Articles (2020)

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Overview

The ThermoJet MicroLite alcohol stove is the best overall (light weight and top performing) alcohol cooking system we tested. The alcohol burner weighs only 0.28 ounce and the minimum carry weight is 3.0 ounces. This stove performed well in all of our tests, turning in some of the best boil time and fuel efficiency numbers under optimal and windy conditions. The complete cooking system rolls up into a small cylinder that fits inside a one-person cookpot. It is easy to set up and use. Cooking with the ThermoJet was as convenient as using a canister stove. I easily cooked macaroni and cheese for one person on 1 ounce of fuel using the stove’s simmer band. The ThermoJet MicroLite is one alcohol cooking system that gets everything right – it’s well designed, nicely constructed, and a top performer.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The aluminum alcohol burner is enclosed in a “combustion chamber” which is an aluminum windscreen/pot stand combination. Air enters through a row of 0.5-inch ports at the bottom and exits at the top around the cook pot. A simmer control band around the combustion chamber controls airflow.

Weight – The minimum setup (stove, combustion chamber, simmer band) weighs 3.0 ounces.

Flame Control – A simmer band controls the flame by limiting air intake. There is no snuffer provided to stop the stove. Burn time is controlled by varying the amount of alcohol used, snuffing the burner with a can, or using the simmer band to retard the flame.

Pot Support – The pot support is two 1/8-inch diameter steel rods that fit in four holes in the combustion chamber. The distance between the top of the stove and the bottom of the pot is 1.75 inches. The pot support is very stable, and will handle a pot up to 5.5 inches in diameter. A larger version is available for pots up to 6.5 inches in diameter.

Wind Protection – A combination windscreen/pot stand is provided. It provides very good wind protection.

Ease of Use

Setup – Setting up the ThermoJet MicroLite alcohol stove involves unrolling the combustion chamber and locking it, unrolling the simmer band and locking it, slipping the simmer band over the combustion chamber (if simmering is planned), placing a measured amount of alcohol in the stove, and lighting the stove. Time required is about 1-2 minutes.

Fueling – The open jet stove is very easy to fuel; just pour alcohol into the open cavity.

Priming and Ignition – No priming is needed, simply light a match and hold it over the stove. It lights with a “puff” and stays lit. Warm up time depends on air and fuel temperature.

Flame Adjustment – The simmer band fits snugly around the combustion chamber. I thought it would be difficult to adjust, but it turned out to be simple: just use two twigs to push it down on opposite sides (the reverse is not as easy). If the stove will only be used to boil water, the simmer band can be left at home.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – The main stove is easy to set up and light while wearing gloves. The simmer band is a bit tight and can be difficult to install with gloves. In cool or cold weather I found it necessary to warm the stove plus alcohol with my hands before lighting it; otherwise it would not light.

Cooking Systems – The ThermoJet MicroLite is a cooking system. It is obvious that the components were designed to work together. This stove was one of the two best performers in our lab tests in terms of boil time and fuel efficiency. It was also quite wind resistant.

Options – A larger stove is available for pots with a diameter between 5.75 and 6.5 inches. This is generally suitable for pots with a capacity of 1 to 1.5 liters. The large capacity stove costs the same as the standard stove.

Cooking Performance

I took the ThermoJet MicroLite on several backpacking trips in the Colorado Rockies. Evening temperatures were in the 50’s °F and breezy, and morning temperatures were in the low 30’s °F and calm.

Capacity – The ThermoJet MicroLite alcohol stove worked beautifully cooking for one person using a 0.9-liter titanium pot. It has sufficient capacity to cook for two people, but it would require a pot less than 5.5 inches in diameter and about 1.5 liters in volume. If cooking for two people consistently, I’d recommend buying the larger version of the stove.

Versatility – Any alcohol burner will boil water, but it requires a controllable stove to cook macaroni. The ThermoJet MicroLite cooked macaroni with aplomb. I cooked half a box of macaroni and cheese with 1 ounce of fuel. Once the noodles reached boiling, I pushed the simmer ring down to cover the air intakes. I added the dry ingredients after the noodles had simmered, just as the alcohol ran out.

Wind Effects – The ThermoJet MicroLite cooking system was one of the least affected by wind in our lab tests. This stove has an excellent windscreen/pot stand combination that provides good wind protection. However, wind does blow into the combustion chamber through the air intake ports on the windward side and causes turbulence within, resulting in heat loss.

Cold Effects – I simulated cold conditions by placing the alcohol burner and alcohol in a freezer overnight, then fueling the stove and lighting it. It would not light at first, but warming it for 30 seconds in my hands was enough for it to light, and the jets were burning within 1 minute.

Heating Efficiency

The ThermoJet MicroLite alcohol stove was one of the two top performing stoves in the Backpacking Light lab tests. Boil times for 1 pint of water were over a minute and a half less than the average for all the stoves tested. Fuel consumption was better than average under optimal conditions and significantly below average under windy conditions.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The windscreen/pot stand and simmer band roll into a bundle 2.5 inches by 4 inches with the burner and fuel bottle inside. This package fits nicely inside a 0.9-liter cookpot or larger. The included fuel bottle is only 4 fluid ounces, enough for trips over a long weekend.

Durability – During my testing I assembled and disassembled this stove many times. The basic stove setup is sufficiently durable for ultralight backpacking. The stove is mostly aluminum, so it would be best to carry the stove inside a cook pot to prevent unnecessary damage.

Maintenance – None required.

Value

The ThermoJet MicroLite alcohol stove is a very good value at $39.95 for the complete setup. It costs more than most alcohol burners alone and more than many complete alcohol stove setups, but you are paying for efficient design, quality construction, ease of use, and the time savings of not having to tweak components to optimize performance.

Tips and Tricks

The wind protection provided by the ThermoJet’s combustion chamber (windscreen/pot stand) could be improved by covering the ports on one side (about one-third of the circumference) with aluminum tape, or using aluminum foil to cover one side of the windscreen when needed. Orient the windscreen with the covered ports on the windward side to reduce direct wind effects. It works best to locate the combustion chamber on bare soil and push it into the ground slightly to seal the bottom, and then place a piece of aluminum foil under the alcohol burner to act as a heat reflector.

Recommendations for Improvement

Backpacking Light supports the development of cooking systems – a complete system that is optimized for maximum efficiency. The ThermoJet MicroLite alcohol stove system is already one of the best available, but it can be improved by:

• Including a lightweight heat deflector to go under the alcohol burner.
• Offering the system with a lightweight cookpot with tight fitting lid that is correctly sized for the stove and large enough to pack the collapsed stove inside.
• Offering lightweight 8-ounce and 16-ounce fuel bottles that measure the amount of fuel dispensed.

Overview

The Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner is a tough little stove consisting of a small burner, a round pot support of stiff screen material, and two lids which fit onto the ends of the pot support for storage, one serving as a pre-heat pan during cooking. The stove takes a relatively long time (6 minutes 53 seconds) to boil 2 cups of water in optimal conditions. In most windy and/or cold conditions it heats water hot enough to re-hydrate dried food, but not to boiling. It weighs 2.2 ounces configured for storage (burner stowed inside the container formed by the pot support and two lids); one lid can be left at home, saving 0.5 ounce, without affecting cooking performance. The Etowah fits inside a Snow Peak 600 titanium cup and larger pots. Although eggs fry up nicely with the stove, it is basically a one-person/three-season stove for someone who prepares meals by adding hot water to dried food.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The burner is a small metal tin with eight holes punched into the lid. The pre-heat pan (base) and top are larger metal lids that fit onto the pot support. The pot support is a section of 2-inch high screen that has been formed into a rigid cylinder by interlocking the ends and bending them back. Distance from the burner to a pot is 0.8 inches. When ready for stowing, the burner sits inside the cylinder of mesh capped by a lid at each end. The carry sack is a silnylon sack with bungee and toggle closure.

In its stowed configuration, with base and cover on the pot support and burner stowed inside, the stove is very rugged. The pot stand provides a stable base for pots up to 2 liters. The burner holds about 0.5 fluid ounces of fuel so cooking time is very limited.

Weight – The Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner weighs 2.2 ounces without the carry sack. The packed weight can be reduced by 0.5 ounce by leaving the cover at home without affecting stove performance. The stowed stove is less crush-proof without the cover, but still much stronger than a typical soda can alcohol stove. Stove weight could be further reduced, without affecting stove cooking performance, by using a smaller/lighter pre-heat pan. Leave the carry sack at home to save a few more grams.

Flame Control – None, burn time is controlled by measuring the amount of fuel used.

Pot Support – The pot support is a 2-inch high, 3-1/8 inch diameter circle of mesh that is easily strong enough to support a 2-liter pot full of water. Its relatively wide base provides very good stability for a 0.75-liter pot and good stability for a 2-liter pot. Stability would be even better if the pot support mesh was trimmed more evenly. The point where the two ends of the mesh are bent together is slightly higher than the rest of the edge and prevents a pot from being in contact with the full circle of the pot support.

Wind Protection – None provided.

Ease of Use

Setup – The burner cover must be removed to fill the burner with fuel and then replaced. Additionally, Etowah Outfitters instructs that the bottom of the pre-heat pan should be covered with fuel before slipping the pot support into it and lighting the stove. Set up time from stow bag to lighting averaged about 45 seconds in warm conditions and about 1 minute 20 seconds with gloves on. Set up time can be reduced slightly by using a fuel bottle with a squirt nozzle to squirt fuel into the pre-heat pan with the pot support in place.

Fueling – It requires some care not to spill fuel while replacing the lid after filling the burner. The pre-heat pan has a wide opening and it’s easy to squirt or pour a little fuel into it for stove priming.

Priming and Ignition – It is easy to light the pre-heat fuel with a match but difficult to hold a lighter flame to the fuel since the pot support gets in the way.

Once the pre-heat fuel is lit, the burner heats and starts a stable burn (eight jets of blue flame from the burner holes) in as little as 15 seconds in calm conditions. The higher the wind speed, the longer the burner takes to ignite. In moderate winds, the burner does not catch at all on the first try, but in the windy and cold conditions I encountered, it did catch on the second try after refilling the pre-heat pan and relighting.

Flame Adjustment – None.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – The most difficult parts of operating the stove with gloves on are getting the burner cap off, and keeping fuel off the gloves when replacing the cap. The burner cap fits very tightly after each burn. I got into the habit of loosening the cap just before storing the stove each time, which made removing the cap for fueling much quicker on subsequent stove firings. Since I used a squeeze bottle for fuel, I did not follow the manufacturer instructions to remove the pot support from the base/pre-heat pan before putting fuel into the pan. This simplified the stove lighting process. These minor adjustments made cold weather lighting of the Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner easier but still not the one-step process needed for some of the stoves in the Backpacking Light review suite.

Cooking Performance

Capacity – Although the pot stand easily and stably supports pots up to 2 liters, this stove is not suitable for two people because of the small fuel capacity of the burner (less than 0.5 fluid ounce).

Versatility – The Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner is suited for the “boil” and set method of cooking that simply requires that water be heated. I also successfully fried eggs (both real and powdered) over the stove by stirring constantly and holding the pot above the pot stand with a pot lifter when the flames were too hot. The fact that the stove doesn’t burn hot enough to boil water in all conditions is an asset for cooking dishes that require simmering. I prepared a rice dish meant to require 7 minutes of simmering by placing the pot and ingredients on the lit stove and leaving it for 20 minutes. Outside temperature was 57 °F with gusting winds up to about 25 mph. I did not disturb the stove during this experiment to check to see when the flames died out, but under the same conditions in previous burns the stove stayed lit about 7 minutes.

This stove is a great muffin steamer! I used a bent strip of aluminum from a soda can to raise a muffin foil filled with dough off the bottom of the pot. An aluminum foil lid and a small amount of water in the bottom of the pot completed the setup. Just as with the rice dish, I left the pot on the stove while the alcohol burned out and for some time after to allow the muffin to continue to bake. Perfect muffins every time! I’ve tried the same method with other alcohol stoves and had the water boil up over the top of the muffin foil because the stove burned too hot.

The Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner is designed to use solid fuel tabs as well as alcohol as the name implies.

Wind Effects – The burner does not hold enough fuel to boil 2 cups of water in even mild winds. The water is normally steaming and hot enough to re-hydrate food, but does not reach boiling. The pre-heat pan is easy to light with a match even in windy conditions but when it is also cold, the burner doesn’t always light from the burning pre-heat fuel the first time.

Cold Effects – In cool conditions (50 °F) the burner does not hold enough fuel to boil 2 cups of water. I simulated cold weather by putting the stove and fuel in a freezer, and water in a refrigerator. Once everything was cold, I quickly set up the stove outside and lit it. I had no problem getting fuel in the pre-heat pan to ignite and the burner lit (blue flames out of all eight holes) in about 45 seconds. When I added wind to the scenario (in the form of a fan), the burner often did not catch on the first lighting of the pre-heat fuel. The burner did ignite every time after a second priming.

In the field at 45 °F and winds gusting to about 25 mph, the burner ignited on average in less than 30 seconds, but did not heat the water to boiling.

Heating Efficiency

The Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner had a higher than average boil time and average fuel consumption under optimal conditions in the Backpacking Light stove tests. The burner cup is small and only holds about 15 grams of fuel, which was not enough to boil 2 cups of water in standardized testing (the water temperature was raised to 164 °F).

I used several cook pots (Snow Peak 600 titanium cup, 3-cup and 2-liter Antigravity Gear aluminum pots) with 2 cups of water under various conditions in field-testing. The stove only brought the water to a full boil in warm, calm conditions. In windy conditions, the Etowah stove won’t boil water. It does, however, heat water to the point that dried food can be re-hydrated.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The stove packs very neatly into a small can that fits nicely inside a Snow Peak 600 titanium cup or a larger pot. It is larger than some alcohol stoves and fills up almost half the height of the Snow Peak cup.

