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Caldera Cone Ti Tri ULC “Fusion”


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  • #1295815
    Alex Eriksson
    Spectator

    @aeriksson

    Locale: Austin, TX

    Well it had to happen sooner or later; you come on BPL and you start diddling alcohol stoves. I'm no exception and the infection happened fairly quickly. My immune system was weakened by weeks of blowing my paychecks at REI. And so it went, that I decided to order a Trail Designs Caldera Cone after seriously evaluating so many options. I won't rehash what has been said about the system before so I'll just try to keep this to my particular "why" and more importantly, share some pics of this apparently new design even I didn't know I was getting.

    The Why:
    Everything can be said about efficiency and all that. I could have made my own over the course of the next couple weeks but decided I just wanted to get something solid, well tested, and to frankly support people who have blazed a trail ahead of me and started a business. Support local american businesses, blah blah blah, flag waving, go vote, etc etc. Anyhow, here's the real motivating factors:

    – Ti Tri because I really like the idea of being able to burn wood. I know a lot of people have the same dream and never use it, but WTF here's to hopin'.

    – Ti Tri, because it's lighter and I need something to offset my luxury items like 4 more squared of toilet paper, lest I make my dog carry it.

    – ULC because even after being told by Rand it wasn't as efficient, I simply read too many glowing reviews.

    – The "Fissure" system was out of the question because apparently the Stoic 700ml pot has handles that are too tall and the notch would be too deep

    – The "Fissure" was also out even if I wanted to use my Snow Peak 1400 Trek. Same reason. Moral: when you're buying cookware look for handles that are as long but vertically as short as possible (i.e. looks more like a pot handle than a mug handle)

    – I wanted something that I could safely nest inside my pot since volume is constrained in my current pack setup.

    And so like many before me I plunked down my <strike>hard</strike> earned money and ordered what I thought would be a regular ULC after much discussion with Rand (who is totally awesome and will entertain annoying people such as myself who have far too many Lazynet questions). A few days later (today in fact) it arrived.

    OMG IS IT NON-DENOMINATIONAL-DECEMBER-GIFTING-HOLIDAY ALREADY?!

    I was surprised to see not one but two cones. Being the thinking man that I am, a learned scholar if I will (and I will), I put everything together and was still a bit confused. Why would there be holes for Ti stakes so high on the cone? Wouldn't the pot sit too high for alcohol burning? Does it sit down in the cone to the rim of the pot? That seems too low….

    *Emails Rand*

    Come to find out this is the new, as Rand tentatively named it for the purposes of email, "Fusion" system his partner has recently invented. It's somewhere between a full size cone of a Fissure and the stubby cone of the original ULC. He hadn't actually seen it in action but told me to rub my three brain cells together and work it out (in much kinder terms!).

    AH HAH! THE STAKES GO THROUGH BOTTOM HOLES!!!

    So yeah, as you can see from the pics the Ti stakes go through the bottom holes and support both the pot (which doesn't sit down to the rim) and also the cones on top of each other. Clever girl….

    Anyhow. Pictures because I'm tired of typing and really besides that, it's the sick little piece of lightweight goodness I was expecting. I boiled 2 cups of water in it on the stove in 4m 45s and in the time it took me to fetch a glove to grab the pot handle it had burned out. All told, perfect conditions with cold tap water and 15ml of fuel. I should point out that the cones, stove (on it's side), ground cover, esbit tabs, and gram cracker fit into the pot. I can't fit the standard fuel bottle but no worries since I might leave the esbits at home and find a 2oz bottle for shooter trips (ships with a 4oz). I think I'm going to love this little thing.

    #1926564
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    My favorite cone set up so far. I use the 750ml Past Pot from Evernew. Very pleased.
    Here is a little more on it.

    http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=67976&skip_to_post=581811#581811

    #1926573
    Alex Eriksson
    Spectator

    @aeriksson

    Locale: Austin, TX

    Guess I should have searched and dug up an older thread. Aw well screw it. It's a nice setup and it's new to me! Clearly, I'm very excited. :D

    #1926579
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Have fun using it. Multiple threads, who cares? It's all multiple threads here.

    #1926606
    Arn Aarreberg
    Spectator

    @aarrebea

    Locale: Northern Bay Area, CA

    What is the weight with this setup? I have been eyeing the ULC setup for my backcountry 700mL pot.

    #1926608
    Brian Johns
    BPL Member

    @bcutlerj

    Locale: NorCal

    I have a fusion set up for a trek 700 snow peak. With a Ruta Locura CF lid, it's about 6.3 oz. for pot, lid, lighter, towel, and two cone pieces, two stakes and cuben stuff sack. The floor adds more, so I bring it when I choose to add my SP 450 mug too. I think the stove is .5 oz. and the two cones in a tyvek bag without stakes are 1.5 oz., so about 2 oz total, 2.5 with the stakes.

    #1926612
    Alex Eriksson
    Spectator

    @aeriksson

    Locale: Austin, TX

    I've been telling myself I won't buy a scale for measuring stuff like this. I can keep telling myself it's not really obsessing about weight if I only know approximations. Needless to say, it's quite a bit lighter than my Snow Peak Trek 1400 w/Gigapower Stove and a big ol' canister.

    #1926633
    Raymond Estrella
    Member

    @rayestrella

    Locale: Northern Minnesota

    Just take it to the Post Office and use the one in the self-serve area. ;-)

    #1926634
    William Chilton
    BPL Member

    @williamc3

    Locale: Antakya

    "Just take it to the Post Office and use the one in the self-serve area."
    Slippery slope ;)

    #1926635
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    You know you want one…

    The free one will just get you hooked.

    There are people here who take their's shopping.

    #1926637
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    Ebay – $10 – takes a couple weeks to ship it from China – call me a hypocrite for recommending buying stuff from China : )

    #1926661
    Alex Eriksson
    Spectator

    @aeriksson

    Locale: Austin, TX

    The fact that there's 4 posts about being crafty with scales or using a scale, tells me all I need to know. Ya'll are junkies! Look at what you've become! I bet you're all itchy to weigh something. ;-D

    #1926664
    Brian Johns
    BPL Member

    @bcutlerj

    Locale: NorCal

    To me, the scale is not so much about weighing a very lite stove that you will be bringing on every trip. It's more important to find out what you carried clothes weigh, and the items in your ditty bag. It makes it a lot easier to make choices about gear that may or may not stay at home. It's surprisingly helpful. Stamps dot com will give you one free, but since its probablyade in China too, might as well get the "Saga" scale or whatever for $10 on eBay.

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