The support for his cup was just three stones he picked up off the ground. I’ve never used it myself, because I love the convenience of the pocket rocket style stove (I bought two on Amazon for $20, but then I’m not one for name brands🤷♂️). Prior to this, I used a Coleman propane bottle-top stove that I took a bandsaw to to cut it down, but propane sucks in the cold. My wife still has one that we didn’t cut down to use when car camping, as it supports a small skillet, and SAWC (see Nutnfancy channel) aren’t as critical. Speaking of Nutn, he has a great video evaluating stoves and fire making systems.
I remember reading that in the desert the SAS used to cook over a can full of sand soaked in petrol. Light it, and hey presto. I don't know how they put it out though
The thing with alcohol stoves is most if not all commercial models are open flame, which reduces efficiency drastically (but it's easy to use and that's why it's popular). Pressurized/closed alcohol stoves only spray atomized fuel through it's burners, reducing waste and increasing autonomy. But they require preheating.
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Stoves From This Video:
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MSR Windburner: geni.us/i8ez
MSR Whisperlite: geni.us/F5GFS6F
Toaks Wood Stove: geni.us/Y55E
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Pill Bottle Stove: geni.us/pHXY1C
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The xboil is the best.
It's lightweight, is a pot stand, Extremely durable, its not expensive for what you get and it runs on liquid fuels or esbit or gel or Cooking oil (Pretty much anything except for gas.) 👍
Did I mention it doesn't even have to prime? 🤔
Those alcohol bricks would work perfectly with an old fashioned solid fuel folding army stove. That would solve your tipping problem for a cost of about $10 and weight of 4oz.
What about those Gorillas in the corners of the room???
(Altitude and Temperature) they should be addressed at least in the total point counts…
@@hope2someday691He did mention cold weather performance some, but not altitude.
Temps below 32F (sea level) start to effect alcohol, by 20F they’re dead. The best canister stove will make it to about 11F. Adding altitude will also effect performance.
I am an ex Overland Expeditions Leader for trans Africa wild camping journeys and others in different countries, you mentioned that with an open flame, you get a black sooty cover on the outside of your pots while cooking. I have done this for years and the trick is to smear washing up liquid (or similar washing soap you will carry anyway) quickly over all of the outside of the pots before putting them over the flame. You can use this for ages and still easily wipe off the blackness when cool with a bit of water instead of scrubbing them clean. It is very easy to do and I am always surprised that it is not widely known about on outdoor videos. Try it and see what I mean.
Girl Guides have been doing this for ever- we call it “soft soap”. Before liquid soap was widely available, we used to grate bars of soap and put them in a container with some water.
It works a treat.
I'll just stick with the gas stove. I like being able to just push a button and get cooking. Especially when u wake up sore & it's freezing. The sooner u can get hot coffee & food in your stomach the better.
But if you insist on being some kind of elitist outdoors hipster who only uses solid fuel, more power to you.
@@Peyote1312this is not just handy and good to know for backpacking, but for cooking at a campsite or grilling at home with wood chips or even in your fireplace when there is a power outage. But you’re young and ignorant as evidenced by your snippy attitude and hopefully will out grow this or at least learn to keep your revealing opinions to yourself.
@@Peyote1312 I got good at making a quick morale-booster warm-up fire first thing, and dance in the flames, warm up my baseball cap and slap it on my head, then I boil my water for my tea once I've warmed up. But I don't camp above the tree line.
We did the soap (liquid or bar) on pots to release the soot when I was a Boy Scout - 1970 to 1975. I still know how to start a fire and carry a lightweight kit with three ways to quickly start a fire, but it's much easier and cleaner to carry a stove that doesn't soot the pans. I stopped building fires when camping when I got my first stove. If I still cooked over fire, I'd rinse off the loose soot and just let the pots turn black.
a tip on solid fuel stoves - pop ino just about any home depot or lowes and check out their grill section. you will almost always be able to find the weber charcoal lighter cubes, which are the same solid fuel. you can get a 24 pack for about $6
You’re living in the future
That's so cool!
Love Hacks Like yours!!!
I specialize in them. after about twenty years...
A consortium or website where everybody shares their cheap hacks
Are they absorb people stomach just compressed like a military tablet, hexane or trioxane?
IE they are not a liquid absorbent stone?
The ones in individual packets? UK here so just checking I'm looking at the right ones....and thanks for the tip either way 👍
Based entirely on this review, I bought the pizza-stone stove, and have been absolutely loving it. There's a version with larger stones, in a small paint can, that holds enough fuel for a week on the trail and weighs next to nothing. I'm really happy with it, and the guy on Etsy who sells them is excellent about responding to questions and giving advice. Thanks so much for the tip!
Can you please tell me the name of the guy on Etsy? I can't seem to locate this product at all on it. Thanks!
Link?
@@erickacevedo7346 There's a link to the pill-bottle stove in this video's description. Click that, then the seller's name, and you'll find it among his other products. I've now been using it four months, and it's been great.
Or use a masonry hole saw and cut your own pizza stone disks. If Etsy guy can DIY them, you can too. Quit being a consumer and make something!
Can't I use sandstone rocks?
I didn't intend to watch all of this video but your no nonsense and quick talking kept me hooked. Well done. 👍
I’m glad you did. Thanks
"People have been cooking using fire for years", kind of an understatement 😂
Definitely as far back as the 80's at least.
@@JamesChurchill3
Bruh... We were doing it in the 50's, so definitely as far back as that! 🔥👍👨🦳
My grandma is 91 and teels me they already had fire when she was a child.
[Citation needed]
Technically correct - the best kind of correct.
I love this kind of stuff.
I spent 3 years homeless and the first year was in Wisconsin it started in the winter. The best for heat and cooking was a rocket stove, cost less than 50 bucks. It takes some work, but it heated up a tin can travel trailer or a tent or a box. They sometimes require a wind screen, but a cinder block worked perfect.
Methinks one important difference between these stoves is whether you can actually cook on them (simmering ability, heat output) or really realistically only boil water (esbit/alcohol stoves), the latter being completely fine for coffee or freeze dried food.
Very true. I don’t do a lot of simmering but I did include it in my assessment.
I love the speed of my brs 3000 but hate hate the jet engine noise. Toaks alcohol burner fits in my BushBuddy mini as a pot stand and wind screen. Twoferone. 4 ounces for the bush buddy twig stove, one ounce for the toaks. Carry the amount of alcohol one needs for the # days on trip but use the BushBuddy when I have time to sit and relax. No fuel shortage issues either. That MSR stuff sure is nice however. Great videos.
I used an alcohol stove (trangia mini) for a long trip across Europe, for which I cooked from scratch most nights. Absolutely no problems once you're used to it, and fuel availability was excellent
@@RobertSmith-up9rz I mostly wasn't in forests, and this was mostly over the less flammable seasons
@@RobertSmith-up9rz oh yeah, and I had it on a flameproof mat
Thank you, although I'm 71 years old and never went camping I couldn't help enjoy your video! For emergency situations where you have lost electricity your camping reviews helped me decide on what I could use and have in a prep bag. Again thank you.
Far better than mindlessely scrollinga feed on social media!
The pizza-stone stove could be improved in terms of performance and safety by punching some air holes in an empty food can and putting the pizza stones in the can, so the can could act as a windscreen and a stand for your mug.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
At that point is it any different that a Starlyte or Kojin stove, just with stone instead of fluffy fiberglass as the wick material?