Durability – In its stowed configuration, with base and cover on the pot support and burner stowed inside, the stove is very rugged. I stood on the stove without causing any damage. Even unpacked, the stove components are sturdy. The pot support can be bent out of shape but it requires some effort. I was not able to deform the sides of the burner by squeezing it with the lid on. The stove is much sturdier than a soda can stove and it won’t blow away in a light breeze.

Maintenance – Maintenance is not required on this stove. The components are sturdy and simple. The burner cup in particular is very strong and unlikely to be damaged.

Value

The Etowah Outfitters Solid Fuel Stove with Alcohol Burner is an inexpensive stove that does not have to be handled carefully and is not failure prone. It is simple to use and doesn’t require maintenance. However, it is a poor value because it does not heat water to boiling in cool and/or windy conditions. (It does heat water enough to re-hydrate food in most three-season conditions.)

Tips and Tricks

Wrap the burner in a bit of paper towel to keep it from rattling around inside the pot support. The cap on the burner can get quite tight after a burn; loosening it after it cools down saves time during the next use. Leave the cover at home to save 0.5 ounce without affecting cooking performance. Plan on using matches to light pre-heat fuel.

Recommendations for Improvement

A larger burner tin that holds enough fuel to boil 2 cups of water in a wider range of conditions would be a huge improvement for this stove.

Overview

The Hiknakd alcohol stove was one of the top four performing stoves in our review suite. It is well designed, meticulously crafted, and lightweight. It comes as a cooking system consisting of alcohol burner, pot stand, windscreen, simmer ring, snuffer, and fuel bottle. Its windscreen is adjustable to accommodate cook pots up to 2 liters, and the alcohol burner has enough capacity to cook for two people. It cooked simple and more complex meals as conveniently as a canister stove. I found the Hiknakd to be a capable stove ideal for ultralight backpacking, however it should be carried inside a cookpot to avoid damaging it inside a backpack.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The Hiknakd alcohol stove setup is nicely designed and of exceptionally high quality. The cleverly designed three-piece pot stand is cut from 0.032 gauge aluminum sheet and easily connects together. The alcohol burner is meticulously made and has 24 small, evenly spaced jets. A seam on the side of the burner does not require aluminum tape to seal it. The windscreen is 24 inches long and 4 inches high with two rows of 0.25-inch holes along the bottom, and is adjustable for pot diameter. Two paper clips can be used to hold the windscreen at the desired diameter, usually about 1 inch larger than the pot diameter. This configuration forces the stove to draw combustion air through the two rows of holes at the bottom of the windscreen and exit along the sides of the pot.

Weight – The entire Hiknakd setup weighs 3.6 ounces – now that’s a light backpacking stove!

Flame Control – The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit is one of the few stoves reviewed that comes with a simmer ring and an extinguishing ring.

Pot Support – The three-piece pot stand has 1.5-inch high pot supports that are spaced about 3.5 inches apart (center to center). This provides a very stable surface. A nice feature of the Hiknakd design is that the adjustable windscreen will accommodate pots up to 6 inches in diameter. The distance from the top of the burner to the bottom of the pot is 1.3 inches.

Wind Protection – Very good, if the windscreen completely surrounds the stove with about 0.5 inch of space between the windscreen and the pot. The aluminum windscreen protects the alcohol burner and the lower 1.5 inches of the cook pot. The windscreen is beautifully made and rolls up into a 3-inch diameter circle.

Ease of Use

Setup – Setting up the stove involves assembling the three parts of the pot stand, fueling the alcohol burner and setting it in the stand, lighting the burner, and setting the windscreen in place. Time required is about 1-2 minutes. The Hiknakd pot stand is exceptionally easy to assemble and disassemble.

Fueling – The open jet stove is very easy to fuel; just pour alcohol into the open cavity.

Priming and Ignition – No priming is needed, simply light a match and hold it over the stove. It lights with a “puff” and stays lit. Warm up time depends on air and fuel temperature.

Flame Adjustment – The simmer ring is easy to use. It is not adjustable, just a ring with a hole in the center to limit the amount of combustion air. Simply place the simmer ring on the top of the burner. A snuffer ring is provided to extinguish the flame. Remove the simmer ring and drop the snuffer ring on top of the burner. The snuffer ring will not work on top of the simmer ring.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – The pot stand can be assembled with gloved hands, but frankly it is easier to take your gloves off and do it. Fueling and adjusting the windscreen can be done with gloves on.

Cooking Systems – The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit is a complete cooking system, sans pot. It is simple, very well designed and crafted, and works very well. The components are specifically designed to efficiently work together. This stove was one of the better performers in our lab tests in terms of boil time and fuel efficiency. It was also quite wind resistant.

Options – The components are sold separately or as a package. The kit is available with your choice of a 4, 6, or 8 fluid ounce fuel bottle, and a longer/taller windscreen upon request.

Cooking Performance

I used the Hiknakd stove on three backpacking trips in the Southern Colorado Rockies under cool, breezy conditions.

Capacity – Unlike some of the other stoves we reviewed, the Hiknakd windscreen is adjustable for pot diameter. I used the stove with a 0.9-liter pot for one-person cooking, and just as easily with a 1.5-liter pot for two-person cooking. I opened the windscreen to the desired diameter (allowing 0.25 to 0.5 inch clearance around the pot), and secured it in a circle with two paper clips. The alcohol burner has enough capacity to cook for two people.

Versatility – I used the stove to melt snow, and cook macaroni and breakfast cereal at high elevations and cool temperatures. The stove melted snow and boiled the resultant water just fine, but it took some time and fuel to do it. The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit boiled 1 pint and 1 quart of warmer water (40 °F) with no problem for simple boil and set dinners and breakfasts. Using the simmer ring, I cooked macaroni for one person with 0.75 ounce of fuel. However the simmer ring is not adjustable, and the stove tends to burn a little too hot for simmering. Overall, I found the Hiknakd to be a serious backpacking stove for one or two people, and it is capable of more complex meals, assuming the user has skill with using an alcohol stove.

Wind Effects – I tested the Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit under windy conditions in our lab and under breezy conditions in the field. Like most alcohol stoves, performance was significantly impaired in the wind. It is important to provide extra wind protection, in addition to the windscreen, to maintain decent efficiency under windy conditions. This stove has enough fuel capacity to boil 1 quart of water under windy conditions if good wind protection is provided.

Cold Effects – I put the stove and fuel in a freezer at 0 °F and water in a refrigerator at 40 °F overnight to simulate cold conditions. Straight out of the freezer, the stove would not light, but warming it in my hands for 30 seconds allowed it to light. The overall effect of cold was to introduce an extra step (hand warming) to light the stove, and an extra 30-60 seconds for it to reach cooking temperature.

Heating Efficiency

The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit performed slightly better than average in the Backpacking Light lab tests; overall, it was one of the top four performing stoves.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The stove components (except for the fuel bottle) will fit inside a solo cookpot. It helps to enclose the unit in a stuff sack or plastic bag to keep the components together.

Durability – The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit is made of light aluminum and can easily be damaged in a backpack. It would be best to pack this stove kit inside a cook pot so it is not damaged by other items inside the pack or from the pack banging against trees and rocks. The thin aluminum pot stand can bend while assembling or disassembling it, so reasonable care is needed to ensure its longevity.

Maintenance – None required. With proper care and use, it should provide many years of service.

Value

The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit is very well designed, meticulously crafted, very lightweight, and performs well. At $35 for a complete cooking system (without pot), the Hiknakd is an excellent value for ultralight backpacking.

Tips and Tricks

If you will consistently be using the same cookpot with the Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit, you can cut the windscreen to the appropriate length and crimp the ends to fit your pot. I found this stove somewhat starved for air at higher elevations. Performance was much improved after I added a third row of holes to the bottom of the windscreen. In windy conditions, the wind may directly enter the windscreen through the air intake ports at the bottom, causing turbulence. The ports on the windward side (about one-third of the circumference) can be taped over or covered with aluminum foil to eliminate this problem, or just place rocks on the windward side to shield the ports.

Recommendations for Improvement

Backpacking Light supports the development of cooking systems – complete systems that are optimized for maximum efficiency. The Hiknakd Alcohol Stove Kit is already an excellent product. Some suggestions I have to make it an even better system are:

• Eliminate the air intake ports in one section of the windscreen to provide better wind protection. This may necessitate increasing the number of intake ports on the rest of the windscreen to provide enough combustion air.
• Offer the system with a lightweight pot and tight fitting lid (one that the other components fit into).
• Increase the number of air intake holes in the bottom of the windscreen, so the burner gets enough air for combustion at higher elevations.

Overview

The Rhino alcohol stove is a minimalist, inexpensive alcohol stove. It comes with a simple hardware mesh pot stand and an aluminum foil windscreen. Although I had some problems with the windscreen interfering with stove performance and efficiency, this stove will perform adequately for simple cooking for one person. A sturdier and more functional windscreen would improve performance significantly.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The Rhino alcohol stove is based on the Scott Henderson design. It uses an aluminum soda can burner with 32 irregular medium sized jets on the top edge. There is a taped joint on the side of the stove. The pot stand is made from 0.5-inch hardware cloth that hooks together at the ends. The windscreen is made from heavy-duty aluminum foil and measures 6 inches high x 15.5 inches long. Using a 5.5-inch diameter pot, the windscreen extends to the top of the pot and does not completely encircle it. Since there are no air intake holes in the windscreen, combustion air must enter from the open side of the windscreen and exit around the pot.

Weight – The entire Rhino alcohol stove setup weighs 1.3 ounces – very light!

Flame Control – None. Use a pre-measured amount of alcohol and let it burn out.

Pot Support – The hardware cloth pot stand is simple, light, sturdy, and stable. Distance from the top of the burner to the bottom of the pot is 1.2 inches.

Wind Protection – The aluminum foil windscreen is very light and functional, but it does not completely enclose the stove and provide access for combustion air from the bottom of the windscreen.

Ease of Use

Setup – Setting up the stove involves fueling the alcohol burner, setting the pot stand over the burner, lighting the burner, placing the cookpot on the pot stand, and setting the windscreen in place. Time required is about 1-2 minutes.

Fueling – This open jet stove is very easy to fuel – simply pour alcohol into the open well.

Priming and Ignition – No priming is needed, just light a match and hold it over the stove. It lights with a “puff” and stays lit. Warm up time depends on air and fuel temperature.

Flame Adjustment – No simmer ring or extinguishing ring is provided, so there is no control over the flame. The best approach is to estimate and measure the amount of fuel needed and let the stove burn out.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – This stove is very simple, and easy to set up with gloved hands.

Cooking Systems – The Rhino alcohol stove is a simple, bare bones cooking system, sans pot. Unfortunately, the components do not work very well together, and the problem seems to be with the windscreen. The windscreen surrounds about two-thirds of the stove, and if placed close to the stove, it causes crosscurrents and turbulence behind it that interfere with stove performance and efficiency.

Cooking Performance

I used the Rhino alcohol stove on three backpacking trips in the Southern Colorado Rockies under cool, breezy conditions.

Capacity – The stove easily cooked for one person using a 0.9-liter cookpot. The alcohol burner itself has enough fuel capacity to cook for two people, but using a larger pot on the Rhino’s narrow pot stand is a balancing act.

Versatility – The Rhino alcohol stove melts snow and boils the melt water, but it is not an easy task for this stove. The Rhino is more suitable for boiling water and simple boil and set meals. There is no simmer ring to lower the flame level for more complex cooking.

Wind Effects – The Rhino alcohol stove did not perform well in our lab wind tests, with strong lateral wind currents and turbulence behind the windscreen. In breezy conditions in the field, I found that locating the windscreen 6-8 inches away from the stove helped to reduce the crosscurrents and turbulence.

Cold Effects – On a 37 °F morning in the field, I needed to warm the stove (with fuel) in my hands for 30 seconds before it would light. Once lit, the stove took an extra minute to reach operating temperature, then performed normally.

Heating Efficiency

The Rhino alcohol stove was one of the worst performing stoves in the Backpacking Light lab tests. The problem seems to be with its windscreen, as explained above. Under optimal conditions, the stove has air flow problems with inadequate combustion air and cross currents carrying the heat away from the pot. In windy conditions, this problem was accentuated, with the flame bending sideways inside the windscreen!

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The stove components compact to a small size and fit easily inside a small cookpot.

Durability – By itself the stove setup is susceptible to damage in a backpack, but packed inside a cookpot it will hold up well for long-term use. The aluminum foil windscreen is very lightweight, but not very durable.

Maintenance – None required.

Value

I like the Rhino alcohol stove’s simplicity and low price, but the workmanship, while serviceable, does not evidence the pride in construction of many of the other stoves in our test. The Rhino did not perform well in our lab tests; with a better windscreen design, the Rhino Stove would probably perform similarly to the other stoves we reviewed.

Tips and Tricks

Ditch the windscreen and make your own. The best windscreen design seems to be one that encircles the pot with about a 0.5-inch gap around the pot with air intake ports near the bottom. This type of windscreen is lightweight and will roll up for easy packing.

Recommendations for Improvement

Backpacking Light supports the development of cooking systems – making available a complete system that is optimized for maximum efficiency. The Rhino Stove makes a good start, but needs some more R&D to improve its performance. My suggestions for improvement are:

• Use fewer jets or smaller jets that are more uniform.
• Develop a more efficient windscreen design.
• Offer a complete cooking system that adds devices for flame control and a cookpot that will contain the entire system.

