Ultralight Pot Stand?

[Hikin’ Jim]

Has anyone tried this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130465484010?

Any feedback? Is it sturdy? Flimsy? Well made? Does it fit well together?

Thanks!

HJ

[Marc Shea]

Trangia came out with something that is very similar and looks like it provides more of a wind screen. It is 2oz heavier, but I think it might be more functional.

Here is a review.

http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?26940-Trangia-Triangle-Stove-Review

[Greg Mihalik]

From the EBay site – "The weight is approximately 2-1/2 oz"

This "Ultralight" stand would give very little wind protection, which is essential for alcohol burners to function efficiently, in even a gentle wind. Otherwise the heat is literally blown away.

A Trail Designs Aluminum Cone is about 1.5 ounces and gives 100% wind protection, and by enclosing the pot provides excellent heat exchange.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I'm not a big fan of either design. They both look unnecessarily heavy and complex.

The eBay pot stand is heavy (2.5oz) and all it does is support your pot. There are much lighter and simpler ways to do this, like buying alcohol stove with an integrated pot stand.

The Trangia pot stand/windscreen thing is way too heavy (4oz) and it looks like it does a poor job as windscreen since it doesn't even come up as high as the bottom of the pot. I imagine you'd get poor real world performance and fuel economy with one of these unless you used a proper windscreen as well.

Simplicity, support, stability and weight of my cook system is an area I've been thinking about a lot lately. I really like the stability of the Caldera Cone, but I don't like how it doesn't store in my pot. I have one of the shorter Caldera Cones (ie. ULC or Sidewinder) so it fits into my pot, but then I need to carry two stakes (8g ea) which adds a significant amount of weight and complexity. For me, these two stakes aren't multi-purpose because I want to be able to cook and have my shelter set up at the same time. Also, stakes usually don't fit into the pot, so you have to go digging around for your stake bag which is unnecessary hassle.

My conclusion is that the best setup is one where the stove functions as the primary pot weight support, but the windscreen hugs the pot to add much needed stability. So essentially you'd use a short Caldera Cone (ie. ULC) but without the stakes and instead the pot would rest it's weight on the stove. A nice low stove (ie. Zelph Starlyte) is ideal.

IMO, Trail Designs should consider doing something like this. All they would have to do is add a few grams worth of a pot support onto their 12-10 stove and then users of the Sidewinder and ULC systems could ditch the stakes. It would be a lighter and simpler system, while still retaining excellent stability.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

The Vargo Triad stove is also a stand.

With the alky butner removed it's a great solid fuel stove. (Two tabs at a time is best.)

BUT, to conserve heat for faster cooking times I always use my MSR roll-up aluminum foil windscreen.

[Jerry Wick]

Quote – "My conclusion is that the best setup is one where the stove functions as the primary pot weight support, but the windscreen hugs the pot to add much needed stability. So essentially you'd use a short Caldera Cone (ie. ULC) but without the stakes and instead the pot would rest it's weight on the stove."

Thanks, Dan, I've been wrestling with trying to figure out how to use a cone, yet still fit it into the pot for storage. I didn't even think about using a stove that would also support the pot. Duh! Problem solved!

[Dale Wambaugh]

My favorite for a MYOG pot stand is aluminum flashing with a couple Ti stakes to hold the pot up. You get windscreen and pot stand in one and the dual use of the stakes. Easy to make.

http://zenstoves.net/PotStands.htm has the good stuff

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

This is getting a bit off topic, but I've recently been thinking that the Zelph Starlyte is an amazing alcohol stove.

Here's why I've got really high hopes for the Starlyte:

1) It has an integrated pot support
2) It's really short (1.75" tall inc. pot stand) so you can use a shorter windscreen (lighter, more packable)
3) It's filled with wicking material that eliminates spills and makes it easy to light in the winter (big plus right now).
4) 16.4g

This low height is particularly key because:
1) A shorter windscreen can be used, saving 0.25-0.5oz
2) This short windscreen has a better chance of fitting in your pot, so you may not need to choose between good windscreen performance and good pack-ability.

I'm using the 850ml MSR Titan Kettle right now as my solo pot and it's 3.4" tall. Most 700-900ml pots are also of similar height (3-4"). Even though my pot is 3.4" tall, I can only fit about a 3" tall windscreen in the pot because the lid takes up some space inside. If I used a different stove at about 2.5-3" of height, then in order to fit the windscreen into my pot it would need to be so short that it would barely reach the bottom of the pot when I'm cooking, meaning sub par wind protection. With the 1.75" tall Starlyte, my 3" tall windscreen (18g) rises up the sides of the pot by 1.25" which gives me decent wind protection. The whole package is very light, simple, offers good wind protection and it packs very well.

The obvious improvement with this system would be to use a cone shaped windscreen instead of a traditional shape to improve pot stability. I plan to do this once I grab some more ti foil.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Thanks all for all the replies. I learn a lot constantly and don't mind at all when a thread goes "off topic" (although hopefully the topic does get some consideration too).

I should have clarified what I wanted the stand for. I want it for winter use with a Borde stove.

I need something that I can slide the Borde under/into and then put the pot on top. The one I referenced would work if inverted, but I wonder if it can handle the heat of a white gas stove. I think that it probably can, but I was wondering if anyone had tried it. It is a little heavy though, isn't it?