I will say that it was nice that it didn't spill like a alcohol stove would and spread fire
@@LeifWarner : Well, stone won't melt at combustion temperatures like fiberglass can.
@@deusexaethera Fiberglass doesn't melt. They use it as insulation in houses for a reason. Plenty of stoves are stuffed with fiberglass - including my everyday ones. It can soften past 1200 °C, though that's not an issue for wicking material, and your stove's not going to get anywhere near that hot.
I love my MSR whisperlite from the 80s. Use gasoline while bikepacking and can find smaller MSR fuel bottles to cut back on pack volume and weight. I tuck it into my frame bag on my bike and can fit the fuel bottle in a standard bike water bottle cage. Considering they can be found for a bargain used, and can be serviced indefinitely, I think they are actually a fantastic performer all around and outperform many of the other stoves in several metrics. Just my 2 cents of course.
My pocket rocket deluxe felt cheap and the mesh airizer that breaks up the fuel into a finer mist keeps popping out of place. Can’t beat the MSR whisperlite in terms of build quality. that things been kicking around for 40 years for a reason.
I have been using one for about 10 years camping off of a motorcycle, that little bottle of fuel has gotten me back to civilization a couple of times! I've also had the reverse, drained a little gas out of the bike to cook dinner. I'll admit they can be slightly dangerous but it's so reliable and the convenience of refueling at the gas station makes it the best choice for me!
In the Army, I carried an Esbit stove everywhere; it was always good for a hot beverage or to heat up a soup or (pre heat tab) MRE. Then I figured out that I could accomplish the same thing without the stove, just using a rock to contain the flames from the heat tab, and a couple of slightly thicker rocks or sticks to support my canteen cup. I’ve used this technique for backpacking ever since, supplemented by actual campfire cooking occasionally, but I’m intrigued by the pill bottle stove.
I used the esbit in the army and the best way to burn it is to scrape a thin 2inch groove in the sand. 4 inch deep. The sides hold the canteen.
I wonder how porous soapstone is and if its able to soak up alcohol or fuel. It's supposed to be the one stone that can hold onto heat the longest.
Yeah, I like Esbit fuel tabs too, my thoughts on them are that they’re a little expensive and produce trash that I then have to carry out of the woods, they smell when burning, and but they do work in ANY condition. I really like that, as where I live it’s either bone chilling cold or soaking wet. Sunny crisp days are very rare. 😂
Don't you mean you got a rock or something to contain the flames?
@@MafistoOU812 depends on the terrain. I was in the caprivi strip in Namibia and there are no stones. Just sand.
I'm still using the Whisperlite stove I bought in 1987. Still reliable and easy to use as it was when I bought it 36 years ago.
But that's not the whole story, is it? You must have replaced the plunger in the pump and o-rings lots of times by now. And I bet it has clogged now and again?
I took one camping to a windy place with blowing gypsum sand and could never get permanently unplugged after that. Your post inspires me to dust it off and try some more. Well, except the Windburner is so easy and trouble-free....
I as well still use my MSR Whisperlite stove bought in the early 1980s. I've replaced a o-ring or two but not many. It has been throughout the US and Canada with me and never failed. In fact, I bought my daughter the interational version a couple of years ago and she now loves them as well. If you get one it will be the last stove you'll ever need.
The dragon fly was my replacement for my whisperlite. Sounds like I’m taking off in a jet but allows me a wide range of cooking options.
YES, whisperlite international FTW... only bad in it is the unflexible hose
I’ve had my Whisperlite International stove for around 25 years and it still goes with me on every camping trip. It’s been a simple rock solid piece of kit for me, love it.
It is worth mentioning that during fire restrictions in the U.S. National Forests, parks, and grasslands, you have to be able to use a switch or valve to turn off the fire or it could mean a hefty fine. Always scrape away the duff and other flammable material so that you are turning above mineral soil.
Was literally scrolling through the comments looking for this exact reply. Most of these would not fly during a burn ban. Now granted if you live and camp up north, you might not have that issue as often. But in Texas and many other south or west states, they are common and unfortunately chronic problems. *edit* just finished the video and saw he said this. Lol
The last minute of the video is all about this. It's like y'all didn't even watch it.
Thanks for this comment! Since a lot of us already have an investment in a stove and accessories, viewers may not watch the video to the end.
Funny a white gas stove with a valve would be considered more safe with potential for spills/leaks leading to uncontrolled fire much easier than one of these disks getting out of control. But hey it technically has a valve on the stove!
Was going to comment about that as well, I think that "fire safety" should have been one of the ranking catergories
I use a small folding burner that my grandpa got in the army 60+ years ago. It uses hexamine tablets that are very common here. With it being so sturdy, my nephew might inherit it in the future. 😀
One disadvantage of solid fuel stoves that is seldom discussed is that they often burn "dirty" and leave greasy soot all over your pot. It seems like a minor issue but it can become a real pain. Unless you are really really careful when using and packing, the soot will go EVERYWHERE.
Soot is bad... zero soot with Pillbottle stove Tablets charged up with ethyl alcohol.
Agreed but you can make cleaning up afterwards easier by coating with soap and then using a scourer.
@@neotrekkUnfortunately those things don't look like they hold a whole lot of alcohol, and wouldn't burn for terribly long. Good for heating up a cup of water, but not for cooking a meal, since you'd have to constantly stop and wait for them to soak up more alcohol, during which time your food's getting colder. A regular alcohol stove if it runs out you fill just it back up immediately light the fire again with practically no downtime. Plus they're super easy to make, there's a billion videos on how to make them out of cut up soda cans and such. And if you store your alcohol in a squeeze bottle like for ketchup or something, you can use that nozzle to easily fill the stove and unscrew the whole cap to dump unburnt fuel back in for later.
That's why I use the Trangia. No mess with the alcohol.
Try carrying aluminum foil with you. Wrap the pot with foil before cooking. Then the foil gets dirty but not your pot. You can also wrap the inner part of your pot, too. Cuts down on clean up time immensely.
That pill bottle stove has me super intrigued. Would love to see a follow up video comparing this to other alcohol stoves.
in a video we see only a quarter of a cup has been boiled, I believe it was not very good in efficiency after all
Maybe with a fold up windshield/stand to counter the stability issue
@Andy Topley I was thinking the fancy feast stove may also work... the main difference between the stones and other alcohol stoves is that the stones can be quickly blown out. Still not allowed on pct and other places I would imagine.
I would simply fill a screw top tin the similar size with vermiculite.
Lighter and bio degradable and the lid can snuff out the flame.
I can't find the pill stove anywhere 😡
A tip about Esbit, normally as you burn it, it produces less heat as it gets smaller, but normally you need more heat towards the end to get it to boil. Depending on the amount of water and the wind this sometimes produced a fail to boil at the end of the tablet, needing a second tablet if you want it boiled. So I start with the leftover tablet of the last burn (Esbit is easy to blow out), to start heating the water and finish it off with the new tablet to bring it to a boil. The downside is that the Esbit seems to be a bit more odorous when stored after a partial burn, though after a multi-day long distance hike there are other odors to cover that.
They are toxic.
I use the coghlan esbit knockoff. I found a mini m&m container is the perfect size to hold the tablets and very little odor. The esbit tabs may be a bit bigger and may not fit, I'm not sure.
I think this used to be the standard in my country when I was a kid, but I haven't seen any in years, so I think they're illegal here now because of their toxicity...