Overview

The new Outdoor Research Zealot rain jacket is aimed squarely at the growing ultralight market, packing no frills storm protection into a simple package and weighing in at just over 7 ounces (7.2 ounces, 204 g Backpacking Light measured weight). The Zealot has a minimalist design; one pocket, one hood adjustment, elastic cuffs, and hem drawcord. A water resistant two-way full zipper adds a measure of breathability and ease of use. The waterproof/breathable shell fabric is 15 denier Gore-Tex PacLite. The Zealot performs nearly as well as heavier rainshells, with little sacrifice in performance due to the simple feature set. It has limited storage space relative to a full-featured rainshell, and the water resistant zipper is more difficult to operate than others I have used. The Zealot jacket does not contain new technology, but Outdoor Research made good trade-offs to produce a fully functional waterproof/breathable jacket and keep it under 8 ounces.

Specifications

What’s Good

• Full zip waterproof/breathable shell weighing only 7.2 ounces (204 g)
• Double separating zipper provides good breathability control
• Low bulk Gore-Tex PacLite fabric with Gore taped seams provides good storm protection
• Roomy enough to fit over layers

What’s Not So Good

• Water resistant zipper is difficult to operate
• Single rear hood adjustment provides limited control

Performance

I tested the Outdoor Research Zealot on late winter trips in the southern Arizona mountains. I stayed dry in light and heavy rain while hiking, resting, or performing basic camp chores. The water resistant zipper performed well and the hood stayed in place while cinched down in wind driven rain. The lack of control on the hood brim exposed my face and forehead to more weather than a full-featured hood with multiple adjustments does. I tested breathability and comfort in my standard fashion; wearing the jacket on a 1,200 vertical foot, 2 mile climb into the Saguaro Wilderness with temperatures in the 50s °F. This test puts most shells squarely in the discomfort zone. While I was certainly warm and moist by the time I finished this climb, the Zealot performed as well as other, heavier rainshells I’ve used. The zipper is critical to maintaining some comfort under these conditions. I experimented with the two-way zipper and found its versatility useful when wearing the jacket with different pack configurations (waistbelt, no waistbelt, sternum strap). The elastic cuffs held in more moisture and heat than adjustable cuffs that can be opened wide. I found the small hood volume to be just fine in normal use. With a high volume climbing helmet (Black Diamond Halfdome) the hood was too small to use comfortably. A lower volume helmet might fit under the hood more effectively. The lack of storage space in the Outdoor Research Zealot is the most significant weight/performance trade-off. The chest pocket has a vertical zipper and is large enough to hold your keys, or an energy bar or two, but not much else. The chest pocket’s vertical zipper makes it easy to access while wearing a pack under most conditions, but use of a sternum strap blocks entry. I will gladly sacrifice the convenience of more pockets to get a functional shell at just over 7 ounces. According to Todd Walton at Outdoor Research, the design goal was to create a hardshell so light that there would be "no reason not to take it." At this they have succeeded.

The Zealot is well constructed with good overall fit. The tail is slightly dropped and the sleeves are articulated to keep the jacket from rising when arms are lifted to shoulder height. The hem drawcord has a single toggle lock on the left side and adjusts easily and tightly. The hood has a moderate brim stiffener and a single drawcord adjustment in the rear. The hood adjustment cinches the hood around your ears, providing better protection from wind and rain. The hood adjustment does not provide any control over the brim of the hood, making it a little less storm resistant than more full featured hoods.

The Outdoor Research Zealot hood cinches up well around your ears, but its single adjustment provides no control over the brim.

What’s Unique

Outdoor Research has used lightweight fabric and pared down the features to reduce the weight to near 7 ounces in a waterproof/breathable shell, while retaining the most functional feature – a full zipper. By including a double separating zipper they have added extra usability and breathability control for very little extra weight; a good trade-off in my opinion. The 15 denier Gore-Tex PacLite fabric is significantly less bulky than most other waterproof/breathable materials and has Gore seam tape which adds little bulk to the seams – features I appreciate when wearing the jacket or packing it. The PacLite fabric features a Gore-Tex membrane with abrasion resistant dots designed to protect and enhance the life of the membrane. This abrasion resistance allows PacLite shells to eliminate the full liner layer common to other Gore-Tex fabrics, saving weight and bulk; although Gore states that PacLite shells will be less durable than heavier Gore-Tex shells.

Recommendations for Improvement

My biggest concern with the Outdoor Research Zealot jacket is the difficult operation of the zipper. Water resistant zippers are frequently difficult to move, but the zipper on the Zealot I tested is more difficult to use than most I have experienced. There was no significant improvement after several weeks of use. A smoother zipper would be a welcome improvement.

Overview

The Mini-Trangia and the Liberty Mountain Westwind alcohol stoves are two lightweight configurations of the Trangia family of stoves. Both use the Trangia alcohol burner. The Mini-Trangia includes a cook kit that also serves as a packaging system for the stove. The Westwind is a lighter weight version that includes a three-piece windscreen/pot stand. The Trangia burner is nicely designed and has some useful features. For example, for shorter duration trips, fuel can be stored within the stove itself, which is sealed by a threaded cap. The Trangia burner is on the heavy side compared to other alcohol burners we reviewed, but it is well designed, quality made, and performs well.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The Mini-Trangia alcohol stove comes complete with alcohol burner and cook kit. The burner and pot stand nest nicely into a 0.8-liter cookpot that closes with a nonstick fry pan/lid making for a nice contained cook system. The Liberty Mountain Westwind model packages the Trangia alcohol burner with a collapsible pot stand/windscreen only. The Trangia alcohol burner has the capability to store its own fuel when the burner cap is used, which is a nice feature for 1-2 night outings where all the needed fuel can be stored within the stove. The burner cap has a rubber seal providing a leak-proof container. Set up times for the Trangia burner are minimal, especially when the stove is used as the alcohol storage container. Lighting is accomplished by simply igniting the alcohol pool in the middle of the stove and a half minute later the burner starts jetting. The simmer/extinguisher cap has an adjustable ring providing simmer control. The cap is simply rotated to its closed position to extinguish the stove.

Weight – The Trangia alcohol burner is heavy at 3.9 ounces when compared to other alcohol stoves. There are no modifications available to lower the burner’s weight without sacrificing performance.

Flame Control – The only flame control is the simmer/extinguisher cap, which effectively controls the amount of flame.

Pot Support – The Mini-Trangia alcohol stove comes with a 0.8-liter pot that was designed to fit on the included pot stand. A circular section on the pot is stamped out so that the pot nests within the pot stand supports. The Liberty Mountain Westwind alcohol stove has a three-piece pot stand that assembles together in a triangular configuration, and includes cutouts to support the Trangia burner. While both pot stands adequately support large pots, the Westwind has a larger base offering even more stability.

Wind Protection – Some wind protection on both the Mini-Trangia and the Liberty Mountain Westwind is provided by the pot supports. The Mini-Trangia pot stand provides more coverage of the alcohol burner and thus better wind protection.

Ease of Use

Setup – The Mini-Trangia is easy to assemble into cook mode, taking under 10 seconds. It takes about 15 seconds to mate the three pieces of aluminum together to form the Liberty Mountain Westwind pot stand.

Fueling – Fueling the Trangia alcohol burner is a matter of simply placing alcohol into the reservoir in the middle of the burner. If the burner has been used to store the alcohol, that step is eliminated.

Priming and Ignition – The alcohol reservoir remains lit once ignited; we had no trouble with the flame going out. Once the stove warms up, it starts to burn from the jets in less than 30 seconds.

Flame Adjustment – The simmer cap works well to adjust the flame.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – Operating the burner with gloves on is a little tricky. The most difficult part is unscrewing the burner cap from the alcohol burner. This cap is essentially the same as those found on a mason jar.

Cooking Systems – The Mini-Trangia stove comes with a cookpot, pot stand, and windscreen that were designed to work together. The pot bottom has a punched out section that nests within the pot stand. The fry pan lid has a similar recess that forms a good fit on the cookpot when used as a lid. When the stove is packed up, this fry pan lid snaps firmly onto the cookpot containing the pot stand, stove, and pot handle within the cookpot. The Liberty Mountain Westwind has cutouts in the pot stand to support the alcohol burner. Trangia manufactures a wide array of cooking systems that work with the Trangia alcohol burner.

Cooking Performance

Capacity – The Mini-Trangia alcohol stove comes with a 0.8-liter cook pot that is suitable for boiling water for one person. Flames from the alcohol burner spilled around the pot. A larger cook pot would lessen the amount of flame spillage, allowing for more efficient heating.

Versatility – The simmer cap is adjustable by sliding a metal cap over the alcohol burner. When completely shut, the simmer cap acts as an effective extinguisher. Adjusting the simmer cap after it is placed on the alcohol burner is difficult. The rotating metal on the simmer cap does not move easily and actually requires removing the simmer cap, letting the cap cool sufficiently for handling, adjusting the opening on the cap, and then replacing the simmer cap back onto the burner. An in situ adjustment would be desirable. Additionally, the included pot stand on the Mini-Trangia interferes with the simmer cap when it is opened past a certain point. This interference was also true for the Westwind pot stand. Once the simmer cap is set to achieve a desired flame level, the stove can be used for more complex meals beyond the simple task of boiling water.

Wind Effects – Without an additional windscreen, the Trangia alcohol burner is seriously affected by the wind. The pot stands of both the Mini-Trangia and the Liberty Mountain Westwind provide only minimal protection from wind. The burner jets are directly exposed to any wind disturbances, and are not protected by the stove’s design.

Cold Effects – The Trangia burner and fuel were placed in a freezer to simulate cold weather performance. When the burner was removed from the freezer, it lit right away; approximately 45 seconds later, the burner started to burn from the jets. Cold weather did not seem to drastically alter the its performance. This was most likely due to its brass construction. Brass has a relatively high thermal conductivity and quickly heats or cools depending on the thermal environment.

Heating Efficiency

The Mini-Trangia and Liberty Mountain Westwind versions of the Trangia stove have higher boil times in optimal conditions than the average for all the alcohol stoves we reviewed. The Mini-Trangia stove consumed a higher than average amount of fuel to achieve boiling, but the Westwind used significantly less fuel than average. This may be a result of the Mini-Trangia’s flame spread, which disperses flames around the cook pot, causing decreased efficiency. Under windy conditions, the Trangia burner becomes a blowtorch, especially in the Liberty Mountain Westwind where the boil time was faster than in optimal conditions, probably due to the fanning effect. Fuel consumption under windy conditions leaped for both stoves (the highest of all stoves tested) illustrating why good wind protection is necessary for an alcohol stove.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The Mini-Trangia nests wonderfully into a relatively small package that can be packed away easily. The Liberty Mountain Westwind pot stand has three pieces that can be misplaced easily.

Durability – The alcohol burner is made from a relatively thick gauge of brass, which can be expected to resist use and abuse. The burner is further protected within the cookpot of the Mini-Trangia setup.

Maintenance – The only foreseeable maintenance is unclogging the jet holes.

Value

The Trangia alcohol burner cooks well and is a good value for its durability. The bare-bones model (Liberty Mountain Westwind alcohol stove) is available for $27, and the Mini-Trangia integrated and packable cook system is $39.90. The best feature of the Trangia burner is the ability to store fuel within the stove thereby reducing the need for a fuel bottle on short duration trips.

Recommendations for Improvement

The Trangia burner would be more versatile if the simmer cap is modified so that it can be adjusted while the stove is in use, rather than needing to remove the cap from the stove to adjust it.

Overview

The Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove is a high quality stove with some great features. It has an innovative simmer sleeve that allows you to control the flame and simmer for more than 30 minutes. It also has a sturdy built-in pot stand that works well with pots up to 2 liters. The Brasslite Turbo II-D can easily cook for two or more people. As with any alcohol stove, it is essential that the Turbo II-D be used with a windscreen to minimize inefficiencies caused by wind.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – As the name implies, the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove is made of brass in an open flame design (no jets). It includes a built in pot stand, and a sliding simmer sleeve for flame control.

Weight – At 2.6 ounces, including a built in pot stand, the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove is heavier than a simple soda can stove plus a pot stand. The pot stand could be reduced in weight without significant performance loss.

Flame Control – The innovative simmer sleeve is very effective at flame control.

Pot Support – The pot support is the same diameter as the stove (2.8 inches). It is a mesh design that is strong and moderately stable.

Wind Protection – None included.

Ease of Use

Setup – With the pot stand built into the stove, there is virtually no set up time – just add fuel and light.

Fueling – Lighting the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove is easy, so long as you have a directed nozzle on your fuel bottle with which to accurately place your fuel. Brasslite has a graduated fuel bottle with a nozzle dispenser available. Fueling the stove from a plastic soda bottle is prone to spillage.

Priming and Ignition – The Brasslite requires priming, especially in cool conditions (below about 55 °F in my experience). The warming pan is easy to use and works well to get the stove burning efficiently.

Flame Adjustment – The Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove has a simmer sleeve that encircles the main cylinder and allows you to control airflow to the flame. This effectively controls the flame height, temperature, and fuel consumption. The simmer sleeve on our Turbo II-D test sample got sticky and hard to slide with time. I solved this by keeping the stove and sleeve clean and free of dirt. It is best to adjust the simmer sleeve using a tent stake instead of your hands, as the sleeve and stove get very hot.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – Cold weather use is easy; there are no moving parts besides the simmer sleeve. Cooking with gloves on is no problem.

Cooking Performance

As with all alcohol stoves, a windscreen is mandatory for effective use of the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove. I forgot a windscreen on a weeklong trip along the Continental Divide Trail and I struggled to get the stove to cook efficiently. With a well-designed windscreen, however, the Turbo II-D is a good performer.

Capacity – My standard pot, even for solo trips, is an Evernew 1.5 L pot. The Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove easily handles this size pot and could certainly be used as a two-person stove. Brasslite recommends the Turbo II-D for pots up to 2 liters.