HJ

[Dale Wambaugh]

The aluminum flashing with tent stakes would work great– just nibble the hole for the fuel lines. This is a project you can tackle with a pair of kitchen shears and a hole punch.

[Christopher Taggart]

You could probably fashion a windscreen/pot stand similar to what is seen at the beginning of this video. The simple V design could be pointed into the wind.

[Dave Heiss]

Something like this V-stand I made for a Firefly stove would work well. It was pretty easy to make. FYI, the piece of aluminum tubing that the wires fit into (the "V" part) came from True Value hardware.

[Dug Shelby]

I go pretty cheap & easy with my windscreen. Unglamorous tin foil. :).

[Hikin’ Jim]

My favorite for a MYOG pot stand is aluminum flashing with a couple Ti stakes to hold the pot up. You get windscreen and pot stand in one and the dual use of the stakes. Easy to make.

Dale, I think you nailed it. Flashing + stakes is going to give me a good windscreen and pot stand. That's going to be my lightest overall option. If I get the pot stand I originally posted about, I still have to carry a windscreen which adds up in terms of weight. The whole idea behind getting a specialized stove like the Borde is to save weight.

HJ

[Greg Mihalik]

Doesn't a Borde require a 1" armor plate windscreen at least 24" tall by 24" wide. ;-)

[Hikin’ Jim]

Actually, I prefer four feet of reinforced earthworks with overhead cover, but man that doesn't pack light. ;)

HJ

[Jeremy Rardin]

The problem with stakes for your pot stand is that you cannot cook and be under your shelter at the same time. This will matter only depending on your style but inconvenient none the less:

If you hike all the day in the rain, get to camp and it is raining, do you cook in the rain? Do you bring a whole second tarp just for rain coverage? I tarp tent, so once i setup my shelter i can cook under it, but not if my stakes are being used to hold up the shelter. So you will have to choose between cooking in the rain or using something like clothes hanger wire.

The opportunity to save weight using a single item for two purpose is great, unless you need both at the same time. You are talking a weight difference of .3 or .4 max.

[James Marco]

"The opportunity to save weight using a single item for two purpose is great, unless you need both at the same time. …"

Yes. This is one of those things that is so often missed by people trying to use dual purpose items. This is one of those rules that is used by everyone using a dual purpose item, yet, no one ever mentions it explicitly. I call it temporal distribution. Just like things can be distributed around a campsite, the same holds true for the time you use them. Using stakes as a pot holder is a good idea, but, using them simultaneously as a pot holder and tent stake means one or the other will suffer. Using your spoon as a tent stake falls into the same category. Using a sleeping pad as a frame in your pack never suffers from this problem, though. Sleeping precludes hiking…well, unless you sleep walk. Single purpose items never fall prey to this problem, obviosly. But using a fuel bottle, burried in snow as a snow anchor could cause a problem. You need to fill the stove and know it will last for the morning, BEFORE this is safe to use this way. Sometimes a simple adjustment to a cooking system is enough, as above. Sometimes other limitations (like using an alcohol stove that needs refilling for every burn) may remove this as a possibility.

I agree completely.

[spelt with a t]

Wasn't Gary Dunckel making some collapsible three-legged wire potstands?

ETA: yes: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/59489/index.html

disclaimer: i just remembered the thread existed, i didn't read to the end to learn if they're currently in production

[Delmar O’Donnell]

> I've recently been thinking that the Zelph Starlyte is an amazing alcohol stove…

This thread recently bumped, I'd not seen this post before. It's what I needed to know, thanks for the photos Dan.

> The problem with stakes for your pot stand is that you cannot cook and be under your shelter at the same time.

Maybe a violation of the UL ethos, but I carry two spare stakes for the purpose at a whopping 12g penalty. Yeah, I'd prefer not to un-pitch the tent to get the stove running.

[Gary Dunckel]

After a serious timberline wind ripped 4 of my 7 Contrail stakes out of the ground, sending 2 into the great unknown, I've decided to carry a few extra titanium stakes as backups. These could be used as a pot support when they aren't needed for the tent. I think some others carry extra stakes as well. ( Edit–Thanks for validating my premise, Delmar!)

Another thing, I could borrow the two stakes that guy out the sides of the Contrail, which aren't needed to support the tent itself. Of course, a tarp doesn't have any unnecessary stake-out points, but I think having a couple spare stakes isn't a bad idea. You can't always find a natural way to stake down a shelter (big rocks, the right stick, or a nearby tree/bush).

I know, I know, every gram counts, right? But some of us have outgrown some of that, and don't mind carrying a few extra ounces to help insure a good time out there. It's easy for me to rationalize, since I don't carry no stinkin' Kindle.

[Gary Dunckel]

Good memory, Spelt. I didn't see your post, as you and I were typing at the same time. Yep, I still make the pot stands, and I like doing it for you people. Each one is a bit different–different stove, different pot, etc. In fact, right now I am excited about some new titanium rod that I bought. I can now offer pot supports with diameters of .062", .075", and .09" rod. So I can make a pot stand to support almost any weight. Here's a photo of the 3 different rod types (left to right–.062", .075", .09"):

I don't want to do a commercial thread drift here. You can PM me if you want to discuss these pot supports.

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