@@rld1278 I use knockoff too and I use one table and also will use twigs aswell great for my tiny kettle 😁
Just use two tabs, blow whatever is left over out. then that with one next time. keep rotating, but don't waste time with only one, ever.
Surface area. When the pill bottle stove ripped over it exposed the other sides to an already hot alcohol which likely caused the rest of the remaining alcohol to gasify and burn off really quickly. Great video btw. I've used alcohol stoves for years and my entire setup weights in at just over two ounces. Once again, great work here.
With 2 Stacked Tablets and the pot on top, only the perimeter is emitting alcohol. Knocked down you add the flat area, so bigger flames.
I use stoves in the mountains and the MSR Windburner is hands down the best I have used. Ultra fast and powerful worth every gram. You cannot cook on tablets at 12,ooo feet.
I have had a Primus Omni Fuel stove for so many years. Got it back in the days of volunteering for a Search and Rescue team in Washington State. That little stove will burn any flammable fuel from liquid paraffin to alcohol. I have used Olive Oil in it even. Pricy and mine probably could not be repaired today if it broke, but I have boiled pots with a couple gallons of water in them.
Those car camping stoves are powerful! I did a test where I set out 16 stacks of two PillBottle Stove Tablets with a 5 gallon pot on top to cook crawfish.
I still love the roar of my first stove, my MSR Dragonfly, which I bought after college after I saved up from my 1st job. Still running strong after 20+ years, so many great memories from it 😍
I thought mine would last forever too. Had it over 20 years. The o-rings go bad and last time I used it the o-rings blew out and giant flames everywhere which melted my pump end ruining my stove. Thankfully I was at home testing and used a garden hose to put everything out, but if this was in the woods, then I would have just started a MASSIVE forest fire!!! GET those O-rings REPLACED if 20 years old. PRONTO. Please? You do not want a forest fire on your conscience.
Same. When he said he preferred a canister that burns twigs over the WhisperLite, I stopped listening.
Clearly some of the others have their place (Canister stoves are a good option) but the Dragonfly is still the best all round stove out there IMHO
I have found my people...
In his defence, the Dragonfly isn't the right stove for every person or situation.
But I've never come across a situation where it wouldn't work nor a person that couldn't be taught how to use it.
The only thing I'd like to see improved on is it's included windshield.
A lightweight rigid folding shield would be so much nicer than the foil one.
@@35manning Totally agreed on all points. Trangia makes a **beautiful** windscreen system, which is a litlte bulky, but absolutely first rate.
I use a "SoloStove"... and after using it I am sure that other handmade/cottage designs would work well. Been using mine for over 10 years now, I spent a winter cooking on it in the Oregon forest aka snow and below freezing for weeks ... I also walked with it for about 1000mi, rough estimate. It's the best by far and if you plan ahead and learn to keep the right wood/materials on hand - you never have to worry at all about it. Pine - Redwood - Cedar - Pitch matches - storm matches - jute twine - pine needles - oak sticks - cardboard... just wrap it in a plastic bag and keep it dry, keep a bic on you (you do anyway already)... you'll never carry a fuel can again. ...clear the ground at least even if you are using a gas stove, I got triggered seeing the start of this video.
I got a foldable titanium woodstove. Very lightweight and very small when folded. I know it’s performance is not in the same league as modern stoves but I really like it.
Gathering fuel during the hike. The pure joy of achievement when creating fire with sticks and scrapesteel. The smell of campfire when you open the small bottle of whisky you saved for this occasion. 😄
When those embers burn down to coal, you will never have a better stove for grilling up a steak or some beef short rib.
I agree. There's a reason why humans like to gather around a wood fire-not simply because they get the job done, but because it's warm, mesmerizing, enjoyable, etc. Mini wood stoves replicate that experience but on a smaller scale.
@@MurdersMachine Mmmm... some nice Maker's with that hot chocolate.
Same here. Firebox Nano for me, I love that thing!
Wood fires are wonderful... the smell, the flicker, their needing your attention and care. But cooking a meal fast and easy comes first... gotta eat before you can really enjoy the wood fire. Add a PillBottle stove to your pack.
While in the FDF/military, we used trangia stoves, and oh man I love them so much. Pots and pans with the alcohol burner and so much more, all fitting into a nice compact package.
I use them also
They're great summer holiday stoves. Only winter weather and high altitude give them some difficulties.
@@Breakfast_of_ChampionsI used trangia succesfully in the army also in -50 celsius Jan 1999.
If you're getting soot on your mug, put some oil on the bottom before burn. 3 in 1 or something might work. We always used rifle oil for the bottom of mess tins, once you've finished, the soot and crap wipes right off with little to no effort - a godsend when it comes to kit inspection. 🤣
I've just used soap to do the same ... Ppl too often grovel about that which can be remedied!
Excellent breakdown! I use the beer can (skinny cans work best) alcohol stove and love it. Only issue I ran into was getting the flame to go out when finished. Had an incident where I thought the flame was extinguished but wasn't due to the flames sometimes being hard to see. Long story short grabbed the can, burned myself, and dropped the still burning fuel on my sit pad which caught fire and melted. So...I now use the bottom half of a full sized can as a means of smothering the flame. Works great and only added a few grams to the total weight of my cook set. Additionally I made my windscreen out of a foil roasting pan, tons of how-to's on how to do that on the interwebs.
Yeah those flames are hard to see. Sometimes I’m like did I actually light it? And wave my hand over to make sure there are no flames…but I can see it being easy to have an accident
The Tablets blow out just like birthday cake candles.
Things have changed so much since I started bushwalking in the 80’s. The MSR international was king even though they could be temperamental things to get going. They were the days when we’d brag about how heavy our pack was, not how light 😂
I remember that. Now it's a badge of honor to do a 4-day with 15 lbs 😄
...and a *lot* more fun.
@@_Solaris I agree. I can’t imagine how I started the Overland Track with just over 30kg (66 pounds) on my back. Must have been young.
@Grant Long I know man. I'm 57 and climbing passes & shoulders is more fun without the heavy grind.
I still rock my international multifuel for about 20 years now.
This review is subject to the reviewers perspective. Solid fuel stoves are a serious joke. Canisters? Land fill. The whisper lite kept me alive in negative 40 winter mountaineering. None of these others can come close
I picked up a Trangia last September, aaaaand it’s amazing. It’s maybe not “THE BEST” according to “the experts,” but the shelf life of the fuel, the overall package (two pots and one pan with a grabber handle) and ability to do “proper cooking” as I heard one English backpacker say, makes it a top notch product in my book. I have an entire kitchen in a fairly small package that’s dead nuts reliable for backpacking and emergency scenarios.
it IS the best!
My only concern is that there pots are aluminum
@@SimplyLesa hi. They’ve all but disproven that theory about aluminum causing health issues. I think that’s why you can pick up titanium cookware for a song now. The only cook surface i DO stay away from is anything nonstick. That’s here at home and out there. Hope this helps.
@@SimplyLesa they have hard anodized aluminum and duossal (aluminum outside, stainless inside) nowadays. I don't like plain aluminum either :)
Mine is the hard anodized aluminum. The problem with aluminum is it leaching in highly acidic environments, but that problem is negated when it’s hard anodized, and that hard anodized layer is SUPER tough stuff.
If you have an aluminum coffee percolator you use every day, yeah, it’ll kill you.
If you just use it to boil water and cook non-acidic food while camping you’ll be totally fine. But again, I went the HA route because why the hell not.