Versatility – Most of my meals are of the “boil and stir” variety, but I have tested the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove with meals that require simmering – pasta, rice and others. The simmer feature is effective at controlling the flame, but you must be careful not to tip the pot while adjusting the simmer sleeve. Either remove the pot, or make sure you are holding onto it while rotating the simmer sleeve. More complicated cooking such as frying eggs or cooking fish might be successful once you have experience with this stove. Brasslite claims that the Turbo II-D can simmer up to 30 minutes. I was able to adjust the simmer sleeve to simmer for 34 minutes on one load of fuel.

Wind Effects – As mentioned earlier, a windscreen is mandatory in anything but the calmest conditions. Frequently, a less than full wraparound windscreen is adequate, but for simplicity I find it best to use a full windscreen all the time. Without it, the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove will cook much less efficiently, and may not complete your meal before you run out of fuel. In our wind effects tests the Turbo II-D was more susceptible to wind than most of the other stoves.

Cold Effects – I put the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove and fuel in a refrigerator until they were chilled, then brought it out and it cooked just fine – as long as I used the preheat pan. My experience in the field was similar – the Turbo II-D ignited very quickly but the preheat pan was helpful below 55 °F.

Heating Efficiency

The Turbo II-D takes longer to bring 2 cups of water to a boil and is less fuel-efficient than most other stoves we tested. Wind more than doubled fuel use as shown in our test results.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The Brasslite Turbo II-D packs easily, and includes a built in pot stand.

Durability – I used the Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove heavily over the course of the summer, and it has held up extremely well because of its high quality brass construction.

Maintenance – Clean beneath the simmer sleeve to keep the sleeve moving smoothly.

Value

The Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove is well made and the built-in pot stand is strong and sturdy. The simmer sleeve is a simple and effective feature that allows this stove to extend to more complicated cooking better than most other alcohol stoves. But, our tests showed the Turbo II-D to be less fuel efficient and slower at bringing water to a boil than many of the other stoves we tested. It has good features and construction, but at $40 is more expensive than most alcohol stoves.

Tips and Tricks

The most important tip with this stove is to use a well-designed windscreen to maximize fuel efficiency. Try your windscreen at home to make sure it protects the stove from wind and allows adequate airflow to the flame.

Recommendations for Improvement

The Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove is a much sturdier stove than most other alcohol stoves. It could be constructed a bit lighter without sacrificing quality. The most beneficial changes would be improvements in overall efficiency. It is possible that the open flame design contributes to wind susceptibility and lower fuel efficiency.

Overview

The Brookside Crafts alcohol stove kit, sold exclusively on eBay under the seller name Tomsbus, is a gem of a stove at a fantastic price. For less than $18, you get an efficient soda can-style stove that boils water well, an effective simmer ring for simmering, an integrated windscreen/pot support that can easily handle pots up to 4 inches wide (such as an MSR titanium Kettle), a nicely made stainless steel cup, and a fuel bottle that is shaped to fit inside the cup (along with all the other items). Besides that, the stove is no ordinary pop-can stove – it is reinforced with heavier gauge aluminum on the inside, is beautifully constructed, and is quite durable.

Specifications

Usable Features

The Brookside Crafts alcohol stove is a double wall aluminum alcohol stove made from soda cans, like many similar make-your-own designs available on the Internet. Available only on eBay, the alcohol burner can be purchased separately or in a variety of well thought-out integrated stove kits. Ours included a combination windscreen/pot support, fuel bottle, simmer ring, and 0.53-liter stainless-steel cup. The whole kit works nicely together and fits inside the provided cup.

The burner is beautifully manufactured with fire-resistant aluminum tape around the outside and an inner wall made of 0.012 gauge aluminum sheet. This burner is very strong, well built, and shows no signs of its soda can ancestry. It has 16 jets around the top.

The windscreen/pot support is a great design, quite similar to the Outdoor Equipment Supplier stove’s support. It consists of a wide cylinder made of sheet aluminum flashing. Two steel pegs are inserted through four holes in the flashing to provide a pot support. This creates a very stable platform that is tight enough to block wind effectively. The windscreen is 4.5 inches wide, just wide enough for a mid-size kettle. Larger pots, such as 2-liter models, must sit on top of the windscreen. This configuration did not work well in tests. Another method of support is needed for larger pots.

The flame pattern is even and spreads across the bottom of the pot. There is a little flame spillage up the sides of the included stainless-steel cup but none when using a kettle.

At 3.1 ounces the 0.53-liter steel cup is no ultralight but is a nice inclusion in a set that costs less than $18. It is functional, well built with nice rounded corners, and is quite durable, not showing any of the discoloration of titanium after repeated use. It doesn’t include a lid but a small piece of aluminum foil works just fine.

Ease of Use

This is a very easy stove to operate. Simply set up the windscreen/pot support, pour the alcohol into the burner (measured in the lid of the provided fuel bottle), light, and place your pot on the supports. Because this stove is slightly shorter than many similar stoves, it is easier to light the fuel in the bottom of the burner. In around 90 seconds, the jets flame up and the stove is going full blast. When the fuel runs out, the Brookside stops quickly and is cool enough to accept more fuel in about 30 to 40 seconds, if needed.

When testing this stove with gloves on, it was still very easy to set up and operate. It was a consistent performer in all conditions.

Alcohol stoves aren’t known for their simmering ability, instead offering simple on/off performance. With the included simmer ring, however, the Brookside provides good simmering performance. Two rivets attached to the side of the simmer ring (shaped from the top of an old-style beer can) make placing the ring on an operating burner quite simple. With the ring on, the stove’s heat output is decreased considerably to allow for simmering, although further adjustment is difficult.

Cooking Performance

Cooking with this stove is straightforward and simple. It boils water well and can also simmer reasonably well. In simmer mode, the heat output is not only lower, but the flame is smaller and more directed as well; you’ll want to be careful to move the pot around when simmering.

All soda can stoves similar to this require warm-up periods before the jets are ignited. At just over a minute for warm-up, the Brookside Crafts alcohol stove was right in the average range compared to similar stoves; my AntiGravityGear Tin Man burner routinely warmed up faster, but only by 10 seconds or so.

Wind can greatly reduce performance for all alcohol stoves. In the Backpacking Light lab tests, most of the stoves consumed twice as much fuel under windy conditions. In the lab, the Brookside Crafts stove took about 60% longer to boil water in windy conditions. In the field I found that the stove boiled water faster when using an MSR Ti Kettle because it butted right against the side of the windscreen, helping to block wind from entering from the top.

The Brookside Crafts stove lights easily even in the wind and once lit it shows no tendency to blow out. The stove base does not get too hot and cools quickly after burning out. However, the steel pot supports stay hot long after cooking is done. Be careful to move the pot support using its aluminum sides, which cool much more quickly than the cross supports.

Heating Efficiency

The Brookside Crafts alcohol stove was among the fastest boilers in our lab tests at 5 minutes 38 seconds for 1 pint of water. Under calm conditions, fuel efficiency was in the average range when compared to other stoves we tested.

In windy conditions, the short windscreen allowed wind to enter through the top, increasing its boil time to 9 minutes 50 seconds and increasing its fuel consumption by 131%. As mentioned above, this performance can be improved by using a pot that fits tightly in the windscreen. Using a higher windscreen also helped to decrease boil times in windy conditions.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

The Brookside Crafts is one of the toughest alcohol stoves I’ve seen. While other soda can burners I’ve used are dented and show obvious wear, this burner is nearly indestructible through normal use. It still looks just like the day I got it, despite many nights on the trail and my tendency to be very hard on gear.

The windscreen/pot support looks a bit worse for wear after several weeks in the field. This is mainly due to the cross supports being overheated and causing the aluminum sides to bend and deform. However, this only occurred after intense testing in my kitchen. No similar problems occurred in the field, and the windscreen bent back into place quite easily. I could not get the cross supports to bend due to heat; they are quite durable. Overall, the windscreen proved quite durable (far more than my normal aluminum foil setups) and is my current favorite for use with soda can stoves.

Value

The Brookside Crafts alcohol stove performs well, is super-durable, has a good windscreen/pot support, and includes a nicely made steel cup; at less than $18 on eBay, this is an excellent value. Further, the manufacturer offers a money back guarantee and has 100% positive feedback after over 150 sales on eBay, making it even more worth the effort to take a look at this stove.

Tips and Tricks

Beware: the cross supports stay hot long after the rest of the stove has cooled. Be careful to not block the bottom vents when setting the windscreen up in the dirt – the vents are needed for good stove performance. The steel cup is well made but doesn’t include a lid – pack some aluminum foil to decrease boil times.

Recommendations for Improvement

The Brookside Crafts alcohol stove is well designed and a good performer. I offer the following suggestions for further improvements:

• The windscreen could be made more effective with a slight increase in height. A height increase of 1 inch (while keeping the pot supports the same height above the burner) would make a noticeable difference in wind performance.
• Offer a titanium cup and titanium cross-supports for weight fanatics.
• Make available a kit option with a larger capacity cook pot and lid that is optimized for the stove.

Overview

The AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set alcohol stove is a complete cook set, with components designed to work effectively with one another. The system includes 3-cup and 2-quart cookpots, two appropriately sized pot cozies, pot gripper, Tin Man alcohol burner, windscreen, bowl/measuring cup, soap, and pot scrubber. The only items missing from this set are alcohol fuel and a bottle to put it in. The burner is lightweight (0.4 ounce for the burner/pot stand) and super easy to prime and use. I liked the pot cozies, which extended fuel supplies by allowing food to continue to cook long after removing the pot from the stove. My only complaint – the pot stand is the top of the burner and only 2.0 inches in diameter. This is unstable, particularly for larger pots, and reduces efficient heating to the center of the pot.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen alcohol stove Deluxe Set is similar to other cook sets with the exception of the Tin Man alcohol burner and the included pot cozies. The Tin Man burner is made from the bottoms of soda cans, is very compact, and fits easily in most cookpots. The burner has an inner chamber that is filled through a small slit in the inner chamber wall when fuel is added to the open cavity in the top of the burner. A cookpot effectively seals the burner’s top opening, so it performs as a closed jet burner rather than an open jet burner. During priming, the alcohol is heated to boiling and pressure builds up in the inner chamber. This pressure forces alcohol vapor out of the side flame ports and it burns as it emerges.

The pot cozies are designed to tightly fit the AntiGravityGear cookpots. They are made from a material that resembles bubble wrap covered in Mylar and are extremely lightweight and excellent at retaining heat. They are neither compressible nor foldable, and when used become the largest packed volume of the set, with everything else nested inside.

Weight – The Tin Man burner/pot stand combination is the lightest burner and pot stand in our review suite at 0.4 ounces. The 2-quart (6.0 ounces) and 3-cup (4.0 ounces) aluminum pots included with the Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set are lightweight, on a par with some titanium pots in fact, and much less expensive. The pots do not have integrated handles however, and require a pot clamp. The provided pot clamp weighs 1.3 ounces and is heavier than the MSR LiteLifter ( 1.0 ounce) and home made pot clamps. Fuel savings may cancel out the weight of the pot cozies (1.0 and 1.3 ounces) depending on your cooking style and trip length. See our performance review of the cozies here.

Flame Control – There are no mechanisms to control the flame on the Tin Man burner. If the food is getting too hot, either open up the windscreen to cool things off with wind, or remove the pot from the stove.

Pot Support – The Tin Man alcohol burner serves double duty as both burner and pot support. At only 2 inches wide, the support is not very stable and instability increases with pot diameter. The burner has the flame jets located on the side to prevent the pot from snuffing out the flame. With good site selection and care, even a 3-quart pot can be balanced upon the stove. However, we would like to see a more stable platform.

Wind Protection – A stiff aluminum windscreen is included with the AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen alcohol stove Deluxe Set. Measuring 2.5 inches high, the windscreen can be slightly rolled up to fit in either the 3-cup or 2-quart pot. The windscreen does a good job of blocking wind. It does not have vent cut outs and sticks can be used under the edges of the windscreen to increase airflow when wind is minimal.

Ease of Use

Setup – The cook set is very easy to set up. There are no fuel lines or canisters to connect. Simply set the burner on the ground, add fuel, and it’s ready to light. The pot sits directly on top of the burner, and placing the windscreen around the pot completes the task.

Fueling – Filling the burner is easy – just pour fuel into the large center cavity. The large opening also makes it possible to use wider mouth fuel bottles like plastic soda bottles (alcohol stove fuel does not react with plastic).

Priming and Ignition – The Tin Man burner does not require external priming. All too often alcohol stoves require priming fuel to be poured around the outside of the stove, a process that consumes extra fuel and can be hazardous. Nearly all of my near mishaps with cooking in the backcountry have occurred with alcohol stoves that required priming. After filling the large center cavity of the Tin Man, a single match is usually enough to ignite it. As the alcohol begins to boil, alcohol vapor is forced out of the side ports where it is burned.

Flame Adjustment – The Tin Man burner lacks any means to adjust the flame. Essentially there are two settings: off and full output. In windy weather, opening the windscreen may reduce heat output to some extent, but this cannot be relied upon.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – With no moving parts, the AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set is fairly easy to use while wearing winter gloves. The large cavity of the burner is easy to fill and spillage is minimal. Burning alcohol is nearly invisible in daylight, so special care is needed to check to see if the stove is still burning so that bulky winter wear is not melted or caught on fire.

Cooking Systems – The Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set comes as a complete cooking system with a windscreen, pot gripper, Tin Man burner, insulated cup, pot scrubby, soap, two pots (3-cup and 2-quart), and pot cozies.

Cooking Performance

Capacity – The Tin Man burner produces enough heat for one or two backpackers. I tested the Tin Man at elevations from 8,000 feet to above 11,000 feet and temperatures from below freezing to 90 °F. Under all conditions, the stove ignited and cooked with negligible change in performance.

