Innovative water boiling unit: The Heatstick

That's pretty cool. What jumped out at me in the video is they suggested you can start the thing and put it back in your backpack and keep going. If the weight is low and the gaz not proprietary I'm game.

Hi Roman
Maybe BPL should sponsor you for next year. A lot cheaper than sending someone over there and a recognition that there are hikers outside the USA.
In the meantime since I did not spot your entry, I have started my own thread about the HotRod, I even managed to pinch one of the shots from your blog since the manufactures site only seems to have pictures of tanks.
Looking forward to see some of the other new products on your site.
Franco

That think is sweet! A Ti version would sell well on this site I would imagine! The price ($300) is a bit steep, but so is most UL gear! =)

Brilliant concept… but it's very heavy for something that can only boil water and nothing else. At 404 or 489 grams (500mL or 1L versions with bottle)… it can't come close to being comparable to a DIY alcohol setup (as their website says). If all you need to do is boil water, I can do that with with a setup that's under 60 grams.

Brilliant idea though. Absolutely brilliant. Thanks for posting it.

All right catalytic combustion! They make the best stuff for the military. Check out a 2007 small business initiative solicitation they sent out for an 8 oz radiant water heater (incuding heater and cup) to run on jeep fuel. I've been following it and two companies were awarded funds for development, but that was the last I've seen of it.

http://www.combatfeeding.org/sbir2007/files/a07-165.html

That earlier "Capillary Force Vaporizer" stove was developed for the program by MSR based on an impressive ceramic composite "wick" which allowed the use of liquid fuel without a pressurization system. It was cool (I think there was even a snippet on BPL about it somewhere), but not as efficient as hoped and I think MSR lost access to the patented "wick."

If it can be done in the right and lightweight way, I think this kind of system is where it's at. Especially one that could run off of liquid fuel, so you don't have to worry about fussing with canisters. The flameless, radiant method of heating, especially in an immersion system could be incredibly efficient, wind proof, tent-friendly… all of the things Roman listed. I think the key improvement would be to have it run off of liquid fuel and be closer to 6 oz including heating vessel. If only I could scale up my old Peacock hand warmer and dunk it in my Ti mug…

http://www.hakkin.co.jp/