Of all the stoves I've had, the two that had the best "endurance" was a solid fuel wood stove and a Trangia alcohol stove (the latter seemed to operate really well even in high winds!)
The reason I appreciate alcohol stoves is that methylated spirit is easily bought from any hardware or supermarket (don't need to find a camping store like the gas stoves), and the solid fuel wood stove worked anywhere there were trees. Rocket stoves work well but are heavy :(
These are the two I use. Simple, easy and cheap. And reliable
Alcohol stoves don't work that well when it's cool. It's hard to set the alcohol on fire and it takes forever to smelt snow. Gas is not gas but liquid form so that don't work. The "white gas" stove I have tested had smal plastic parts that got brittle and broke the first time i tried it. So i don't know of any stove that works.
on cold condition put the alcohol container in your pocket or your sleeping bag. i use my trangia in the last 40 years in every weather condition including ice, storm rain heat etc
Yeah.... I carry that Toaks twig stove that was tested here. It doubles as a windshield for a small Trangia burner that I also carry. Honestly I use it most of the time with the Trangia burner, but sometimes it is nice to have a real fire also.
Trangia stoves are the swiss army knive of outdoor cooking.
Simple, effective and every little part of it is well thought out, they even can be safely transported with fuel inside.
One is enough for up to two people and in case the group gets bigger just add more of them under the pot, perfect scalability and easy to split the weight.
One thing to consider is for how many people you are cooking. I find white gas stoves to be ideal for my backpacking trips where I’m cooking for 4-6 people and using a 4.7l pot. The simmering capabilities of the dragonfly also give me a lot more possibilities in terms of what kinds of meals I can prepare. Solo, I’ll take a canister stove, but for a group, I like the dragonfly.
It’s been great following along with your channel and seeing your subscriber numbers jump up so quickly. You’re concise, to the point, and you make even topics like backpacking stoves genuinely interesting. I’m happy to see you get some recognition for the hard work and looking forward to seeing where this channel goes in 2023!
I couldn’t have done it without viewers like you. Thank you for the support
I was going to leave a similar comment, thanks for doing the work for me. Godspeed
Thank you for showing us these stoves and telling about the differences.
@@thomgizziz Says the troll account..... When arguing a point I'd recommend no name calling or overtly foul language. It's like inserting your foot into your mouth loosing all credibility before your point. Hope you learn "THOM" ;)
Woodgas stoves are my favourite. Burn from the top down. Virtually smokeless and very cheap fuel. Not lightweight, and it soots up your pots and pans. It can also use twigs as fuel so you'll never run out of fuel in the wild. Well worth a try
Gosh, I'm still using my brass Svea 123 white gas stove with an aluminum Sigg Tourist Cookset that I bought in 1974. It's basically a blowtorch but it gets the job done.I'm not concerned too much with speed, except when I'm really hungry and that makes everything taste fantastic.
Still using the foldable cube sterno box I hauled around in scouting, but only as a surface and windbreak. Definitely not a "cooking with gas" sorta fella. haha
I got the pucks because of your video and have found them to be fantastic little troopers. My thanks to you, sir!
Between 1996 to 2001, I was on this camping hiking binge in Oregon.
I fell in love with the PCT and camping at the high mountain lakes.
I had two stoves that were my go to. The main one was a $20.00 white gas stove. When it got fired up, It ran like a champion. I carried a spare red bottle of fuel.
My second stove was a butchered and burnt to the point of discoloring it's steel tomato soup can.
I moved back to the mid-west in 2001, and wilderness camping was a bit tougher to find.
That said, I went through a bunch of gear in 2011 when I bought my house, I did not want to move a lot of junk. I found the white fuel stove, and it fired right up.
That's a cool new twist on a stove. My idea would be to have one that's about the size of a hockey puck or just smaller maybe the size and thickness of a can of chewing tobacco (not something I partake of). Then you could have a small metal or titanium pop up like an esbit or British Army BCB that doubles as a pot stand and wind screen with shelf for the stone to lay on, keeping it off the ground and also doubling as a solid fuel stove as well.
I’ve stuck with my Coleman F1 gas stove for years. It’s so tiny yet so powerful. I remember a Coleman rep who was in an outdoor store years ago and he said to me ‘This is something that will impress you’ , it did and I’ve used one ever since. I can fit it into the palm of my hand and close up my hand around it.
There are white gas stoves that are really light weight and you get a lot of burn time from a can. That, the cold weather ability, ease of finding fuel, and that it still boils fast makes it my go to. I think using a multi fuel wide version for rating the white gas stove really influenced your rating.
I think not using the wind screen also really brings down the performance. I’m biased though, because I really like fiddling with the whisper lite. The wood fuel stoves would be illegal in a lot of places where there is poor soil quality as well as places with high fire danger.
White gas is my go too for reliability in all conditions, usually altitude and cold. Even better when used for a group of 3 instead of one. So many factors but long high altitude trips with a group it is a no brainer for me
@@ricrattray6085 If you like white gas, I recommend also trying a mixture of White Gas and Kerosene.
You increase the energy density and reduce some of the soot issues from kerosene.
I live in the alps and make my coffee in cold temperature and on high altitude (2000 meters above sea level) White gas is the way to go...
The whole setup of white gas stoves or multi fuel stoves in general is also pretty light weight if you're out there for a while. The moment you have to carry more than one butane gas cartridge is the moment butane gas is heavier, even thought the stove itself is lighter.
8:22 Heet in the yellow bottle is cheap and available at most gas stations. It's methanol, which burns just as nice as denatured alcohol.
pillbottle stove sounds great, packs up tiny and weighs little, just need to dig a base for it so it doesn't fall over. could also use it as a reusable starter for larger fires
I like that idea. Especially if your fire needs a little extra help in wet conditions. It's easier to store and reuse than single use fire starters. You could also set the stones side by side on a longer base instead of stacking them
If you set the tablets on a flat hard surface, a 16oz pot on top will not tip over unless you whack it. The Walmart 16oz SS cup ($6.45) has a depression in the middle the exact size of the Tablets, so that combo is very stable. If you set the Tablets on soft leaves and grass, it can tip over.... like any camp stove.
I have a $12 Chinese canister stove that is a rip off over the MSR pocket rocket. It works almost as good as the MSR. It is a little bit more sensitive to wind. These are great stoves as gifts for Boy Scouts. I sent a couple with fuel to nephew serving in Afghanistan. He said it worked great.
I've been using a MSR Dragonfly since the nineties, and have really liked its performance in cold weather using white gas. It's a bit heavy at 14 oz but is really useful for cooking as it will support larger pots. I have serviced it once by replacing o rings, and have found it very reliable. There was a learning curve about how much fuel to use to prime the stove, but once you master that, it's very simple to use.
way too loud
@@NOSEBLOB While that is annoying for sure, its cleaner burn makes it healthier to use inside tents on very cold winter days when compared to the Whisperlite.
@@NOSEBLOB I love the sound
I agree..I use it at the cabin to make a quick coffee or soup right on the table..try that with a stick stove. It burns many different fuels..fast...and you don't have to recycle the tank. My fave..and loud..yes..but they have an insert to make it quiet out there too.
Our Boy Scout troop was not allowed to carry white gas... it can explode, where alcohol vapors cannot explode.