Versatility – Due to the lack of adjustability of the Tin Man stove, it does not score well in terms of versatility. This stove is excellent at boiling water but lacks the control needed for culinary tasks such as baking and simmering.

Wind Effects – The AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set has good wind resistance because of its solid sided windscreen. I used the cook set in winds approaching 30 mph with no major problems.

Cold Effects – I field-tested the stove at temperatures below freezing by placing the burner and fuel in a freezer overnight. There was no difficulty lighting the burner, but it did take longer to get the alcohol up to the boiling point

Heating Efficiency

Under our controlled and consistent testing conditions, the AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set Tin Man alcohol stove did not perform as well as other alcohol stoves. Boil times were longer because we had to wait for the burner to reach operating temperature before we could place a pot on top – otherwise the pot would snuff out the burner – and because the pot sits directly on top of the burner and that portion of the pot bottom does not get direct heat from the flame.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – Made from aluminum soda cans, the AntiGravityGear Tin Man burner and windscreen pack well into the smallest of cookpots. There are relatively few parts for this alcohol stove, reducing the chance of leaving a key component behind. The 3-cup and 2-quart pots nest perfectly inside one another with the cozy on the smaller pot. And, everything fits inside the larger two-quart pot cozy.

Durability – Although the design of the Tin Man burner is very strong, it is obvious the aluminum used in soda cans is rather flimsy. Dings and dents may occur, but real damage to the usability will require a severe impact such as stepping on the stove while in camp. Keep it stowed in the pot or in another safe location when not in use and it should last for many years. One concern is the pot cozies, which could suffer damage from other items in the pack. They cannot be folded and stowed inside the pot and are best stowed around the pot. So, care must be taken to ensure the cook set is stowed in the pack against other soft items.

Maintenance – Due to the clean burning attributes of alcohol fuel, it is unlikely any maintenance will be necessary for the AntiGravityGear Tin Man burner. Wiping out the interior with a rag occasionally is about all that is required. The best means to lengthen its life is to avoid dropping debris into the center chamber. Since debris easily sticks to the wet bottom of a cookpot, this may prove difficult to do in actual field conditions. A simple wipe from a bandana is the trick. As mentioned above, the pot cozy is susceptible to damage due to the very light materials used in its construction. A small piece of repair tape is included with the set to fix any minor leaks. If it gets shredded, a replacement can be purchased for a reasonable price (starting at $8.00).

Value

The AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe alcohol stove Set costs $55.95, not bad if you need the whole set. A solo titanium pot, the Tin Man stove, windscreen, and appropriately sized pot cozy costs about the same. Since carrying a single pot is the norm for ultralight backpacking, we consider this set a good, not great value. AntiGravityGear offers many other options including other cook sets, individual pots, cozies, Tin Man burners, and other cooking accessories. For the solo ultralight backpacker, the 3-cup Solo Deluxe Set is a great value at $31.50 (non-stick pot, 8.6 ounces total weight). We also find their very useful pot cozies an excellent value when purchased either with the set or alone.

Tips and Tricks

The most useful tip for using the AntiGravityGear Mama’s Kitchen Deluxe Set is to replace the included windscreen with one of your own design. I recommend that you make a different windscreen for each cookpot so it fits with a minimal amount of gap at the top (about 1/2 inch), and extends an inch or so up the side of the pot. Air intakes are needed along the bottom to maximize the stove’s efficiency. A very light and foldable windscreen can be fashioned out of an oven liner by cutting two strips and connecting them together with a simple fold.

Recommendations for Improvement

The Tin Man burner design eliminates the need for a pot stand but it is very unstable. I recommend improving the pot support and stability either by increasing the diameter of the stove or including another option for supporting the pot. Of these two suggestions, I would prefer the latter. Adding a lightweight pot stand would raise the pot above the stove and allow the flame to directly heat the bottom of the pot, improving stability and cooking performance at the same time.

Overview

At 6.5 ounces (186 g, as verified on our scales) the Patagonia Specter pullover is one of the lightest woven fabric waterproof/breathable shells we’ve tested. The only same-category shell we’re aware of that may be a shade lighter is the Montane 180 Smock (manufacturer specification is 6.3 ounces, 180 g).

Unlike some lightweight rain jackets that barely fit over a thin fleece layer, the Specter offers a generous fit and layers easily over a moderate loft synthetic fill jacket (we tested a size M shell over a size M Patagonia Micro Puff insulated pullover) with a little room to spare. Unfortunately, its short hem requires the use of rain pants for full torso/trunk protection in real rain.

Considering its light weight, the Patagonia Specter offers more-than-spartan features that include a large dual drawcord hood, drawcord hem, articulated sleeves, a webbing stiffened zipper storm flap, and a kangaroo pocket.

Most unique about the Specter is a new seam construction technique, an ultrasonic welded seam manufacturing technology exclusive to Patagonia.

Patagonia also offers the similarly constructed 9+ ounce Specter Jacket (not reviewed, but with a full front zip and core-venting side/handwarmer pockets) and 6+ ounce Grade VI Pants (not reviewed) to complement the two shells.

The Specter belongs to a rapidly emerging category of sub-8-ounce shells. These garments are designed to provide complete waterproof/breathable weather protection at the weight and packed volume of our old emergency gear like a vinyl jacket/poncho, emergency blanket, or a water resistant windshirt. The philosophy is that there should be no reason to leave rainwear at home. By this measure (weight) alone the Specter is a success: it provides good weather protection and reasonable breathability for minimal weight and bulk. In summary, it is the lightest and most compact rain jacket we’ve used.

Specifications

What’s Good

• Lightweight: The Specter is one of the lightest waterproof/breathable shells we’ve tested. Lighter than last year’s model (our measured weights) by 2.5 ounces.
• Generous fit: The Specter will layer over a lightweight synthetic fill jacket like a Patagonia Micro Puff in the same size.
• Hood: Dual adjustment hood accommodates a low volume climbing helmet.
• Breathability: Waterproof/breathable fabric provides good breathability for its weight, unlike many other PU-coated ultralight waterproof fabrics.
• The Zipper: The Specter has one of the smoothest operating water resistant zippers we’ve used.
• Seam Technology: New welded seams have a lower profile, reduce weight, resist soil absorption, and minimize abrasive seam wear.

What’s Not So Good

• Kangaroo pocket: Wearing a pack hip belt blocks access and reduces ventilation.
• Ventilation: No pit zips or other core venting system further hampers ventilation of the half-zip pullover design.

Performance

Storm protection is a strong feature of the Patagonia Specter. Of special note is its large and dual adjustment hood that will seal around anything from a low volume helmet to a bare head, and when fully opened, provides a cavernous reprieve from a downpour while keeping the head area ventilated.

The Specter’s shell fabric is one of Patagonia’s most breathable 2.5 layer polyurethane membranes (their Stretch Element’s fabric takes top honors). The shell fabric breathed creditably when we hiked uphill at a brisk pace in 40 °F temperatures. What most limited the pullover’s overall comfort and moisture transport performance was its lack of ventilation options. With no pit zips, core vents, a vented kangaroo pocket that is blocked by a hip belt, and only a half-length, 14-inch front zipper, we overheated in this jacket at exertion levels that were lower than the breathability thresholds for most jackets and pullovers that offer core venting options. Of course, this is a tradeoff of the minimalist pullover design and is not particularly unique to the Specter specifically. With a pullover, which by nature is usually minimalist, you save weight, but limit your options to vent excess heat and moisture. If you need more ventilation options, consider the Specter Jacket (which offers a full zipper and large core vents built into the front pockets).

The 2.5 layer polyurethane membrane in the Patagonia Specter has a highly hydrophilic textured inner layer that is said to swell and become more textured as the inside of the garment gets damp (under the presumption that an increase in texturing improves moisture transport across the membrane by increasing the surface area for moisture transfer). In the field, wearing only a wool T-shirt, we found the inner surface of the Specter to be less clammy than some of the 2.5 layer PU garments we’ve worn, but can’t validate the membrane technology claims based on observation – the differences are not dramatic, if even noticeable.

The Specter has the smoothest operating water resistant zipper we’ve used. For a change, the slider moves easily with one hand, a refreshing change from most waterproof zippers on the market. The zipper is backed by a stiffened storm flap that never interfered with the zipper’s operation.

What’s Unique

The vast majority of seams on the Specter use a new construction technique by which seams are ultrasonically welded and backed by a narrow composite mesh reinforced seam tape – Patagonia calls this their Composite Seam System™ (CSS) technology, with the specific claims:

• Lighter weight
• More compressible
• More waterproof
• More supple
• More aesthetically pleasing
• More durable (more resistant to abrasion)

Addressing these claims in turn, the meaningful differences in weight, compressibility, waterproofness, and suppleness are not noticeable in the field, although technically, they appear to be valid.

Folding a seam upon itself and visually inspecting it relative to traditionally sewn garments, it is clear that the seams are more supple and compressible, but when wearing or packing the Specter, these features are not particularly noticeable. Narrower (7 mm), thinner seam tape, and a butt-joined sonic weld (as opposed to a felled sewn seam) are primarily responsible for this. A worthy note: The Specter does compress into a ball about four inches in diameter. Considering that the old Specter (which used a heavier fabric weight) compressed to a ball about 5 inches in diameter, and a similarly designed Pertex Quantum/Microlight garment compressed to a ball about 3 inches in diameter, the 2005 Specter certainly provides an industry benchmark for waterproof shell compressibility.

Without an exact replica of the 2005 Specter sewn traditionally for comparison, it’s impossible to understand the extent to which the new seam technology decreases weight. Patagonia claims a decrease in weight of 27% in their Spring 2005 catalog. However, some simple back-of-the-napkin calculations that consider garment seam length, tape width, and thread weight indicate that the differences are not quite that dramatic and probably result in a weight savings in the range of 5% or less of the garment weight on the Specter (potentially higher weight savings can be gained for heavier, more complex garments). The 2005 Specter is indeed lighter than the 2004 version (by 2.5 oz), but most of the weight savings comes from a lighter shell fabric – 1.9 oz/yd² this year vs. last year’s 2.5 oz/yd² fabric and a slight redesign.

As for waterproofness of the new technology, we feel that the new construction technique makes little difference on a new garment relative to traditionally-taped seams. However, depending on the ability of Patagonia’s welded seams to remain durable over long term use, these seams should maintain waterproofness longer than sewn seams, since they are completely sealed during welding and taping, with no potential leak spots resulting from needle holes.

We’ve had no durability problems (with respect to failure of waterproofness, abrasion, or tearing) with the seams on the Specter to date but it’s still too early to assess the strength and long-term durability of this new construction technique. It will take a couple of years of field use and feedback from the market to make a fair assessment of the durability of this construction technique.

A thin composite mesh between the seam tape and the fabric weld adds strength to the seam, since the weld by itself is not strong enough to resist seam tearing on its own (Patagonia has a patent pending on this construction technique).

Patagonia suggests that this construction technique is an improvement over traditional laminated seams (a construction technique gaining popularity in garments by Mountain Hardwear, Arc’Teryx, and others) because it does not expose tape to outer fabric surfaces and suffer seam failure due to “tape-edge abrasion,” whereby a glued felled seam, or an outer-face-taped seam, results in either one or two tape or fabric edges exposed to abrasion. While tape-edge abrasion has been noted as a point of failure for waterproof garments, the incidence is low relative to other modes of failure, including most predominantly, abrasion of the exterior fabric face itself, abrasion of the interior coating in high wear areas, and incidental pinholes (a mode of failure important in ultralight fabrics). Tape-edge failure is not expected to be a significant mode of failure for most ultralight backpackers, but this may be a selling point for the very small fraction of users that spend their time shimmying their way up granite chimneys in the rain.

According to Randy Harward at Patagonia, except for some very special cases (concentrated loads in a very small area), the Specter’s welded seams are stronger than the fabric.

Note: a sewn seam is still stronger than Patagonia’s welded and taped seam. But Randy points out that you only need a seam that is slightly stronger than the fabric itself so that seam strength does not limit the overall tearing resistance of the garment. Beyond that, Randy claims, seam strength is not a limiting factor in garment design. However, depending on garment design, seams can bear disproportionately high stress concentrations in response to active movement while wearing a pack, notably, in the shoulders and back. To Patagonia’s credit, fit and mobility are not a problem with the Specter, and we don’t expect these seams to fail in the field as a result of tearing.

We think one of the more realistic, and meaningful benefits of this seam technology (also a benefit of glue laminated felled seams) as compared to sewn seams is that there is less material to absorb water (which may improve drying time as well). One mode of failure in the waterproofness of traditional shells is the soaking through of seams and resulting wicking to the interior of the garment. We don’t expect this to be a mode of failure in the Specter.

While writing this review, we debated with each other at great length about the real benefits of this technology. Certainly, Patagonia’s claims appear to be incremental at best with performance advantages that may not be noticeable in the field for most users (with the exception of aesthetics). Eventually, we did some industry digging to investigate real benefits to the manufacturer for construction techniques like this, and discovered an important consideration: in the long term, these seam construction techniques will be cheaper for the manufacturer. Garments using them can be constructed quicker and require less skill to operate the machines effectively. An increased capital investment is required up front, but long term cost savings will eventually drive the market to use welded and laminated seam construction techniques. The real question, however, remains: will we as consumers enjoy the fruits of this technology with lower priced garments? In the short term, this is doubtful: new technologies such as this always demand a price premium. Even in the long term, it’s unlikely that companies like Arc’Teryx or Patagonia will drop prices to compete with mid-market manufacturers for fear of brand quality dilution. So, instead, the consumer can expect to enjoy the fruits of this and similar technologies as manufacturers adopt the machinery and it begins to appear in a wider variety of garments from more brands.

Recommendations for Improvement

The kangaroo pocket is not compatible with a pack hipbelt, which blocks it for both storage and ventilation (see photo above). We’d prefer a more readily accessible napoleon-style pocket on the shell.