I started with a butane stove in '74 that didn't really put out enough heat and then switched to a Svea 123 (white fuel). While I loved the aesthetic of that stove, after many years I tired of the preheat ritual and the blowtorch effect on my cookware. Switched to an MSR WindPro stove around '06 which, because the burner is separate from the canister, has a low center of gravity and also wide pot support. Very stable. I also like that the canister is away from the burner unit. The subtle flame control and a wider burner ring means you can actually cook something more complicated than boiling water.
I like the following setup: candle tins spiral stuffed w/carbon felt & filled w/ alcohol. Up to three under a SP600 or fill two & swap the burnt out one to extend cook time. Stand & windbreaker is a dryer vent 4-5" section of pipe that has snap lock & is drilled cross axis to slide a poultry lacer through to support one side of the cup, the other side is supported by the handles. The snap lock pops open & rolls inside the cup, whole setup very lite, compact, & low cost.
I just found your channel and I love your delivery, conciseness, point system. I'll be binging your vids tonight. Big Kudos.
Im intrigued by the stone stove. I hope you do a more indepth video of it. One stove that doesn't get enough attention is Sterno Stove. Probably because you can't get the anymore. It looked like a jetboil but sat on top of a sterno can of fuel. The boil time was about 4 -5 mins. But you could fit 2 sterno cans inside of it along with the lighter. And when the water boils, you just lift it off the sterno can and put the lid back on the sterno snuffing out the flame. Nothing to spill and the fire was contained. I may have to start using it again. I stopped in 2019 when I hiked the AT and wasn't sure how available sterno would be on the trail.
I use a small aluminum jar with a screw-on lid (like those for creams and makeup) with rock wool soaked in alcohol inside.
The rock wool is fireproof and holds the alcohol avoiding risks in case of accidental spills. While ethyl alcohol can be found just about anywhere so it doesn't give compatibility problems like some gas canisters
cheap, compact , lightweight, does not give compatibility problems and above all is safe
@francescorestivo6545 Hi, I hadn't heard of "Rock Wool" before, just looked it up online and one site says that it is dangerous due to the risk of inhaling microparticles, just like asbestos! Any comments? I am merely ignorant and not trying to argue.
@@charleshayes2528 It is not good idea to breathe any dust, especially asbestos. Asbestos has a special feature. Its particles can take on a shape somewhat similar to a harpoon. If such a "harpoon" gets stuck in the lungs, it stays there for a long time, causing local inflammation, which increases the risk of cancer. Mineral wool does not have this feature.
I'm intrigued by the pillbox stove idea - I think the fact that it discharges when knocked over is a plus for safety. I could think of several ways to increase it's output and convenience such as raising it off the ground/reflector a little and increasing it's surface area by spacing the cylinders off each other. also, 3 pairs could be used to balance the cup better.
Definitely! In Australia we have a lot of fire free months and high fire danger throughout so having something that immediately cuts off is amazing
I would use the pillbox in a tomato can with a port in bottom cut out. Solves the wind issue and wide base for the cup.
Combined with a ti Firebox Nano. Safer, raised above the cylinder for hotter burn, pot is supported, windscreen is integrated. And you can burn sticks if you run out of fuel.
Except it doesn't. He just had an anomaly. Normally it stays lit cause all it is is porous rock.
@@martjebicker9168 beat me to it
I ditched canisters 15 years back. The adventures in stoving blog is an amazing resource.
I started Backpacking in the late 1960's. My first stove was a metal planters Peanut can with the bottom cut out and heavy duty wire bail over the top. The heat source was a can of Sterno and that was locked into the can with plastic lid that fit the peanut can. It was fast lighting , cooked quickly and I could have hot soup when everyone else was munching granola. I could pack the stove up quickly when it was time to continue. I eventually got a white gas stove and later in the 1980's a butane stove but I always fondly remember that Sterno stove and it cost nothing to make.
Very good review. I used to use the Army issued canteen cup and stove with trioxane tablets. The trioxane got too expensive so I went to several tealight candles. They took longer to make a pint boil but they are much cheaper. By cutting down on the number of candles, I was able to simmer or just keep it hot. I like to have tealights in my survival kits for light, heat(hot poncho), and for cooking. Good Luck, Rick
What i do is melt the wax in some tealight candles and stuff them with cotton to increase burning power. They last a lot less, but they are way faster at getting something to boil. I also keep some normal to give low power heat when necessary
Great video once again Stephen!!!!
After spending a ton of money on a Rubbermaid container full of stove ((many that I only used once) before selling them) I went back to my favorites.
1- alcohol stove / aka coke can stove
2- Esbit / solid fuel stove
Nice! Love the simplicity of those choices! I like the wood burning stove the emberlit when there’s plenty of wood. I like the solo wood burner when I’m stealthing because it doesn’t emit a lot of smoke and msr white gas when im deep winter snow camping and you have to process a lot of snow for drinking water and cooking.
That pill solution could probably work with other liquid fuels too, which could make it a great option.
Also for the knocking down, you can probably easily make an easy tripod stand for pots ontop of it
I know from personal experience that porous stones also make good non-consumable wicks for burning gasoline in a controlled(ish) manner.
Porous stone lighters for home wood stoves have been in use for 60+ years.
Any liqued fuel will burn, but gasoline, E85, kersene, etc make soot. Ethyl alcohol 99.5% from Amazon is best overall. And no stand is best... the stack of two tablets delivers the optimum oxygen ration to the alcohol fumes and makes the hottest fire with the optimum size flame the just kisses the entire bottom of a 16oz cup, with no fire going up the sidies and going to waste.
1:50 I got 2 propane tanks for $9.98 and the adapter for $14.99 at Walmart, just under $25 which I am quite happy with. I believe I bought the kind of canister that attaches to a Coleman grill, but I used it last night to make my little guy a cup of Mexican hot cocoa and we had only success. I can’t wait to start camping!
I had the best wood burning stove when I was younger but I couldn’t remember the name. Turned out it’s a sierra stove, cook and boil water pretty well on pine cones and twigs. Not ultralight, but they make a titanium version now and the fact that there is basically unlimited fuel is a major plus in my book
Interesting video. I'll get myself a pair of those rocks. I have a whole range of different stoves like the ones featured here and I like the alcohol stove the most. Cooking time is not an issue for me and the only downside is the availability when you're out in the woods. I make my own wind screen from a disposable barbecue plate which sell for less than a dollar after summer. Those barbecue plates have ventilation holes already. Roll it flat, put two slim sticks on the sides for support in the ground, fold it in three parts and you're good to go for a few seasons.
I've always stuck with my Trangia, they are heavier than a canister stove but their versatility and safety are brill. And if you do need to lighten the load you can just leave some pots and pans behind.
I’ve carried an old SVEA 123 white gas stove for over a half century. It has made it up El Cap and Half Dome. Still works flawlessly. Fits in a kit like the old WWI two man bivvy stove, which, BTW, is also excellent if you could find one.
I bought an Optimus 8 in 1974 and it works just as well today as when it was new. Mine is aluminum and the cover is also a pot. It also came with a windbreak which fits inside. This stove is light, reliable, perfectly adjustable and will work no matter the altitude. I think I paid about $35 for it. I bought a repair kit for it many years ago and never have had to use it. I've had and used many stoves since but this stove is the one I always carry when it matters.
I have an 8R and it still works like a champ.
In the 1970s I hiked all over the southwest using a 1930s coffee can hobo stove. If I were still backpacking today it would be my no. 1 choice.
During the pandemic when fuel canisters were getting gobbled up, I started using the White Box alcohol stove. As you mention, denatured alcohol is readily available, cheap and fairly easy to use. It even got me watching the 'prepper" youtubers - LOL. I use it for shorter trips when I want to be extra light and only (as you mention) when going to wetter areas. It does great.
Gasifying wood stove made from tin cans has always worked best for me. It would still score low on your scale, but it's my go-to where I live.
How do I make one?
@@deusexaethera Just search UA-cam. there are plenty of video's that show how to make one. It doesn't take long, or very many things or tools to make.
Similar to the wood stove you described, I have always used the standard US Army canteen cup, and the cup stand with which you can either use Trioxane tablets, or in which you can build a twig fire. All of these components fit in the standard canteen cover which attaches to a pistol belt. There are any of a number of "Canteen Cup" recipes which can be used when backpacking, in addition to a standard cup of soup. It is hard to improve on some of the old military gear.
Ik ben al meer dan 35 jaar blij met mijn trangia die werkt op spiritus. Veilig, voordelig in gebruik en altijd snel.
7:45 you can make solid fuel with cotton and Candle wax, they just are a little complicated to ignite
The Whisperlite is the only stove I would want to take in deep winter. None of the other stoves can melt snow as effectively as that one
Oh, but I must disagree...MSR XGK2 is the champ for flat out snow melting...
NO Simmering though
I had the whisperlite but my svea 123r has it beat- 2 moving part, self cleaning, built in tool, pot hand’e and pot
I'll have to check out that stove - sounds interesting! @@dannynye1731
The whisperlite is now self cleaning with the shaker, fwiw@@dannynye1731
That was my experience as well. I use an Omnifuel, but if you're in temps at 35F or lower, canister stoves really struggle unless you have a generator tube to feed liquid fuel with the can inverted.
Addendum: This gentleman has his act together. His knowledge and skill set are very solid. When you are looking for info on anything Outdoors, THIS IS YOUR GUY!!! Love all the links he provides too!
His "act together??" Who are you kidding? NONE of the heat sources he reviewed other than the white gas(real stove) can you actually cook a meal on... Most of the heat sources he review cannot even heat water for a group... only his own ass. Should have been titled: Bull Shit review of solo hiker loners who only eat Crap dehydrated "meals" where you cannot take these sources of heat into National Forest due to unregulated flames during the high summer months...
I think that the pill bottle stove disk should work in a folding sterno stove. It would give you a place to set them with a wind screen and a stable cooking surface.
has anyone tried that, I thought the same thing
The BTU output is maximum with two Tablets stacked and the pot sitting on top... no stand.
I haven't tried it. But, good idea to try. If you make some modifications to the Sterno stove works with a Trangia as well.
I love how the manually constructed solution at the end is treated as on-par with any packaged product. It obviously makes sense for the subject where the wood burner is halfway to just making a traditional fire.
If it competes on all categories, why not
Top tip for all you gas stove cooks...Primus make a gas just for Winter use. Last year I had 12 nights of camping below -18 celcius (four of those night below -24 though the gas is only rated to -22) and the stove did dinner and breakfast duties without fail. It was a game changer for me as I like the gas stoves best.
Thanks for the video! I have, and have used virtually all of these types except for the alcohol saturated stones which, frankly I don’t see as significantly distinct from any number of basic alcohol stoves. For simply aesthetic reasons I prefer an alcohol stove. It’s simple, quiet, clean burning and works at any temperature. Gas canister stoves are certainly the go to choice for most general condition 3 season backpackers, for me as well. Efficient, dead simple and lightweight. However, I live and recreate year round in the Rockies, mostly in alpine environs. Here, there is only one really reliable choice and that is a liquid fuel stove (last on your rating list). A little on the heavy side, a tiny bit more attention consuming in use, but the only thing that works with 100% reliability in alpine conditions (>10m ft./
The differences are: 1) no liquid in the PillBottle Stove, can't spill, 2) boilovers do not put out the fire and dilute the alcohol like they do in a cokecan stove, 3) cokecan alcohol stoves crush if you drop a heavy pot or step on them, 4) you can blow out the PillBottle stove like birthday cake candles, 5) no waiting 15 miutes for the cokecan to cool down so you can pour excess liquid to pour back into your fuel bottle ( 6) no waiting a minute or two for the sodacan stove to heat up and spit out the hot flames, 7) you can pick up the PillBottle stove tablets after 30 seconds and put them back in the bottle to recharge (in 6 minutes), 8) the PillBottle stove can burn any flammable fuel if necessary, your sodacan stove will explode if you try to burn gasoline, 9) you need a case to carry the sodacan stove in your pack or it will get bent and start leaking, 10) sodacan stoves have seams that leak, no seams on the PillBottle Stove.
The toaks mini alcohol stove is hard to beat in my testing. I use it with the Sterno inferno pot and stand, setup is well under $100 and has never failed me. The mini stove is fine for cook with a skillet too.
Msr WhisperLite is the choice for me. The multi fuel options make it incredible in the middle of nowhere. I can always find gasoline or diesel either by asking a rancher or stopping at a small gas station. I've done this more than 10 times and had zero issues getting it to work. As for cooking real food on the trail it is so easy as long as the pressure is low in the canister. (simmer control)
Can see the advantages of multi fuel stoves but I'm put off by the unpleasantness of dealing with gasoline or diesel and the concern that a small spill would stink up my whole backpack contents.
Folks who don't use multi-fuel stoves will never quite get why we choose to take the extra 4 or 5 oz. extra, if even that.
Multi-fuel stoves typically use diesel, gasoline, or kerosene. All of which have much higher energy density than butane, propane, or isobutane (propane/butane mixes). For longer duration trips, multi-fuel stoves will win out in the weigh comparisons. In addition, many canister stoves start failing below 0F (-12C) after a few uses. From experience, this appears to be due to the propane and butane mixtures separating. Once the propane is exhausted, the butane can no longer be extracted from the canisters.
All of this is to say nothing of the fine points that you've raised.
@@Carniak The energy density issue became clear to me using an alcohol stove for longer trips. For a day trip the alcohol stove is probably the lightest option, but above 2 days the fuel weight you have to carry becomes significant. So far as I know alcohol fuel is fine to use at any temperature you can encounter on earth, but it's about half the energy density of hydrocarbons.
@@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy I definitely understand the smell issues however it really isn't that bad. I put mine in the bag with no issues. I can go about 5-(6 if lucky) days with a small can. This includes cold weather and cooking twice a day. I would use the lowest grade fuel possible 85. This has better efficiency and less residue than the higher octane fuels. Just something I've noticed.
@@Carniak I totally agree. I would like to add that these stoves are great for people who also cook non-packet food. I mostly take potatoes, fresh vegetables, rice, oatmeal, and spices. This stove has improved my ability to go further. Just like the fuel being more energy dense my food selections can also be more energy dense.
Was talking with my aunt last night about Banff-ing around in Canada for the winter. Naturally, SkyNet detected this and began suggesting to me outdoor lifestyle videos. I've probably watched five or six back-to-back and I'm very impressed with your quality and presentation! I really like your videos!
I use a Trangia. When you're finished, just screw on the lid and keep your alcohol inside it. I also have a Barocooker Flameless, which is fantastic. The chemical packets are reasonably priced and there are different cooker sizes as well as a coffee cup cooker. Thanks for your concise and informative video!