The Patagonia Specter Pullover is great for brief showers but if I planned on wearing a rainshell for long periods, ventilation would be a serious concern – Patagonia’s claim (from their Website) that the zipper is “deep for ventilating” doesn’t rise to the standard of other manufacturers (especially those in the UK, who are known for creating very functional smocks/pullovers) and is in reality only a 14-inch half zipper (size M). And so, if you are expecting to wear a rain shell in sustained wet conditions, consider the 9-ounce Specter Jacket or similar design with better ventilation.

And a reality check: From a technical design and engineering standpoint, we think that Patagonia’s new seam construction techniques are superb, and have no reason to invalidate any of the claims they make about them. But in the field, don’t expect the seams to create meaningful increases in garment performance for you. Where this technology could really shine is in long term durability and waterproofness – but it will be a few years before we understand the impact of this technology during sustained field use.

Overview

Out of 17 stoves we tested, the Clikstand was one of the four best performers in terms of boil time, fuel efficiency, and ease of cooking. The four-piece pot stand/burner holder is easy to assemble, and as the name suggests, the center section simply clicks into place. The components are made of stainless steel, and weigh a little more than aluminum stove setups, but are far more durable and long lasting. An elegantly made aluminum windscreen fits on three small extensions from the pot stand to protect the flame/pot interface. The stove is sold with a Trangia burner, which works very well with the Clikstand, but the Trangia burner is heavy at 3.9 ounces. To offset the weight of the pot stand/burner holder, I recommend using an aluminum alcohol burner, which would save around 3.5 ounces. Overall, I was very impressed by the Clikstand’s design, durability, and ease of use.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The Clikstand’s design is a marvel to behold. It consists of three sections of stamped thin gauge stainless steel that connect together precisely, plus a center section that clicks into place. The center section supports a Trangia burner. Other alcohol burners can also be used. The setup will burn Esbit fuel tabs as well by placing the fuel tab on the bottom side of the up-side-down stove. Three ledges on the outside of the pot stand support the windscreen. Air enters from the bottom and exits around the cook pot.

Weight – The stainless steel pot stand/burner holder (3.3 ounces), and Trangia burner (3.9 ounces) are on the heavy side, but the windscreen is light aluminum (1.2 ounces). The Clikstand’s excellent durability offsets its extra weight. A lightweight aluminum stove can be substituted for the Trangia burner to save some weight.

Flame Control – Slide the Trangia’s adjustable simmer ring to lower the flame by restricting combustion air, or close the simmer ring to extinguish the flame. It also has a cap to seal alcohol in the stove after it has cooled.

Pot Support – There are three projections from the pot support that contact a cook pot. Each has three teeth to grip the pot. The distance from the top of the burner to the bottom of the pot is 1.3 inches. The pot support is very sturdy and will accommodate any pot up to 5.25 inches in diameter in conjunction with the Clikstand windscreen.

Wind Protection – The Clikstand uses an aluminum windscreen 6 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches high. It covers the lower 1.25 inches of the pot and protects the critical stove to pot gap. The windscreen is beautifully made and rolls up into a 3-inch tube.

Ease of Use

Setup – Setting up the stove involves assembling the four parts of the Clikstand, fueling the Trangia burner and placing it in the stand, lighting the burner, and setting the windscreen in place. Time required is about 1-2 minutes. The Clikstand is easy to assemble and disassemble.

Fueling – The open jet stove is very easy to fuel – just pour alcohol into the open cavity.

Priming and Ignition – No priming is needed, simply light a match and hold it over the stove. It lights with a “puff” and stays lit. Warm up time depends on air and fuel temperature.

Flame Adjustment – The Trangia simmer ring is easy to use. It consists of a cap with a slide to adjust the amount of combustion air. For simmering, simply set the slide partially open and drop it on the top of the burner. To extinguish the flame, close the slide completely and drop the cap on the burner.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – Assembling the Clikstand with gloves on is no problem.

Cooking Systems – The Clikstand S-1 was provided for review as a cooking system (sans pot). It is exceptionally well designed, is easy to assemble, and cooks efficiently. This stove was one of the best performers in our lab tests, in terms of boil time and fuel efficiency. It was also quite wind resistant.

Options – The components are sold separately or as a package.

Cooking Performance

I took the Clikstand on backpacking trips in the Southern Colorado Rockies and camped among snowdrifts in mid-June. Daytime temperatures were in the 50’s °F and nighttime temperatures dropped into the 30’s °F.

Capacity – The Clikstand will accommodate cook pots up to 5.25 inches in diameter. The Evernew 0.9-liter titanium pot and the MSR 1-liter titanium pot work well for solo cooking with the Clikstand. For two people a taller 1.5 to 2-liter pot less than 5.25 inches in diameter is needed, such as half of a Mirro aluminum double boiler. The stove can accommodate a wider cook pot by substituting a wider windscreen for the Clikstand windscreen. The Clikstand’s Trangia burner has plenty of capacity to cook for one to four people.

Versatility – The Trangia burner has a very nice adjustable simmer ring that allows the user to adjust the flame to any desired level, with some practice. I used the Clikstand stove to melt snow, boil water, make macaroni, and boil fish. It performed all tasks well. However it is a bit impractical to expect an alcohol stove to melt snow and boil the resultant water; it simply takes too much time and fuel.

Wind Effects – I tested the Clikstand under windy conditions in lab tests and in the field. It was one of the more wind resistant alcohol stoves we tested but still required twice as much fuel to boil 1 pint of water under windy as compared to calm conditions. The Trangia burner has plenty of capacity to hold the extra fuel needed for windy conditions. The use of extra wind protection in addition to the stove’s windscreen is desirable in order to conserve fuel and increase efficiency.

Cold Effects – With morning temperatures in the high 30’s °F, I found that warming the alcohol filled stove in my hands was all that was needed to get it to light. Once lit, the stove took about 30-60 seconds longer to heat up to cooking temperature, but that was the only difference I noted.

Heating Efficiency

The Clikstand was one of the four best performing stoves, on the basis of consistent good results, in the Backpacking Light lab tests. It is interesting to note that the Trangia burner performed much better in the Clikstand than it did in the Mini-Trangia setup or Liberty Mountain Westwind setup.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – The stove components (pot support/burner holder, burner, windscreen) will fit inside an Evernew 0.9-liter cookpot.

Durability – The Clikstand setup is the most durable of all the stoves tested. The stainless steel Clikstand and brass Trangia burner will last a long time under normal backpacking conditions.

Maintenance – None required. With proper care, it should provide many years of service.

Value

The Clikstand is exceptionally well designed and well built, and extracts remarkable performance out of a Trangia burner. At $51.95 for the complete set, the Clikstand costs more than most aluminum stove setups, but it is built to last. The price is comparable to the cost of a canister stove or the Brasslite Turbo II-D, and you get a complete system (sans pot). The Clikstand is a very good value considering its great design, high quality, good performance, and durability.

Tips and Tricks

Although the Trangia burner has good design and features, it is heavy (3.9 ounces). To offset the 3.3-ounce weight of the Clikstand, a lightweight aluminum stove weighing around 0.4 ounce could be used, yielding a weight savings of 3.5 ounces. According to the Clikstand website, an aluminum cat food can works just as well as the Trangia burner, and is basically free. The bottom side of the cat food can (or other alcohol burner) can be used to burn Esbit fuel tabs with the Clikstand setup.

The Clikstand stove can easily cook for several people, but its windscreen limits pot diameter to 5.25 inches. A wider windscreen can be made from aluminum roof flashing or an aluminum bake pan. It is best to tailor the windscreen to the pot, allowing a quarter to half-inch gap around the pot, and cutting air intake holes at the bottom of the windscreen.

Recommendations for Improvement

The Clikstand S-1 is an excellent product. Some suggestions to make it a better system are:

• Offer a lightweight aluminum alcohol burner as an option.
• Include a simmer ring and snuffer ring with the aluminum stove.
• Offer the system with a lightweight pot and tight fitting lid (one that the other components fit into).
• Offer lightweight 8 fluid ounce and 16 fluid ounce fuel bottles that measure the amount of fuel dispensed.

Overview

The Hike N’ Light alcohol stove is simple and boils a small amount of water quickly. There are no adjustments, it’s either on or off, and burn time is controlled by how much fuel is added prior to ignition. The clips that hold the stove together and form the pot stand extend under the stove and make this stove very wobbly. It worked OK with small/light pots, but when heating a 1.5-liter pot of water, the pot fell off the stove! With its large burner and large jets, this stove produces a mini-bonfire without a windscreen. With some practice, a windscreen can be used to control combustion air and damper it down. Overall, this stove is suitable for solo use, but lacks the stability needed to handle larger/heavier pots.

Specifications

Usable Features

Design – The Hike N’ Light alcohol burner is a 4-inch tin with holes in the lid. The two halves of the tin are held together with steel clips that form the pot stand. The burner sits on a 5-inch base that serves as a pre-heating tray. Once the bottom of the burner is filled with fuel, the lid is replaced and the three clips are installed to create the pot support. The assembled stove is placed on the base and 2 tablespoons of fuel are added to the base and ignited. This heats the stove’s fuel reservoir and vaporizes the fuel, which flows out of the stove’s nine jets under pressure and burns as it exits.

Weight – This stove is heavy by alcohol stove standards. Total weight is 4.0 ounces. It is definitely a minimalist stove and the only way to make it lighter would be to use a smaller tin or lighter metals.

Flame Control – None provided. Once pre-heated and ignited, this stove burns until all of the fuel is consumed.

Pot Support – The pot support consists of three steel clips. Unfortunately, the design of these clips does not produce a stable pot stand. A small 0.75-liter pot was noticeably tipsy on this stove. When I tried a larger 1.5-liter pot it was so unstable that it fell off the pot stand while heating. I could not find a way to eliminate the stove’s tendency to wobble. The stove was always wobbly and every pot wiggled on the pot stand. This stove is definitely suitable for small pots only.

Wind Protection – I followed the Hike N’ Light instructions, which say to “wrap the stove and pot with a windscreen (not included) to minimize heat loss. Leave a small opening near the bottom of the foil for fresh air inlet.” I constructed a simple aluminum foil windscreen and used it as per the stove’s instructions.

Ease of Use

Setup – Setup time is a little longer than other alcohol stoves we reviewed. I did not like the process of removing the lid of the burner to pour alcohol inside, and then assembling the clips before the burner could be ignited. The clips do not attach smoothly and require some fiddling to get them arranged properly.

Fueling – It is more cumbersome to fuel this stove compared to an open jet alcohol stove. The burner’s lid must be removed, the base filled with alcohol, then the pot support clips installed.

Priming and Ignition – Typical of closed jet stoves, the Hike N’ Light requires priming – a lot of it. The instructions say to place 2 tablespoons of fuel in the priming pan. That’s a lot of priming fuel; other stoves can boil a cup of water with that amount of fuel. I found the stove easy to prime in calm conditions, but susceptible to snuffing out in windy conditions.

Flame Adjustment – Stove burn time is regulated by the amount of fuel added prior to ignition. Without a windscreen, this stove produces a small bonfire, making it hazardous to reach a cookpot. I found that a windscreen (see photo) provides a way to limit combustion air and control the flame for more efficient cooking. Raise the windscreen to increase combustion air, and lower it (as shown) to reduce combustion air.

Cold Weather Ergonomics – The clips were hard to assemble under cold conditions while wearing gloves.

Cooking Systems – A windscreen (not included) is mandatory. While I made one of aluminum foil for testing purposes, a better windscreen for longer-term use could be made or purchased.

Cooking Performance

Capacity – The instability of the pot supports limits the capacity of this stove. The stove adequately heated 1 pint of water to boiling in a small titanium pot. It will heat larger volumes, but instability becomes a major issue with heavier pots. A larger pot containing 1.5 quarts of water was too heavy for this stove and tipped off the stand while heating.

If all you need to do is boil 2 cups of water, this stove will do the job. I would not recommend it for two or more people or for the more extreme conditions found in mountain environments. A windscreen is absolutely essential to obtain decent performance from the Hike N’ Light stove.

Versatility – I found the Hike N’ Light to burn too hot without a windscreen to restrict combustion air. With a little practice, a windscreen can be raised or lowered to provide some flame control. The configuration in the photo (minimal air intake) produces a low flame level. That said, I found it difficult to control the flame level enough to do anything but boil water. When attempting to simmer something as simple as macaroni, I had to hold the pot above the stove when the flame was hot.

Wind Effects – The stove is very susceptible to windy conditions; use of a good windscreen with this stove is mandatory.

Cold Effects – The stove’s efficiently was reduced under cold conditions.

Heating Efficiency

The manufacturer claims the most efficient fuel for the Hike N’ Light alcohol stove is methanol. We used Kleen Strip S-L-X denatured alcohol – which is about half ethanol and half methanol – so our fuel usage was consistent among all the stoves we tested. The manufacturer claims you can boil 2 cups of water in 4 minutes with 1 ounce of fuel. We verified that claim in our lab tests (see table below). The Hike N’ Light boil times were the fastest of all the stoves we tested. Our boil times were longer in the field; to get water at 55 °F to boiling required 5 minutes 29 seconds on average. Fuel consumption (including priming fuel) for the Hike N’ Light was the highest of all the stoves we tested under optimal conditions, and among the highest under windy conditions.

See performance results for all the stoves we tested in Performance Comparison Testing of Lightweight Alcohol Stoves.

Durability

Packability – This stove collapses down to a small neat package. The pot stand clips can be stored inside the stove, which nests in its base. The base is 5 inches in diameter and easily nests inside a small pot that is just larger in diameter than that.

Durability – The stove is simple and fairly durable. Hard knocks on rocks might dent the stove, making it hard to open and keep airtight.