In winter, you can use the adapters to put propane in your cannisters, eliminating the cold weather issue with butane.
Not safe! Butane canisters are not designed to withstand the higher pressures of propane.
Thanks for sharing. This is a good summary of the various stove systems out there. Especially appreciate the note to check where these are legal and safe to use. Here in California, white gas and wood are largely prohibited due to fire danger. At certain times, no stoves of any kind are allowed in the back country. I have alcohol (trangia), white gas (whisperlite), canister (pocket rocket 2), integrated (windburner) and twig (solo stove lite). Which stove is best for me depends on conditions. The most used is the windburner because I usually backpack in areas of high wind (desert and mountains), nothing comes close. The most fun is the twig stove, but only at campsites with fire rings. It's cool to watch the gasification effect. Haven't used alcohol or white gas stoves in a long time, but they are unbreakable.
Add a PillBottle Stove to your pack... with all your experence you will have a lot of fun using it. Even in your house.
You gotta try the Soto Stormbreaker, I absolutely love it. You can use white gasoline or gas from canisters. And if you want to use white gasoline, you don't have this open flame for preheating the stove, as it just doesn't need it! And it's kinda quiet compared to other stoves.
Hi buddy 😻 we just bought the Stormbreaker and we want to try it with white gas too. In Romania after some Google searches we came up with the conclusion that the equivalent of white gas would be Neophal, which is naptha based like Coleman fuel (White gas) is. Any experience with this type of fuel? What kind of white gas ⛽️ do you use? Thank you 🙏🥰
@@hungryromanians You probably don't have to use any exact chemical formula for your burner. FWIW "white gas" is a generic term for no additives gasoline, and naphtha-based fuels. E.g. this Coleman thing changed its chemical contents several times through history, and people continue to use, and nothing essential has been broken as far as I can tell. I have Optimus white gas burner, and often use a type of gasoline marketed as a solvent in my country, and it works fine.
@@ac7202 we noticed that this Neophal is very similar to your typical solvent used to dilute paint 🎨😀
@@hungryromanians Well I'm from Germany and what I'm using is "Waschbenzin" (basically the solvent that @A/C uses) which I think is just white gasoline. But you can just use standard gasoline from the gas station, it'll just be not as good for the burner and is not recommended(Only use if you can't get any white gasoline!). A friend of mine said it can even run with Diesel but I'm not sure if he ever tried that, although I for sure didn't try ^^
I gotta admit though, when I was in northern Sweden I had no idea where to get white gasoline and just filled two bottles with standard gas and the burner still worked like a charm after 2.5 weeks of use. And back then I still had a crappy MSR burner...
@@jonasklein7260 I am also in Germany (but English) and used white gas/ petrol stoves for the last 50 years or so, as I camp from a motorcycle weight isn't the most important so I use a Coleman Sporster (doesn't need preheating, the Soto one doesn't either) either on waschbenzine, car painters panel wipe or when on tour just fuel from the bike. I've run four weeks on normal petrol before needing to clean the vaporisor tube though if you run some white gas for a while through it clears it a bit. Carb cleaner works well to clear it out.
Somewhere on the internet is an extensive table of what all the fuels are called in various countries.
Your video's are instructional and very well made and will live on for years helping future backpackers and outdoor people.
This reminds me of heating C-rations back in the day: We'd empty a can, punch holes around the bottom and top, then burn heat tabs inside, setting (carefully!) the food being heated on top. I would then use that 'stove' for the time I was in the field. While obviously unsteady, it got the job done. 😎
I have a tried and true MSR stove, but that pill bottle idea intrigues me. I love how light weight it is and I actually like that it goes out if knocked over, almost a safety feature by accident. I think I might give that a shot my next backpacking trip.
This was a great comparison and very thorough. You covered many areas that others gloss over or just ignore. My personal favourites are my single burner coleman 508...one tank will last me for days, and my tuna can alcohol stove I made. All in I have less than $1 invested and it works amazingly well. I prefer to use methanol with it as it is dirt cheap and burns hot even when VERY cold out. The one thing I will just never understand is why it is so important for people to boil water so quickly but perhaps I've just never been in a situation where I need hot water in a hurry. I'd rather the stove be stable and consistent, light easily and have easy access to fuel. But this is why these types of comparisons are so helpful as we all have our preferences. There really is no "perfect" stove out there.
Last sentence is perfectly true: No "perfect" stove out there. Should title this "review" Hot water SOLO hiker heat source review. Only one of those he tested is an actual stove you could cook a meal on. Dehydrated super expensive meals do save a little weight, but you PAY multiple times more per calorie over and over and over again making them economically a dead end for majority hiking and most taste bad or are absolutely LOADED with MSG/SALT. And creates tons of plastic waste. Not exactly an ecologically friendly option.
@@w8stralSo true
I love using esbit tabs! I have the UL foldering titanium stove base that balances my pot well. You can also use two tabs if you want to do a fast boil if you're cooking for two. They actually come in two different sizes. These are a German product and I think I'll be able to get them in Switzerland when I'm there to trek and bivouac. The major problem I have with them is the smell. They burn clean but the smell they emit before you light them is terrible and I have to keep them in double ziplock bags and avoid directly touching them!
Even zip bags have not helped for me. I really felt like I was carrying smelly fish with me. If anyone can develop a no smell bag, take my money…
I used to use Esbit, but they STINK. The wife makes me put the cubes and stand 20 feet from the tent.
If you are in pine tree woods. Look on the ground. See all the brown, dead pine needles. Grab a handful and heat a little water for cleaning up. Just barely hot will suffice. The oils and other compounds in the dead needles are dissolved with warm to hot water best. The needles themselves make a fantastic scrubby. Just ball some up into a scrub pad and dip in the water and scrub the sooty gear and dirty dishes. A simple rinse to remove any bits of pine needles and your pots and pans and dishes are squeaky clean. Needed a scrubby and used a handful as they were plentiful where I was camping. Haha, they worked like a charm and no soap needed and clean easy rinsing. Very little water needed. Dissolved the soot and food debris and cleanup at camp is so easy. When I lived in the country years ago I kept a basket near my sink of dead pine needles. I had some in the backyard here until they removed the tree. It was causing havoc with the plumbing. Got to find a new source.
I use a slightly smaller jet boil that I bought for $70 back in 2015. I had tried homemade alcohol stoves, a wood stove, and the pocket rocket. Even though it was the heaviest I still went with it. It still boils water in less than a minute and can handle wind when the pocket rocket didn't, and it used hardly any of my fuel canister so on long hikes my canisters would last a long time. The resilience to wind and speed is what completely won me over. After a long 20+ mile day, being able to get my water and food heated up quickly when the weather was crap was just too much of a positive. It's the area I splurge on my base weight.
Seriously though I love my jet boil. I will never go back
I’m doing a bit more serious cooking (even if it’s just sautéing some onions before adding water and instant soup) and for me simmering and even heat distribution is really important. It’s also important to be able to easily stir the pot.
The one I like is the Firebox Nano Gen 2 Titanium. It can be a Wood burner , an Alcohol stove and even a Propane stove , depends on how you set it up and which one you want at that time. If you combine it with the X Box you have compact ( Clean ) storage for it and even a base to set it on when in use. Plus it is very light and pack able. Two models , Stainless or Titanium.