Maintenance – The only maintenance needed is to wipe the stove periodically to remove carbon. The manufacturer claims the stove is disposable and recyclable.

Value

In spite of its low cost ($14.99), the Hike N’ Light alcohol stove is a poor value because of it cumbersome fueling process, poor pot stability, excessive flame size, and high fuel consumption.

Tips and Tricks

A pot about 5.5 inches in diameter and about 2.5 to 3 inches deep with a lid would maximize this stove’s efficiency and permit nesting the stove inside.

Recommendations for Improvement

I would suggest that the manufacturer improve the clip system that forms the pot supports for the Hike N’ Light. I played with these clips a lot but was never satisfied with how they attached. Perhaps some indents on the stove to guide the clips and a better clip design would solve the problem.

Also, this stove needs a better provision for flame control. Without a windscreen, it produces a mini-bonfire that threatens to burn hands or clothing. With a windscreen, some measure of flame control is possible, although the output is still erratic.

Overview

The OutdoorEquipmentSupplier Ultralight Backpacking alcohol stove is an inexpensive, light stove that is easy to use. The burners are made from beverage cans. It is about as simple to use as a stove gets – pour in a measured amount of fuel and light. Yet it was one of the more effective stoves tested, particularly in windy conditions. It has a very stable and effective combination windscreen/pot support. The pot comes with two burners: a normal burner with 24 jets and a simmering burner with 12 jets.

Specifications

Usable Features

The OutdoorEquipmentSupplier Ultralight Backpacking alcohol stove has a double wall aluminum alcohol burner made from beverage cans. Similar make-your-own designs are available on the Internet. The combined windscreen/pot support consists of a cylinder made of sheet aluminum flashing with two aluminum nails inserted through four holes in the flashing to create a pot support. This provides a very stable, wide platform that proved almost impossible to knock over. It is wide and sturdy enough to support pots up to 6 inches in diameter.

The windscreen coils nicely around the inside of a cup or pot for packing. It does not go far up the side of the pot (only 3/4 inch), yet it provides good wind protection for the stove. This was demonstrated in the Backpacking Light lab tests, where there was little difference in the stove’s performance between still air and windy conditions.

The flame pattern is even and spreads across the bottom of the pot. There is a little flame spillage up the sides of a pot using the 24-jet burner, and considerably less with the simmer 12-jet burner.

Ease of Use

Setting up the stove and windscreen is straightforward even in cold conditions and I had no problem doing so with mitts on. The OutdoorEquipmentSupplier stove is a simple stove to use, even by alcohol stove standards. Measure the alcohol, pour it into the large central well, and light. No special priming is required. Lighting the burner is easier than on many other alcohol stoves. The jets light in a little under 2 minutes. When the fuel is used up, the burner stops suddenly with no lingering flame. After 30 seconds cooling, more fuel can be poured in and lit, if desired.

The OutdoorEquipmentSupplier stove comes with a small plastic fuel bottle with a pour spout. Fuel measurement is important when using alcohol stoves to prevent waste and I’d recommend marking the supplied bottle for volume measurements.

There is no simmering adjustment. The manufacturer supplies a second stove with fewer jets for simmering. We found in testing that there is not much difference in performance between the two stoves and that simmering is difficult. A simple simmer ring would probably be more effective for simmering, rather than supplying a second stove with fewer jets. It would also reduce the overall weight. For many users a pot cozy would be a better alternative to simmering.

Cooking Performance

Cooking with this stove is straightforward. It boils water well. The lack of a simmer control means that the pot needs to be lifted on and off the flame for complex cooking. However, using the simmer burner was a good tactic for frying onions and bacon.

In strong winds, the OutdoorEquipmentSupplier stove lights easily and, once lit, it shows no tendency to blow out. I was able to bring water to a boil in high winds with the OutdoorEquipmentSupplier stove; of course I had to wait a bit – it’s an alcohol stove after all!

The stove base does not get too hot making it unlikely that underlying surfaces will catch on fire. However, the nails used for pot support stay hot long after the rest of the stove has cooled.

Heating Efficiency

While the OutdoorEquipmentSupplier Ultralight Backpacking alcohol stove’s boil time was in the middle of the pack in optimum conditions (6 minutes 35 seconds for 1 pint of water), its good windscreen made it a solid performer in the wind (7 minutes 09 seconds boil time). Fuel efficiency was good in still conditions, but many of the other stoves we tested were a little better. However, it was right up with the best stoves for fuel efficiency in windy conditions. Interestingly, there was no significant fuel efficiency difference between the 12 and 24 jet models. Playing around with larger air holes in the windscreen and raising the pot support seemed to reduce boil times and suggests that the windscreen could possibly be optimized for better performance.

Durability

No stove maintenance is required. The stove is light, yet durable. The aluminum nails used for the pot support bend from the stove’s heat. My solution was to replace them with titanium skewer pegs. The only failure to the cook system occurred when I pushed down too hard on the pot supports while stirring a full pot, resulting in the bent aluminum joint between the windscreen sections pulling apart. Bending the joints back into shape occasionally is necessary to prevent this.

Value

The stove performs well, has a good windscreen/pot support, and a great price.

Tips and Tricks

• Beware: the nails stay hot long after the rest of the stove has cooled.
• Warming the fuel and stove near your body improves lighting in cold conditions.

Recommendations For Improvement

The OutdoorEquipmentSupplier Ultralight Backpacking alcohol stove is well designed and a good performer. We offer the following suggestions for further improvements:

• The aluminum nail pot supports bend from the heat of the stove; replace them with steel or titanium rods.
• In our lab tests, we did not measure much difference in performance between the 24-jet and 12-jet stoves. I suggest providing just one stove with a simmer ring.
• Provide a graduated plastic fuel bottle that allows precise measurement of fuel.
• Provide a lightweight heat reflector to go under the burner.
• Make available a cookpot with lid that is optimized for the stove, and is sized so the stove easily nests inside.

Overview

Isis makes outdoor clothing for women. Their Maia convertible pants are constructed of a wonderful stretchy, lightweight nylon that is non-binding and allows a more flattering fit than typical 100% nylon pants. The pants have details that make me smile – a purple belt, red stars tacking down the corners of the pockets, and gold stars inside the zipper – without losing their functionality for hiking and backpacking. One overlooked detail: the scratchy fabric tail of the pant-to-short conversion zippers are sewn outside the protective cloth flap and occasionally chaff my legs.

In Brief

• Stretchy fabric and low slung waist for a flattering fit and great mobility
• Fabric dries quickly
• Converts between pants and shorts easily, no need to remove shoes
• Inside of leg at conversion zippers can be scratchy
• Colorful, mood-enhancing details

Specifications

Features and Fit

The first thing I noticed about the Isis Maia pants was the fabric. I normally wear 100% nylon pants for warm weather hiking and aim for a baggy fit to avoid any binding when I raise my knees to scramble over obstacles or trek up a steep hill. The Maia pants are constructed of lightweight nylon with 5% spandex woven in. The result is comfortable, non-binding hiking pants with a closer, more flattering fit than my normal baggy attire.

Isis uses small, #3 YKK zippers for conversion from pants to shorts. Tiny colored tabs with the Isis logo help match the correct pant leg to shorts leg; a thoughtful touch that speeds up conversion back to pants.

The pants have a low-slung waist, with the waistband riding just below my navel, a style that fits me better than higher-waisted pants. Although the Isis sizing chart indicates that I am between a size 14 and 16, the size 12 fit just right (I normally wear pants in size 12 or 14). The inseam is 31 inches as claimed, plenty of length for most backpackers but 1 inch too short for my long legs.

The pants have a webbing belt that runs through a fabric casing. The casing ends a few inches short of the zipper and allows the belt buckle to ride up above the pant waistband. The belt tends to twist inside its fabric casing during washing, but can be laid flat again with a few minutes of attention. The belt buckle quickly flips open with a flick of a finger, another nice touch.

Performance

I wore the Maia pants for many desert hikes in temperatures up to 95 °F (converted to shorts), in rain, bushwhacking through thorny vegetation, and with long underwear underneath for a 20 °F overnighter and hike through snow.

The fabric used in the pants is fairly lightweight which helps the pants dry quickly. The 95 percent nylon, 5 percent lycra material is tough. My test pants survived a bushwhack through thorn covered bushes to reach cliff side Sinagua ruins with some snags, but no rips or tears. My legs did not fare as well, both were scratched and bleeding in many spots.

When in the field, the conversion is easy from pants-to-shorts or shorts-to-pants. The small conversion zippers held up fine during my four months of testing. A flap of cloth inside the pants keeps the zipper itself from rubbing against skin, but the scratchy tail end of the zipper material is outside the flap and was occasionally annoying when I wore the full-length pants. I did not notice this after I snipped the tail end of the zipper casing off, or when I wore the pants converted to shorts.

I can pull the pants legs off over my hiking shoes with care. The 2005 version of the Maia pants has leg zippers to facilitate this.

The two front slash pockets are low enough that I can access the pockets under the narrow hipbelt of my fanny pack, but when backpacking I need to slide the wider hipbelt of my pack up a bit to access the pockets. The pockets are mesh and deep enough to be useful; my titanium skewer stakes stayed put while I made my way around my tarp bending and squatting while staking it out.

Value

The Isis Maia convertible pants retail at the high end of women’s convertible pants. The stretchy material is functional and very comfortable and bumps their value up; the scratchy zipper fabric on the inside of the legs moves their value back down. Result, a good, not great value.

Recommendations for Improvement

Redesign the conversion zippers so that all the finishing touches are covered by the inner flap to keep them away from tender skin.

Place belt loops closer to the zipper to keep the belt buckle from riding above the pant waistband.

Overview

The Osprey Atmos 25 is a small volume, internal frame backpack. At 2 pounds 3 ounces production weight (0.99 kg), it is not the lightest pack in its size class but it has plenty of features and performance to make up for the extra weight. By lightweight standards it’s bombproof. Six external pockets and two hydration pockets make packing and then finding gear a simple task. What really sets this pack apart is the Airspeed frame, a trampoline-like, mesh back panel tensioned by a flexible hourglass shaped frame. The frame is stiff enough in the vertical axis to support weight, but has torsional flex to conform to your hips and torso as you move. Osprey combines tubular and rod aluminum to create a spring-loaded frame that suspends the pack away from your back, leaving 1.5 to 3 inches of open space behind the mesh back panel. No more sweaty back. The shoulder straps and hipbelt are perforated as well, making this one of the most breathable packs we’ve used. The space between the mesh back panel and the main packbag is a great place to store your hydration bladder and saves space in the pack for your gear.

Our pre-production pack has a comfortable carrying limit of about 25 pounds and, with a volume of 1,525 cubic inches, it is difficult to load the pack in excess of that. A slight modification to the hipbelt angle would increase the carrying weight of the pack and prevent the lower edge of the hipbelt from digging in to hips with a 25-pound load.

In Brief

• Great size and features for an ultralight long weekend backpack trip. Small volume and good compression make for excellent load control and good balance when hiking.
• The Osprey Airspeed suspension includes a trampoline-like mesh back panel to suspend the pack away from the user’s back creating an ultra-breathable, ultra-comfortable experience. The frame is vertically rigid to support the load but flexes with your hips and torso.
• Six external pockets, two hydration pockets, and the main packbag make compartmental style packing a breeze.
• The back panel hydration pocket eliminates the need to unpack everything to refill the bladder and does not take up main bag or pocket space.
• The two hipbelt pockets are particularly functional and greatly reduce the need to remove the pack to retrieve "essentials" while on the trail.
• The hipbelt angle limits carrying capacity to 25 pounds.
• A bit heavier than some internal frame packs of similar volume.

Specifications

Frame, Suspension, and Pack Load Carrying Performance

Osprey debuted their new Atmos series packs at the fall 2004 Outdoor Retailers show. The most distinguishing feature of the Atmos packs is the lightweight tensioned back panel Airspeed frame (Photo 2). Constructed of tubular and rod aluminum, the Airspeed frame creates a trampoline-like mesh back panel, suspending the pack 1.5 to 3 inches from your back helping to keep your back cool. The tubular frame is both rigid and flexible at the same time. A pivot located centrally in the Airspeed frame allows the upper and lower sections of the frame to twist independently. The frame combined with the flexibility of the mesh back panel allows the pack to conform to an individual’s body shape comfortably. Adventure racers beware – for those with torso lengths on the shorter end of pack size, the top of the frame will likely hit the back of your head while riding a bike.

Osprey continues their design work to keep you cool by perforating both the shoulder straps and hipbelt with 3/16-inch holes. The result is an incredibly airy harness. The shoulder straps also have a sternum strap and load lifters to adjust the fit.

We tested the comfort and carrying capacity in the mountains of northern Arizona and on a coastal California backpacking trip. Overall, we found the frame/harness setup could comfortably carry 25 pounds, limited by the hipbelt. The hipbelt angles downward and concentrates most of the load along the bottom edge causing it to dig into the hips. It would perform better if the hipbelt were at an angle that spread the load equally from the top to the bottom of the belt. Best results are achieved if the pack rides higher than typical so that the hipbelt is high on the hips. The shoulder strap padding in the Atmos series is thin and light and conforms well to match body shape. With a volume of 1,525 cubic inches, it is difficult to load this pack in excess of its carrying capacity.

Usable Features and Ease of Use

Although not the lightest pack in its size class, the heavily featured Atmos 25 will satisfy many who prefer multi-compartment based packing over the one-sack style. The Atmos 25 has a total of six exterior pockets and two interior bladder pockets, in addition to the main pack bag.