You can also add solid fuel to the list with a bit of modification. I really like the system, plus you can have a nice cozy fire when you want it which is very nice. Doing "sweedish fire" style makes it burn forever without needing to add more fuel which is sweet if you want to simmer something over a longer time or something like that
I love wood campfires, but cooking dinner ain't fun on a wood stove, or a stove with lots of parts and pieces that I will surely lose or misplace. We invented the PillBottle stove to make cooking reliable, simple, and ultralight.
Can it fit onto a 20 lb propane tank?
I love my biolite stove. While it is a little heavy i love that I don't participate in the manufactured fuel cycle. I have a pocket rocket too, but i'm interested in those stones now! Great video!
They look cool. Unfortunately I’ve never gotten to try one.
A little heavy? Weighs as much as my tent!
@@rgmALC it’s 2lbs and doesn’t require carrying fuel. That’s a better option than most on this list. PLUS it will power lights in your camp! Did you know that? It creates more electricity than it uses on the fan, so it can power USB lighting in your camp. I love my Biolite, yes the stove itself is heavier, but I have unlimited fuel, variable heat, plus power for lighting or charging devices. It’s the future. Lastly, the development of Biolite stoves was directed to address air pollution and 3rd world cooking over open flames. Very cool product and company.
@@Dirtsk8r it’s cool if you are car camping…but other than that, it’s way too heavy. It’s heavier than a UL wood stove and a power bank.
It sounds really cool but I don't have 300 dollars to spend
I have a toaks siphon burner I absolutely love it. I use liquid heat as fuel. There is no wait light it and let it go. It's been my go to for years now. Paired with a titanium cup and you have super light set.
Check the Evernew Titanium Stove. It is 90 Gramms or so, can be used as wood or alcohol burner. Heats up water in nothing (but burns the alcohol quite fast as well to be true), and has an integrated wind protection. If you are in dry and windy areas, fire protection is very important. I recommend this one for UL bike packing and light cooking, I am very happy :)
I just love that there are so many options. A Caldera Cone is a great addition to an alcohol stove (and could be used with some of these other options).
I like the alcohol/wood/solid fuel combo. I use the Firebox nano gen 2 (titanium) with an alcohol burner. This setup gives me versatility. Con: be mindful of the pot you use. Stanley adventure pot does work great.
I completely agree! I'm going with a similar setup. Thinking of the Picogrill 85g and my diy alcohol stove, to be paired with something like the Soto navigator (for actual cooking).
Maybe the ALOCS CW-CO5 set is better being able to do alcohol/wood/gas/solid
And you are helping prevent raging forest fires. Cleaning up under brush.
Love the Stanley adventure. A little chunky but so freakin' tough & versatile.
for alcohol stoves I found the best are the diy fancy feast ones with carbon felt
Gas line antifreeze, commonly labeled "Heet" in the auto section (can often find it at gas stations and convenience stores) is a great and easy find for the alcohol stoves. Used it thru hiking the AT 20+ years ago. We made stoves using the bottoms of a couple beer cans using some tin snips.
If you work in construction or the trades and want hot meals and easy coffee on the job, the jet boil is the undisputed king. Grab heat proof bag, throw a bunch of Ramen stuff in there, I'm partial to spring noodle packets, dehydrated mushrooms and green onions, and tuna, and just throw in boiling water 20 minutes before you want to eat. The weight doesn't matter in its in your truck or lunchbox, and it's so nice to have hot meals, especially in winter.
Love this video. I design things and have wanted to try making a micro-stove for some years but never got around to it. Most of those stove designs are familiar to me, except the firebrick tablets which got me thinking that I could design something much better based on the same material. I've had my cad program open for a few hours now and am on the third iteration. I think this third version is pretty much what will be made for the first prototype. Edit, on about the tenth version now, lol. So much fun.
Consider me for a tester! I do bike packing trips with video.
Z EX
Excited to hear about what you craft.
@@danielmejorado6098 Hi, here is an update for you. After making lots of little puck prototypes of different designs and different solid absorbent materials, I came to the conclusion that in a real world applications a high quality carbon felt in a tin was the best solution. Extremely small and lightweight to carry, does not leak, charges up instantly with total absorption of the amount of fuel to boil 2 cups of water and then can be recharged instantly again if needed. There are different grades of carbon felt, I tried two versions of the felt and also two solid versions. The solid types are really nice. but not very durable. The highest quality felt was perfect, really good stuff but quite expensive at about £150 a square meter with a min spend of seven meters. Having said that I could get quite a few disks from one meter. I tested this material against various types of absorbent ceramic wool, but the high quality carbon felt was the best and also safest material to use.
I was thinking to go ahead and make them for sale even with the initial cost, I even bought a hundred tin containers for them and some steel dies to cut the disks, However, somehow life took a turn at that time with my health situation and all that plus other things were put on hold and probably now shelved for good. It's a shame I guess as I put a lot of time into the project and the little stove is better I believe than other similar products just due to the quality of the really hard to find material (that was a story in itself). As a hobby it would be cool to make these because I'm proud of the product, but I just don't have the energy to actually organize making and selling them anymore.
Oh, I forgot, I did a lot more research on wind screens. It is true that with a solid puck one can rest a cup directly on the puck itself if need be, which is nice. So I designed the carbon felt stove in a way that resting a cup on it is also possible, but having a wind guard and the cup an inch off the stove is way better efficiency regardless of what is the heat source. I bought a couple of screens to try and used cad to design some concepts which I think would be a perfect companion to the stoves, but never had them made for the aforementioned health reasons. I'm fully of the opinion that this little stove when especially used with a wind screen stand made specifically for the purpose would be a wonderfully practical, portable, lightweight, simple to use and affordable bit of kit. It was fun and I'll never say never because maybe someone else will take if and produce such a thing one day.
Back when I was in the scouts there was a big argument between the leaders in the association between methylated spirits and the gas. We tested both and frankly they were pretty evenly matched. We ended up going with the gas stoves because we had a guy we could get used canisters from for free. I'm still a bit bummed we didn't get to really use the meths stove though, and this stone system looks really neat
The firebrick stove is a really old idea, but this is a really great refining of the concept. A few years ago…ok, more like 30…a fellow from the Sierra Club had a small bottle with lava stones from a barbecue soaking in zippo fuel. He took one out with a pair of tweezers and lit it in a cat food can, and began adding small twigs to add caloric fuel. What he said made a lot of sense, he said we have to think about fire systems as stored energy and that the challenge is to get it to burn fast enough a safely enough to be handy, but also work in all conditions. When he was finished heating up a cup of water, he picked out the stone and blew it out, and then put it back into the bottle of fuel to soak up for the next time. The support for his cup was just three stones he picked up off the ground. I’ve never used it myself, because I love the convenience of the pocket rocket style stove (I bought two on Amazon for $20, but then I’m not one for name brands🤷♂️). Prior to this, I used a Coleman propane bottle-top stove that I took a bandsaw to to cut it down, but propane sucks in the cold. My wife still has one that we didn’t cut down to use when car camping, as it supports a small skillet, and SAWC (see Nutnfancy channel) aren’t as critical. Speaking of Nutn, he has a great video evaluating stoves and fire making systems.
I remember reading that in the desert the SAS used to cook over a can full of sand soaked in petrol.
Light it, and hey presto.
I don't know how they put it out though
The thing with alcohol stoves is most if not all commercial models are open flame, which reduces efficiency drastically (but it's easy to use and that's why it's popular).
Pressurized/closed alcohol stoves only spray atomized fuel through it's burners, reducing waste and increasing autonomy. But they require preheating.