Osprey makes water carrying easy with two separate water bladder pockets and two side panel water bottle pockets. The empty space behind the open mesh back panel is zipper accessible from inside the main pack bag to allow the insertion of a hydration bladder. You do not have to completely unpack to access it! Most 2-liter bladders fit well; 3-liter bladders are a little big. The hose runs out through the back panel access zipper and through a hose port at the top back of the pack. The bladder goes unnoticed in terms of size; however, drinking water temperature is affected by body temperature and vise versa. A second bladder pocket on the inside solves this problem but has other problems: the bladder takes up interior pack volume, it is a very tight fit, you have to unpack the main bag to get to it, and it snags on gear as you try to pack the main pocket. We see no reason for the internal hydration pocket.

The two side panel water bottle pockets will hold 1-liter bottles and have mesh drainage panels to allow excess liquid to escape. Unfortunately, these pockets are not accessible while wearing the pack. In addition, the lower side panel compression strap covers these pockets, making it difficult to remove items without loosening the straps. A hydration bladder is more convenient with the Atmos series; the side-panel pockets can be used to keep other essentials handy.

One feature on the Osprey Atmos 25 we really liked were the two zippered, mesh pockets located on either side of the padded hipbelt. One of these pockets is big enough for a small digital camera and mini-notebook, with the second a clear candidate for a bag of GORP or some energy bars. These two pockets, combined with a hydration bladder, greatly reduced the time we spent with the pack off, digging for items needed on the trail.

The large front "shove-it" pocket on our review samples is not as large as we would like. Nevertheless, it was useful for stowing a rain or wind jacket and has a grommet drained bottom. The folks at Osprey have enlarged the pocket for production packs. The release clasp for the shove-it pocket is difficult to work because it is firmly fixed onto the pack; a problem exasperated by a full pack. Above the shove-it pocket, there is a flat, zippered pocket lined with mesh towards the inside the pack. We found this pocket ideally suited for a map and compass, keys (there’s a key clip on the inside) or other items one might need quick access to.

Although the main pack and all pockets have drain holes, some of the fabrics used in our pre-production samples held water. The padding in the shoulder straps and hipbelt retained a lot of water after an all day California monsoon. It took 24 hours for them to dry out.

The Osprey Atmos 25 has two ice axe loops and a convenient means to secure the handles at the top of the pack. A small piece of shock cord, with a specially designed hook on one end and toggle on the other, quickly attaches and tightens the handles to the upper back panel. This arrangement works equally well for unused trekking poles.

Two compression straps on each side panel (total of four) compress the load into a dense, secure load. The upper two fasten with side release buckles for easy access to the main zippered pack bag. Because they quick release, these upper straps can conveniently secure long items extending from the side pockets like tent poles or a fishing rod.

Durability

It is premature to fully assess the durability of the Atmos series packs. Osprey provided pre-production review samples with an understanding that the fabrics to be used in the production packs would be different. After using these packs as built, lighter fabrics are appropriate as the fabrics we tested are virtually bombproof by lightweight standards. Other construction details are as we have come to expect from Osprey. Seam failure is unlikely as every seam is double or triple stitched and high stress seams are bar tacked. These packs are nicely assembled; details that exude the exactness of computer aided design.

Value

If features, packing convenience, and an airy harness are high on your list of necessities, the Osprey Atmos 25 makes for a great value, despite the 25-pound carrying limit. For those who prefer the weight savings of reduced features, the Atmos 25 becomes much less appealing at $139.

Recommendations for Improvement

Our recommendations here should not overshadow how great this new pack line is. The Osprey Atmos 25 is an excellent pack as tested. As a bonus, its flexibility conforms nicely to the female physique.

Lighter fabrics are appropriate (Osprey has already done this in the production packs) as well as other changes that would decrease weight without lost usability. We recommend omitting the interior hydration pocket from the design. It is a tight fit for a full bladder and there is considerable loss of interior volume when the pocket is used. In contrast, we found slipping a bladder into the back panel pocket was easier and concentrated the weight close to one’s back.

Make the "shove-it" pocket larger by extending its height up to the zippered back pocket, perhaps down an inch or so, and then either remove the clasp for it or make it more flexible to ease access.

Use materials for the shoulder straps and hipbelt that absorb and retain less water.

The following change is less critical since it is difficult to stuff more than 25 pounds into the Atmos 25 even with a fair amount of water. The hipbelt is uncomfortable with loads above 25 pounds because it distributes more weight to the lower edge than the top edge. The angle at which the hipbelt is attached to the back panel should be closer to perpendicular to lessen this problem. The shoulder straps cause some discomfort at weights above 30 pounds. The placement might be slightly too wide (perhaps 1/2 inch total) causing the shoulder straps to place pressure on the shoulders, rather than draping over the collarbone.

Overview

AntiGravityGear Pot Cozys have found their way into the packs of several staff members at Backpacking Light. Inserting a hot cookpot into a Cozy keeps food warm longer and can extend cooking times without further fuel consumption. We know we like them, but the unanswered question is "how much difference do they make?" To find out, I boiled 0.5 liter of water and measured temperature drop over time in a cookpot with and without a Cozy. I repeated the tests in freezing and room temperature conditions, using my ideal hot tea temperature (132 °F) for comparison. The AntiGravityGear Pot Cozy more than doubled the amount of time water temperature remained above 132 °F under sub-freezing (28 °F) conditions. The Cozy weighs less than 1.5 ounces (40 g) and, depending on your stove and fuel of choice, its weight may be justified by fuel savings and/or added convenience.

In Brief

• At less than 1.5 ounces, the Pot Cozy easily earns its keep
• Using a Pot Cozy doubles heat retention time in sub-freezing conditions
• Costs $15.00 or less, depending on size of cookpot
• Sized to fit most lightweight cookpots on the market
• Custom sizes are also available
• The insulating material is somewhat fragile and bulky

Specifications

Background

The AntiGravityGear Pot Cozys are made from Reflectix insulation, consisting of two bubble wrap layers sandwiched between layers of aluminum foil bonded to polyethylene. This material is designed to insulate heating ducts and hot water heaters, and its light weight renders it ideal for insulating cookpots for the lightweight backpacker. The aluminum reflective material makes the insulation more durable, heat resistant, and insulating than bubble wrap alone.

While it’s true the Cozy keeps food warm longer, I carry mine to allow me to carry less fuel. After cooking for a shortened period of time, the cookpot is removed from the stove and placed inside the Cozy. The Cozy lid is then placed on top of the pot’s lid, and the edges of the Cozy are folded inward to seal the top. Food continues to cook at the higher temperatures maintained inside the Cozy. It is important to understand that the pot must be removed from the stove and placed in the Cozy – never place the Cozy on the stove; it melts!

In practice, it is difficult to determine how much fuel is saved with a Cozy, because cooking time depends on several variables: the quantity and type of food, cooking temperature, ambient temperature, wind speed, and water temperature. I always leave behind more than enough fuel weight (alcohol) to justify carrying the Cozy, and have fuel remaining at the end of the trip.

Performance Review

For this review, a 1.3-liter EverNew titanium cookpot was paired with an appropriately sized AntiGravityGear Pot Cozy. The cookpot was filled with 0.5 liter of water (approximately 2 cups). After bringing the water to boiling (201 °F at 7,200 feet elevation), the pot was removed from the stove and temperature was recorded every 10 minutes under four conditions:

• at room temperature without the Pot Cozy,
• at room temperature with the Pot Cozy,
• in the freezer without the Pot Cozy, and
• in the freezer with the Pot Cozy.

Temperature was measured using a digital kitchen thermometer with a remote sensor fit into the pour groove of the EverNew pot, allowing the lid to close securely. Room temperature varied throughout the study from 75 °F to 80 °F, while freezer temperature was constant at 28 °F.

For our discussion, we could select any temperature as a base line to compare results between the different tests. Ideally, this would be a real world temperature; like the minimum temperature to cook pasta, a typical backcountry staple. Cooking professionals seem to agree, however, that pasta is best cooked at a rolling boil, and a minimum pasta cooking temperature cannot be found in culinary literature. I settled instead on using my ideal hot tea temperature of 132 °F as a base line to compare heat retention performance.

The graph below shows temperature along the Y-axis and time along the X-axis. As expected, water cooled fastest in the uninsulated pot under freezing conditions; temperature stayed above 132 °F for less than 20 minutes. Using the Cozy under freezing conditions, the temperature remained above 132 °F for approximately 45 minutes. At room temperature, the uninsulated pot stayed above 132 °F for approximately 55 minutes, and the insulated pot kept water above 132 °F for 90 minutes.

Implications for Use

The Pot Cozy improved heat retention 2.3 times under freezing conditions and 1.6 times at room temperature. The insulated pot performed nearly as well under freezing conditions as an uninsulated pot at room temperature, allowing the winter backpacker to mimic three-season cooking. These results will likely differ somewhat from field conditions where wind and other factors come into play. The type and amount of food cooked and the type of cookpot (titanium, aluminum, stainless) will make a difference in how well heat is retained. Nevertheless, these results clearly show that a Pot Cozy extends cooking time and heat retention thus saving fuel.

Weight savings from fuel will depend on the type of fuel and stove efficiency. Certainly, those who prefer the extremely low end-of-trip weight of an alcohol or fuel tablet stove will benefit greatly from fuel reductions earlier in the trip. Fuel savings from a few dinners may offset the Pot Cozy weight. Esbit tablets cost about 50 cents each, so a Pot Cozy will eventually pay for itself if used long enough. With canister stoves, where there is less control over the amount of fuel carried, it may not be feasible to reap the benefit of reduced fuel consumption. The benefits of a Cozy used in conjunction with a white gas stove will be more noticeable in terms of the convenience of not having to simmer and being able to melt snow while your dinner is cooking.

Overview

The Isis Vivian is a lightweight waterproof/breathable jacket with excellent ventilation. It’s not the lightest jacket on the market, but it caters to a female market looking for better fit and on-trail fashion without a huge weight penalty. At 11.5 ounces (326 g, size 10) it weighs only slightly more than the comparable Sierra Designs DT Tech (11.2 ounces) and the Marmot Dart jacket (10 ounces), but significantly more than the Patagonia Women’s Specter jacket (8.3 ounces).

I like this jacket. It has a comfortable stretch nylon ripstop fabric with outer Entrant DT10K coating and inner “half” layer of polyurethane that allows a freedom of movement that other jackets, especially those sized for men, cannot replicate. Since it is designed from the ground up for women, it fits. The arms are the right length, the shoulders are the right proportion, and the mesh hand pockets are at the right angle. No small bonus; it is a fabulous color and looks great on me!

In Brief

• Nice women’s fit
• Great ventilation
• Reasonably breathable fabric
• Three ounces heavier than the lightest women’s jackets
• Not approaching the weight of men’s ultralight rain shells (6+ ounces)

Specifications

Features and Fit

Two roomy zippered, mesh hand pockets – each over half the length of the jacket – rest at your lower torso providing ample space for food, gloves, and hats. A non-waterproof #5 YKK zipper with both inner and outer storm flaps seals out the elements and is a nice change as most manufacturers are moving towards harder to slide water-resistant zips. The hood on the Vivian is one of the best features of the jacket. It has a large brim that stands on its own, keeping well away from the face. A rear Velcro hood adjustment (glow-in-the-dark) keeps the hood from falling forward. I found the hood fit quite comfortably over a wool hat without any adjustment. There’s a dual-draw cord at the base of the hood that uses a friction cord lock (rubber) to adjust the opening.

The bottom hem is adjustable with two single-handed cord locks to seal out drafts. There are 13-inch zippers from the armpit down the length of the sleeve for ventilation. The material of the jacket is a 2.5 layer waterproof/breathable fabric, where the half layer is a textured inner surface.

The fit of the Vivian is well suited to the female body. The dimensions of the bodice are well proportioned, the arm length is correct and the length of the jacket is just right (unlike other female jackets which sometimes fall just above the waist leaving a gap between rain jacket and pants). Stretch 2.5 oz/yd² nylon fabric lets the jacket extend with your movements, allowing for a trimmer and more flattering fit and making the jacket easier to move in than other rain jackets I’ve used.

Storm Resistance

I tested the Vivian in two hurricanes this fall. It was subjected to blinding rains and 50 mph winds. It kept me dry. More impressive was its ability to breathe throughout both storms keeping me reasonably dry inside while hiking at a brisk pace.

The zipper treatments were the main features that kept me dry. The front zipper and both of the front pockets have double storm flaps. The snap closures batten down the outer storm flap for the front zipper extremely well. The snaps are a welcome relief from the fleece and wool snagging Velcro found on other rain jackets.

Breathability and Ventilation

Adjustable Velcro cuffs, a draw cord hem, 13-inch underarm zippers and two big mesh hand-pockets all allow plenty of ventilation opportunities. This extra ventilation wisks moisture away from your body. A full zip in front that can be alternated with the snap closures provides adequate ventilation options in drier weather. And a not-too-snug hood, keeps your head cool while hoofing it in sloppier conditions

Value

At $160, the Vivian is not a great deal but it is in the range of other jackets in its league (the non Gore-Tex league). Comparable women’s jackets include the Sierra Designs DT Tech (11.2 ounce) at $99.95, the Red Ledge Thunderlight (16 ounce) at $70, the Cloudveil Women’s Drizzle (14 ounce) $235, the Moonstone Storm Jacket (14 ounce) $130, and the Marmot Dart Women’s Waterproof jacket (10 ounce) $125. But these jackets do not have the color, style and attractive fit of the Vivian.

Recommendations for Improvement

I have a few recommendations for improving the Vivian but they are slight. First, the zipper is 4 inches short of the bottom hem. Extending the front zipper to the bottom of the front hem would provide more storm resistance. Second, the sleeve zips are not pit zips. Other women’s jackets replicate the arm zip idea and it is neither as useful nor as functional as true pit zips. Putting the zippers back where they belong, directly under one’s arm would improve ventilation on this jacket. Finally, for more stylish town wear, a way to roll up the hood and stow it when not in use would be nice.